It's Not What Happens That Determines The Quality Of Your Life, But How You Respond To It

Why We Are Attracting The Same Conditions?

Everything that happens in our life reflects our inner state of being. It has to because no two people have the same lesson from their experience. Therefore, it underscores that what we think is externalised in our reality, whether we are conscious of it. Many people struggle with this idea and try to change outside circumstances to coincide with their inner state of being. For example, if we are unhappy being single, we will look for a partner. If the relationship falls short of our expectations, we might end it because it hasn't fulfilled our needs. The same thing happens in other areas of life. We try desperately to change the world outside of us, to make us happy. But this is a recipe for disaster because the key to happiness is to reverse engineer the process.

We must first adjust our thoughts, then we will attract ideal conditions that match our inner vision. 

Can you identify with this? Have you experienced something similar? It's a common situation because we are convinced the only way to attain happiness is to change outside conditions. Unfortunately, we cannot change reality and therefore can only control our inner state of being. Can you recall the child toy you played with called a Shape Sorter, where you had to fit a circle, triangle or square into its corresponding shape? The toy is useful for building children's motor-skill patterns. Some children initially struggle to make a triangle fit into a square hole, but eventually work out the correct block.

I'm proposing we adopt a similar analogy and align our thoughts with our true desires, instead of trying to manipulate reality. Therefore, it's not our circumstances that determine the quality of our life, but how we respond to it. We must find out why we are attracting the same conditions. For example, do you repeatedly attract the same negative experiences? It might be with your finances, health, relationships or career? I know it's frustrating because there was a time I was attracting difficult experiences without knowing why. I was spinning my wheels and couldn't see past my difficulties.

When I stopped trying to change external circumstances and accepted my problems, my life improved enormously. I accepted I was attracting undesirable circumstances and discovered why these patterns kept repeating. I processed my childhood wounds where anger, resentment and shame were operating and sabotaging my happiness. On a conscious level, I knew what I wanted my life to be, but my actions were not conforming to my innermost thoughts. There was a discrepancy in what I wanted and what was materialising in my life. So, I analysed my old beliefs that were creating my difficult experiences and adjusted them to correspond with a new reality.

You Are Not Powerless To Change Your Life

I realise it might seem like a lot of hard work. But what's the rush, if you keep repeating the same patterns and attracting negative circumstances? I surprised when people say: "It was meant to be" because what I'm hearing is resignation and apathy in their words. I'm hearing someone who is not in control of their life and feels powerless to change their circumstances. How we respond to our problems is based on our attitude. Our response is how we claim control over our circumstances, instead of allowing them to defeat us. Life is mirroring our innermost beliefs about reality. When people say life is good or bad, I disagree because life is impartial. It is a concealed mirror reflecting what we hold in our heart and mind.

Are you getting the sense that you have more power than you realise? Can you see by directing your thoughts, you shift your life in a different direction? You don't have to keep recycling the same conditions. I'm assuming since you are reading this article, you are drawn to the message these words convey? I'm assuming you want to make changes, but you are scared or don't know what steps to take? And that's okay. It's okay to be frightened and not know how to get out of your current circumstances; it means you will keep searching for answers. But don't believe for a second you are powerless to change your life. It may seem that way from your current position because you are a focussed on the problem, not the solution.

So, here's an exercise I invite to undertake, if you are serious about overcoming your current challenges. In a recent blog article via his website, researcher and lecturer Dr Joe Dispenza invites us to answer five questions regarding our current challenges. I completed the exercise recently on a current problem and found it valuable to look at my situation from a fresh perspective. Instead of dwelling on the problem, I could see how it was contributing to my personal growth. In fact, I came up with five advantages that the problem was contributing to my life. So, after you finish reading this article, take 10 or 15 minutes and complete the questions. See if you can find the hidden treasure contained within your current problem. Give yourself the gift of responding to your challenges differently. It is only when we step outside the box and see our problems from a new perspective that we will change our life completely.

Do you want to lead a remarkable life? Are you committed to taking action despite your fears and doubts? If so, download your FREE copy of my eBook NAVIGATE LIFE right now, and start your amazing journey of greatness today!

