Personal Growth Cafe

I exude confidence because I am proud to be the person that I am.

That confidence helps me accept the love that others offer.

I know that others can genuinely love me because I am worthy of love.

My friends and family love me just the way I was created.

I receive their friendship with arms wide open and I hold onto them tightly.

Those closest to me know that I welcome their affection because I make them feel comfortable when they are near.

I embrace those I love with warmth and fondness each time I greet them.

I open myself to others because friendships are my life’s greatest treasures.

My friends and family know their love is appreciated by the way I receive them. I welcome their love with freedom and trust.

I know that I am forgiven and accepted just the way I am. I remove expectations from my mind when meeting new people and I allow others to be themselves around me.

I give love therefore I receive love. When others smile at me, I smile back as a way to communicate to them that I welcome friendship and love.

Today, I choose to receive the love that others share with me with open arms.

I attract people with my positive attitude and receive their love with sincerity.

How can you attract the love of others?

What can you do to remove expectations about people?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Also, as your gift for taking this to heart – and this is profoundly important… to us ALL – go to UnitingPlanetEarth.com/ignition/ and do the Uniting Planet Earth 7-Day Quick-Start Ignition Program… and Allow it to Transform Your Life.

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November 29, 2017

When you love and laugh abundantly, you live a beautiful life. – Henry Drummond

November 28, 2017

9 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays without Stress

While the holidays have the power to bring some of the most joyful times in your life, they can also be the cause of a great deal of stress.

The stress can stem from many different situations such as family disagreements, scheduling conflicts, and money issues.

No matter what situation your stress is coming from, it’s important to take a step back from the stress to hold onto your sanity.

Try following some or all of the following tips:

1. Get Your Shopping Done Early. When you get your shopping out of the way early, you can save yourself stress on a number of levels.

You won’t be battling other shoppers during peak shopping times. You won’t have to worry about making split second decisions on gifts.

You’ll also have the time to craft a budget to help make your money stretch to the best of your ability.

2. Take Time to Yourself. We often take the time to think of others during the holidays. While that’s very important to maintain, you can’t forget about yourself in the process.

Remember to schedule “me” time and concentrate on winding down. In order to take good care of others, you first have to take care of your own health and well being.

3. Keep a Cool Head. While it may not be a problem with every family, sometimes the togetherness causes conflicts and clashing.

Before you enter a family holiday event, tell yourself that you’ll take the high road. You don’t want an argument to ruin your chance at fun during the holidays.

4. Keep Up Your Exercise Routine. Sometimes the thrill of the holiday season can disrupt your daily routines.

While a little break from exercise might not make a big difference in your physique, it might make a difference when it comes to your stress level.

Try to keep up some form of exercise, as it will provide you with a release from stress.

5. Watch your Diet. It’s not fair to yourself to completely avoid indulging around the holidays, but at the same time you should always remain in control.

Watch what you’re putting into your body, because large amounts of certain foods can definitely affect how you feel. The two big ones to watch are caffeine and sweets.

6. Buy Yourself a Present. While you’ve been budgeting money for everyone else, there’s no reason why you can’t buy yourself a little something.

After all, you’re sure to be getting something that you want. You can even schedule yourself a massage, which is an excellent way to maintain a healthy stress level.

7. Get Enough Rest. The excitement definitely kicks in during the holidays. Sometimes you’ll lose sleep because of stress, and sometimes you’ll lose sleep because of excitement.

Either way, you’ll be doing yourself a favor by concentrating on relaxation and getting to bed at a good hour.

If you start a pattern of getting less than 8 hours of sleep per night, you could be setting yourself up for stress without even really knowing it.

8. Learn to Delegate. If you come to the realization that you’ve been put in charge of too many things, don’t pile on the stress – instead, delegate the tasks.

Be wise enough to know when you need some help and ask for it. You can even get the kids involved with certain preparations.

9. Be Flexible. Of course you have an image in your head of how you’d like certain holiday events to play out.

You also know that things don’t always go according to plan. Realize that certain things will not be perfect, and you won’t feel so much stress if things do go wrong.

Go with the flow and have back up plans if necessary.

