My friend complained  that people kept ordering her around. She’d mix the coffee, do the photocopies, even walk their dogs when she’d rather sleep! Her problem was that she couldn’t assert herself. That turned her into a doormat- something I’m sure some of you endure. (more…)

Do you want to enjoy a new life? Implementing significant changes necessitates a measure of risk. There’s bound to be side effects. Or failures. But if you shy from adversity, you’ll end up a stick in the mud. Status quo will be your middle name.

If you want a change in lifestyle, you must be prepared to pause… and take that leap of faith. Here’s how you can do it.

(more…)

Think about the responsibilities you have lined up for today. How do you feel about them? Depressed? Demotivated? Pressurized? Or perky like a jellybean? If it’s a Monday I’m betting the farm you’d rather stay in bed. Admit it.

There’s a way to get things done with a smile.

(more…)

Powerful people command invincible self-belief and little can strip them of their self-worth. They bounce back again and again. Would you like to feel like this? You wield all that it takes to seize what you want and to coast the triumphs and tribulations that life throws at you. Few enjoy a smooth ride- but imagine how you will feel  if you shortchange yourself by refusing to give opportunities a try?

Want to believe in yourself? (more…)

The quickest way to enhance your circumstances is to change yourself and you have been born with the tools to achieve this.  Realize that when life throws you a curve ball, you face three options: 1) To duck and look for a scapegoat, 2) To be the scapegoat, 3) To react powerfully.

Seeking for and becoming the scapegoat tend to be options of the martyr or victim. While it seems foolish, there are payoffs to this avenue:  to validate low self-esteem, to evade responsibility, to offload blame on others, to avoid rocking the boat, to minimize risk. (more…)

It can be annoying to walk into a store and have the clerk serve you last. Or to walk into an elevator and have people bump into you like you were a ghost. And everyone’s pet peeve:  feeling that the waiter’s ignoring you. If you suffer from this it means, people don’t respect you. There’s a way to change all that in a flash.

(more…)

Being nice is nice. It gives you a warm glow inside helping out your fellow man. Sometimes, however, you feel that you’re too nice. A friend calls you, asks a favor, and despite the pile up of obligations, you say yes. Of course, it was nice that you came to his rescue, but you feel depressed that you failed to stand up for yourself.  So, when is the right time to say no to someone? How do you know what moment to assert yourself?

(more…)

Know what holds most people from true success? It’s coz they live a life of Somedays….

Do these musings sound familiar?

“Someday, I’ll be rich…”
“Someday, I’ll find the right one…”
“Someday, I’ll start that business…”

Geez! If you think like that, Someday will never happen. You’ll push ‘it’ so far into the future that you’ll be dead before anything happens.

There’s just one way out. Next time you say “Someday”, replace it with “TODAY. ”

Then magic will really begin.

There is one critical set of strategies required to speed you on your way to the achievement of your objectives and goals and hence the acquisition of your dreams: your Daily Activities Lists. The activities list is your prioritized itinerary. Line by line it illustrates what you intend to achieve during the current day and up to the end of the month.

Consider that there is no limit to the laundry list of activities which you can choose to delegate your time. Therefore, there will rarely be a day during your life when you feel “tied up.” Think back. Can you ever recall a day when you felt that you had accomplished all the things you needed to do and would like to have done? I definitely cannot remember one. However, what’s key is not that everything gets done during a chosen day, but that the activities that are most vital to the achievement of your dreams have been concluded on a schedule set by you. To feel good about how you utilize time does not require being hectic every moment, or regularly playing “catch-up.” Positive feelings and the mental rewards coupled with real accomplishments are fashioned through effectiveness, since only effectiveness creates results. (more…)

Discover the Magic of Positive Focusing

There is a fallacy that to hit our goal we ought to “think positive” all the time. No, we need not “think positive” 24/7. We don’t even have to imagine positively all the time. To triumph - to fulfill our personal quests - all we have to do is keep focused on our aspirations and keep moving to it.

Let’s say person X, person Y and person Z all set out for the same objective. They commence at the same place simultaneously. Person X is a positive thinker, person Y is a positive focuser, person Z is both a positive thinker and a positive, rabid focuser.

At the “Go,” person X decides to sit down and do a little positive thinking to help prepare for the journey. Person Y focuses on the goal and gets moving. Person Z gets moving, too.

Person X observes an area of unpositiveness within, and continues to sit, working hard to remove the “darkness” before initiating on the journey. Person Y does not like the road, hates the rules, dislikes the weather, abhors the planned lunch, etc., but keeps chugging toward the goal nonetheless. Person Z keeps fighting, too, while relishing the flowers, waving at travellers, singing, and thinking what good exercise all this movement is. (more…)