NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE
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Are you one of the many who dread getting up in the morning because of the massive workload waiting to be done?

For many of us, there seems to be an endless chain of work to accomplish. Thinking of the long list already drains us, leaving us no energy. Because of this, we need to force and drag ourselves to leave our comfortable beds.

The mere act of getting out of bed is tough enough for some of us. The same thing is true when we have to go to the gym for a workout. We literally have to drag our bodies; but once we’re there and start doing our much-needed exercises, everything seems to be easier and enjoyable to do.

It is similar to a cart with heavy load. The initial push requires greater energy; but once the wheels start to roll, less effort is required. So, what do we have to do to get our wheels rolling? How do we get that energy to get the work done?

Visualize the end result. Stephen Covey, author of the best-selling book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says, “Begin with the end in mind.” Focus your attention on the end result. Think of the benefits, advantages, and conveniences the end result will bring. Beautiful thoughts can provide a boost in energy to get us started.

Imagine a piece of rope; it has two ends. One end has a tag that says it is difficult to start. The other end has a tag that lists benefits to be gained after going through the entire length of the rope. The list of benefits should be enough to entice us to get the work done. If we keep on reading the tag that says it is difficult, we may never get started.

Again, let us picture ourselves in the morning struggling with the thought of going to the gym for a workout. The more we think of difficult routines we have to do in the gym, the more stressed we feel!

Let us reverse this thinking and focus on the thought of having fit and slim bodies, no bulging bellies, great looking abs, well-toned muscles, and how great we look in well fitting clothes. The mere thought motivates us to go to the gym. Perhaps, we may even go overtime on our workouts.

Think of the worst-case scenario if you will not do what needs to be done. Think what will happen if we decide not to go to the gym and give way to laziness. If we don’t go to the gym, we get bulging bellies, we could hardly see our toes, instead of abs there are flabs, and oh, do not forget those gravity-obedient muscles! All these images should want us to change our mind to get dressed and head to the gym pronto!

Live a healthy lifestyle. Our bodies use energy to digest food. Stuffing our bodies with complex foods leaves us with no energy to undertake other chores. Do you feel sluggish or sleepy after a heavy meal? That’s because our energies have dipped after digesting what we have eaten.

Once we get used to healthy lifestyles, everything will come with the least effort. Maintain the healthy habit of eating the right food and take time to rest to be able to recharge. Remember, though the body is often times described as a machine, we are not like that energizer rabbit that keeps going and going and going …

Think of the rewards of having an energetic lifestyle. By being energetic, our physical body stands to gain. But more than this, our emotional being is the biggest beneficiary. When we are full of energy, we gain abundant vitality. With vitality, we become more enthusiastic about life. An enthusiastic attitude leads to a happy life, which is what we are all aspiring for.

So, when we dread waking up and feel sluggish, try the four techniques to overcome the heavy feeling. It may take some convincing and practice to make a turnaround, but you can start now!

Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It is a requisite part of growth, stimulation and any compromising situation. Too much of it, it however, can short circuit your system and drive you haywire. If you are constantly under stress, without giving your body time for respite, your body will certainly break down.

Decision making is one of the primary stressors in life. However, you can’t really live a life without decisions, can’t you? Every day you make choices, and these choices translate into stresses that cannot be avoided. They can only be mitigated or handled appropriately.

No matter how hard we try, turning decisions into riskless and stressless activities would be an exercise in futility. The best thing we can do is handle the decision making process in a way that that is as healthy as possible. Here are a few things to remember when you have to make a pretty tight decision.

1. Assess the Situation. Hard decisions entail extra stress primarily because we tend to worry too much about things we cannot control. And worse than that, we sometimes fail to understand what type of situation we are actually in.

To handle such situations properly, you should carefully and calmly assess the situation before making a choice. If this means that you have to step back, take a few breaths, and relax a bit before plunging back into the action, then do so. You will find that this technique works wonders for the stressed mind.

2. Unnecessary Worry. As mentioned earlier, we have a tendency to worry about things we cannot control. This is where acceptance and proper mindset come in. While thinking about something only shows that you care, it also releases a flood of emotions that could only cloud your decision making abilities.

The best thing you have on your side is a rational mind. This is negated if you give in to unnecessary worrying. So it is best if you calmly work on the decision, taking the consequences and risks as objectively as possible.

