The Self Improvement Blog » abundance

How To Live A Life Of Joy

Admin — Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:08:38 +0000

I don’t have digital

I don’t have diddly squat

It’s not having what you want

It’s wanting what you’ve got

– Soak up the Sun, lyrics by Sheryl Crow

Living a life of joy is when you hit your stride; when everything comes together and you stop looking into the future to find happiness and realize that you have happiness right now.

Is that possible? Can we be happy with what we have right now? Isn’t there always something missing that we have yet to achieve or acquire? Of course there is. Up until the moment of death there is always something left to achieve; something else to acquire; some purpose as yet unfulfilled. But that’s not what having a joyful life is about. As Sheryl Crow so wisely sings: “It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got.”

“Wanting what you’ve got.” What does that mean really? It means living every day of your life with the joy and passion of simply being alive. It means celebrating what you have achieved so far and recognizing the strength you’ve shown in getting there. It means being thankful not only for the good things you’ve experienced, but also being thankful for the opportunity to grow and become stronger from experiencing the not so good things as well.

But living a life of joy is not all about you either. It’s about the people who come in and out of your life and how your mere existence on the planet affects them. Your joy and happiness multiplies when you share yourself with others. People use the term “giving back” to describe acts of charity and kindness that others perform. What a wonderful concept. You recognize that you are receiving the abundance that life has to offer, no matter how much or how little of that abundance you happen to be receiving at this very moment, and you choose to invest some of that abundance into the life of others.

A friend of mine owns his own business. Like most self-employed people he works long hours. Yet, he manages to volunteer as much as 50 hours per month for an organization that helps people who have been impacted by disaster.

He tells a story about being called to a house fire on Christmas Eve. The family who rented the house spoke little English and they were very poor. What few presents they had managed to get for each other were destroyed along with all of their belongings.

My friend arranged temporary accommodations for the family. He also contacted someone who owned a store and asked him to donate a few presents to the displaced family.

When my friend knocked on the door of the motel where the family had been placed and handed the wrapped presents out to the children, the mother stood up on her tiptoes, hugged my friend, and said in broken English: “You’re my Christmas angel.”

I’ve seen his eyes well up with tears when he relates this story. Yes, he is living a life of joy. But so is that woman who saw her children’s eyes light up when they received those presents. Because, despite the tragedy she had just endured, she realized “It’s not having what you want. It’s wanting what you’ve got.”

For more personal growth articles visit: http://www.personalgrowthunlimited.com

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Boost Self-Confidence – Seek Approval Within

Guest Contributor — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 13:52:13 +0000

By Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD -

Do you sense that you are seeking someone’s approval when you make a decision or embark on a project? Have you heard your self-talk that sounds something like this? “I’ll show her/him.” “He/she will be surprised when I ____.” “You wait and see.” “If only I could prove to him/her___.” “I’ll prove it.”

You might use these thoughts because your accomplishments are seldom acknowledged by those whom you wish to impress. The acknowledgment you receive from others is merely frosting on the cake. The acknowledgment you give to yourself is the cake. Furthermore, your acknowledgment of yourself will boost your self-confidence.

You can start by examining the areas of your life when you have attained your goal with ease and on time. Make a list of the incremental steps and how you succeeded. Make note of how your ideas came into being and reached fruition. Completing this analysis will reinforce and strengthen your capabilities immeasurably. No one can give you the incremental acknowledgment of a job well done more than you.

When you have more confidence in your capabilities it will soften your reaction to other’s lack of acknowledgment. Being aware of all your incremental accomplishments will help you recognize that the approval of others is seldom necessary to feel worthy and fulfilled.

When you step back and examine your successes, you gain self-assurance and lessen the need to prove yourself to others. You might have a tendency to work more rigorously when you seek approval from people you admire or are an authority figure. This often times leads to frustration and a sense that in order to get the recognition you deserve you need to jump higher and through more hoops.

