Advanced Life Skills

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There is an insidious problem that can sneak into your life and turn it up side down. It can wreck your health, your relationships and your career.
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As you probably guessed, I am talking about stress. Yes, we’re all exposed to it, but we don’t have to become infected. Leo Babauta of Zen Habits put together his top 10 list of stress busters and I wanted to share it with you.

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Stress is a major problem for many people — a hectic, stressful job, a chaotic home life, bills to worry about, and bad habits such as unhealthy eating, drinking and smoking can lead to a mountain of stress.
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If your life is full of stress like mine once was, there are some simple things you can do to get your life to a more manageable level.
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Now, your life will probably never be stress-free — I don’t think that’s even desirable, even if it is possible, because stress is something that challenges us and helps us grow at a reasonable level. But when stress gets too high, it causes us to be unhappy and unhealthy.
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It wasn’t that long ago when I was working long hours in a very stressful job, with little time for my family. I had a lot of debt and too many bills. I was unhappy and stressed out all the time.
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So I made some drastic changes. I quit my job. I simplified my life. I started exercising and eating healthier. I began to eliminate my debt. And I learned some habits that, when applied on a daily basis, can really transform the way you live, in a positive way.
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How did I do all of this? One thing at a time. I didn’t do a major overhaul of my life. I changed one habit a month, and gradually over the course of a year or two changed a lot of things in my life.
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I won’t guarantee that all of these will work for you. They worked for me, but each person is different. Pick and choose the ones that will work best for you, and give them a try. One at a time. 
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1. One thing at a time. This is the simplest and best way to start reducing your stress, and you can start today. Right now. Focus as much as possible on doing one thing at a time. Clear your desk of distractions. Pick something to work on. Need to write a report? Do only that. Remove distractions such as phones and email notifications while you’re working on that report. If you’re going to do email, do only that. This takes practice, and you’ll get urges to do other things. Just keep practicing and you’ll get better at it.
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2. Simplify your schedule. A hectic schedule is a major cause of high stress. Simplify by reducing the number of commitments in your life to just the essential ones. Learn to say no to the rest — and slowly get out of commitments that aren’t beneficial to you. Schedule only a few important things each day, and put space between them. Get out of meetings when they aren’t absolutely essential. Leave room for down time and fun.
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3. Get moving. Do something each day to be active — walk, hike, play a sport, go for a run, do yoga. It doesn’t have to be grueling to reduce stress. Just move. Have fun doing it.
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4. Develop one healthy habit this month. Other than getting active, improving your health overall will help with the stress. But do it one habit at a time. Eat fruits and veggies for snacks. Floss every day. Quit smoking. Cook something healthy for dinner. Drink water instead of soda. One habit at a time.
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5. Do something calming. What do you enjoy that calms you down? For many people, it can be the “get moving” activity discussed above. But it could also be taking a nap, or a bath, or reading, or having sex (which can also be considered a “get moving” activity if you do it for longer than 5 minutes). Other people are calmed by housework or yard work. Some people like to meditate, or take a nature walk. Find your calming activity and try to do it each day.
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6. Simplify your finances. Finances can be a drain on your energy and a major stressor. If that’s true with you, figure out ways to simplify things. Automate savings and bill payments and debt payments. Spend less by going shopping (at malls or online) much less. Find ways to have fun that don’t involve spending money.
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7. Have a blast! Have fun each day, even if it’s just for a few minutes. I like to play with my kids — they take my mind off everything and are really hilarious. I also like to play sports (again, often with my kids). Board games are fun. Sex, again, can be a fun activity. Whatever you choose, be sure to laugh.
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8. Get creative. Throwing yourself into a creative activity is another great way to de-stress and to prevent stress. I like writing, but others like to paint or play music or sketch or make pottery or do interior design or build things.
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9. Declutter. This is a favorite of mine. I like to take 20-30 minutes and just go through a room, getting rid of stuff we don’t use or need anymore. I look around at anything that’s cluttering up a room, and get rid of it or find a better place for it. When I’m done, I have a nice, peaceful environment for work, play, and living. Do this a little at a time — it can be one of your “fun activities”.
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10. Be early. I will admit that it’s hard to be early when you have to get 6 kids ready (seriously — try it!). But being late can be very stressful. Try to leave earlier by getting ready earlier, or by scheduling more space between events. Things always take longer than normal, so schedule some buffer time: extra time to get ready, to commute, to do errands before you need to be somewhere, to attend a meeting before another scheduled appointment. If you get somewhere early, it’s good to have some reading material.
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How do you keep the stress in your life to a manageable level? Share in the comments.