3. Be Aware of the Consequences. Every decision has its consequences and its risks. A primary reason for decision making stress is that we tend to be overly optimistic or pessimistic, expecting something to happen and then banking all our hopes on those thoughts.

It would be better if you instead make a table of risks and rewards for each decision, and accept the outcome of the risks as part of the dangers of the decision making process. Life is like a gambit, you can’t always win, but you can always learn from it.

4. Take Time Off. As said earlier, stress is a precursor to growth and change. But if you don’t get enough rest in between stressors, you risk your mental and physical health. That is why it is very important for individuals that need to make big decisions – especially those that do so on a regular basis like bosses and managers – to take regular breaks.

They should take time off to relax, indulge in healthy recreation, and allow their minds and bodies to recuperate from the stress.

5. Preparation. A lot of unwanted stress could be avoided if only people were a lot more prepared to make their decisions. A little research and study on the nature of the decision would go a long way towards making each decision as sure and as stress-free as possible.

Conclusion

While you can’t avoid it, you can at least live with it. Don’t let stress get the better of you. Aim to keep it under control by making smarter decisions and by handling it in the right way.

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Greg is a CEO of a small company in Pennsylvania. This man started the company somewhere in college and has developed it into an enterprise that is exporting goods to other countries.

One day, a former classmate from Penn State decided to call and ask the man to become the speaker of a small seminar on entrepreneurship back at the old campus.

Feeling honored about being given the opportunity, Greg sat down and started thinking about what to say to these people. The message should be clear and concise. “I will share my experience,” he thought. This will make the audience understand that his journey to the top was tough and there were a lot of setbacks.

Giving a motivational or inspirational message to people is like selling a product. The audience has to be convinced that if Greg was able to succeed, so can other people.

To make sure that Greg will be able to give a truly inspiration talk, he should make an outline. This should start with an introduction of the entrepreneur as a student who later on built a company. The main body should describe the details, such as the successes and the failures that became his lessons in life.

The end of the talk should focus on the things that are being anticipated and hoped for in the future. This will make people believe that having a business isn’t easy since one has to be always on the competitive edge.

The audience will really appreciate it if there’s an open forum after the talk. These people can ask certain questions which need more explanation. This can provide solutions to those having a hard time with an existing business.

After his speech, Greg will be able to know if his talk was effective if the audience will be given an evaluation sheet to be filled on the way out. This will give people like Greg a gauge on how effective the session was.

If people found it boring, then Greg should probably change a few things so that next time, the audience will feel inspired afterwards. Should the participants love it, this is a different story.

Greg has found a niche that can be used again to also motivate and inspire more people to work hard and be successful in life.

There are many ways for a person to spread the good word to others who need a little push. He can advertise the services to companies and other organizations that would like to get the help he can provide.

The individual can also write a book and then have this published. There are a lot of CEOs’ that have done this and the lessons learned are also applied and studied in business schools across the country.

Some people may not even have to write a book. The individual can also write the success story in a website which people can look for by making sure this is one of the popular ones that will pop out in one of the search engines.

Greg’s evaluation for the talk was very good. The friend who worked in campus asked if this could be done again. Greg didn’t know he has this talent inside. The lessons he learned can be shared to other people. This will inspire and motivate others who are probably thinking of giving up on their journey to success.

# # # # #

Happiness and success are two concepts intertwined with one another. These are two of the most important ingredients that would eventually define a person’s life.

If one would think about it, happiness and success are two things that are relative to a person’s point of view since these are dependent on one’s ideologies. Happiness and success relate to a target or reference point.

A person may say that he is happy because he just finished his studies or he just met a fine woman. A person may say he is successful because he was just promoted to a higher position. When one talks about happiness and success, a certain goal or perhaps an achievement is always the reference point.

A person will constantly ask himself if he is happy or if he can consider himself successful. Many people become depressed because they cannot seem to make sense of all the things that are happening in their lives. The most important thing to remember, when evaluating one’s happiness and success, is that people need to limit their assessment using their own personal standards.

Often times, depression comes about because people rely so much on the expectations of others. Have you heard college students who don’t do as well as they could because they don’t like the course which they are in? They say that they don’t really like the course because they were just forced by their parents or they had to take it for some other reason than because they liked it. Professionals also experience this kind of depression. Oftentimes, the workplace becomes a battleground wherein people live their lives according to the expectations of other people.