When you trust and acknowledge yourself, you will notice that your work is valued based on its merits and that words do not define who you are. It only defines what you have accomplished. Others will respect you for what you do more than when you push hard to gain their admiration. As you acknowledge your incremental accomplishments you will find that seeking approval from others loses its significance.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach, Hypnotherapist, Author, “101 Great Ways To Improve Your Life.” Dr. Dorothy has the unique gift of connecting people with a broad range of profound principles that resonate in the deepest part of their being. She brings awareness to concepts not typically obvious to one’s daily thoughts and feelings.
http://www.drdorothy.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dorothy_M._Neddermeyer,_PhD
http://EzineArticles.com/?Boost-Self-Confidence—Seek-Approval-Within&id=2267685

Create a New Self Image – Expand Your Life

Guest Contributor — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 12:43:22 +0000

By Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD -

Everyone has an image of themselves. That image is what people form their perception of you. Your image of yourself is how people will treat you, because you teach them how to treat you by your beliefs and actions. Your image of yourself is a compilation of your indoctrination, adaptations and experiences.

In order to bring a greater vision into your life, your image of yourself needs to become larger than it is now. You can no longer view yourself and your universe as limited or scarce. You need to see yourself and your universe as limitless and abundant. You can only bring into being that which you believe you deserve.

What do you deserve? Make a list of all the things you deserve. Unless and until you believe, without doubt, that you deserve them, your ability to create them will allude you. Unless you root out the belief of undeserving, positive thinking is for naught.

Building an image of a higher possibility can be tricky. There are a myriad of indoctrinations you believe to be true. Such as: Girls aren’t good in math. The sky is the limit for boys. Girls need to be conservative. Attractive men are more successful. Beautiful women are sought after in business and social circles.

While these general indoctrinations are less prominent for Generation X (1965 – 1980) and Generation Y also known as the Millennials, (1981 – 2001) the stereo type is none-the-less alive, albeit the negative indoctrinations were instilled in different ways.

When you become one with your desires – believing that you deserve – the image of yourself and your life expands to bring in what you desire. This is scientific, it is the Law of Abundance and Attraction, popularized by ‘The Secret.’ It is immutable and it works.

This moment is the first moment of the rest of your life, become one with your desires – believe that you deserve what you desire. As you believe you deserve what you desire, your image of yourself and your life expands.

Enjoy the journey of rooting out false beliefs, bringing in new beliefs and expanding your self image and life.

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach – Certified Hypnosis Practitioner, Author and Speaker. Dr. Dorothy facilitates clearing the blocks, fears and limiting beliefs, then, you can live the life you deisre. She brings awareness to concepts not typically obvious to one’s daily thoughts and feelings. http://www.drdorothy.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dorothy_M._Neddermeyer,_PhD
http://EzineArticles.com/?Create-a-New-Self-Image—Expand-Your-Life&id=4651532

Make My Dreams Come True – 5 Things You Can Do Right Now to Move Towards What You Want!

Guest Contributor — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 14:04:50 +0000

By Richard Paul Norton -

Dreams become reality – that is an absolute truth of our life which I can verify from my own rags to riches story. My life is full of things right now which were ones just dreams in my mind. In this article I will write some simple steps you can take right now to put the process into action for making your dreams come true. You will most likely require focus, time, energy, and persistence at some point on your path, but here I will offer purely the beginning of your journey to turn your fantasy into reality.

1. Determine exactly what it is that you deeply desire – what dream you want to come true.

Many people out there are pursuing someone else’s dream and they don’t even realise it. If you want to make your dreams come true, you must first have an extremely accurate and definite idea of what your dream is.

This means that:

* You are absolutely certain that this is what you want – no changing your mind later.
* You are as specific as possible about what it is that you want. You don’t want to “be wealthy”, you want to, for example, “make $50k in the next 6 months by selling used cars.” Be specific and as definite as possible about your dream!

If it helps, start writing down the details of your dream. Tweak it until you know in your core that this is exactly the thing you want.

2. Energize your idea – visualize it as realistically and emphatically as possible.

Once you have a pin-point idea of your dream you must empower it. Energizing at idea is the pre-requisite to having something you are motivated about. Anything in your life which you are motivated about you will have an energized concept of in your head – this is the way the human mind works.

How do you energize your idea?

Hold the idea in your mind and make it as vivid and realistic as possible. If the image of yourself, and there definitely should be an image of yourself in there, is a third person image then you should “drop into” the image so that you take a first-person perspective of yourself.

You must focus as much as possible and inject vivid and active energy into this idea. If you’re charging your dream correctly then you will begin to feel emotions in response to this process. I have wrote articles detailing this process on my website given below.