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Related Articles:

Do You Remember How to Relax?
Are You Stressed Out?
Doing Too Much Got You Stressed Out?

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When you employ the power of positive thinking, how do you apply it? Are you working to overcome a limiting mindset or to adopt a positive one? Do your positive thoughts include pictures, sounds and feelings?
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While we’re at it, what is your vision for your life based on? Did you form it around your past, your present or your future?”
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You and I have these movies we play in our head. They start with a dialog and then move into pictures. Then they become moving pictures, and finally, we attach feelings to them.
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These movies and the feelings that come with them are what I like to call our personal visions. They are three-dimensional and they have feelings attached. These personal visions are great motivation generators.
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The energies that fuel our ability to attract and our ability to act grow out of these visions.
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The degree of contrast between what is actually taking place in our life now, and what we envision achieving, motivates us to close the gap as we move towards that vision.
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These Energies Can Be Defined As:
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- Enthusiasm
- Physical Energy
- Courage
- Persistence
- Confidence
- Conviction
- Creativity
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When you and I are motivated enough, meaning we are producing the energies from this list; we can, and we will, do just about anything we set our minds to.
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So the question is: What have we set our minds to do?  
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The greatest opportunity for a misunderstanding here is to think that what you and I want, even what we have a burning desire for, is in fact what we have set our minds to. There is often a huge difference.
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For example, think of something you have wanted for a long while; something you’ve wanted very badly and may have even worked hard for, but are no closer to having now than when you started wanting it.
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Now think of something you have felt for some time was inevitable. Something you have often seen happening in your mind’s eye. Something you believe will happen, whether you really want it to or not. Notice how it seems to always happen, or how you seem to progress towards it. This is no coincidence! You attract it into existence. 
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Motivation has no conscience
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It does not care what you want. It is not dependent on what you want or don’t want; need or don’t need. It only manifests in accordance with what you expect, what you attract: the movies you watch; the scenarios in which you believe.
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Now let’s talk about Belief
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Let’s say that you really, really want to reap some future prosperity. You really want to raise your income to the next level. But is it possible to believe you will, when perhaps you never have? Will positive thinking be enough to manifest that prosperity? 
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Without mastering the Art of Vision, Attraction and Motivation, we will tend to believe only those things that we have actually experienced. When we allow our own experiences to establish our beliefs, we tend to stay stuck in creating a circle of mediocrity. We will go round and round, producing the same quality of results.
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This reminds us of the definition of insanity is: “Doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different result!”
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How do we break the cycle?
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The only way to break this cycle and produce unprecedented results is to establish a belief about your future that has no connection to the past. You have to establish a new belief that is in alignment with what you want, not in alignment with what you have achieved. To do this, you must believe in the greatest gift and greatest secret of success. What is it?
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The part of us that is powerful beyond comprehension, our energy, our emotions, our thoughts, and our subconscious mind. This part of us cannot tell the difference between a real experience and one that has been vividly imagined. Think about that…
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It cannot tell the difference between you imagining you earn an extra $10,000 every month and you actually earning an extra $10,000 a month.
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The conscious mind can definitely tell the difference. It’s the part of us that will attempt to limit our expectations according to past results. This is the part of us that sits in a movie and says, “It’s not real, it’s just pretend, performed by actors and actresses.”
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So on some levels, the conscious mind is fairly limited as an asset for producing greatness. In contrast, the part of us that is unlimited and extraordinary sits in a movie and sheds tears of joy or sadness, or responds however the writers, directors and actors intended for us to respond. That part of us cannot tell the difference because it is fully involved in the experience.
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So ask yourself these feeling based questions
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If you really had been earning $10,000 a month, what do you feel you could expect to earn next month? How would you feel about the opportunities in front of you? Who would you be willing to approach? What would you sound like? What feelings would others get from you? What level of enthusiasm would you convey? How optimistic would you be, how creative? How much confidence would you have.
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Compare those answers to how you currently approach your income and opportunities. If there is a difference, your current vision is anchored in the present; and if you are only earning $1,000 a month you will be representing a $1,000-a-month opportunity. That $9,000 difference is huge when it comes to how you present yourself and where you see opportunity.
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Take advantage of your hidden resources. Make up your own movie of what you EXPECT life to be like. The part of you that will get it done cannot tell the difference, and it will move in accordance with your vision. It will start moving now, and it will move powerfully and purposefully the moment your movie begins to play.
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Okay, those are my thoughts, what do you think?
Do you agree or disagree?
Did I leave something out?
Let’s discuss it!
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Related Articles:
Can Positive Thinking Improve Your Life?
Empower Yourself with Positive Self-Talk
How to Expect the Best

