First of all what is an affirmation. It is statement that you written down that you repeat or read daily. Do they work. In my life I always prepare the ground with them. I try to make them fit on a 3 by 5 index card.

Here are some rules that I have for making them.

1. Avoid negatives. Dont say No don’t, wont. Instead keep it positive.

2. Keep it present tense. Saying I am becoming smarter is better than I will.

3. Read them 3 times  a day or more. Many times my affirmations is the 1 st step I take on a life change. I prepare the ground. I might read them when I shave,cook,ride the bus

4. Make sure there is emotion involved. Add emotion and it will make the affirmation more powerful.

5. I focus on mine on a weekly basis. I focus very hard on try to make the affirmation the center of a change and then I rotate a new one in.

6. Focus on how your life will change if the affirmation comes true.

Any person who tackled life changes has heard the term Goals. Heck turn on the news and you hear it. So what is goal. I think many writers over complicate the process. Lets start with a defination.

A goal is  any out come that you want to happen in your life. It can be a possesstion type goal a carear goal a relationship goal. But a goal is not a vauge wish.

A wish might be I want more money in my life. So if you find a quarter your wish has been met.

A goal might be I want to make 100,000 dollars a year.

So whats the difference.

A wish is a vauge statement that cannot be measured. A goal is specific.

So lets get all the factors togother.

A goal is specific

A goal has a time frame. It should have a completion date. A wish is usually a someday type thing. Someday I will reach this

A goal is measurable.  A person that was not familiar with you can see  if you have reached your goal.

Lastly a goal is written down and you decide on a course of action to do it.

In another article I will describe that difference in time frames and why should have some from all the time frames available.

“Do or do not… there is no try.” This from 1 of the Star Wars films and is spoken to Luke by Yoda.

There is a quote from a Zen masters that says the same thing. Basically that quote is that a man cannot be successful when he tries but if he chooses to act can he succeed

I have covered this subject more than once and will probably cover it many time more.

If you act you get a result. Now this result not be what you are looking for but it will tell you if you are on the right track. The most painful words that I tell myself this days is I shoulda or if I woulda. I have missed many opportunities because I let my fears stop me when I was younger.

By acting,by just changing 1 thing in your life you change your future. It might be only a small change but if you stack 1 small change on top of another your life changes. So take the action.

If you have not seen it please go to my video section and watch the Micheal Jordan video again. This is how you succeed. By taking that shot he gave his team a chance to win. Many people fail to take that shot for themselves and they are stuck on the side lines. So please take those actions that you have written.

Don’t Try.  Do.

Either you think you have it or you think someone you love has it and how do you tell if low self esteems. The signs of low self esteem can vary but there are some things that you can look for. I am just going to talk about the personal sign if you hear and see someone doing the following ask them how they feel about themselves.

You never try anything new because you just know you will fail. You are always saying in your self talk. I am a failure, I never do anything right.

You can never accept a compliment with out protesting and think to your self that you are unworthy.

You may feel that no one cares about you so why try to build friend ship or even a relationship.

You frequently ask others for assurance that you are realy Ok in their eyes.

You repress your  own opinion with the thought who cares I am nobody.

You may hide behind difference poses as the real you is not worth liking.

You feel that you are not worthy no matter what the task is. If you get an A on a test you tell your self you got lucky.

These are some of the signs of low self esteem. You may have them from child hood abuse or neglect. If you feel that these desribe please take a minute  and ask someone for help or work on your self with the material you can find here and on the web. I suffered for years and feel like I wasted 20 years of my life.

Here is the quote

One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular.
Tony Robbins

My Take on IT

How many times have you been at work but you are thinking about something else. You have to learn to focus your attention 100% on what you’re doing. You have to be laser  sharp.

Another way people do not direct their focus correctly is that they time wasters. TV or  Gossip or idle chatter. How much more would accomplish if you focus on additional ways to make money or improve your job skills.

People become experts on how to play a TV game or what the newest celebrity  is doing. Instead focus on whats important in making your life move forward.

People also never decide to focus and a job skill or develop a new job skill they let life carry them where ever it wants.

