Personal Improvement - A Broad PerspectiveWritten by Jem Bacchus
Most of us have heard term personal improvement, but what does it really mean to us? Reference to this term seems to be confined to factors pertaining to such abstract terms as, emotions, success, mind, goal setting, health, and other such words; but not much is said about other factors that help to bring about positive development in a person's life. I say 'positive' development because I must stress difference in meaning of words improvement and development. These two words are not really synonymous and cannot generally be used interchangeably. Something can develop from a good state into a bad one, or from a bad state into a good one; whereas nothing can ever improve from bad to worse! At this point I must mention that there is also a difference between terms self improvement and personal improvement. Self improvement is personally enhancing your self; for example, your health, appearance, education, and such like; whereas personal improvement goes deeper than that. It embodies all of self improvement as well as benefits gained from your personal possessions, belongings, and involvement which contribute to your well being and upliftment, thereby enhancing your personal life. While personal improvement can aptly be defined by abstract words mentioned above, and others such as, stress, inspiration, education, time managment, to name a few more, I view it from a broader perspective. According to Dictionary, adjective 'personal' means "concerning or affecting a particular person or his or her private life and personality"; and word 'improvement' means "a change for better." From foregoing, when these two words are put together, they can only mean effect that anything has on a person's life and personality in a postive manner; in other words, term covers anything under sun that can affect a person so as to bring about a change for better in that person's life. Hence, I feel that meaning also encompasses your livelihood, possessions, encounters, surroundings, lifestyle, actions, and all other areas in which you may be personally involved; for, as long as you are able to attach a personal possessive adjective such as 'my' appropriately to anything, ownership is suggested; that object becomes personal to you and some measure of benefit is, or could be, derived. One might ask, "What does my work at home business, real estate, or electronics, etc., have to do with my personal improvement?" Think about it. Do you expect to improve your lifestyle by getting involved in any of these or any other business for that matter? If you do, then you do expect some profit or personal benefit for your efforts. You work, obtain money, purchase whatever you wish - maybe a place of residence - and furnish it with whatever you desire so that you may enjoy rewards of your labor. Now, can that property have experience of being owned by you or anyone else? It cannot care who lives in it, whether you pay for it or not, whether it is equipped with electricity, whether it has a roof or floor; it cannot enjoy good things of life; it is never happy or sad. Why?
| | Time Management Made EasyWritten by Lynne Kaska
Time Management Made EasyIn today’s world, time is a sacred thing. Many of us work 40 hour a week jobs, some of us go to school on top of that, some of us come home and are single moms. We only have so many hours in a week, and we have to learn how to utilize every spare moment that we have. Time goes so fast and important thing for me to remember is to enjoy each passing moment, because I will never experience it again. My purpose in writing this article is to teach you a little bit about time management and how to simplify it so that anyone can learn to balance their time. One of most important keys to effective time management is to be aware of how you spend your time. So here’s a little assignment for you to do today. I want you to every 30 minutes, check in with yourself about what you are doing with your time. Keep a little notebook or a piece of paper with you at all times. If you feel that you are wasting time, you can check in more often than every 30 minutes. Write down what you’ve done over last 30 minutes. Everything is critical. Now I want you to think about something. I want you to think about how much your time is worth. How many hours do you work in a year? If you work a 40 hour work week then you work approximately 1500 hours in a year. Multiply that by your hourly rate. Think about what you cost your employer in payroll taxes, office space occupied, and supplies.
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