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With economic hardship on the increase and a growing lack of financial resources, it can be easy to slip into temptation. What kind of temptation?
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There’s a temptation to try and make money as quickly and easily as possible. This is a mentality that can leave you vulnerable to all kinds of schemes. The lure of quick money can be hard to resist.  This is especially true when bills are piling up and the pressure is on.
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If we allow ourselves to focus on chasing money, we become easy prey for every get rich quick idea that comes along. This kind of desperation is accompanied by the tendency to throw reason out the window.
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Fear and pain are closely related and it is our natural tendency to move away from pain.  The more desperate we become for money, the more likely we are to make irrational choices that just compound the problem.
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When fear takes over, rational thinking gives way to impulse.
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So what can we do if we find ourselves in this situation?
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Ask questions of yourself, as if you were helping a friend to avoid making a foolish mistake.  This will help to reintroduce reason into the equation.
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Do I know anyone else who has succeeded using this approach?
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Have I done any research to determine if this is a scam?
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How much would I have to invest, and can I really afford to do that? 
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I’m reminded of the question: “How come we never see the headline, psychic wins lottery?”  Asking the right questions is a way to bring us back to reality while allowing us to use our resources in a more creative way.
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Yes, these are uncertain times, and sadly there are unscrupulous people who will try to leverage the situation.  They will see your fear as an opportunity to take advantage of you.
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You become most vulnerable to these kinds of situations when you are looking for a solution outside of yourself. True success and stability come from within.  Having a successful mindset is the best defense against fear and insecurity.
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Your mindset doesn’t change the fact that you still need an income, but it does change your approach to that challenge.  If financial uncertainty and fear are starting to get the best of you, it’s time turn things around right now.  As soon as you sign up for my bimonthly newsletter I’ll send you a complimentary copy of, Except Success and Nothing Less. As in every other area of life, attitude is 90% of the battle.
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P.S. If you haven’t yet signed up for our RSS feed, I’d like to encourage you to do so.  I’ve added a new link at the top of the page called “Why RSS” to show you your options and answer your questions. This really is a great way to go!
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Related Articles:
? Where’s the Happiness?
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? Overcome Fear and Doubt
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? The Greatest Benefit of Success

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Like it or not, problems, or challenges, are a recurring part of everyday life. Weather you call them challenges, as I do, or problems, doesn’t change the fact that they happen. However, it does change how you respond to them!
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Subconsciously, the word problem says, “There’s something wrong here.” Our mind hears, “Life is not as it should be.” This causes our energy to be funneled toward repairing something that’s gone wrong. Not an empowering state of mind.
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On the other hand, the word challenge sends no such message.  Instead of trying to repair a malfunction, our resources are recruited to face a new opportunity.  This is a very empowering state of mind. 
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We may use these two words interchangeably, but the fact is they send entirely different messages to our brains.  One message represents a struggle just to achieve status quo.  It means we have lost ground that we must now struggle to regain.
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The other, more empowering choice, tells our minds that everything is great.  So great in fact, that we are ready to take on something new.  To our subconscious mind, a challenge is a form of opportunity.  It’s the way we move up to the next level.  It’s a chance to show what we’re made of.
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Learning to use the word challenge instead of problem has an amazing effect on our outlook.  Is our day plagued with problems or full of opportunities?  Are we
struggling just to maintain, or are we ready to take it to the next level?
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Changing the words we use changes everything.  Why not try replacing the word problem in your vocabulary and see what happens?
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This is a very simple way to improve the quality of your life.  Why not try it for a week and let me know how it works for you? Improving your life doesn’t need to be complicated.  Many of the most powerful life skills you will ever learn are as simple as exchanging one word for another. 
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Of course, it doesn’t matter how simple they are if we don’t use them.  Therein lies the real secret of personal growth.  Apply what you learn.  If you will do that consistently, even the simplest of life skills will have a profound effect on your life.
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P.S. If you haven’t yet signed up for our RSS feed, I’d like to encourage you to do so.  I’ve added a new link at the top of the page called “Why RSS” to show you your options and answer your questions. This really is a great way to go!
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Related Articles:
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Blind But Seeing Clearly
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Are You Challenged or Disabled?
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Negative Talk, a Verbal Scorpion 

