You Are Worth More Than What You Think!

Do you sometimes feel like you are a work in progress? Do you feel the drive to keep improving yourself and then find yourself in a spiral of despair because you just never feel like you measure up to your dream life? For many people, this is their reality. Research has shown that this may be one of the most common causes of weight gain and emotional eating disorders.

“Don't be afraid of those who want to kill your body; 

they cannot touch your soul. 

Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 

What is the price of two sparrow - one copper coin? 

But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. 

So don't be afraid; 

you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.“ 

Matthew 10:28-31, NLT.

All of us need to find freedom from the cycle that we are imperfect. While we all have room to grow and develop; the most freeing of all realities about ourselves that we need to absorb and accept is that we are a unique and beautiful human being. There is no one quite like us on this earth and there never will be in all eternity. Once we accept this for ourselves, we can then look for ways to make what is good in us even better. Without this perspective, we will constantly strive to find some self-acceptance and won’t move much beyond this point in our life.

An old African proverb reminds us that: "if we don’t have any enemies inside us, then no external enemies can cause us to harm or hurt." Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who is considered the father of the nation of India, and is known throughout the world as Mahatma Gandhi, was a true believer of self-worth and human dignity. He was once quoted as saying, "Nobody can hurt me, without my permission."

David Goggins, the author of the self-help memoir book called, Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds, where he offers practical advice on how to overcome your obstacles. He said this in one of his quotes: "We live in an external world. Everything you have to see it, touch it. If you can for the rest of your life, live inside yourself - to find greatness you have to go inside."

David Goggins himself was able to transform himself by overcoming obesity, cracked childhood foundation, and other obstacles, and on January 19, 2013, he broke the world record for most pull-ups done within 24 hours by completing 4,030 pull-ups in 17 hours.

Let me ask you a familiar question: have you noticed that when things are going well on the inside and you are feeling secure and happy with life, things that go wrong in your life don’t seem to be so bad? But when you are feeling bad about yourself, things are so different and your self-esteem becomes lower. The world seems to take on a much darker feeling and it’s more difficult to cope when things are not going the right way.

Learning to love yourself and to appreciate the uniqueness you are, is often the first stage of learning how to control your weight, feel confident in studying or changing careers, or learning a new hobby, or starting your own business, or even vying for a much-coveted political post. Many of the things we procrastinate over, that are for our own benefit and enrichment are often the things we don’t do, because perhaps deep inside we don’t think we are good enough or worthy enough to do these things for ourselves.

You should know your own worth. Be confident about yourself because self-confidence is a key ingredient for your success in life and entrepreneurial endeavors. It is easy to become demoralized, frustrated, and resentful if you lack self-confidence.

Self-confidence is concerned with how you feel about your abilities. You should not be scared to explore the uncharted territories, take calculated risks, and take on to answer the difficult questions. A confident person knows, deep inside himself that he is equal or more to the challenge ahead.

Self-confidence, however, is not a personal trait that either you have it or you don't. A person can have high self-confidence in one situation and totally lack in another area. This is one of those skills that can be developed by training and learning.

Challenge those of your negative thoughts and starting tomorrow - Choose one thing you want to do for you. Because guess what, you are worth it! Most people have to battle the self-talk and rarely say anything nice about themselves. Try looking in the mirror when you wake up and tell your reflection what you would tell your best friend... You are worth it!

Here's a powerful motivational YouTube video about your true value. Inside this video, your true value is contrasted with a one-dollar bill, and a great lesson is learned. The speaker, Jeremy Anderson, claims that no matter what happened to you, your true value is unchangeable!

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How To Achieve Life-Work Balance Without Stress

 

Most of us have things in our lives we want to do, as well as those things we have to do. Perhaps you want to go to the gym more often, or you want to read more books this year. Like most of us, do you find yourself wishing you had more time to pursue the things you want to do as well as the things you need to do?

 

Whilst time management is important to achieving these goals, some other steps must precede it. As you define these steps, preferably using a journal to keep track of what you discover about yourself, they will help you achieve that work and life balance that will enable you to do those things you want to do and achieve at this point in your life.

 

1.    List Your Goals

 

All of us have goals that change regularly and that reflect other things going on in our life at the time. List your goals and prioritize them from important to least important. Include not only the goals you have to achieve but also the personal goals you want to achieve.

