Taking Personal StockWritten by Skye Thomas
What's difference between self-criticism and self-awareness? There's so much talk in world about loving ourselves just way we are. The idea is that we are each perfect and beautiful. It goes even further to say that in reference to our personal journeys, we are exactly where we are meant to be and there's no need to berate ourselves for not being more spiritual, more educated, more affluent, more of anything. My concern is that so many people take that to mean they can then sit and do nothing about fixing any of their self-limiting ways. People act as though acknowledging a flaw or even using very word 'flaw' is same as self-hatred and is too critical. Yes, those who have been on path of self-enlightenment for a long time have discovered difference, but I'm not so sure that everyday Joe on street understands message completely.Nobody lives a perfect blissful life from birth to grave. Problems arise and we usually play a role in creating those problems for ourselves. Perhaps problem is that we just aren't where we want to be in life. If we are ever to fix anything or solve any problems, we must first pull our head out of sand and acknowledge situation for what it is. Take full stock of ourselves, our beliefs, our gifts, our talents, our challenges, our flaws, everything. By really looking at ourselves, we can then decide what we do and do not like about ourselves. From a place of self-awareness, we can determine what is helping us to accomplish our goals and what is limiting us. That's being self-aware. Self-criticism looks very similar. We are taking inventory of ourselves and assigning positive and negative labels to those traits we find within. The difference comes in form of attitude we use while doing so. If we are judging various attributes, especially from a harsh light, then we are being critical rather than simply being aware. When we are being self-critical, we are not loving, logical, nor detached from various elements of ourselves that we are analyzing. We are being very judgmental and unnecessarily harsh. Either way, we come to same conclusion that changes need to take place, but emotional fuel behind them is very different. One says, "I choose to change because it will help me to manifest life I desire for myself. I am perfect whether I change or not, but I choose this change because I would like to eliminate this self-defeating behavior." The other says, "I must change because I'm a loser and no good. I must change because if I don't, I'll never be a winner. I can't love myself until I am a winner and am therefore not worthy of anyone else's love either." Both of these views can be very powerful motivators, but journey of life is difficult and challenging enough without our having added unnecessary negativity to it.
| | Use Your Time Wisely!Written by Michael Lee
When I was small, I have never considered importance of time. I would just laze around, watch TV, lie in bed, and play video games. As I grew older, I thought about things that I have achieved. To my surprise, I haven't accomplished a lot. I resolved to myself that I will do things that will contribute to benefit of mankind. I studied very hard and learned a lot of lessons from my experience. I lack self-confidence before, so I want to help other people overcome this predicament. I became obssessed with self-improvement, so I started a newsletter. I'm also working on an ebook about persuasion as I'm writing this. I want to help anyone in need because it feels so good to solve other people's problems. I urge you now to make most use of your time. It may be joining a fundraising organization. You may also learn new skills or crafts. Create a goal and go for it! Don't be a couch potato. Don't just sit around and be contented with monotonous patterns of your daily activities. Do something nice and give all your best to fulfillment of a worthwhile endeavor. It will give you a very deep sense of happiness and satisfaction. Some people complain that they don't have enough time to take action on their goals. They have to go to their 9 to 5 job, then when they go home they feel so tired all they can think about is watch TV, relax, and sleep. I'm not saying that leisure is a no-no. In fact, everyone should take time out once in a while to recharge and revitalize their energy. The key is to have a balanced life. Set aside a fraction of your time to carry out your dreams and ambitions. Reserve some time to establish healthy relationships. Ok, I hear you. You're saying that you really just can't budget your time? Don't panic. Here are some time management tips.
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