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Increased stress levels can make relaxation seem like a fading dream.  Is it unavoidable that a productive life eventually becomes filled with stress and anxiety? If you feel like that’s happening, what can you do to chill?
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I’m thinking about this because after an intense book writing and editing effort, a few days of relaxing seemed appropriate. So here I am in Sunriver, Oregon relaxing for a few days and enjoying myself immensely.
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Balance can be the hardest thing for a productive person with a demanding schedule. Taking some time to relearn the art of relaxation can really boost your energy and increase your sense of enjoyment.
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Stress and anxiety usually come from being focused on the future. There is nothing wrong with looking ahead, but relaxation happens in the here and now. It’s pretty hard to be worried about that important meeting next week and feel relaxed and comfortable at the same time. Your body may be in a relaxed setting and in a comfortable position, but where’s your head?
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When your mind isn’t relaxed and enjoying the moment, It’s not true relaxation! So one of the keys to meaningful relaxation is:
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1) Focus on the here and now. Let your mind and body be in the same place at the same time. Or as Ram Dass so aptly put it so many decades ago, Be Here Now. In a world that seems to be moving at warp speed, this can be quite challenging. It requires the absence of every form of anxiety and anticipation related to the past or future. Without awareness of yesterday or tomorrow, there is in fact, no sense of worry or regret. Therein lies one key to true relaxation, focus on the pleasure of the moment. 
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Have you ever noticed how certain environments are inherently more relaxing then others? This leads us to our next key:
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2) Put yourself in a relaxing place. Isn’t this why we love to take vacations? Putting some distance between you and the demands of daily life makes it much easier to refocus. This is the very reason I find myself writing this some 200 miles from home. Of course, we can’t always relocate when we feel the need for a little downtime. But we can take a walk or sit outside, as we open our minds to, and direct our attention toward our surroundings. Use your five senses to raise your awareness of the moment as you let go of everything else.

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There’s another side of relaxation that should not be overlooked. Often times, the most refreshing way to spend your free time is:

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3) Active relaxation. Here’s another reason I love Sunriver. They have over thirty miles of paved bike trails that wind through the pine forest and along the Deschutes River. You can park your vehicle and forget about it. Weather permitting, we prefer to walk or ride everywhere we go during our stay. Active relaxation means that your focus is in the moment. It’s also a great time for conversation, which tends to revolve around things you are seeing along the way.

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Now after a long walk or bike ride what could be more relaxing then some:
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4) Hydrotherapy. I’m talking about twenty minutes in the hot tub with a glass of wine and the water jets on high. Every house we’ve ever rented in Sunriver has had a private spa and it has always contributed greatly to the relaxation value. If you happen to have one at home then don’t ignore it. There’s a high relaxation factor built into these little stress erasers.
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One of the things that allow relaxation to be pushed into obscurity is placing too much value on everything else. This leads to our next key:
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5) Learn to value relaxation. If you fully appreciate the important role and positive influence of relaxation on your life, you will come to truly value it. Priorities are established in accord with the value we assign to the various aspects of our life. When relaxation becomes a priority, we will make the time and create the opportunity to restore and maintain balance and harmony in our life.

Here are two additional pointers. Don’t wear your watch and turn your cell phone off when you’re trying to relax. These little electronic slave drivers can suck the value right out of your relaxation time. They are useful tools in their place, but know when to cut the cord.

If you’re interested, Sunriver is a laidback resort community located about 15 miles south of Bend, Oregon and approximately 30 miles from Mt. Bachelor ski resort. The Deschutes River flows through it and there are countless places of interest within a 20-mile radius.  Activities include: golf, tennis, horseback riding, kayaking, shopping, fine dining and lots more. There is also a really nice private airstrip.

My wife and I have been coming here with our daughter and her husband, once or twice a year, for over 10 years. We especially like it in late September or early October. Check it out if you get the chance. If you have a favorite place for a relaxing mini vacation, please share it with the rest of us.

