Page 2 – Personal Growth Cafe

October 7, 2019March 27, 2018

I respond to setbacks with optimism and a sense of opportunity.

Challenges that set me back cannot stop me.

At worst, they can only delay my success a little bit.

In the end, though, I know that I can attain great success.

I am confident of my abilities to overcome obstacles.

Sometimes a setback gives me a chance to advance my knowledge and see things in a new way, which results in achieving my goal even sooner than my original path may have taken.

My setback becomes the event that actually catapults me forward!

Sometimes what seems like a setback gives me a chance for adventure, like if my flight is canceled and I am stranded in a strange city.

I could get upset about it.

Or I could take advantage of my opportunity to take a mini-vacation and be a tourist for a day!

If I get stuck in a long traffic jam, instead of worrying about being late for an appointment, I can call ahead to reschedule and then listen to an inspiring CD.

This moment may be just the thing I need to discover a solution to another challenge.

There are some setbacks that can even serve to heighten my motivation to achieve my goal.

My optimistic attitude jumps in to tell me that I am capable, in spite of the setback, and I get through with more determination than ever before!

For these reasons, I resist the temptation to think of setbacks as bad.

In fact, I know that they are often good.

So I view them as an opportunity and look for the silver lining as I seek my solution.

Today, I intend to look for the silver lining in every challenge and view my setbacks in a positive light.

When has a setback turned out to bring you something good after all?

How often are you optimistic that you can succeed in spite of setbacks?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 7, 2019March 27, 2018

There is little success where there is little laughter. – Andrew Carnegie

October 6, 2019March 27, 2018

I take pride in my small achievements, for each step brings me closer to success.

I have a bulletproof plan for success and it keeps me fulfilled and motivated all along the way!

It is my road map and every small task I accomplish is one step on the road to attaining my goals.

I divide every major goal in my life into a series of smaller goals that lead up to it.

Then I divide each of the smaller goals into a series of small, attainable tasks.

Once I take the time to figure out the smaller goals and tasks, I have a sure-fire plan for success.

All I need to do is dive right in!

I schedule some quick and easy tasks for the beginning so that even large projects can be easily started.

This helps me build my focus and momentum.

Once I get going like this, it’s easier to keep going, even when challenges arise.

I have the momentum to solve the problem and continue on.

I keep my plan flexible so that small detours around a challenge can still get me to my destination.

So in my plan, every task completed – every small achievement – is something to be proud of.

Each task is an integral part of my journey to success.

When I complete even the smallest one, I celebrate my victory.

Today, I intend to figure out my detailed plan for success and then I jump right in to achieve those small victories on my journey.

What is your plan for success?

What small steps can you put at the beginning to get started right away?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 6, 2019March 27, 2018

A champion is someone who gets up when he can’t. – Jack Dempsey

October 13, 2018February 15, 2018

Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck leads the flock to fly and follow. – Chinese Proverb

October 13, 2018February 15, 2018

How to Handle Household Arguments Effectively

Inevitably, if there’s more than one person living in your house, at some point in time there will be arguments.

The trick is to learn how to handle household arguments effectively while maintaining loving relationships.

Amazingly, many people treat complete strangers better than they treat their own spouse or children.

As important as it is to treat others well, it’s more important to treat those you love even better.

How to Avoid Arguments

The best way to handle arguments at home is to avoid them in the first place.

How do you do this?

Avoid miscommunication.

Repeat what the other person is saying so there’s no doubt about their intended meaning.

Resolve not to fight over misunderstandings.

Here are some communication tips that can help your family avoid arguments:

1. Be gentle. Try to control the tone of your voice, the look on your face, and your body language when you’re talking with family members.

If you speak with a gentle tone, arguments are less likely to start.

2. Trust. Develop a solid relationship with your spouse and children by keeping lines of communication open, building trust between all family members, and giving each other the benefit of the doubt.

3. Respect privacy. Keep your disagreements strictly between the parties involved rather than discussing them in the open.

This also means that you must avoid arguing in front of your children.

How to Handle Arguments

If an argument does occur, here are some ideas to handle it effectively:

1. Time out! Stop the argument if it becomes a shouting match with one insult after another.

Ask for five minutes to think about what’s already been said.

This will give both parties a chance to calm down and regain their composure.

2. Be willing to accept that you may be wrong. During the course of the time out, did you realize you were in the wrong?

Listen to the other person’s side of the story before you assert your own innocence.

You may have said or done something unknowingly that hurt the other person.

3. Apologize. Be sure to express remorse over your part in the problem and try not to do it again. Ask the other person to forgive you.

4. Is someone hurting? Realize that the other person may be hurt in some way, but it may be expressed through anger, tears, or insults.

By arguing, they may actually be reaching out for help or support.