Again, happiness and success depend on one’s own views. Let us look at a musician’s point of view regarding happiness and success. A musician would love nothing more than to create music that comes from his soul. Depending on his ideologies regarding music, he can say that he is successful and happy with what he is doing.

A true musician wouldn’t care less if his records sold millions or not, as long as his music stays true to its original intentions when the records were made. A musician can also look at happiness and success in terms of the number of people who patronize his music, if he truly believes that music is nothing if no one hears and appreciates it. It really depends on one’s ideologies.

The only thing that we can infer from these two concepts is that these are mutually intertwined. One can say that success brings happiness and happiness is an essential ingredient towards success (i.e. Being happy with one’s work will bring beautiful fruits of labor).

Happiness and success are two things that all people aspire for in life. There can never be a single definition for both of these concepts. Even dictionaries wouldn’t dare give exact definitions for these words.

Perhaps, only the human heart can define these concepts. You will know when you are happy or when you can call yourself successful if your heart says so.

This is why the heart should always be consulted when making important decisions in life. Yes, of course, this is just a metaphor but we all know that the heart speaks reasons that the mind can never comprehend.

"Self Esteem and How to be Happy with Yourself " by Karl Perera

Are you happy with yourself - with who you are and what you are doing? If you want high self esteem this is very important. Here's what you need to be happy with yourself:

a) Don't compete with others. Life is not a race. Set your own standards and try to reach them, don't be scared to fail and accept your own limitations. Competing with others will drain you and will take away your self esteem because there will always be someone better than you. Decide on your path and stick to it.

b) Understand yourself. Know your strengths and weaknesses. Use your skills and do your best. You will find satisfaction when you are doing what you are good at and when you accept your weaknesses. Chances are you will also be more successful this way. Try to improve yourself but don't waste effort and time on those things which are not for you. Accept your best as good enough.

c) Focus on your achievements no matter how small. Try to achieve more but don't tire yourself out on things which don't truly matter to you. Focus on what is really important for you. When you know what you want to achieve then set goals (small steps) and reward yourself when you achieve each step. Nobody gets there in one giant leap it takes time and effort to achieve anything worth while.

d) Always try your best and you will be happy with yourself.

e) Be happy with your life as it is! Look for the things that are right and take satisfaction in those. Be thankful for all the good things you have been given. Try to improve your life yes but be realistic about where you are and where you want to go.

f) You can't do it all. Don't try to. The best you can do is to use your skills and abilities as best you can and trust that everything will work out. Life is short and we have to choose what we can achieve and how we want to live. Choose wisely but have faith in others and in anything you believe in

g) If you have faith use it. Faith in God is very helpful to many of us. Religion teaches us our importance as people but also reminds us we need help from above to achieve anything real. Always hold on to your beliefs and values and don't betray them or you will hurt inside.

h) Finally enjoy your life for the gift it is. Experience and give love. Don't drive yourself so hard you no longer enjoy life or see the goal you set yourself. First think about your health and allow yourself time to reflect and quieten down each day.

I hope you enjoyed this brief article - Karl Perera

Stretch Yourself
Author: Eithne Egan

For me, the beginning of Fall is a great time to re-examine my goals and spend a little time on myself. With my son heading back at school, I am looking forward to having an opportunity to stretch myself a little beyond my comfort zone and try to accomplish something new. I'm sure this will resonate for many moms. Mothering can sometimes get us stuck in a rut and it's nice have some aspirations that can be met with just a little bit of effort and creativity. This can go a long way towards boosting our self-esteem and creating a bit more balance in our lives.

Often our kids are our best teachers here. They fearlessly approach new milestones, never worrying about failure. My son recently learned to dress himself at the grand old age of three and half (delays in self-care skills are common in kids with autism). Now he is having great fun dragging clothes out of the laundry basket and putting the most outlandish outfits together.

This is something quite simple that has brought him a lot of joy (and me too!) and has given him a new sense of confidence and empowerment. So if a three-year old can do it, why not you?