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I can really relate to the premise of this article having personally experienced many similar situations and feelings myself. Perhaps you can relate as well. This is the work of Jonathan Mead a contributor to Leo Babauta’s amazing blog, Zen Habits.
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Perhaps your working toward a long term goal and find it difficult to maintain your focus.
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Do you find yourself getting constantly distracted by one thing after another?
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Does your life require you to where so many hats that you constantly move from one role to another without enough time to finish anything?
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Whatever our personal situation, I think we can all benefit from these 11 helpful ways to keep our life moving in the right direction. So here’s Jonathan’s story and recommendations:
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“I often get caught up in the hectic nature of life. I get bogged down with things to do and the drive to be productive. It’s hard not to get sucked into the routine of living and take life for granted. Sometimes it’s hard to stay excited about life.
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This is especially true when you’re working toward long term goals that might not be realized for a few months or even years. I’ve been working on building my blog for the past seven months. I eventually want to turn this into the main source of my income, so I can quit my job and stop selling my time to someone else. While I feel very passionate about this goal, it probably won’t be realized for a few months or a year (at the most). It’s difficult for me sometimes to stay excited about my goals, when I’m currently working toward someone else’s to pay the bills.
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It’s time like these when I get bored with work. I get bored with routines and monotony. The opposite of happiness after all isn’t sadness or depression.
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It’s boredom.
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I recurrently have to keep myself in check. I have to balance my goals that will be realized in the future, with being happy now. After all, isn’t now all we’ve got?
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So how can we stay excited about life? How can we remain passionate about living, and not get trapped in the cycle of routines?
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Here are some things that I personally do to help keep me stay excited about life.
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1. Return to simplicity. Simplification is about de-cluttering your life. It’s not just de-cluttering our homes and spaces though, it’s simplifying our mental and emotional realms. It’s shedding the baggage of self-limiting beliefs and constant mental chatter. It’s finding some quietude in your life.
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2. Stop labeling. It’s amazing how much we think we’re experiencing life, but we’re really just thinking about it. I want you to try a little exercise with me. Take a look at something around you. Maybe it’s a photo, a plant, or your keyboard. Our normal state of mind is to think about the object we’re looking at, to conceptualize it in our mind and place labels on it. Now look at the same object and don’t think about it. If this is difficult for you, that’s okay. Relax and just look. Let go. Notice a difference? That’s because when you’re not thinking about what you’re things, you’re actually experiencing life directly. The labels in our mind are simply abstractions, they’re not reality itself. Try doing this more often: when you’re in line at the grocery store, walking your dog, listening to music, etc. You’ll start to enjoy your experience much more.
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3. Enjoy the simple things in life. This goes along with quieting our minds as well. The next time you eat a piece of fruit or enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, simply enjoy it. Sounds like a pretty obvious suggestion right? Well it is, but most of the time we do exactly the opposite. We’re not just eating or drinking, we’re thinking about all sorts of things. We’re thinking about the next item of action; taking out the dog to use the bathroom, the mail we need to take to the post office, etc. The next time you eat or drink, just do that. You will experience the flavors and tastes at if it were the first time.
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4. Change things up. Try something new. Do something you’ve always wanted to do, but have never gotten around to. If you’ve always wanted to learn to play tennis, go out and buy a tennis racket and a ball. If you don’t have a partner, you can always play the wall. 
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5. Make time for what you love. We often get burnt out because we’re busy working and attending to obligations. If we are not doing anything we’re excited about, we’ll likely start resenting our lives. It’s important to make time every day doing things you really enjoy.
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6. Drop unwanted commitments. Just as we need to make time for doing things we love, we also need to prune the things we aren’t passionate about. Some things aren’t really negotiable. If you don’t pay your electricity bill, you will be eating by candlelight. But other so-called obligations aren’t really necessary. A good test is to ask yourself if your commitment is something that’s really adding to your life. Is it enhancing your life, or is it just adding more stress? Sometimes quitting is the best answer when simplifying your life.
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7. Focus on what matters. I have a tendency to want everything to be perfect. I want to edit every article I write until I can’t tell whether or not it’s good anymore. Then I edit it some more. I later realize that even when I don’t get as good of a response as I hoped for, no one really care. Except me. You have the option to not care about things being less than perfect too. Realize that your return on investment decreases rapidly. Studying for 8 hours a week might get you a 3.8 GPA, while studying for 20 hours might earn you a 4.0. Is that extra .2 really worth it? Focus on what matters and stop stressing so much that you’re no longer enjoying life.
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8. Let go. Relaxation is possible. I know, it scares me too. The thought of not obsessing over all the things I didn’t get done today is often terrifying. But it’s okay. There will always be tomorrow. On your deathbed do you really think you’re going to be thinking about the to-do list you didn’t complete? I don’t think so. You’ll probably be thinking about how you wished you would have had more fun, spent more time with your family and enjoyed life more.
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9. Embrace your inner geek. We’re all geeky about certain things. I admit that I’m a design geek. I can sit for hours obsessing over typefaces, color palates and white space. I seriously live for this stuff though, so it’s okay to obsess a little. The point is, when I design, draw, and write, I lose track of time. I embrace my inner geek and all I’m thinking about is what I’m doing. I’m not worrying about how it will turn out, I’m not thinking about the phone bill I need to pay. I’m just there. Think about what really makes you geek out. A good indicator is that it’s something you get super excited about that makes other people give you strange looks.
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10. Be grateful. I’m certainly not the first one to say this. But it bears repeating. Every time I am in a rut or feeling sorry for myself, I try to remember to be grateful. Just being grateful to be alive is a powerful thing. You never know when you’re going to leave this world. You never know if you’ll have another chance to write that novel you have been meaning to, run that marathon or tell your lover how you feel about her.
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11. Reassess your priorities. Are you living for today, or solely for the achievement of your next project? Do you stress out about what’s on your to-do list more than living in the moment? If you’re at all like me, you occasionally fall into this rut as well. We have to find a balance in achievement and contentment. Sometimes it’s not about getting what you want, but wanting what you have. It’s not about achieving the completion of a project, but enjoying the process of creativity.
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When striving for personal growth, it’s easy to get caught up in living for our next achievement. Our next success, and the next mountain that we aim to conquer. But if we’re not living for today, what’s the point? If we’re never able to enjoy life now, it’s probably time we reassess our priorities. Milestones and achievements —graduations, promotions, etc.— make up a small fraction of life.
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If the majority of our days are “normal day” then maybe we should spend more time trying to find everyday bliss.”
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PS. You can grab a free copy of “Accept Success and Nothing Less” simply by signing up for our newsletter “Sharing Life Skills.”