3. Take action, and be courageous when your dream calls for it.

You must begin to take action – sooner rather than later. That means you should physically and realistically be doing things to move closer to your goal. If you need to make a plan, then make a plan.

Occasionally these actions will call for a great degree of courage, that’s to be expected – after all you are changing your life. That means you will be expanding your comfort zone.

These actions which require courage are the most important to take. If you are struggling, return to step 1 and 2 – ensure you definitely want this thing, and energize it more strongly.

4. Surround yourself with things congruent with your desired reality.

Don’t make things any harder than you have to – surround yourself with things and people that enforce your dream into your reality. If you are dreaming about one day buying and living in a log cabin on the beach, get a picture of one, put it on your wall. Start bookmarking web-sites where you can purchase land or property by the beach.

This may sound insane, but it’s not. This is part of your reality transition. You must begin taking these steps if you want your dream to come true!

Find people who are conductive to your idea, and tell them about it. If this means making new friends, then get out there and do it. Anyone who causes abrasion against your idea – ask them to start being supportive or cut them off. They will do nothing but hinder you. Is this harsh? Perhaps. But how much do you really want this?

5. Remain focused, decisive, and persistent – don’t sway from your path.

You will be tested on your path towards making your dream come true. You must remain focused. Don’t keep changing your mind about what you want or what to do. If you do that, you end up with the other 98% of the people on the planet who are wandering around without a clue. If you want to realise your dream then you must remain focused on it without completely changing your mind about what you want every few days – this highlights the absolute importance of step 1!

…and that should give you a good base to start from! I regularly write articles on this and similar topics with which I am thoroughly experienced on my website given below. Desire, energize, take action, surround yourself, and persist and you will make your dreams come true!

The Real Mind – learn how to achieve your most extravagant dreams and deepest desires!

Richard Norton is an expert on self-development and life improvement techniques well known for his commitment, dedication, and honesty. He regularly writes articles only at The Real Mind.

Here you can read his full detailed article on becomming intensely drive.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Richard_Paul_Norton

Monday of Thanksgiving Week

ireneconlan — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:11:30 +0000

By Irene Conlan -

My table is piled high with the things that are for Thanksgiving dinner. I have a tiny kitchen and there isn’t a lot of storage space, so the table catches the overflow – brown sugar, yams, walnuts, several packages of cranberries which will be prepared today, stuffing mix (no, I’m not a purest who has to bake my own bread and let it grow stale for stuffing). The turkey is supposedly thawing in the refrigerator but it still is like a brick and I’m wondering if it will be even close to thawed by Thursday morning. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

It’s easy to get caught up in the busyiness of preparing a feast for a large number of people – our three will expand to ten or so – we never know for sure until the final count just before we sit down to eat. It’s easy to think this is a day about having too much food followed by indigestion and football.

Essentially, Thanksgiving is a day to give thanks for the harvest. The crops have been gathered, winter has set in, and it’s time to rejoice that we have food for a hard cold winter coming up. ( I live in Scottsdale, AZ so we don’t ever have a hard winter coming up but bear with me here).With a supermarket a block away from our house gathering the harvest isn’t a concern for us but being thankful is still as important as it was back in the days of the pilgrims.

We take so much for granted. We forget the people who plant, care for and harvest the food and the ones who transport it to the stores and stock the shelves. We expect food to be available in large quantities and vast varieties without questioning how it got there or the labor that was required to make it happen.

We forget that we are blessed beyond belief.

We forget that there are people, probably in our own neighborhood, who, because of the recession do not have money for enough food right now.

Thanksgiving is a time for remembering how blessed we are, what an abundance we have.

It is also a time to share.

Finding Abundance When Chronically Ill – Getting the Help You Need

Guest Contributor — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 18:38:12 +0000

By Diana T. De Avila

Pain and chronic illness make it difficult to practice attitudes of abundance since gratitude is one of the hallmarks of attracting abundance. I can tell you this, it is hard to feel grateful when my own body feels racked with pain or fatigue. This article is not about telling you that some fairy dust or magic cure is going to come down and make everything “ok” – because life doesn’t work that way. I am writing this article from a personal perspective and wanted to share some of the things that have worked for me and continue to work.