I'll give you a personal story of something I recently experienced and how I went about setting myself some new goals to stretch myself a bit. For background, I am a single mom with a child with special needs. I had been spending a lot of time with my son and had started to feel exhausted and stuck in a rut. I felt she was doing things the same way I had always done them, and somehow it just wasn't working anymore. So I decided to try a few things to test my courage and see what happened. I made a list of a few goals that I could accomplish quickly:

1. Accept an offer of babysitting from my child's teacher 2.

Arrange to meet a woman I had recently connected with (but didn't know very well) at my son's therapy group 3. Tell someone I loved how I was really feeling

These goals were actually not as small as they might seem from the outside. I deliberately chose these things because they required me to do something I would not ordinarily do - ask for help. Sound familiar, anyone? These seemingly simple actions actually helped me achieve a number of important things. By reaching out and accepting help I was taking small but significant steps towards improving my support system, making some time for fun, and testing my confidence. I accomplished all three goals and having done so, realized something significant.

I realized that I had a very strong belief that was really holding me back: "I can do it on my own." This belief had served me very well during my divorce. The prospect of raising a special needs child alone was daunting, and I needed to believe that I could handle the demands ahead of me on my own, as a single parent. It gave me the courage I needed to move forward, and move forward I did. But now this belief was holding me back and preventing me from creating more joy in my life. This realization gave me the awareness and power I needed to experience something different in my life, and it came simply from the desire to stretch myself a little.

You can see how a very simple exercise can bring you invaluable insights that can be an essential part of your self-care. It's also a helpful way to identify old limiting beliefs that may be holding you back. I hope you'll try this, and I'd love to find out what you learned.

The Essence Exercise

1. Identify an area in your life where you are feeling bored or

unhappy. 2. Set yourself at least one simple goal that you think

might help you move beyond the current state of affairs.

Remember, it can be something very simple, but it should be something that requires you to stretch a little beyond your comfort zone. For example, I reached out for help at a time when I was feeling stressed and overwhelmed - a relatively easy task

- but not easy for me because of my closely-held belief that I

needed to be able to cope on my own. 3. Once you've completed

your task, spend some time contemplating what you've learned.

How did you feel? What opportunities have opened up as a result?

Can you identify any limiting beliefs that you could work on

letting go of because of this activity? 4. Repeat, repeat,

repeat... It's really important that we constantly challenge ourselves in small ways. You don't have to go bungee-jumping or run a marathon (unless you want to, and then by all means, go ahead!), but it can be really helpful to continue to test our boundaries in small ways on a regular basis. By doing this, you're inviting new energy and possibility into your life. For moms, this is really essential as we can often become so absorbed with our kids that we can easily forget to pay a little attention to our own personal growth as women.

THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF FAILURE

Failure is a Monster in the lore of human kind. It’s the grand "ogre" that can bring about frustration and eat at the soul. Another thing failure is: AN OPEN GATE, and a new horizon. There is no such thing as failure.

We’re dropped on this planet with our own particular passion and fire. For some it rages and pushes us on towards heights unimaginable. We are driven to accomplish , to seek, to explore, and to somehow “birth” that mighty fire that burns within our hallowed walls. Freud, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, Renoir, Van Gogh, John Coletrane, Debussy, etc. Each on their rocket ship being propelled by the ego, and the firing of nerve synapses through the human experience at the speed of sound, accomplishment, and the thirst for applause and achievement.

Hitting the wall and making mistakes provides us with invaluable lessons. Playing a guitar, driving a tractor, planting seed, painting a picture, etc. blooms best from error. Failing is a great teacher. It’s Gods force of nature moulding us like clay. BUT, this is a little different. Clay is the perfect disciple or student. Clay has no part in making the DECISION to become what it will be. It completely surrenders to the artist who moulds it into form and reality. Man, on the other hand, has choice. Failure offers to mould us. It is a co-op between Man, God, and destiny. An artist, craftsman, or worker, can use life experience (Failure) as an interplay toward growth and learning. Get up, and have at it AGAIN!. Those who have had a completely smooth ride may not have had the opportunity to test themselves. *Those who do not choose to bend and flex with failure, are missing the opportunity to paint w/ nature and circumstance. They are saying “no” when God asks them to dance and adjust. They are denying an opportunity to seek out a different perspective. They are saying no when God asks them to learn from mistakes and become better at what they do. We are too busy reacting - we are not listening.