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When you’re feeling unmotivated about your goals or any other endeavor, it can be difficult to keep the bigger picture in mind and remember what you’re working so hard for.  When the initial excitement of your goals or project begins to wear off and you find yourself losing focus and determination, it can be helpful to engage in a comprehensive review – not just of your current goals, but all aspects of your life.

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This process may seem like a lot of work at first, but it can serve as a powerful breath of fresh air that clears away stagnation and ushers in renewed clarity and motivation.

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Start by using a blank sheet of paper to represent each area of your life, like financial, career, relationships, home, health and fitness, spiritual and so on.  Write a general overview of your status in each area.  Are you satisfied with the things you’ve accomplished in these areas of your life?  Would you like to make further changes?

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Then, based on that information, come up with some clear goals that you can set for each area of your life.  They don’t have to be massive goals, just objectives you’d like to begin working toward gradually.

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Once you’ve got some goals set, come up with a few simple action steps you can take in each area on a regular basis.  These action steps might include things like reducing your consumption of junk food, exercising for 30 minutes daily, spending more quality time with your family, enrolling in night classes to get your degree, or starting a home business on the side to boost your income.

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When you’ve completed this process for each part of your life, write all of those action steps on one sheet of paper, separated into sections.  By the time you’re finished you should have a clear idea of exactly what you want to accomplish in each area of your life.

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But you’re not done yet!

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Now, take a look at the goals and action steps you’ve written down, and consider any possible obstacles you might face that would threaten your motivation.  What types of problems usually come up that prevent you from doing the things you want to do?  And how can you set up strategies to overcome them in the future?

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For example, one obstacle you might face is procrastination brought on by a shortage of time.  Rather than spending a few minutes at a time working on your goals, you tend to put it off until you have more time, which never happens.  One possible strategy you could put in place is a written reminder that you must use the time you do have wisely, because small actions taken consistently will still help you reach your goals!