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Tony_Fahkry/837610

Bucket List 2020: How to Make a Bucket List (with 553 Ideas to Add to Your Bucket List)

 

https://youtu.be/L8aEWQTaWOo

Here's some great advice and ideas for making your own bucket list

10 Ways to Get Back to Your Reading Habit

We have published an article about how to read more books. Now this post is for those who used to read in past and now stopped it for some reasons. Recently a friend asked how he could start reading habit. When I asked him what kinds of books he liked to read, his answer surprised me that he couldn't remember the last time he had read an entire book but he read a lot of news and stuffs online. Another friend admitted her own difficulties with reading as much as she used to, especially fiction. According to her there is enough drama going on around the world, so she didn't feel to read fictionalized drama.

There was one who said he 'prefer to experience real life rather than reading about it in books.' As for this kind of people who think their lives are more interesting and so diverse to give them all the wisdom and emotional skills to direct them through our increasingly complex societies, then I cannot shatter their sweet illusion. So here I want to address those who really want to read but somehow they can't.

There is a difference in reading online news and articles and reading a book. I mean the long-form (books or novels) and shorter pieces (online news and articles). Our cognitive processes are such that we read quicker and with less comprehension and retention when scrolling through short online articles, blogs, and news and clicking on link after link. Though I also read a lot online (news, book reviews, author interviews, etc.), books remains my primary source of knowledge and thoughts. Reading is not only about improving quality of our lives but also the quality of the attention we pay to the things and people in our daily lives. It changes our ways of engaging with the people and being in the world.

Here I'm suggesting some approaches to rekindle and cultivate the habit of reading. It's better to find a way for a regular reading practice organically rather than forcing yourself to read.

Move to Books from Online Articles

If you enjoy reading online about some specific topics, look for the best books published on those topics online or at your local library or bookstore. Don't forget to check the writer's name of that article you liked reading online as they might have books published too. You will get a deeper and more considered dive into those topics in book-length works. Also ask booksellers and librarian about the book on that topic you liked as they truly enjoy engaging with readers and recommend specific kinds of books. If you're living where there is no library or a bookstore nearby, you can join online library and download books on an electronic device.

Move to Books from Movies

If you enjoy movies, look for those adapted from a book and then read that book. If possible (I insist) don't watch movie before you read the book. By a little search in Google, You can find the movies based on books which are already released or will release in near future. Once you are done with that book, try to watch movie adaptation, and you'll realize what you were missing while watching only movie and not reading book.

Read Literature on Travelling

If travelling is your thing, look for books written about or around the next place you are planning to visit. Read those books before, during, and after your trip. It will make the whole travelling experience richer and more satisfying. Often, travel books are about going down the beaten path and it not only enlighten but also encourage us to wander the unknown places.

Read Short Stories

If book-length fiction is frightening you, then pick a short story book. You can usually finish them in a single sitting but they can stimulate your appetite for longer book-length fiction works. There are so many wonderful short stories available online. These short stories can leverage your regular reading habit.

Read with friends

If you can't read alone or need company while reading, Join or start a book club. I personally prefer reading alone but I enjoy those odd book discussions with readers in Book clubs. If you can't find book club nearby you, you can find it online. I love to discuss the books online with the readers from across the world. It fascinates me how differently we all interpret the same book and I always learn something new. Another way is find a friend who likes to read, and ask him (or make him) to read the same book you want to read or read the same book he is reading and then discuss chapter by chapter. This will make you understand and enjoy the book at another level.

Buy an e-Reader

If you are strapped for time, invest in an e-reader or a good audiobook membership. Then you can read while waiting in the grocery checkout line, during daily commutes, or while doing daily chores. You will be amazed to know that you have this much time for reading which was wasted. So recuperate some of this time and use it in reading.

Start a Journal

Begin to write a books journal daily where you write about whatever you've read that day. This will help you to form your thoughts and reflections on the topics and themes you've read about, which is the whole point of reading after all. Write in a private journal or in an online blog, whichever suits you.

Set Reading Goals

If goal achievements and quantified self-hood drives you, then sign up on a website like Goodreads or LibraryThing to log every book you read by date, you can also add rating based on how much liked that book. I use one of these sites to keep track of my personal library and to read list. Set daily goals for reading. Achieving these goals will encourage you to set bigger reading goals and achieve them.

Listen to Book Podcasts

Listen to some good book related podcasts, where they invite authors and discuss their books. I have, many times, bought a certain book after hearing its writer speak about it. There are many podcasts you can choose from. For short stories I like The New Yorker Fiction, The New Yorker Writer's Voice and NPR's Selected Shorts. And for authors' interviews, I prefer BBC World Book Club, CBC's Writers and Company, BBC Radio 4 Bookclub and The Guardian Books.