 

2.   List Your Daily Schedule

 

Although we want more time in the day, all of us have 24 hours per day. No more, no less. We use some of these hours for sleep and some of these for work and recreation purposes. List down your daily schedule and include the things you must do because they are a commitment. This may include work commitments or school sport commitments with the children.

 

3.  Prioritize Your Personal Goals with Equal Priority as Work-Related Goals

 

Don’t minimize the time available to do the things you want to do, particularly if they are contributing to your life goals or overall wellbeing. Include family time and other essential life activities that require your time and attention.

 

Keep to the Schedule unless in an Emergency

Most people who create a daily schedule, keep to it for a while, but not long enough for it to become a habit. Habits take approximately around 3 weeks to form, so if you want your new approach to work and lifestyle to be maintained, you must protect it at all costs. If you want to achieve your own personal goals, you must protect them at all costs. Eventually, the changes you implement will become second nature, but until then, you need to stay in control of your time management.

"You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 

but on the seventh day, you must stop working, 

even during the seasons of plowing, and harvest." 

Exodus 34:21, NLT.

How To Eliminate Stress In A Stressful Situation

All of us face change in our life. Sometimes we love it, look forward to it and enjoy the preparations that are involved in making it happen. On other occasions, change can be very distressing. Usually occurring without warning, we are usually unprepared for it. We can feel quite disorientated when change is unexpected and it can produce physical reactions we may feel we have little control over.

If we noticed that our life is disorganized and is full of stress and after reading this, we firmly decide to make the necessary changes in order to attain the desired life-work balance, then we should first of all prepare for the unexpected.

 

Facing unplanned change with a prepared mind helps to re-orientate life even when it seems to be out of our control. If we accept that change is inevitable, we see the sense of thinking about and preparing to deal with it well ahead of when it actually happens. It also helps us reflect on how we will eliminate stressful reactions when we face those stress and the changes we're going to make in our life.   

 

Taking the time to plan and prepare for change is not inviting fate, but facing reality. People who work in occupations that involve dealing with sudden unexpected emergencies are in a state of readiness at all times. They learn to anticipate all possible scenarios by learning how to deal with them before they occur. They learn how to prevent the situation or minimize their harm, and they learn to enact certain actions when these events do occur.

 

We gain valuable insight into how to prepare for change by learning how to apply their approaches to potential change and stressful situations. We prepare for change, or potential stresses in three ways: 

Firstly, the higher the risk of something happening, the more we should anticipate it likely to happen. People living in areas where there is a high risk of a natural disaster occurring, prepare for its inevitably, by preparing their surroundings each year and psychologically being ready for it. 

 

Secondly, contrary to people may think, being psychologically prepared for change is possible. Although it is impossible to know what it will be like to face being a parent, for example, we can prepare ourselves by reading and identifying possible areas of concern we may personally face in our new parenting role.  

 

Thirdly, we can learn to manage our responses and thoughts in times of minor changes and challenges. As we do this, we are providing ourselves with invaluable training. Learning how to deal with the many minor challenges and changes we face daily, will help us to develop the skills to deal with stress in both the unexpected an expected major events.

Here's a video of TED talk by Nigel Marsh, author of the book: Overworked and Underlaid: A Seriously Funny Guide To Life. He is giving his thoughts on four observations he found in studying the issue of work-life balance. 

 

 

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5 Most Common Goal Setting Mistakes To Avoid

Goal setting is a common process to achieve success. However, many times, people make some common mistakes while setting goals. These mistakes lead to not achieving the desired success and loss of all hope. 

“Indeed, we all make many mistakes.

 For if we could control our tongues, 

we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way. “ 

James 3:2, NLT.

Listed below are five very common mistakes that people make while setting goals.

• The first mistake people often make is setting fuzzy goals. For instance, I want to make a big bungalow. These types of goals are fuzzy as there is no definite idea to start and about the result. These types of goals only lead to obfuscation and unhappiness for not achieving success

• The second major mistake is setting deadlines that are hard to meet. Estimation is a mathematical analysis that very few people have the capacity to do accurately. Some people set very tight deadlines thinking to achieve success quickly. However, they do not realize that tight deadlines are hard to meet and you can easily commit a mistake due to the pressure of meeting deadlines.

