Embrace Your Mental Self-Awareness

Not everyone gets out of bed in the morning easily and in a good mood.  Some can bounce out of bed eagerly anticipating the day and will talk your ear off if there's anyone to listen.  Others groggily stagger out of bed reluctantly and you better not speak to them or they'll bite your head off.

Which of these describes you?  Or do you fall somewhere in between?  Which would you rather be?  Typically, the person who bounds out of bed wide awake is the person who gets more done in the morning and is happier to do it.  This isn't always true.  Some get just as much work done; it just takes them longer to get to it.

If you're not happy with your morning habits and want to change, it can be done but it has to be a concerted effort on your part.  Many people don't want to change.  They've been that way for years and it works for them.  On the other hand, who wants to be an old grouch in the morning making yourself and everyone else miserable?

You can become an early happy riser and make it a habit you will embrace.  First, admit your current method of waking up in the morning isn't working and you want to change.  Be willing to try a different method and realize it may not be the first different method you try that will transform you into a new you.

Technique is important.  Prepare yourself for bed with the same routine if possible.  With children and spouses this is sometimes difficult.  Start with a healthy diet.  Stay away from heavy fatty foods and sugars before bedtime.  Eat dinner early.  Of course, no caffeine or other stimulant before bedtime.

Try the early healthy dinner a few nights and make a note as to how you feel the next morning.  Is it working?  If not, don't give up.  You just need to add more and different methods to your morning madness.

Exercise daily.  The better shape your body is in the better it will sleep and the better you'll feel each morning.  Morning exercise is usually more helpful than just before bedtime. Nighttime exercise can get the blood flowing too much for you to fall right to sleep.

Do something pleasant before going to bed to put you in a good mood.  Read a good book for a few minutes.  Don't get so caught up in it that you can't put it down.  Don't balance your check book or pay bills before going to bed.  Money worries are one of the main causes of sleeplessness.

Anticipate the morning routine.  Don't give yourself something boring to look forward to.  Make time for at least some morning exercise even if it's just stretching.  Perhaps, sit outside and greet the sunrise with a morning devotional. 

Count your blessings and plan your day. New morning habits were not accomplished in a day.  Be patient and willing to experiment.  Soon you'll like yourself better in the morning and so will your family.

Building a Career Based on Your Passions

We've all known people who seem to be a perfect fit for their jobs or their careers.  Not only are they successful but enjoy what they're doing with a passion.  We've also known people who are successful but hate what they're doing with a passion.  What's the difference?  Which category do you fall in?

If your prime motivation is the bottom line then maybe it doesn't make any difference as long as you're making money and providing for you and your family a desirable lifestyle.  But, if you long for a job or career you can love and do with a passion then it may be a little more difficult.

True, some people just fall into their lifelong passion with little or no trouble at all.  Maybe they grew up in the family business, never knew anything else or cared to learn anything else and found contentment staying close to the nest.  However, this is not the norm.  Most of us seek to fly out of the comfortable nest and fly over the fence to see if the grass is greener. 

It's never too early or too late to discover your passions and act on them but first determine what you're passionate about.  When you understand your own passions (and this is not easy matter) a whole new world of possibilities opens up.

Step back and take a close look at where you are now and what brought you there.  Perhaps, you're a plumber but long to travel.  More than likely, you'll make more money being a plumber, but if you're not happy each day and dread going to work, then the bottom line is not your motivating factor.  See, you're learning about yourself already.

Look at your passions from all angles.  In the case of travel, is it really the travel you love or is it exploring new lands and meeting new people.  You could meet new people and make new friends in all kinds of endeavors. 

Meeting lots of people as a plumber is usually limited.  Maybe you enjoy making travel plans and scheduling cruises and flights which could lead to a travel or tour business.  It's important to search your passions from different directions.

What you think your passions are could be just admiration of others who do what you think you would like to do.  Would you like to become a writer but hate to sit down to a computer and write? 

Do you admire a person who makes birdhouses for a living but you hate to be cooped up in a wood shop all day.  Don't confuse your passion with admiration.  And be prepared for the realization that doing what you love will not always put bread on the table.

You can bet people who are working at whatever their passion spent long hours to get where they are today.  But, if it's truly your passion, getting there will be a joy.  Explore your passions whether they're a love of animals, gardening or photography and take these passions to the next step. 

Learn all you can about your passion.  Take a class or a course, volunteer or intern in the field you love.  See where the path leads.  It could lead you right back to where you were in the first place but you owe it to yourself to find out. Enjoy the journey.

Creating Success Using Mind Enhancement Techniques

You're probably just as smart as the next guy.  Granted, some people are born smart and possess incredible talents such as singing, playing an instrument or have the ability to solve problems with amazing speed. 

But, what about the average person who seems to excel while you remain with the pack? Unless you're the lead dog, the view's always the same. You may have taken an IQ test and found you're not a genius but you have at least average intelligence and perhaps more.  So, what's the difference between you and the person who excels? 

Your brain, your mind, needs to be enhanced.  The intelligence is there it just needs to be maximized and expanded.  It's the same with your body.  The muscle is there, it just needs to be exercised and encouraged to expand.  As you enhance your mind, you enhance your ability to achieve success.  Success follows success.

Audio and video programs are two of the obvious ways to generate mind enhancement.  You decide which is better for you depending on whether you're a better audio or video learner.  If you can utilize both, so much the better. 

Audio mind enhancement programs, available on CD or MP3 download, are better for the person on the go and who likes to maximize their time whether in the car or on the treadmill.  Numerous subjects are available teaching you how to create a better life while restructuring the mind.