There are problems associated with failure to be sure. Perhaps the first mistake is the inability to see failure as a lesson. Instead we see it as defeat. We see it as natures way of telling us, we are NEVER going to be good enough. Defeat can also trigger laziness. After all, if I didn’t get it the first few times, why bother? I’ll NEVER be able to get it - AND here is the kicker - “I ONLY WANT TO DO THIS (Play guitar, paint a picture, etc), IF I AM GUARANTEED TO GET A RESULT”.

Well, there are no guarantees, your technique will surpass Bela Fleck, Eddie Van Halen , or Izaak Perlman. There are no guarantees that you will sell a million albums. Hell, there are no guarantees you will sell a CD to anyone other than your family and friends. Here is where you can challenge yourself to the “purity of action.” That is, that you do what you do out of love. Love is free. Many years ago The Beatles sang “you can’t buy me love”... and it's true. Love simply is. Love is a gift. Love is being, and doing. It is becoming a part of the process of your life in action. If good musicianship were defined by the amount of pleasure or love you derive from the process, I know a lot of very poor players that are better musicians than highly skilled professionals. Their honesty and love of creation may speak more loudly than virtuosic flair.

Perhaps our most noble goal is do the best we can, and use failure as a teacher. Failure must fill our sails toward a destination, not render them impotent, windless, and unable to reach our shore. Perhaps the more noble goal is honesty and humility - to accept your abilities (Also called "limitations".), and do the best you can with them. AND, maybe those so called “limitations” help you to make a decision that makes your work or art, unique and fresh. You may not be the fastest guitar player in the world, but that doesn’t negate your right to speak. Creating a connection to an audience, or fellow man, doesn’t have to rely technical virtuosity. It relies on an honest level of communicating between the creator, and listener. It depends on the intension and connection of your heart, soul, and passion. Your work may not have sold a million and reached the masses. BUT, you used failure to grow beyond your limitation. You used limitation to paint your picture in a completely unique way. You used your limits to speak with a voice unique and honest to the creative intent of your work. You have used limitation to offer the listener a vision and point of perspective they may not have experienced before. You have grown and succeeded within your intent. You have created for LOVE, not MONEY. And to answer the age old philosophical question, “if a tree falls to the ground deep in the forest, and nobody is there to hear it, does it make a sound?”

Yes.

*There are those for whom things go smoothly and it’s completely right. It’s easy to be a bit envious and resentful of them for not having paid their dues, but this only tends to guide us off coarse. Their life is their life, ours is ours. We have the opportunity to develop the strength to “get back up again” after a fall. We have the opportunity to listen to that crazy “whim” of nature that directs us toward a more intuitive relationship with creation. We have the ability to become better at what we do.

A New Conversation About Dreams

Integrity: The Key to Getting What You Want

By Marcia Wieder
America’s Dream Coach®

The most critical attribute for realizing our dreams is integrity. In a conversation about dreams, integrity is essential and can be summarized this way: Say what you mean and mean what you say. Honor your word and agreements and you will be living with integrity, where dreams really do come true.

Simple, yes, but not always easy. Vastly overscheduled, often the person it’s most difficult to keep our commitments with, is yourself. As you practice upholding your values, you are given opportunities to show up or to sell out. When you are challenged, do you lose sight of what matters to you? Do you have an internal pulse, a set of conscious principles that you live your life by?

If you are committed to a life of joy and abundance, filled with love, generosity and contribution, integrity is a must. Integrity creates trust and accountability. Surrounded by crowds, you can feel lonely if you’re not true to yourself. Without integrity, you can have great wealth and still feel worthless. And lacking integrity, you won’t trust yourself or have faith in your dreams.

When we leave things unresolved or incomplete, we are out of integrity. You can recognize something as incomplete by how you feel about it. Is the matter settled? Do you worry about it? How is it impacting other areas of your life? When you are complete with something you don't even think about it. There is no agitation or energy wasted.

It’s up to you to decide if something is incomplete or not, but it’s difficult to focus on future dreams when you are consumed by your past. Incompletions can be notorious and contagious as one leads to another. Buried under burdensome annoyances we can feel lost, afraid or confused. Take Jake for instance. He didn't pay his taxes for two years. The IRS put a lien on his assets, so he was labelled a bad credit risk. He couldn't buy a house or rent an apartment. Eventually he lost his credit cards. He was caught in a downward spiral that also undermined his confidence and self esteem.

Linda let her parking tickets pile high and never got around to paying them. She became afraid to drive her car because she might get towed. Concerned about driving to work, she eventually lost her job. A small detail led to a bigger concern, which led to an even worse problem.