• The third major mistake is that people often set boundaries when trying to achieve goals. Limiting yourself does not allow you to grow in terms of experience and encouragement. Only stretching yourself over the boundaries can enrich you with the qualities necessary for the achievement of success

• The fourth major mistake that people make is that they discuss matters of importance to achieve a goal with the wrong people. They make the whole process more confusing and at times negative comments or wrong comments can make you demotivated. Further, they tend to give wrong suggestions, which make it even more difficult for you to achieve success.

• Last but not the least, the fifth mistake most people do, is not having a proper action plan to reach their goal. In other words, you cannot call a thing goal unless you have a plan set. Then it is merely a dream. Moreover, you cannot expect to make a plan within ten minutes. It takes time, patience, hard work, and detailed research to chalk out a plan in order to achieve a goal. In most cases, a goal remains a dream because people cannot make a well-detailed plan and execute it accurately. Executing it with integrity at the right time is important in the achievement of success.

Thus, here you have learned about the most common mistakes that people make when achieving their goals. You're no longer ignorant of the common mistakes in goal setting. Only if you can learn the mistakes and keep them in mind, and avoid them, then you can achieve success easily.

“People ruin their lives by their own foolishness 

and then are angry at the LORD.” 

Proverbs 19:3, NLT.

Here's a video explaining the 5 common mistakes, people make when setting their goals.

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Strategic Plans For Quick Goals Achievement

Achievement of a goal takes a long time and due to this reason, many people tend to divert from achieving their goals. Clearly, there are is no short cut method to achieve success. However, if you are smart enough or take smart actions, then you can reach your goals in a much shorter time compared to others. Nevertheless, do not expect to do a thing in one day that others might take years to achieve. 

“It is the same with my word,

 I send it out, 

and it always produces fruit.

 It will accomplish all I want to, 

and it will prosper everywhere I send it.” 

Isaiah 55:11, NLT.

The great classical philosopher, Aristotle described the process of achieving your goal this way: "First, have a definite, clear, practical ideal; a goal, an objective. Second, have the necessary means to achieve your ends: wisdom, money, materials, and methods. Third, adjust all your means to that end."

Listed below are a few smart moves or strategic plans that you can follow in order to achieve success in a shorter time compared to others. Remember: failure to plan is planning to fail.

• Read yourself and your mind. You must be able to read yourself and your mind clearly. This means you must have the ability to point out your goals specifically. Often people set goals that are not specific. For example, if a person says that he wants to be rich, then that is not a goal because it has no specifications. Richness can be in terms of wealth, education, and many such things. Therefore, be specific and very, very clear in your goal.

• Motivate yourself. Sometimes, you may not get any motivation from others; therefore, you must know the strategy to motivate yourself in times of depression and frustration. You can do this by reminding yourself at least twice daily of the goals you set. You can remind yourself once in the morning when you get up from sleep and once at night before going to bed. Human psychology works at these hours. You can also reward yourself at each step you succeed to achieve.

• Visualize your goals. Spend at least fifteen minutes every day visualizing your goals. This again will help in motivation. However, make sure that no one disturbs you during this time. Visualization works because neurons in our brains, those electrically excitable cells that transmit information - interpret this visualized imagery as equivalent to when a real-life action happens. And you will have the benefits of experiencing it as someone who has done it physically.

• Make proper strategic plans. Proper planning is essential to achieve a goal. You must plan once by yourself, and then verify the plan with someone well experienced. This consultation will help you to identify your faults made in the plan. You can write down your plans in a tabular way, as only then everything will appear to be in order. 

• Write down your goals. Writing down your goals helps create a vision in your mind of how you want to be in the future. You can visually see the goal and understand the difference it will make in your life. When we see something clearly it creates change in how we act as we have clarity and direction. We are then more likely to be productive and creative if we can identify how the goal achievement will transform our life.

• Measure your progress at every step. Ensure that you have the ability to measure the progress you make in your everyday goals. This is very important, because if you cannot measure your progress, then you cannot update your goals and lose track midway.

• Commitments. Finally, be dedicated and committed to your goals. Dedication plays a major role in the achievement of a goal. Remember: Where there's a will, there's a way out.

Hence, following these strategies you can attain success quickly. Just remember that when you attain success, keep your foot firmly on the ground as most of the people fail to do so. See you at the top!

“Young people, 

it's wonderful to be young! 

Enjoy every minute of it. 

Do everything you want to do; take it all in. 

But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do.” 

Ecclesiastes 11:9, NLT.

Here's a video introduction of the book called The Most Powerful Goal Achievement System In The World by Author Mike Pettigrew. 