Attend the Literary events or Festivals

If there are any book related literary festivals near you, try to go there at least once a year. Every year we have a book fair and literature festival for a week, I never missed this event. I can't go there for whole week but I find time on weekend. Celebrating books with other readers is an exceptional delight.

Bonus Tips

Mix up your reading list with different genres and topics. There are many book recommendation websites out there and ours is one of them. Subscribe us for getting regular book recommendation and get yourself a book interests you most. You can read one book at a time or can pick multiple books from different genres and read few pages or chapters from each book every day. Do not try to keep reading the book you have lost interest in. It will kill your enthusiasm and passion for reading. There are so many books out there on every imaginable topics and themes, so drop that book and pick another one.

Reading book is a personal investment that will pay off in long run. The Best books go beyond the education, entertainment, and altering perspectives. It helps us to develop and strengthen our cognitive and emotional muscles to deal better with whatever comes on our way.

This article was published on https://www.bookishelf.com The Bookish Elf is all about the passion for books and reading, knowledge and perception. We are a small group of readers who want the world to know what we read and what they should read.

We'll love to hear pieces of advice, appreciation or criticism. You can send us all your queries and suggestions by filling the form on the Contact us page or mailing us on: contact@bookishelf.com. We'll be grateful for each word of feedback received from you.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Mitul_Patel/2563463

7 Beliefs You Must Have To Live A GREAT LIFE - Your Beliefs Shape Your Reality!

 

https://youtu.be/akukonfG-fs

Here's some great advice about beliefs for living a great life from Fearless Soul

Become Successful by Doing the Simple Things Right Every Day

Everybody wants to understand the magic formula of how to be successful in life. And especially at the beginning of a New Year, we make resolutions to improve our lives, hoping to pivot towards success.

We set out to stop smoking, exercise regularly, learn a new language, or save more money. But studies have shown that 80% of all New Year Resolutions fail within weeks.

Why is it that people fail to stick to their resolutions? And how can you create lasting positive change in your life?

Any famous actor, athlete, or entrepreneur will tell you that success does not come overnight. Instead, being successful is the result of years of practice and making the right choices.

Master 3 Areas to Become Successful in Life

To experience the magic of great success, here are three areas we need to master:

First, we need to develop a life philosophy that helps us tackle daily life with the right attitude.

Second, we need to commit to lifelong learning.

And third, there are essential habits to heed that will make success unavoidable.

All the reasons why people don't succeed with their New Year Resolutions relate in one way or another to attitude, learning, and habits.

And perhaps we weren't ready when the New Year started. After all, it is just a random date, and any day is perfect for changing your life.

As the Chines proverb says, 'The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.'

And the good news is that we all already can excel in these success enablers.

1. Develop the Right Attitude to Excel in Life

We live our lives moment by moment. And a lot of those moments we pass with seemingly unimportant activities like making our bed, brushing our teeth, taking the escalator, ordering coffee at Starbucks.

We also call these daily life activities the mundane, and many of us perceive them as dull.

And we tend to overlook the little things because they often do not have an immediate result. Little things compound over time. And as such, they make all the difference.

And as the ancient Zen saying goes, "The Way a Person Does One Thing Is the Way They Do Everything," every seemingly small choice in our life matters.

When we control the small things in our lives, we demonstrate to ourselves that we are responsible for our lives.

Blaming the circumstances never gets us anywhere. And by being in control of the little things in our life, we also develop the proper focus that will eventually lead us to success.

95% of people fail at achieving most of their goals in life. How can this be when all we have to do is concentrate on the simple things in life? Successful people know that everything they do in life matters.

Unsuccessful people often think, unknowingly, that what they do right now does not matter.

Our view on life is our life philosophy. It determines our mindset and attitudes, feelings, and, of course, actions.

An essential part of our life philosophy related to success is knowing that we can improve our intelligence and abilities.

The Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck has called this the growth mindset. If you have a growth mindset, you don't believe that your current situation is everlasting.

This understanding particularly applies to how we deal with failures. When you come to see faults as proof of having an inept personality, this limiting and prejudicial fixed mindset will become a natural constraint to your growth.