How can the holiday season cause you stress?

Which among the tips above can help make your season fun and bright?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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November 28, 2017

Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you. – Aldous Huxley

November 28, 2017

8 Ways to Foster a Joy of Learning in Your Children

When you foster the love of learning in your children, you set them up for a lifetime of happiness and success.

Children are born with a drive to learn and explore the world around them, and parents have the ability to nudge them in the direction of continuous learning.

Your ultimate goal as a parent should be to discover your child’s preferred method of learning.

You can do this by encouraging them to pursue hobbies that they find exciting and enriching.

You also need to maintain the wisdom to know when your children might need an extra push in a certain area or whether they need to change their course entirely.

Consider some of these simple strategies to foster a joy of learning:

1. Reading Stories. Your children are never too young to enjoy a story. Start reading to them when they’re babies and you’ll foster a lifetime of love for the subject.

When it comes to reading, as long as they keep practicing the skill they’ll keep getting better at it.

Encourage your children to read more, regardless of their age or topic of interest, as long as it’s age-appropriate.

2. Get Excited About New Things. It’ll help if you maintain a certain excitement about the things your child discovers.

When they’re babies, cheer when they learn to walk or roll over. Cheer as they learn to ride bikes.

Continue to show excitement every time they start something new.

3. Be Inspired Yourself. It’s important to remain inspired and continue to go after your own wants and dreams.

In life you never stop learning. If your children see your personal love of learning, they’ll be inspired, too.

4. Give Your Child a Choice. While you don’t have to allow your child to do whatever they want, you can still give them a choice in what they’d like to pursue.

When children have a choice, they feel like what they think makes a real difference, and it does! Let them choose their own books, hobbies, and so on.

5. Stay Involved with School. Make sure you stay on top of the topics that your children are learning in school.

You kids will like the attention and they’ll appreciate that you’re involved in their life.

You can go over assignments at home or you can even have frequent meetings with your child’s teachers.

6. Field Trips. Maybe your children will be scheduled to go on field trips with their school.

If not, you can always create your own field trips for afternoons and weekends. Schedule field trips that pertain to your child’s personal interests.

They will certainly be inspired to learn more and you’ll still be personally involved in their lives.

7. Show Your Support. It’s always important to show your children support no matter what.

Even if they’ve chosen a subject to pursue that you don’t enjoy, as long as it’s appropriate, it’s important to be there for your child.

If they suspect that you’re unhappy with their personal decisions, they may be less likely to continue with their studies.

8. Provide Resources. While you may not always have a great deal of cash available for your children’s hobbies, it’s a good idea to provide them with the necessary resources to allow them to fully pursue their interests.

When they’re toddlers and young children, it can mean just providing them educational and age appropriate toys.

It may be more of a financial burden when they’re older because you may need to invest in advanced training or camps.

You really only want what’s best for your children.

You’ll soon realize that as long as you remain loving and accepting, your children will continue to come to you for guidance and advice.

When you start learning with them while they’re young, fostering a love of learning will come naturally.

What is your child’s attitude towards learning?

Which among the items on the list above would be most useful for your child?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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November 28, 2017

To repeat what others have said, requires education, to challenge it, requires brains. – Mary Pettibone Poole

November 28, 2017

7 Worst Foods to Avoid

There are certain health-offending foods out there that are so bad for your health that they can do some real damage, even in small quantities.

While it’s true that everything is okay in moderation, you’ll be doing your body a good service by keeping some of the worst food to a minimum.

Chances are there are healthy food alternatives that you can introduce into your diet that you’ll actually enjoy.

While you may still miss some of the offending foods, you can save them for special occasions and, instead, indulge in some new healthier foods.

Here is a list of some of the top offenders:

1. French Fries. French fries are everywhere. While some fast food places are currently offering alternatives to French fries, for the most part they’re still served as a standard.

Potatoes can be healthy when cooked in certain ways, but you should avoid deep-fried potatoes, like they are in most restaurants.

If you enjoy potatoes, consider eating a baked potato or opt to enjoy mashed potatoes.

Also, try to have more sweet potatoes as they’re packed with even better vitamins and fiber.