5. Hormones and illness. Consider how the other person’s gender may be playing a role in the argument.

Perhaps a woman’s monthly cycle is causing her to be overly emotional.

Maybe one person has been ill and is really striking out at others just because they feel bad.

6. Above all, love! Remember that no matter what the argument is about, you love the other person.

Your goal should be to come to a solution where both parties win.

7. Forgive. Once the situation has been resolved, forgive one another and forget about the whole thing.

Determine not to bring the situation up again. It’s over; let it go.

When Your Children Argue

There are many things you can do to promote harmony between your children and reduce their conflicts.

Try these ideas to keep the peace:

1. Avoid comparing your children. They’re individuals and should be treated that way.

Be sure to let your children know how special they are.

2. Establish rules and household responsibilities. This will let them know what’s expected of them.

Include rules about how they should treat one another. Let them know that hitting and name-calling are off limits in your home.

Decide as a family what the consequences will be if they break the rules.

3. Give each child your attention. Many disagreements between children are based upon trying to get their parent’s attention.

If you reinforce to each child that they’re special and that you love them, they’ll have less reason for arguing and more reason to dwell in the family’s love.

In the long run, each person in the family makes the decision to argue or not.

If you decide that you won’t be dragged into an argument, the argument will often end of its own accord.

These are not the only ways to effectively handle household arguments, but they may be enough to make the arguments less frequent so your family feels more secure, loved, and peaceful.

How often are there arguments in your home?

How do you deal with it?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 12, 2018February 1, 2018

Finding Your Passion Through the Power of Words

Do you feel as if you’re living a passionless life?

Do you desire the same passion that you see in other people?

It can be difficult to go through life without a true passion.

There are many things that can cause you to live a life without passion.

It’s possible that an unhappy childhood stifled your dreams, or you’ve never had an opportunity to develop your aspirations.

Maybe indulging in your passion makes you feel guilty.

Or perhaps you don’t have time in your busy schedule to explore and enjoy the very things that could bring you joy.

Today, you must make the commitment to pursue your passion!

Give Yourself the Freedom to Discover Passion

You’re a deserving person! You have the right and the need to feel passionate about the things that are near and dear to you.

You may not even realize what you’re missing if you never had a chance to find and develop your goals.

Discover your passion and embrace it because it can lead you to a life without limits!

You can turn your passion into a career, hobby, or a way to network with people.

Passion can improve every aspect of your life.

It’s your passion that makes your life positive and fulfilling.

When first starting your quest toward your dreams, you may wonder, “What is there to be passionate about?” That’s perfectly normal.

Many people start out with the same question.

Even if you feel that way, it’s never too late for you to find something that fills you with an inner joy and peace.

Your life begins anew when you pursue your dreams, desires, and goals.

You can gain a fresh perspective in your life when you take some time to expand your comfort zone and pursue the things that you’d never considered before.

For example, if you traveled to a foreign place and met new people, you would see and experience things a whole new world that will open your eyes and mind.

When you do this, you may find something that’s been missing from your life!

Passion Affirmations Can Spark Your Passion

You may be able to find your passions through the power of affirmations.

When you give yourself permission to be passionate, you may suddenly find that you’re more enthusiastic about things than you previously dreaded.

Passion affirmations are positive statements that change the way you think about life and the world around you.

Affirmations positively influence your subconscious.

Passion affirmations can bring to light a wonderful new way of living that’s full of joy, abundance, and gratitude.

For example, when you get out of bed each morning, you might say to yourself, “Igniting my passion is another way of revealing how much I love myself.”

Every time you repeat this statement you’re reaffirming that thought in your mind.

At the same time, you’re eliminating negative thoughts that may be holding you back.

Choose affirmations that you feel speak to you and relate to your own feelings.

Repeat them several times each day and soon you’ll discover the joys of living a passionate life!

How can someone’s words affect your day?

What affirmations do you tell yourself when you feel you need a boost?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 11, 2018February 1, 2018

Essential Tips for Making Good Decisions

All decisions are not created equal.

Some decisions impact us on a small scale, like deciding what to eat for dinner.

Some decisions can alter your life so much that you become a new person altogether, like leaving your hometown to live and work in a foreign country.

Sometimes you’ll find yourself at life’s junctions where you’re perplexed with your choices and the decision making is overwhelming.

Whether you’re making a decision about where to go to college, whom to marry, where to move, or changing jobs, there are many elements that can throw your emotions into turmoil.

If you have a big decision looming, here are some things you can do to make your decision a little easier:

1. Get various perspectives.

Seeking advice from the people you trust – like family members, friends, or spiritual directors – can provide unique viewpoints about your situation that may help make your decision easier.

Sometimes someone from the outside can offer clarity that you don’t have sitting in the middle of the decision.