Dweck found that those with a growth mindset managed to recover from failures. More accurately, she noticed that because the growth-minded students didn't regard their intelligence level as fixed, they did not perceive failure as a threat.

Instead, people with a growth mindset know they could learn from failure and use the experience to improve. As a result, they are more inclined to take on challenges and learn from them.

2. Lifelong Learning Will Help You Live up to New Challenges

Having a growth mindset, you understand that you can and must continuously evolve with your environment.

Good past choices that brought you where you are today might not keep you there as the world changes.

Reading ten pages of an inspirational and educational book every day can significantly enrich your life. Doing so would mean that you could finish a 300-page book every month. You could also listen to 15 minutes of life-transforming audio every day or take a course or a seminar every few months.

Once you learn something, you need to put it into practice. As the Chinese philosopher Confucius said, 'Knowledge without practice is useless, and practice without knowledge is dangerous.'

3. Use the Power of Positive Habits to Become Unstoppable

We all struggle to break bad habits, despite our best efforts. So here's a tip: The easiest way to get rid of a bad habit is to replace it with a good one.

Good habits are a vital ingredient in how to be successful in life. But establishing good habits requires action.

No matter how much skill, knowledge, experience, or resources we have, they are of no use unless we do something.

That's why the first habit we need to cultivate is to show up. As the American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, 'Do the thing, and you shall have the power.'

Time can be your best friend or your worst enemy. If we follow through on taking small, simple, positive actions every day, success will become apparent as time goes on.

But if we ignore the mundane matters of life, we may fail to achieve our goals.

And to make your life easier right now, surround yourself with successful people.

Those around us naturally influence us. So if your closest connections are heading for failure, you might end up there, too.

But if they're on the path to success, that is your likely destination, too.

And remember: It does not matter where you come from, but where you go will make all the difference.

Svend Nelson is a writer, online entrepreneur and university lecturer. Svend lived and worked in various countries across Latin America, Europe and Asia and now spends most of his time in Thailand. A more detailed version of the above article has appeared on TumDaiNa, a Thai website with practical resources to become the best version of yourself.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Svend_Nelson/14256

6 Time Management Tips to Increase Productivity | Brian Tracy

 

https://youtu.be/3KafgR2WEgY

Here's some great time management tips from Brian Tracy

Will You Recognise the Path Forward?

Imagine your dream life for a moment:

You have a fulfilling career that pays well.

It leaves you plenty of time to spend with your loved ones.

Folks adore, respect and recognise you, as you change the world for the better.

Tell me...

Would you recognise the steps towards this life if you saw them?

It's deliciously easy to imagine the end - how it all turns out once everything goes right. But for everything between here and there...

There's the old adage that opportunities come disguised as hard work.

But it gets worse than that. A willingness to work hard won't answer all your problems. Opportunities wear fractal disguises - even when you zoom in and peel back the layers, it's not always clear what you're looking at.

This can be a problem with affirmations.

You might not know what you truly want... so your affirmations focus on the wrong thing.

But even if you get that right - which is a big 'if' for most of us - that doesn't mean it'll all be peaches and gravy for you.

You still have to recognise opportunities when they come.

And then you have to take them.

The good news is it gets easier to spot the chances in your life. After all, that's one of the main benefits of affirmations. The more you repeat them, the more it trains your unconscious mind to look for what you want in the world around you.

The bad news?

It doesn't always make it easier to take them.

You still have to act.

That means knowing when the opportunities are real, and not you tricking yourself.

That's the easy part.

The harder part is when you abandon all excuses, fears and distractions.

Change is hard. It's literally painful. That can make it easier to run away from opportunities - to lose yourself in distractions like video games and work.

Or to think you don't deserve this.

But you do deserve this. The fact you're even making a real effort to change proves you're worthy.

Besides, plenty of losers make it big all the time. You have more potential - more 'worth' - than them. So if they can do it, so can you.

All you need to do is commit, not quit.

Affirmations will only help you if you take advantage of them. The best car in the world takes you nowhere until you drive it.

If you want something badly enough to even consider affirmations, then it's time to go for it.

Time is ticking.

What will you do now?

There are two ways to do affirmations:

There's the easy way, where you stick a note on your fridge and pretend it'll work.

Then there's the right way.

Affirmations aren't a shortcut to better things. They take discipline and persistence. But I pity anyone who doesn't sharpen their mind and focus every day.