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Goals, Dreams, And Wishes: Are They The Same?

                                   Image by Alexas_Fotos from Pixabay

This is a question that you may have asked many times, but have not yet received a satisfying answer. Well, wishes, dreams, and goals are not at all the same. They may have near meanings, but there is a difference between the three of them. They are interlinked on the way they come into existence. A person starts to wish for something, then dream about it, and finally set a goal to achieve it and finally bring wishes into reality.

“If you and your children are well and everything is going as you wish, 

I am thankful for my hope is in God.” 

2 Maccabees 9:20, NLT.

Often you have heard someone wishing something. Wishes are those often asked by a person. There can be thousands of wishes of a person. It is something that one desires to have but does not have it yet. There can be an endless list of wishes in a person’s life. It can be from buying a designer dress to almost anything.

On the other hand, a dream is something that a person visualizes someday. It is more like a goal that you visualize. Dreams give a person the motivation to stand up and move forward in life. Without dreams, a person’s life would have found no meaning or taste. In other words, we could say, it's an animated picture of your wishes that are played in your mind.

A goal is a target that a person sets in life. In other words, you can also call it an achievement. However, all these three closely related to each other. They are convertible. As mentioned before only if a person wishes something, then he dreams of that thing; and only if he dreams of that thing, he gets the motivation to set it as a goal. Thus, you see that there is no existence of one without the other. All three complement each other.

Wish makes life colorful. Dream makes a life motivated. The goal makes life purposeful. This is why these three things – wish, dream, and goal are a very important part of life. They help a human being to live happily. These three things help a man to be optimistic and learn about the daily hectic of life.

For instance, many people wish that they had a car, but unfortunately, they do not have the capacity to buy a lavish car. The next step for them is to dream and visualize that they have a car. This will help them to get the motivation to buy a car. Then, they will take the necessary steps to buy the car. Although it may not be possible at once, they have to set, some other goals that will help them make money and finally achieve their goal of buying a car. Thus, everything relates to one another.

In order to achieve the goal, you have to set our eyes on it just as a predator animal, before catching its prey fixes their eyes on the prey. However, keep in mind that you must not forget the principles of your life while you set to achieve the goals. Most people often forget their principles of life and resort to dubious means in order to achieve the target. 

Keep away from them. If you feel that, the goals are not achievable for you, then leave it for the moment and make some other goal in your life that you find achievable for the moment. Some achievements are attained just like climbing a radar. Maybe before you start earning, per year, a 6-figure buck income and above, you need to upgrade your skills first. But it will be ridiculous to force yourself, to do things beyond a reasonable means with the same unskilled, mediocre mind. Get wisdom first. 

“Vain and false hopes are for the senseless, 

and dreams lend wings to fools. 

The person who believes in dreams is like one who grabs at shadows and chases after the wind. 

What is seen in a dream is simply a reflection, 

a face looking at itself in a mirror.” 

Sirach 34:1-3, NLT.

“Too much activity gives you restless dreams, 

too many words make you a fool. “ 

Ecclesiastes 5:3, NLT.

Before you ask for a blessing, you should have the merit or qualifications first to enjoy the desired blessing. In rare cases, a miracle may happen but that is beyond the realm of your control. A sure way is to learn to become a resourceful person. 

That being said, then wishes, dreams, and goals are needed to live a colorful life in all its fullness.

“Then, 

after doing all those things, 

I will pour out my Spirit upon all people. 

Your son and daughters will prophesy. 

Your old men will dream dreams, 

and your young men will see visions.” 

Joel 2:28, NLT.

Here's a video by Steve Harvey, he gives two things to help you achieve your goals. After finishing watching it, you'll need to read in your Bible these two verses which he mentioned in the video:

• James 4:1-3.
• Habakkuk 2:2-3.

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Your Help To Others Will Help Improve Your Personal Life

One of the top two, the most important commandments says: "Love your neighbor as yourself." The other, most important commandment says: "You must love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul, all your mind, and all your strength." No other commandments are greater than these two. They are far more important than burnt offerings or sacrifices.

 When you're helping other people, you feel better about yourself. It is great to help other people in times of need. You're fulfilling your spiritual and community responsibility.

Many other people are selfish and don’t care about their neighbors. However, there are many ways that you can help people without them being a burden on you. I will give you a few ideas to get your brain rambling, since helping others is very rewarding.