Carol had a room in her home that she called the "black hole," filled with incomplete items. Since she and her husband were trying to sell their house, she knew it was time to tackle that project. She came up with a list of over one hundred "items to do." They included returning things she had borrowed, writing letters, even mailing back an inexpensive bracelet she had stolen from her local drug store when she was a teenager. It took some time and effort, but with each item she handled, Carol felt lighter and freer. Within a few weeks of completing her list, they easily sold their house. Completion creates freedom.

First Steps

This powerful process of exploring what’s been left unsaid, undone or incomplete in your life is one of the most awesome things you can do to free yourself and have more access to your dreams. If undertaken to the best of your ability, this may be the most profound thing you have ever done.

Look at all these important areas and use this formula as a guide to scrutinize your life. The areas to explore (but are not limited to) include your body, mind, home, work, finance, and people (living and dead).

1. Write down what you feel incomplete about with anyone or anything.
2. List what you need to do to complete it.
3. Complete as many items as possible.

How do you complete something? You may need to write a letter or make a phone call. You may need to forgive someone or just declare "it's over." On some items, you might need to create a project plan or you might not even know yet. Just do your best to get rid of anything that is weighing you down.

Removing clutter will give you greater clarity and energy for the things that are important to you. As you complete what you can, feelings of pride, accomplishment, and peace of mind, can motivate you to take on even the tough things. Free to move forward, now you can tap into the flow of life. The more your life is in order, the faster and easier your ability to manifest dreams will become. It's just that simple.

by Jenna Avery, CLC, Life Coach for Sensitive Souls

Have people always called you “too sensitive?” Do you try to hide it, pretend it doesn’t exist, or work around it as much as possible? Many Highly Sensitive Souls believe that our sensitivity makes us weak, weird, or different. Actually, being sensitive makes us highly aware, caring, and perceptive.

For more information, see my article “Are You Highly Sensitive?” at http://www.highlysensitivesouls.com/sensitivesouls.htm.

In the workplace, the gift of sensitivity may feel like a handicap. As Sensitive Souls, we care passionately about our work and it tremendously impacts our well-being. I am a fervent champion of work for Sensitive Souls where we can fully contribute and feel deeply satisfied by our efforts. So how is this possible?

Create Work that Works

Work for Sensitive Souls must feed our minds, hearts, and souls. We must make a contribution that resonates to our core. To do otherwise is to invite despair, confusion, and sorrow. The traditional structure of working culture isn’t always supportive of our needs. So we must create work that works ourselves, whether by creating our own positions or businesses, working in less mainstream positions and companies, or adapting our current jobs to better suit us.

In order to create work that works, I believe that Sensitive Souls can benefit from the following explorations.

1. Tune Into Yourself

A critically important aspect is to know yourself. This may seem obvious, but many Sensitive Souls get lost in the expectations of others and become disconnected from ourselves. When we discover our own passions, values, personality, gifts, and dreams, we steer clearly toward work that supports our true nature.

How do we tune into these magical inner clues? I’m a huge advocate for self-discovery. For example, working with a life coach is a powerful means of accessing the truth of who you are, what you want, and where you want to go. A coach supports you to claim your dreams and discover your talents in a safe space. Additionally, meditation, listening to your intuition, journaling, and personality discovery work are great self-facilitation approaches.

2. Factor In Your Soul

As Sensitive Souls, we require work that is meaningful, intellectually stimulating, and creative. It must be a true calling. One way to think about this is to remember the “meaning factor.” That is, the intangible satisfaction we get from doing work that is important to us. As you contemplate career options, be sure to consider whether the work will be satisfying intellectually and creatively, while also meeting other requirements like income and location. Look for what you are naturally drawn to and excited about as critical clues to what will ultimately be most rewarding. Your passions will guide you to your deepest truth.

3. Create an Ideal Career Checklist

When looking for a job or making a career change, remember to “think outside the box.” Draw on your innate ingenuity. A helpful technique is to develop an Ideal Career checklist. Consider the environment, people, type of work, pay, hours, emotional climate, and intellectual challenge, alongside soul requirements such as your gifts, sensitivity, passions, dreams, and meaning factor. In other words, know what you must have, need, and want. When you know what works for you and what doesn’t, potential jobs are easier to evaluate. You might even consider adapting your current job to meet your ideal!

