Better You Blog

I seem to lost count on how many times I’ve read and heard of celebrity marriages failing almost left and right. Not that I care (and personally I don’t), it seems strange that we often see movie and TV stars as flawless people, living the fairytale life of riches and glamour. I suppose we all have to stop sticking our heads in the clouds and face reality.

There are many ways to lose your sense of self-esteem despite of how trivial it could get. But whatever happens, we should all try not to lose our own sense of self.

So what does it take to be a cut above the rest? Here are some of the things you can think and improve on that should be enough for a week.

Day 1: Know your purpose.

Are you wandering through life with little direction – hoping that you’ll find happiness, health and prosperity? Identify your life purpose or mission statement and you will have your own unique compass that will lead you to your truth north every time.

This may seem tricky at first when you see yourself to be in a tight or even dead end. But there’s always that little loophole to turn things around and you can make a big difference to yourself.

Day 2: Know your values.

What do you value most? Make a list of your top 5 values. Some examples are security, freedom, family, spiritual development, learning. As you set your goals for 2005 – check your goals against your values. If the goal doesn’t align with any of your top five values – you may want to reconsider it or revise it.

The number shouldn’t discourage you, instead it should motivate you to do more than you can ever dreamed of.

Day 3: Know your needs.

Unmet needs can keep you from living authentically. Take care of yourself. Do you have a need to be acknowledged, to be right, to be in control, to be loved? There are so many people who lived their lives without realizing their dreams and most of them end up being stressed or even depressed for that matter. List your top four needs and get them met before it’s too late!

Day 4: Know your passions.

You know who you are and what you truly enjoy in life. Obstacles like doubt and lack of enthusiasm will only hinder you, but will not derail your chance to become the person you ought to be. Express yourself and honor the people who has inspired you to become the very person you wanted to be.

Day 5: Live from the inside out.

Increase your awareness of your inner wisdom by regularly reflecting in silence. Commune with nature. Breathe deeply to quiet your distracted mind. For most of us city slickers it’s hard to even find the peace and quiet we want even in our own home. In my case I often just sit in a dimly lit room and play some classical music. There’s sound, yes, but music does soothe the savage beast.

Day 6: Honor your strengths.

What are your positive traits? What special talents do you have? List three – if you get stuck, ask those closest to you to help identify these. Are you imaginative, witty, good with your hands? Find ways to express your authentic self through your strengths. You can increase your self-confidence when you can share what you know to others.

Day 7: Serve others.

When you live authentically, you may find that you develop an interconnected sense of being. When you are true to who you are, living your purpose and giving of your talents to the world around you, you give back in service what you came to share with others -your spirit – your essence. The rewards for sharing your gift with those close to you is indeed rewarding, much more if it were to be the eyes of a stranger who can appreciate what you have done to them.

Self-improvement is indeed one type of work that is worth it. It shouldn’t always be within the confines of an office building, or maybe in the four corners of your own room. The difference lies within ourselves and how much we want to change for the better.

As the book is coming to an end, I’d like to share with you some 10 of my favorite quotes on improving yourself. Hope you find them useful!

• Spiritual Growth: the Spiritual Challenge of Modern Times To grow spiritually in a world defined by power, money, and influence is a Herculean task. Modern conveniences such as electronic equipments, gadgets, and tools as well as entertainment through television, magazines, and the web have predisposed us to confine our attention mostly to physical needs and wants. As a......
• Self Improvement HandBook Everything that happens to us happens in purpose. And sometimes, one thing leads to another. Instead of locking yourself up in your cage of fears and crying over past heartaches, embarrassment and failures, treat them as your teachers and they will become your tools in both self-improvement and success. Remember......
• Focus on your mental and emotional side to gain self improvement Not everyone believes this but the emotional and mental aspects of a person, when combined, leads to better self improvement. Emotions love to dominate our actions and reactions, even though we do not want it to happen sometimes. The society often see emotions as a sign of weakness, so people......
• Building Your Self-Esteem So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self-esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may to consider as a starter guide to self-improvement. Imagine yourself as a Dart Board. Everything and everyone else around you may become Dart Pins, at one point or another. These......
• Motivation: The Heart of Self-Improvement Pain may sometimes be the reason why people change. Getting flunked grades make us realize that we need to study. Debts remind us of our inability to look for a source of income. Being humiliated gives us the ‘push’ to speak up and fight for ourselves to save our face......

• Remembering Testimony - Day 33 Truth: "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." Genesis 9:16 (New International Version) Thought: In ancient times, a sign of a covenant was the one making the promise......
• 5 More Tips for Beginning a Wellness Program It is never too late for you to begin a journey in health and wellness. Here is five of ten tips that you can begin today in order to build a foundation for your health and wellness program. 1 - Take Every Step One At a Time - What happens......
• Review: Back to Basics - A Complete Guide to Traditional Skills by Abigail R. Gehring This book, Back to Basics, covers all of the basic living skills that have been employed by our forefathers before us. The full color tome provides a modern window into basic living skills, providing readers with a form of escape into a time before power tools and modern day conveniences.......
• Self Improvement Through Self Defense When people think of "self-improvement", they normally think physical: new hairstyle, trim waist, killer abs, toned muscles, breast implants, etc. Rarely, is any thought ever given to their safety - whether they are physically or mentally prepared to defend themselves and/or their families, especially for women. Taking the necessary steps......
• Is Self Improvement Getting You Down? Image by Mel B. via Flickr There's a dark side to the self-improvement industry. If you're into any form of self-improvement (self-help, personal-development, personal-empowerment, etc.), there's a good chance that you've been affected by it. What is it? Working on improving yourself can actually affect your self-esteem in a......

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