Many options are available for helping other people. It depends on what you like to do. Perhaps you'd enjoy working with disturbed children. This may be a way that you can enjoy living. You are able to call centers that specialize in helping troubled kids to see if volunteers are needed. Perhaps you can join schools that specialize in helping troubled children. 

You will also find hospitals that have high demands for people to help them deal with troubled children. Hospitals are available also that request volunteers to visit the elderly. Imagine how a person would feel if you come to visit and this person has no visitors at all. You might be able also to find administrative employment if you qualify. Physicians are always searching for assistants in their work.

When you work with other people, helping them in life you improve your own life. You'll feel better about yourself. You'll feel like a new person. Helping others is a reward. You will notice that you feel healthier each time you help someone else.

“Watch out. 

Don't do your good deeds publicly to be admired by others, f

or you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven. 

When you give to someone in need, 

don't do as the hypocrites’ do - blowing the trumpet in the synagogue and streets to call attention to their acts of charity. 

I tell you the truth, 

they have received all the reward they will ever get. 

But when you give to someone in need, 

don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

 Give your gifts in private, 

and your Father who sees everything will reward you.” 

Mathew 6:1-4, NLT.

How Do I Develop Qualities To Help Others?

Helping others takes little skill. You'll find qualities inside you that help you develop skills. For example, we all have the ability to use self-awareness or observational tools to observe others. When you take the time to study others you'll see their needs and wants. When you start to see their needs and wants you are able to move to help them. 

For example, if you notice someone struggling to carry grocery bags to their car, you are observing a person in need. Why not give them a helping hand? You'll be astonished by the appreciation they will show to you. Don't stop there, you can also try to find other community issues that are within your capability and try to find solutions for the benefit of the community of which you'll become its useful member.

The things you do to the society now will help you understand better the community you are living in and help you earn priceless experience for your CV, And if you could document these activities, one day, at the time you do not know, they might act as political assets or win community loyalty for your business because of your good reputation on social responsibility. 

Even if that does not happen, you'll still have a reward in heaven and you'll be paid when the righteous people are paid. Just set time to pray for the gift of helping others. The foundation of many successful businesses is built on the mission of helping others get better in life. The secret to their success is that they do that profitably.

In your daily life, try to think global and act local, this is the responsibility of any sensible global citizen. The principle of reciprocity says that - in many social situations we pay back what we received from others. This is one of the basic laws of social psychology and when you apply it by initiating to give your labor to the community, then be sure to be repaid back much more at the time when you need it most. 

"If someone has enough money to live well 

and see a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion - 

how can God's love be in that person?" 

1 John 3:17, NLT.

This video shows the 10 incredible acts of kindness caught on camera.

    

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What You need to Know, in Order to Improve your Life

It seems like everyone is searching for secrets to health, wealth, and happiness. The catch is if you understand yourself, then you'd have the knowledge to be both successful in personal relationships and in business relationships. Like everything, this begins with a plan. Whether you’re anticipating improving your relationship with your spouse or family member, or move up the corporate ladder, this is all a result of personal growth. 

"How great is the one who finds wisdom! 

But no one is superior to the person who fears the Lord. 

Fear of the Lord surpasses all things. 

Those who have it are beyond compare.” 

Sirach 25:10-11, NLT.

So the first thing you need to know is to know yourself. Every move you make in your life depends on your self-awareness. How do you fit in the big-picture? What are your vision, qualifications, talents, and passions? What is the size of your faith? 

Who are you and what you can do best?

Individual growth starts with doing your best at every moment, in your career, home, or daily activities. Goals setting no matter how small enables us to soar to new heights and give us the confidence to accomplish more.  In setting your goals, please don't always put money at the center of your life. Work for eternal life.

Let’s for example, explore a butterfly’s life cycle. Butterfly has four stages of life. All butterflies have "complete metamorphosis." To grow into an adult which is its maturity stage, the butterfly has to go through 4 stages: egg, larva (caterpillar), pupa, and adult. Each stage has a different goal - for instance, caterpillars need to eat a lot, and adults need to reproduce. 

The same applies to you, what you need to understand, is to identify in which stage you are, and what are the most important things you must do to move forward and ultimately improve your life.

Many times, individuals stay hung up on other people’s expectations of what it is to be successful. Each of us has another idea of what makes us content. It's important to acknowledge that if we spend most of our time and effort trying to reach another person’s goals, then we find ourselves perpetually searching for meaning and continue to be distressed. Recognizing what is important is the first step to improving personal life. 