2. Donuts can be delicious treats, but the calories and fat content add up quickly.

While it’s okay to have a little treat, most people end up eating more than they should.

If you’re looking for a good alternative to this popular morning treat, consider a plain whole grain bagel and some fresh fruit.

You can also try banana, pumpkin, or zucchini bread.

3. Ice Cream. Ice cream can be a popular way to end an evening, but definitely save this treat for special occasions only.

The fat content is high and bedtime is the worst time of day to eat high calorie foods.

The good news is that there are some healthy treats similar to ice cream that you can enjoy instead.

Try some low fat alternatives like Italian Ice or Tofutti.

4. Fruit Smoothies. Fruit smoothies make the worst offender list because they’re a health food in disguise.

Sure they are made of fresh fruit, but there is often added sugar and/or cream. They’re also often served in large portions.

This means that one smoothie may even eat up all of your calories for the day.

You can combat this problem by making your own smoothies out of lower calorie fruits, or you can opt for smaller portions or diet smoothies.

5. Pies are another dessert item that’s best left for a special occasion. They’re packed with extra sugar and, often, large amounts of trans fat.

One slice of pecan pie can actually top the 500 calorie mark.

You can attempt lower calorie pies by using more fruit and less sugar, cream and nut additives.

6. Chocolate is certainly a tough one to give up! It tastes great and can even make you feel better.

However, it’s high in calories and fat and, therefore, should be limited.

If you must have chocolate opt for dark chocolate in small quantities because it actually has the health benefit of antioxidants.

7. Margarine. While margarine was once advertised as a healthy alternative to butter, it’s actually not.

It doesn’t contain cholesterol, but many cheaper varieties contain trans fatty acids.

Data is coming back about the health risks of consuming trans fats, so they’re best avoided all together.

Your best bet is to use smaller quantities of butter when necessary, or opt for margarine that is labeled as trans fat free.

Low Fat Alternatives

You’ll find that most of the offenders have lower fat alternatives.

While they may not taste as good to you at first, it’s best for you and your health in the long run.

Keep in mind that you can indulge yourself every once in awhile, but control is key.

How do you feel when you know you are eating something healthy?

Which among the food listed above do you eat more often? Why?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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November 27, 2017

Life would be much easier if I had the source code. – Unknown

November 27, 2017

Hope is my daily melody.

Every day I wake up with renewed strength and a resolve to make today a great day.

I arm myself with positivity and take along a winning attitude.

As I step out into the world, I begin to hear the beautiful melody of hope that follows me wherever I go.

Even when others choose to play the soundtrack of despair, I dance to the tune of hope.

My ears are trained to listen only to the sound of hope and to ignore all other noise.

I refrain from listening to negative news that will only try to rob me of my ability to hear the beat.

With so much negativity around me, I must actively seek the good in the world in order to remain hopeful.

When I focus on the good characteristics of others, I am able to have hope.

My life is a song filled with assurance.

Although there are no guarantees in life, I am confident that the life choices that I am making today are taking me in the right direction.

In the end, I know that I will succeed.

I sing my song to the world so others can be uplifted during their time of sorrow.

With each note I sing, hearts are mended and faith is restored to those around me.

When I believe I myself, I inadvertently give others permission to do the same.

Today, I choose to be hopeful in the midst of despair because I am sure that the days ahead of me are brighter than those behind me.

With hope as my melody, I dance forth into my future with grace.

What is the soundtrack of your life?

How would your life be affected if you refrain from listening to negative news?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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Posts

Lives are spent like money. What are you buying with yours? – Roy H. Williams

I allow others to love me.

When you love and laugh abundantly, you live a beautiful life. – Henry Drummond

9 Ways to Enjoy the Holidays without Stress

Experience is not what happens to you; it is what you do with what happens to you. – Aldous Huxley

8 Ways to Foster a Joy of Learning in Your Children

To repeat what others have said, requires education, to challenge it, requires brains. – Mary Pettibone Poole

7 Worst Foods to Avoid

Life would be much easier if I had the source code. – Unknown

Hope is my daily melody.