Prayer and meditation:

Whatever this means for you. If you are Roman Catholic, you might have a favorite saint. If you are an Evangelical Christian, you might want to go straight to the feet of Jesus. If you believe in a higher power or a higher self, find your way there and try to quiet the struggles that you feel raging inside yourself. Struggles are divided when they are shared with the universe. Let the universe know you are having a difficult time. Be honest, be real. Scream, cry and emote. It is ok to do those things. Don’t be afraid to express your true feelings.

Work with your Doctors:

If you are dealing with chronic illness, you most likely have a medical team that can assist you with your pain, depression, anxiety or whatever else is ailing you. Work with them. Express your struggles clearly (write them down in case you forget). Cooperate with your doctors and do your part by complying with their orders. Your medical team is there for YOU, don’t forget that!

Taking medication is ok:

Taking pain or mood stabilizing medication is not a sign of weakness. It’s a sign that you are taking care of yourself and dealing with your reality in the moment. Take your prescribed medication and find the relief you deserve so that you can attract more abundance into your life.

These are three very common-sense approaches that can help to quiet some of the difficulties encountered with being chronically ill The fact is, pain can overtake your life as can depression and anxiety. These are common denominators in all types of chronic illnesses from Multiple Sclerosis, Fibromyalgia, Arthritis, Depression, and PTSD, etc. You are not alone. There are means to help you find relief. Use them and start to feel more abundance in your life.

Diana de Avila, is a woman with Multiple Sclerosis who received her MS.Ed degree and has been trained as a psychologist. She also spent 7 years in religious life. Blending all of her worlds, she has written her first eBook on the topic of the Power of Attraction which can be found at http://www.AttractingAbundanceNow.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Diana_T._De_Avila http://EzineArticles.com/?Finding-Abundance-When-Chronically-Ill—Getting-the-Help-You-Need&id=1473861

The Supermarket and Self Improvement

ireneconlan — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:43:59 +0000

It was imperative that I go to the grocery store today. The dog was out of food. The cat was out of food. And neither my son nor I wanted anything that we found in the refrigerator or pantry. I could have found something for me if I was desperate but I wasn’t desperate yet. It’s better to go to the store for cat food than listen to her mournful meow.

The store for me this morning was a wonder of appreciation. I’ve shopped for so many years that I forget to notice. I generally get my cart and go to the aisles that have the items I want, fill my basket, check out and go home to put everything away. For most of that I am on automatic pilot, basically unconscious to what I’m doing and seeing. I focus on specials and my list and get out of there as fast as I can.

Today was different. This morning I was astonished at what is available to me. I was amazed at the wealth of goods surrounding me - not just the food but all the items – the aisles of beautifully packaged cosmetics and bath accessories, the food for animals, the toys for children, light bulbs and tools to work with at home, socks and underwear, wonderful things to drink, a meat counter filled with jumbo shrimp, salmon, chicken, steaks – you name it – all I had to do was tell the butcher what I wanted and it was mine. Wonderful fresh vegetables, cakes, pies, cookies and a deli bursting with food ready to be served and enjoyed. There were aisles of ice cream and frozen deserts, foods prepared and ready to defrost, cook and eat. It was an abundance of abundance. I go there every week, sometimes two or three times during the week, and I hadn’t thought of it as a display of abundance. But that’s what it is.

Oh, I know you’re probably thinking, “But you have to have money to pay for all of that.” Yes, and sometimes money is tight. But it’s available. I am keenly aware that there are countries that don’t have anything like this available. Even if a person had the money there is nothing like this available to them. They can’t find it.

I came home still in a state of appreciation and as I look around, I see one thing after another to appreciate and be grateful for. I am so very blessed in so many ways.

My intention is to stay conscious at least for today – seeing the abundance and beauty all around me, appreciating it, being thankful for the farmers who grew the food, for the people who worked to get it to me, for the people who work in the store or were in any way involved. If I can stay conscious today, maybe I can do it again tomorrow. There is great joy in living consciously rather than on remote control.

What about you? Are you fully conscious during any part of your day? What do you appreciate? Look around you. Doesn’t self improvement involved being aware and appreciating the abundance beauty you find all around you?

The Self Improvement Blog » abundance

How To Live A Life Of Joy

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Monday of Thanksgiving Week

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