Video programs are great for in-home viewing without the distractions you might encounter with audio.  It also stimulates your optical senses and usually works better and faster than audio alone. 

Video DVDs are available on numerous subjects from creating a better memory to learning a new hobby.  It's good to stimulate your mind with something you enjoy but you must also stretch your mind to include subjects you don't normally encounter.

Hypnosis is another method that's become quite popular and proven effective.  Hypnosis is described as a means of communication between the conscious mind and the subconscious mind to bring about change for the better.

Your mind has stored in it an unbelievable amount of power.  Hypnosis can help release that power.  This is accomplished simply by making you believe in your mind power and in yourself. 

If you don't believe the power's there then it's not there to help you and to become enhanced. You have the ability to do this yourself if you will but hypnosis can help expedite these constructive changes.

The mind is like any other part of the body:  you use it or lose it.  You must exercise it daily with positive brain exercises.  Mind stimulating reading, puzzles or learning a new subject keeps the brain fertile and active.  Keep planting new seeds in the mind and you'll be astonished at what will grow.

How a Life Coach Can Affect Your Lifetime Dreams

Life is a skill that can be acquired and often you need help to learn this skill.  Like any skill you desire to learn or become more proficient there are many ways to do this.   If you want to become a better golfer you can hire a golf pro.  If you want to become a better singer you perhaps hire a voice tutor.

We think nothing of paying someone to teach us how to do what we want to do better.  That includes everything from cooking, writing, or a professional trainer to help us sculpt our body. 

This is good.  Of course, we can attempt to teach ourselves through books, videos and lots of practice.  But most of the time, if we're serious about furthering a need or talent, we must seek professional assistance.

Learning how to live life is somehow viewed differently.  This is what we were born to do.  Yet, we flounder, we struggle, strive for goals, miss the mark and fall back to wallow in failure and oft times resign ourselves to defeat.  You think life should come easy and you should be able to handle whatever life throws at you.  This is a good theory but life can be a formidable opponent.

Most people aren't even aware that there are life coaches who specialize in all areas of living life abundantly.  This includes various aspects of your career and personal growth.  They can advise you in relationships with your spouse, significant other or family members. 

A life coach can help you make decisions you refuse to make for yourself.  Many times, you don't even realize what decisions need to be made and a life coach can help you crystallize your thoughts and dreams. 

An important first step before hiring a life coach is to assure yourself that you're ready to move forward and willing to accept direction.  At that point in your life, it will be much easier for them to analyze where you are in life and where you want to be.  You're obviously frustrated with your life but have no idea how to get out of your rut.

Living the life you desire can come with a high price tag.  But, if you're willing to pay the price in money, effort and dedication then it's time to define your life on your own terms and take control.  You understand you've reached the point in your life that you must feel happier and that life can be rich and dreams realized.

The world we live in today is complicated and it's okay to need help.  A life coach will help you set personal goals, get you off square one and explain what to do next.  A coach can be a powerful asset when you're ready to work with him or her.

Life coaching is not a therapy session.  He's not there to help you heal wounds of the past but assist you in building a better tomorrow.  If you blame others for your problems, perhaps therapy is a better option.  But, if you're ready to take responsibility for where you are today then a life coach can help improve your life and take you to the next level.

The Power Behind Continual Journaling

Thank goodness for journaling and those who journal.  If it were not for journals, much of history would be lost forever.  We owe so much of our knowledge of our forefathers and the world before us to those who took the time to make entries in their journal. 

Ship captains kept daily logs while at sea and most of our founding fathers kept journals as they formed a new nation.  Long before that, records were kept on scrolls with quill and some form of ink. 

Hieroglyphics line the ancient tombs of the pharaohs giving us an insight into what their lives were like.  Even cave men recorded history on rocks and hillsides.  Where would we be today if it were not for journals?

You may say, "Sure that's all well and good for famous people such as presidents and celebrities, but I don't have the time - and even if I did, nothing of any importance happens to me." 

Journals should be kept for you and what they can do for you regardless of your position in life.  That's reason enough, but think how much your children and grandchildren will learn about their ancestors from the journal you may start today.

You may think you'll always remember what you did on a certain date and why you decided to buy that article you always wanted but as the saying goes:  "The faintest ink is better than the most retentive mind."  Writing down your thoughts and actions is one of the easiest and most compelling ways to remember and record your personal life.

Your brain is trained to think in a sequence of events.  Everything is in order and has its place. The mind is capable of processing myriads of thoughts at any given moment.  And, as you would imagine, those thoughts are like sentences.  They contain a beginning, a middle and an end.  It's like giving a speech when one thought relates to another and so on until the logical end.

By writing down your thoughts in a journal you can break free of sequential thinking and examine them from a new perspective.  Remember when Merlin in Camelot urged Arthur to soar like an eagle to view his thoughts and problems from high above the land.  From there he said there are no fences and no boundaries.  His thinking was set free with nothing to restrain it in conventional limitations. 

Journaling gives clarity to your problems and allows you to substantiate your progress.  It's easy to think you've made no progress and nothing of import occurred until you reread your journal a year later.  A question you may have thought impossible to solve will suddenly present itself with a solution when you view the written word.

Be specific when making entries.  It may seem trivial at the time but later when you examine the big picture, you'll see how it all came together and how events are still unfolding.  Write down your goals, intentions, obstacles, challenges, your likes and dislikes.  Make a note of people who've helped you and those who likely will in the future.

You can create a journal in a book or on your computer.  Software for this purpose is available.  A journal gives you direction.  It shows where you've been, where you are now and where you're going.  Begin a journal today.  You'll gain more insight into yourself than you ever thought possible.