1.Develop a relationship with your Higher Power, whatever or whoever you perceive this to be. Faith is priceless when you need it. If you believe that everything happens for a reason it is easier to look for anything good in a negative situation and find a way out of it.

2.Look for blessings in your life every single day. Even bad days have blessings, if you are accustomed to looking for them. Develop “blessing habit” now and you will be able to find them if you find yourself in hard times.

3.Break anger habit. It is a waste of valuable energy to rail against adverse events. Stuff happens. Get over it and move on.

4.Forget “oh woe is me, why me?” mentality. Don’t take everything so personally. The universe has not singled you out for trouble. No one gets out of here without some trouble in his/her life. This is closely connected to:

5.Take responsibility for your own actions. If you are playing blame game, knock it off. It is a total waste of energy and it won’t help you.

Life is a series of individual moments, weaving together as events. You have total control over how you perceive them. If you are in habit of seeing good this will carry you through hard times. Unfortunately we never really know what tomorrow will bring. The time to begin is now.

7. Thou Shall Have Fun: goals won’t do you much good if they just frustrate you and make you feel guilt or a sense of failure. Have fun with them, reward yourself, and when things get tough, take a break and do something novel and entertaining.

8. Thou Shall Believe: many of us set goals we don’t truly believe we can reach. Just think of resolutions you made during New Years. Have you ever followed through on one of those? If your goal is to be healthy and fit, and you can’t imagine being able to exercise every other day and stay away from chocolates, then you have to rework your goal into something believable for you. Otherwise, you’ll only frustrate yourself.

9. Thou Shall Seek Support: most of us hate to admit it, but we often won’t achieve our goals solely on our own. Depending on goal, you may need a professional mentor, a coach, a close friend, or an inspiring book. Don’t always try to achieve your goals alone.

10. Thou Shalt Not Give Up: what if you still don’t achieve your goal? Don’t give up. Maybe you’re concentrating too hard on reaching goal and losing sight of why you set it in first place. Not everyone succeeds by setting goals. If you try above, and they don’t work for you, then try something else. The most important thing is to be passionate and have fun. You’ll get there.

Copyright 2002, Jaime L. Mintun

Ms. Jaime Mintun is founder of transformational growth assistance company, PhoenixFire and author of forthcoming book, "Life Authorship." Her unique Life Authorship techniques and approach to personal growth have earned her a reputation for down to earth, applicable advice given with a bit of spice and what she calls, "FUN Factor."

To reach Ms. Mintun, you may email her at: jmintun@phoenixfirenet.com

Or visit her company's website for free resources, free advice community forums, and more: www.phoenixfirenet.com

Ms. Jaime Mintun is founder of the transformational growth assistance company, PhoenixFire and author. Her unique Life Authorship techniques and approach to personal growth have earned her a reputation for down to earth, applicable advice.