“My child test yourself all your life, 

learn what is bad for you, and do not give in to it. 

 For not everything is good for everyone, 

nor is everything enjoyable, to everyone.” 

Sirach 37: 27-28, NLT.

Work-Life Balance

Work-life balance is the key to success. Some individuals don't see the concept of success beyond their own needs. Frequently we're caught up in serving a dominant function, which overshadows our natural strengths. This results in stress and imbalance in one’s life. 

Learning to do things for yourself and your own needs is vital to improving your personal life. If you're always doing for others, and seldom take time out for you, then you're building stress rather than improving life. Your happiness should come first. Finding it hard to say no to others becomes more common and we find ourselves so engulfed by the needs of others. 

Learn to have an even balance in your life with everything you do and center on what you want is another way to improve your personal life.

Putting yourself down perpetually, finding it hard to accept compliments, and wishing you are someone else are simple examples that you may be sabotaging your own life. Encourage positive self-talk with yourself and to other people, don't speak negatively about yourself and other people. Understanding that no matter what happens to you, your life still matters. 

Improve Your Self-Confidence

Improving your self-confidence is extremely important when your target is to improvise your personal life. This will take putting your positive beliefs in the front of your mind, and day-after-day taking away the negative thoughts. Believing in you is another key to success.

Surround yourself around encouraging, not discouraging individuals. If you just make small steps to do these things, you'll already be improving your personal life without realizing it. The key to success is moving forward. You'll need to learn steps to move ahead and stop looking back. Naturally, history is important, yet you want to avoid lingering over past mistakes. Your mistakes are learning tools. Use them, learn from the mistakes, and move ahead.

When you surround yourself with positive influences, it helps you to gain the power of processing your life. You have control over the conversation and your community. Take back your control and you will improve your overall personal life exponentially.

"So my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. 

Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, 

for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 

1 Corinthians 15: 58, NLT.

The following video is an expanded version of what you can do in order to improve your life. You'll hear 15 different ideas on what you can do to improve your life. 

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Goals Setting Formula That Improves Your Personal Life

In life, we have the formula to use that helps us to create goals that assist us in improving our personal life. To start these goals, however, we must use our inner qualities. The inner qualities include skills, ability to commit, ability to set priorities, ability to accept failure, the will to say no, and so on. We have self-awareness, personality, and other details within. As well as those characters that help us to find ways to improve our personal life.

"Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible." This is a quote from Tony Robbins, the author of the book: Awaken The Giant Within : How to Take Immediate Control of Your Mental, Emotional, Physical and Financial Destiny!

Once you find your qualities, start to develop them and you'll find it easy to set goals. To get started consider brainstorming the long-term goals, the short-term goals, and the evaluation of these goals. Brainstorming some more, continuous evaluation, and so on. And in doing so, you'll want to consider managing your time as well.

"I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things

 or that I have already reached perfection. 

But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, 

but I focus on this one thing:

 Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. 

I press on to reach the end of the race 

and receive the heavenly prize for which, God,

 through Christ Jesus, is calling us." 

Philippians 3:12-15, NLT.

Be sure to start your plans with short-term goals. The short-term goals should lead up to your long-term goals. Short-term goals should include what you want to accomplish in the next few years. 

Do you plan to open a business? 

Do you plan to move to another place? 

Do you plan to start a new job?

Do you plan to start writing your book? 

Do you want to enroll in a new course?

Each question will lead you in a good direction as you find answers. For example, If I plan to open a business in the next few years, then it's sensible to ask these questions: 

How do you plan to open that business? 

What business are you considering?

 How will you get the money (capital) to start your business? 

Do you have a business plan?

What are your market and your competitive advantage?

You have many options, so check your resources, learn new resources, and constantly continue building your dreams to improve your personal life.

After you lay out the plans for your short-term dreams, start working toward your long-term goals. By now, you should already have found your 'calling' to reach your dream destination. For instance, in the next ten years:

What do you see yourself doing in the long-run? 

What kind of legacy do you leave to the next generation?

How much immune to stay afloat is your business?

Use your visions and voices you hear inside to cultivate a better plan. Do the research and brainstorm your ideas thoroughly. And at the same time apply the creative, imaginative, innovative, and analytical mindset to make the best decisions.