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Once you have these strategies written down, be sure to keep them nearby and re-read them as often as necessary.  If you do find that you’re losing steam again at a later time, simply start this entire process over again and allow it to usher in a welcome dose of clarity, focus and motivation.
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PS. You can grab a free copy of “Accept Success and Nothing Less” simply by signing up for our newsletter “Sharing Life Skills.”

If the world were a small village of 100 people it would be a lot easier to see firsthand the plight of the human race. Huge numbers tend to distort our ability to comprehend things. The proportions of a situation are generally more comprehensible when we shrink things down to a number that we can relate to.

This information is intended only as a reality check. It certainly gives most of us reason to feel very grateful, and gratitude is a wonderful thing.
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Perhaps reading this will move us all to look for ways to contribute more to the human family. Conscious awareness and fellow feeling are an important first step toward solving problems, especially big problems.
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So here’s the scenario:
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If we could reduce the world’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human ratios remaining the same, the demographics would look something like this:
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The village would have 60 Asians, 14 Africans, 12 Europeans, 8 Latin Americans, 5 from the USA and Canada, and 1 from the South Pacific
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51 would be male, 49 would be female
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82 would be non-white; 18 white
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67 would be non-Christian; 33 would be Christian
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80 would live in substandard housing
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67 would be unable to read
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50 would be malnourished and 1 dying of starvation
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33 would be without access to a safe water supply
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39 would lack access to improved sanitation
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24 would not have any electricity (And of the 76 that do have electricity, most would only use it for light at night.)
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7 people would have access to the Internet. this puts you in that 7% minority!
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1 would have a college education
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1 would have HIV
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2 would be near birth; 1 near death
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5 would control 32% of the entire world’s wealth; all 5 would be US citizens
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33 would be receiving - and attempting to live on - only 3% of the income of “the village”
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Source: Discomfort Zone
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It’s something to think about, isn’t it?
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No matter who you are, chances are as you look over this list, you can see a lot of reasons for us to count your blessings.
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PS. I would love to hear your comments & feelings on this!

Do not fear failure, failure is just a learning experience. There is really no such thing as failure; there are only results. It is on record that the inventor Edison, on being told that his fiftieth experiment to produce an electric light bulb had failed said, “No we didn’t fail, we just found another way of not doing it”.
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You have the power to hurt or benefit yourself. If you do not choose to be motivated, no one can really motivate you. However if you do choose to be motivated, then you don’t need anyone else’s help. Mind is the creator of everything. You simply need to guide it.
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If you cling to a motivating thought without fear and with enough dynamic power, it will form a tangible form. Whenever you choose to employ your imagination for constructive purposes you become the controller of your destiny. The mind is like an elastic band. The more you pull, the more it stretches.
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If you find being motivated over a particular idea overwhelming, then the best first step is to break it down into smaller sizes. You may remember the old joke about “how do you eat an elephant?” The answer is “one bite at a time”. Begin by seeing the task in its finished state and then notice only the smaller steps that are needed to complete the task.
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Successful people believe that everything happens for a reason and a purpose, and it serves us. All successful people focus on what is possible in a situation, what positive results can come from it. They believe that every adversity contains the seed of a greater benefit.
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Whatever occurs in your life it is vital that you take responsibility. Achievers believe that no matter what happens, they created it. Taking responsibility is a measure of a person’s maturity and power. If you don’t believe in failure then you have nothing to lose. If you are in control, you will succeed. Most successful people don’t believe they have to know everything. They don’t get bogged down with worrying about small details. Entrepreneurs have a working knowledge about a lot of things but little knowledge of each and every minor detail.
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Mark Twain, the great American philosopher said, “the secret of motivation is in making your vocation your vacation”. In other words, work should be play. You enrich your life by bringing the same motivation used when at play, to your work.
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There certainly is no success without commitment. If you look at motivated people they are always the ones with the most commitment. They follow their main aim without fear. If there is something you always wanted to do, then do it. Remember, the truest five words are ‘whatever you think, you create’ and you can create whatever you want.
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Source: Excerpt from Michael Cambry’s book ‘Solutions with Pearls of Wisdom’
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About the author: Michael Cambray is a retired naturopath and has accumulated specialised knowledge of many alternative health subjects over the past thirty years. Michael has diplomas in many alternative subjects and has published 13 books on various topics plus a popular Australian monthly newsletter.

Zig Ziglar on gratitude and attitude

Zig Ziglar on gratitude and attitude. Learn how to end Stinken Thinken. It’s 100% useful and lots of fun!!!