We have all heard how we should set goals but what are the types are some better than others. In this installment I will try to explain what I think goals ares and the types of goals.

A goal or outcome that you wish to have come into your life. It has  more than 1 step. What separate goals from wishes is that they are specific and they have a due date. You need  very clear about what you want.

So now we now what a goal is what types are there.

Well there are as many types as there are people but we can break them down into categories. They reflect the way we live.

The first type might be personal. You might wish to live in 1 city or a house. You might put sports goals here. To have a certain skill set. Anything that would change your personal life.

2nd might be work or career goals. To be CEO before your 40. To work in 1 job. To have a certain skill set. To be able to work 6 months of the year.

The third might be spiritual goals. You may wish to read the bible or other religious book. You might wish to set a goal of 15 minutes a day in prayer. It is anything that places you closer to your creator.

The fourth is financial. You may set goals to have a million dollars before you are 40 and be able to retire when you want.

As you can see goals can be set in any area of your life and the types of goals are only limited by what you want to bring into your life.

So what areas of your life are open to change in your quest for personal development. . Earlier we talked about changing some skills in your self improvement journey. I think this article will cover more basic changes those that occur within.

The first is your own self development that we talked about earlier. Self Change allows us to grow in all areas of our life. We gain skills ranging from job skills to coping skills.

Another area for personal development would be your health. Is any thing else more important. If you dont have your health in matters not how many toys you have, It does not matter where you live. For you will not enjoy any of it f your sick or on your death-bed.

Life Goodies or material possessions. Goals in this area may include your dream house or the perfect place to retire. This is not the main course but more like the spice of life.

Career goals are very important. You don’t want the current of the economy to carry you where it wants. You need to know what skills will advance your career and how and where to make them

Community. How do you want to take part in your community. Will you run for office or maybe sit on a board. Where does this fit into your life.

Relationships this  area covers not only your mate. But family and friends. In creating loving relationships we create bonds that carry us through personal tragedies and keep us grounded during the boom times.

These are the most important areas for personal development.  There are others which will discuss but these are the broad categories that most activities fall into.

Here is the quote

A real decision is measured by the action you have taken. If there’s no action, you haven’t truly decided.
Tony Robbins

My take on it.

I feel this is darn true many times we decide but we do not take  action. So in the future when you have decided here is a quick test you can run. What actions have you taken.

Action is what moves us forward. Not planning not reading. Not studying. Not waiting for the perfect moment but action.

So when you make that decision don’t betray yourself sit down write out 5 actions you can take and start with number 1.

So what skills will help on your self help journey. I am going to talk about that and the mind set it takes to create change in your life.

The mind set that you should have is 1 of self acceptance. Self Help does not mean you should view your self as broke or lacking in anything. What you should under stand is that you are fine but you wish to add some new skills,abilities or life experiences.

Self Improvement or Self Change is a life time journey to create a new skill set or new emotional view point on the universe.

So what skills will help you on your journey.

1. Goal Setting. There is much talk about goals and in all the noise that is out there something important is lost. It does not be a complicated excercise.

Decide what you want. Be clear and a have a  dead line. What color is it. How would it change your life. Create as much detail as you can. If you can find pictures put them in your goal or dream book. Then work you way from the goal to where you are now. What is the 1st step you can take. If no action occurs you have not committed to the goal. Look closer at your goal. Are you afraid. Tell your self that you can stop any time but take the first step.

2. Self Honesty. You need  to sit down and give your self a lecture about what you are doing right and wrong. If you can assess your self honestly you will move your self closer to your dream.

3. Self Talk. If you can without embarrassment give your self a mental self talk when you are down you are ahead of the game.

4. Self Discipline. This 1 is the stopping point for many people they create wonderful goals and then cannot get them selves to take action. Attack this by giving your small tasks to improve as with your muscles the more you work your self discipline the stronger it gets.

5. Time Sense. Understand that change does not happen in a day. Keep working at it and 1 day you will have the life you wish to have.

If you notice almost all of these skill that you already posses in some degree turn these into your self improvement skills with work and time.