To set up long-term plans keep them realistic. There are two available kinds of goals setting techniques you can apply in your life. The first one is abbreviated as SMART goals and the second one as HARD goals. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timely. On the other hand, HARD stands for Heartfelt, Animated, Required, and Difficult It is the achievement of the second one - the HARD goals that will bring to you much satisfaction.

Be sure that your long-term falls in accord with your short-term goals. For example, if you plan to start a business in the next few years, build upon this dream and plan to become productive and established shortly after business conception. Start saving money to back your plans. You will need to set up a budget that allows you to save money. Actually, you have many options so spread your wings and get ready to take-off and reach for the sky as your limit. 

“The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls.” 

1 Peter 1:9, NLT

Here's an animated video that gives us a complete guide on goal setting. This video was produced by Jack Heimbigner. In the SMART goal technique discussed above, Jack had added ER to maker it read - SMARTER goals, where E and R stand for Evaluate and Reward respectively.

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Four Tings That Can Make Your Life More Meaningful

When we spend our lives merely surviving, life can start to seem a little empty and pointless. Nevertheless, this is exactly how many of us live: we work for eight hours or more a day and then we come home feeling too tired and exhausted to do much of anything with our time. So, we sit and watch TV.

The same thing repeats and repeats and the most excitement we have is a holiday once a year to look forward to. Is that really living? That's flavorless life and in essence, it tastes like a slice of roasted meat without salt. We have to add some seasoning to make it more delicious.

Here are four simple changes that can make your life more meaningful:

1. Learning

Constantly learning is a great way to give life more meaning and direction. Ultimately, one of the things that the brain craves most is growth. If it isn’t challenged to learn and grow, then it will shrink and we will become set in our ways. In one way or another at a certain point in your life, you'll be required to act prudently in order to get ahead of others in your life. And prudence comes with a commitment to life-long learning.

Make it your job to constantly be learning new skills and pursuits. That can be related to your career, a hobby, or even a new language! Albert Einstein, who is generally recognized as a genius, was quoted as saying: "Once you stop learning, you start dying". 

And Scripture speaks:

" If you stop listening to instruction,

My child,

You'll turn your back on knowledge" 

Proverbs 19:27, NLT.

2. Relationships

Likewise, relationships are one of the things that we really need to be happy. If you don’t have meaningful relationships, then you’ll have no one to share wit: your pains, your joys, your experiences, your challenges, and your triumphs.

A truly ‘meaningful’ relationship goes beyond friends of friends that you only ever meet in a group. This is someone that you can have a deep heart-to-heart with and who has a long and storied history with you. 

The true relationship is honoring the commitment you made to your life-long companion that you'll stay by his/her side no matter what or until death does you apart. You'll need a dose of combination between discipline and self-control to be truly faithful to your life's partner.

"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken." 

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, NLT. 

3. Challenge

What’s also necessary for life to feel meaningful is a challenge and to some extent, risk. And above it, you must possess the courage to face any life's adversity that comes in your way. But if you walk wisely, nothing will stand on your way.

Have you ever been in a situation that was truly life and death? Or perhaps that put you in a situation where you were close to accomplishing something truly amazing?

These are the moments that the brain focusses and engages with the world. These are the moments when we learn and when we realize the worth of what we have. It puts things in perspective and creates stories. Don’t shy away from the things that test you!

"Dear brothers and sisters when trouble of any kind comes your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you'll be perfect and complete, needing nothing." 

James 1:2-4, NLT.

4. Travel

Finally, everyone should seek to have some travel in their lives. This doesn’t mean you have to backpack across the dessert – but simply being able to experience new sights and new people is important to keep your mind open and your experiences varied. If you don’t have the budget to go away, then come up with an adventure you can enjoy a little closer to home.

You can also travel in the world of genre fiction produced by talented novelists and enjoy the endless imaginations of what could possibly happen in the universe under their given circumstances. You'll learn a lot of moral lessons and execution of justice along the journey.

But of course, be warned!

"Don't go on a journey with irresponsible people, for their mischief will become your burden. They'll do what they wish and you'll be ruined by their foolishness." 

Sirach 8:15, NLT.

And always remember:

"Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, 

and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need" 

Matthew 6:33, NLT.

If you follow this advice religiously, hopefully, you'll start to see your life becomes more meaningful!

For deeper insight, please click here to check out the home-study course for Personal Transformation Mastery 

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