I looked over at him and thought to myself, "Wow! You're so right".

In an instant he had clinched many of our problems from a simple game, while several of us struggle to reach pinnacle and fall short of our dreams.

Isn't it amazing that sometimes no matter how hard we try, it seems that we're always trying to lose instead of striving to win? It's like reaching a weight loss plateau and having no idea how we're going to get rid of those last 5 lbs.

I'm sure you've experienced this or know someone who has, for example, can't seem to earn more than a certain amount of money, who can't seem to lose more than a certain amount of weight, who can't seem to pass an important exam no matter how many times they've taken it.

We're trying to succeed and do best we can but something is holding us back.

Are we trying too hard?

Are we afraid of something?

Why does this happen to us? My friends allow me let you into a little secret about ourselves, if it's okay with you.

Our minds are so conditioned to understand, accept and appreciate only what we know.

It knows that we earn a certain amount each year and no more. It knows that we can lose a certain amount of weight and no more. It knows that we can attain a certain level of success and prosperity and no more.

By Steve Brunkhorst http://AchieveEzine.com

Language is a challenging way to communicate. It allows us to share our thoughts and feelings by describing our personal views of reality.

Yet language is not reality. It is merely a limited system of symbols, signals, sounds, or gestures that belong to a specific culture or group. It only describes a personal map of actual territory. We might have a great message to share. Yet there are other important factors to consider if we want to make our communication effective.

In addition to content of our messages, language conveys feelings. Our voices are colored with emotion and attitude. Add subtle nuances of pitch and loudness, intonation, rate, facial expression and posture. Now we have a complex pattern of behavior with power to influence our listeners.

Without those additional nuances available in writing, selection of words and sentences must do all work. They must be chosen carefully. Whether our messages are spoken or written, job is still unfinished.

Our language must pass through filters of emotion, culture, situational context, and personal beliefs. These filters will influence listener’s perception and interpretation of our message resulting in either acceptance or rejection of our ideas.

1. Emotion: Our listeners may be joyful, anxious, upset, expectant, excited, or in any emotional state. Their emotional state will influence their reaction to our message. An upset individual will not be ready to receive new ideas. On other hand, someone who is looking forward to hearing what we have to say will accept our ideas if we present them well.