Learn the full, real system with Affirmation Bivouac:

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B08X2PFVJ3

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/William_T_Batten/2522089

Anthony Robbins - A Habit Of Positive Thinking

 

https://youtu.be/ZB6yxZ5w1j8

Here's some great advice from Tony Robbins about positive thinking

Maximize Your Time: 10 Tips for Extreme Productivity

1) Know your work style and use the tools and systems that match. If you work well with technology, use your computer, phone, and apps for your scheduling and organization. If you are a visual person, consider using a paper calendar and a written to-do list. If you are a people person, develop a team around you to complement your strengths. If you work alone, find time to focus and remain distraction-free. If you are a morning person, attack the most important tasks early in the day. 

2) Use ONE calendar. Sometimes people will have several calendars: one for family, one for work, one for personal appointments. Keep ONE calendar for everything. Use different colors or type styles to differentiate categories. Personally, I am very visual and remember things better when I write them down, therefore I have a paper calendar for my appointments, but due to the need for dynamic communication I have a Google calendar to support my scheduling, which might appear like two calendars, however, this calendar is a mirror of the paper one and has everything on it. While it is extra work to have both, it is one calendar (paper or digital) with all the information. 

3) Make a to-do list at the end of each day. Your mind naturally begins to work on the list as you sleep. When you awake, you are ready to work, are very productive and organized. Estimate how much time each task will take you and only put on your next day to-do list what is reasonable to get done. 

4) "Eat your frog first." A Brian Tracy concept*: Do the hardest thing you have to do all day first before you do anything else. Doing this will provide you with the feeling of success in having a "burden" off your back and the momentum to accomplish the remaining tasks. 

5) Have a clear goal; write it down and read it daily. When you have a goal you know what to focus on and work toward. If you do not have this at the front of your mind, it is easy to get caught up with the urgent things of the day or trapped in reacting to e-mail, phone calls, interruptions, and other people's emergencies. 

6) Have a "power hour." Designate one hour each day to close the door, shut down e-mail, turn off the ringer on the phone and guard yourself from interruptions. Have a pre-picked project that you will work on during this time only. Make sure to go to the bathroom, get a drink, and do whatever else you need to in order to ensure you do not leave once this hour starts. Give yourself 30 minutes after this hour to return calls, e-mails, and care for people with whom you need to follow up that you missed during the POWER HOUR. 

7) Touch it once. This means e-mail, mail, papers, etc. Touch it and make a decision. File it, toss it, or put it in a place for action. Sorting bins are helpful for this. Sorting bins often have labels like: read, file, do this week, urgent, bills, etc. Also, if your subject lines in e-mails are accurate, it is easy for both you and the recipient to find the e-mail. Paper, soft copy (computer), and e-mail folders should have matching labels. 

8) Have daily habits. After you develop a routine of things that are simple but important, your body will naturally do them. This is important because we can get distracted by our regular routines and use them as vices to interrupt, procrastinate, and prolong important things that really need to get done. If you start your day right, you will be ready to do those urgent and important tasks, increasing your everyday productivity. 

9) Pre-prep. Have you ever been amazed on cooking shows how they make a complicated dish in 10 minutes? OK, part is edited TV time, but they also have everything pre-prepped for quick assembly. Why not do the same? Prepare your information packets and new client folders, turn common documents into a template, set up e-mail group/ distribution lists for teams, etc. 

10) Maximize car systems. Listen to a book on audio to maximize your windshield time and learn. Have a bin to put important things in, rather than having them all over the car. Have a trash bag to catch the litter. Always have a bottle of water in the car with you; dehydration causes fatigue, memory loss, and low concentration. Make sure your contacts are portable (e.g, phone, planner, business card file book) so you can keep people and numbers at your fingertips (so that you can call if you're running late, caught in traffic, etc.). Enjoy relaxing, breathing, and taking in the day while driving (rather than cleaning, talking on the phone, etc.) When you implement a few simple productivity strategies and develop them as time-saving habits, you will quickly enjoy the benefit of more time and energy and overall increased productivity. 

*Tracy, Brian. Eat that Frog! 21 Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time. San Francisco: BerrettKoehler, 2001

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Christy_Geiger/2434143

What People Don't Realize About Life | Listen This Everyday and You'll See Changes in Your Life

 

https://youtu.be/5CS0yUkI9K0

Here's some great advice from John Assaraf