The person can offer a bird’s-eye-view of the situation and bring out things you might not even be aware of.

2. Consider the Pros and Cons.

Another great method for helping with decision making is writing a Pros and Cons list.

Get a piece of paper, and write the positive things about the decision on one side and the negative things on the other.

Include financial impact, emotional considerations, friendships, and short and long-term aspects of your choice.

Time might also be a factor, especially if you’re trying to achieve a goal.

Sometimes a visual timeline is enough to propel you to make the right decision.

Include other people in helping you make the list.

If you still don’t have enough facts to make the decision, hold onto it for later consideration.

Life circumstances may change, and that may alter your decision in the future.

It’s essential to spend time praying, meditating, or simply reflecting on your choices.

Find some time when you won’t be distracted, and spend as long as you need exploring what you feel inside.

This will often lead to a peaceful solution.

3. Become educated about your options.

For example, if you’re considering a move across the country, you’ll want to visit the place first.

Find out about living expenses, the job market, and how you’ll survive.

Knowing the answers to important questions will help you feel secure in the decision you make.

4. Trust yourself.

If all else fails and you still haven’t made your choice, go with your gut.

If you feel strongly about something in your heart, you’ll have the perseverance to withstand any storms that may come with the decision.

Making the choice that you know is right for you will leave you ready to face the challenges.

Making a decision is like being on the Price is Right game show.

The contestants on the show are given big decisions to make.

They can take advice from the audience, use prior knowledge, or make an educated guess based on given information, but they ultimately still have to go with their gut feeling.

Life may be different than a game show, but the decision making process is still the same.

Use all the resources at your disposal, employ the strategies above, pay attention to your inner feelings, and then trust that you can handle whatever comes your way.

Why is it important to think carefully before making a decision?

What was the hardest decision you made this week?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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October 10, 2018February 1, 2018

Great minds have purposes; others have wishes. – Washington Irving

October 10, 2018February 1, 2018

Delegation Strategies for the Control-Freak

Do you have a team around you who is fully capable of getting things done, but instead of delegating, you try to do everything yourself?

If that sounds like you, there’s a better way.

Delegating tasks can be so difficult for some people.

They act like a micro-manager who ensures that they see, do, and be everything.

It’s hard for them to let others share the load or the glory.

Maybe the control-freak is you.

You may have tried to delegate tasks in the past.

Perhaps the quality of work wasn’t good enough to suit you so you ended up redoing everything.

There’s no sense in delegating tasks in the first place if you know you’ll end up redoing them, right?

Here are three problems you might be using as excuses for not delegating:

You feel you can do the job better yourself.
There’s not enough time to train someone else to do the job.
You feel like you have to redo someone else’s work.

If you’re facing these challenges, perhaps it’s time to look at some strategies you can use to find success in delegating.

Consider using these delegation techniques:

1. Face the truth. If you feel you can do the job better yourself, take time to think things through.

Other people may not do the job the same way you would, but that doesn’t mean they won’t do an adequate job.

The people on your team may be eager to do a great job and need only your encouragement, rather than for you to take over.

2. Train your staff. Perhaps those working with you do need some additional training. This shouldn’t be a reason to do everything yourself.

Look at the need for additional training as a means to be better prepared in the future.

Short-term training now can have a huge pay off later on.

If you take the time to train your staff now, they’ll be better prepared for the next project.

3. Relax. There’s no sense in letting pressure for perfection bring you undue stress.

While perfection would be great, it’s usually not expected.

Give yourself a break. It’s just not possible for you to do everything yourself, nor should you want to.

Other people can do the work even if you don’t think they’ll do as good a job as you.

4. Follow a successful plan.

If you’re the head of the team and certain tasks are critical for the success of the project, you may want to do the major work on those.

However, the more routine tasks could be passed along to other people on the team.

Delegate the task itself, not the way in which it’s completed.

Assign tasks based on strengths.

Perhaps you could let one person do research, assign converting raw data into a spreadsheet to another person, and designate a good writer to write the rough drafts of the reports.

You can still be in control of the final report by pulling all the data together into a solid finished project.

Require progress reports at specified deadlines over the course of the project.

If they’re having problems meeting the deadlines, instead of assuming they’re not going to get the job done, ask them if there’s anything you can do to help them meet the next deadline.

Expect that your team will do a great job and you won’t be disappointed.

People usually rise to our expectations.

Finally, give praise and positive feedback when the project is finished.

Instead of being a control-freak on your next project, decide now to let go of some of the responsibilities.

Look for ways you can use the talents of your co-workers in the future.

You may find that working with a team and delegating tasks makes your job much easier and the atmosphere at work much better for everyone.

Have you tried delegating a task to someone else?

How did you feel about it?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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