4. Do Take Your Sensitivity to Work

Your sensitivity is an important part of who you are. It’s one of the unique gifts you bring to work. Your empathy, emotions, creativity, and thoughtfulness are part of your valuable skill set that makes for authentic work relationships, dynamic invention, and compassionate service. One way to use your sensitivity is to share your insights, intuition, and gut responses in meetings and with co-workers. You can also use your sensitivity interpersonally. Take a deep breath, tune in, and ask: “How can I best be of support here?” Let your sensitivity guide you.

5. Support Your Sensitivity and Practice Self-Care

Career transformation challenges Sensitive Souls because standard formulas don’t work well for us, like 40-plus-hour workweeks, commutes, fluorescent lights, and cubicles. We require physically and emotionally supportive environments along with plenty of independence and privacy. In addition, each sensitive person has specific challenges – such as people, noise, or light. It’s important to know which of these are significant for you and to learn how to address them. For example, you might bring in an incandescent lighting source or create a cubicle of plants to define your space. You might also learn protective energy techniques for interpersonal challenges.

And remember: Take great care of yourself both inside and outside work! It’s important to recognize that self-care is a REQUIREMENT for a Sensitive Soul. It is fundamental to making a meaningful contribution to the world. This means making sure to get plenty of sleep, eat well, take time for yourself, and engage in soul nourishing activities like art, gardening, cooking, or being in nature.

6. Get Support

Many of us have been hurt by our prior work experiences. We bring our tender souls with us wherever we go, and transforming our careers can bring up painful emotions. This is a normal part of healing and transforming a career. Sometimes it can be an obstacle to simply know what we want. Be sure to ask for support from friends, coaches, therapists, or career counsellors.

Above all, remember: You are here for a reason. In the words of Woodrow Wilson, “You are here to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, and with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world.”

Use Your Imagination to Create the Self You Want
Gerri D Smith

"Every prayer - every thought, every statement, every feeling -is creative. To the degree that it is fervently held as truth, to that degree will it be made manifest in your experience." -Neale Donald Walsch

In your business and in your personal life, if your mind was a huge, blank sheet of paper, what would you fill the space with? Would you use it to create positive or negative thoughts?

Using your mind as a blank sheet of paper gives you the chance to create new goals, and to reach for new heights. A blank page gives you an important guide that pushes you toward self motivation and inspiration.

You can change your blank page at any time. Your God given imagination is there for your to use to create the business and personal life you want. You can create a new beginning. It's your choice and not anyone else's. You can use it to erase any negative thoughts, feelings, or opinions.

When someone tells you you can't do something, can you separate the fact of their statement from their opinion? Use your imagination to create a better, more useful outcome. Understanding that there is a great distinction between the two may decide your success or failure.

How valuable is their opinion? What is the truth behind the statement? Being able to determine the difference between facts and opinions when you hear them is important. Always consider the cost of having someone else's opinion prevent you from doing something that is not based on facts. Do the facts out-weigh the opinions? Or, are the opinions more important than your desire to be the self you want?

This is like knowing that just because it's raining outside, it doesn't have to be a bad day. One is fact; the other is an opinion. Use this guidance whenever you find yourself hesitating to make a decision in your business or in your personal life.

When someone gives you a negative opinion, you can accomplish more by not getting discouraged. Knowing that an opinion is nothing more than a comment of what, or how, a person feels and believes, is also important. Most of the time, it is not what they know to be true.

Where does imagination come from when you need it? Imagination plays a big part in creating your self-confidence. Try filling your mind with thoughts of not letting other people's negative voices affect your self-confidence. Develop an attitude of not letting their negative opinions or actions destroy your self-esteem.

Another good defense mechanism would be to build up a series of little successes. Even small successes will build the confidence and self esteem that you need for bigger and better successes in your business and your personal life. Then you=re more armed to deflect the negative opinions that come your way.

Imagine yourself succeeding. With the little successes that you accomplish, remember to give yourself credit to feel good about them. Prepare your mind for the bigger successes. Then, build on the confidence and the strength that comes from succeeding.

Use your imagination to succeed and to create the self you want. After all, imagination is the power of the mind to form images - good, bad, or indifferent; positive, loving, or negative; funny, sad, or happy. Which ones do you choose?