Personal Growth Cafe

Do you suffer from low self-esteem?

When something negative happens in your life, do you beat yourself up about it time and time again?

Focusing on phrases such as: “That was stupid,” “I am so fat,” “No one loves me,” and a host of other negative statements can easily zap the happiness right out of your life.

Luckily, this doesn’t have to be permanent.

Positive affirmations can turn your negativity around.

Affirmations are simply statements or phrases, which focus on the positive rather than the negative.

These mantras can actually reprogram your subconscious thinking and bring you a plethora of good benefits that you’ll enjoy for years to come!

Here are some easy ways to incorporate positive affirmations into your life:

1. Affirmations should always be in the present tense. Begin your statements with “I can” “I have” or “I am,” instead of a phrase like “I will” or “I may.”

Examples of this would be “I have a beautiful body” and “I am so intelligent,” instead of “I will never be so stupid again.”

Choose statements that focus on the positive attributes you want to encourage, saying them as if you already exhibit that behavior.

2. Address yourself by name when expressing your affirmations.

Believe it or not, this does make a big difference. When you say: “I, Jane Doe, am a beautiful person both inside and out,” it makes your affirmation more powerful because you hear the lovely sound of your own name!

Using your name in the affirmations allows your subconscious to process the words even quicker.

3. Focus on one or two affirmations to start with.

Although you possess many positive attributes, it’s best to focus only on one or two when you’re first starting out.

If you start with twenty positive affirmations, your subconscious may be overwhelmed or dismiss the deeper meaning.

For example, if you meet someone who goes on and on about how great and beautiful you are, what’s your reaction?

Usually after the second or third compliment, you tend to wonder if this person is actually being sincere!

The same principal applies to practicing many affirmations at once.

Focus on one or two, and when they’re firmly planted into your subconscious, you can move on to more.

4. Practice your affirmations as often as possible.

Our subconscious mind is more open to suggestions when we first open our eyes in the morning and then again when we’re ready to fall asleep at night.

The more often you recite your affirmations, the faster you’ll experience lasting changes.

5. Don’t fret if you’re having trouble writing your affirmations.

There are many books and self-improvement websites that include hundreds of good, daily affirmations.

You can then pick out one or two that you’d like to focus on and get started.

Don’t let something as insignificant as not being able to compose a positive mantra hold you back from making changes and incorporating happiness into your life!

Low self-esteem is something that holds us back from living the life we deserve.

You can rebuild your confidence and self-esteem with daily affirmations and experience the joy of life you’ve been missing.

Try it and you’ll love it!

What changes can you make to strengthen yourself in this area?

How often do you accept your mistakes without beating yourself up?

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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August 6, 2019March 26, 2018

Positivity fills my mind.

August 6, 2019March 26, 2018

Burnout Relief Strategies

Are you suffering from burnout?

Whether it’s caused by work issues, stress at home, relationship challenges, or a combination of all them, it can cause a frightening feeling of hopelessness!

Burnout often causes a feeling of numbness and not knowing how to get your life headed back in the right direction.

Take heart – hope is not lost! There are some strategies you can utilize to overcome burnout, once and for all.

Try these techniques to get relief from burnout:

1. Don’t blame yourself. Life is hectic and stressful, especially with all the intense demands placed on our shoulders.

If you’re feeling burnt out, rather than blaming yourself, be proactive in getting back in the saddle so you can feel like yourself again.

2. Remember, you’re in control of your destiny. Focus on what you can do, not what you think you should do.

3. Stop being so serious. With the stress and responsibilities you carry on a daily basis, you may be in need of some plain ol’ silly time.

Release your inhibitions and have some fun!

Whether it be dancing in your living room or swinging on the swings at a local park, take some time to find your inner child again.

This will help you let go of your current stress level, even if it’s just for a little while.

Making time to have fun will give you a chance to refocus and get your life and priorities back to where they need to be.

4. Stay healthy. It’s important to stay in peak physical condition when you’re under constant stress.

Eat many servings of fruits and vegetables, drink large amounts of water, and exercise.

Fit exercise into your busy schedule by making an appointment with yourself to exercise, and then keep your appointment!

5. Improve your time management skills. You may be burnt out because you’re trying to fit a week’s worth of stuff into a single day.

Unfortunately, that’s impossible!

Learning how to budget the time in your day more effectively will relieve a lot of this time pressure and stress.

Good time management will lessen the feeling of being overwhelmed, as well as enable you to have the time you need to do what you want to do.

6. Get enough sleep. This allows your body to rest, rejuvenate, and start the upcoming day with more energy.

You can also deal with stressful situations better when you’re alert and focused.

If you adhere to the 8 hours per night rule, you’ll find yourself more focused, levelheaded, and patient.

Final Thoughts on Burnout

No matter how you may try to sugar coat it, modern life isn’t easy.

It’s no wonder that sometimes we feel like we can’t juggle everything any more!

Although these feelings are normal from time to time, they can escalate out of control.

Before we reach that point, it’s important to get our lives back in the right direction.

These burnout strategies and tips will enable you to better handle every-day stresses so you can enjoy all the amazing gifts life has to offer!

What are some good ways to deal with stress?

What is the most unusual technique you have devised to alleviate stress?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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August 5, 2019March 26, 2018

How to Develop Your Strengths

Everyone has unique talents and strengths, but whether we’ve discovered and actively developed them is the real question!

Maybe we’ve been told that we’re good at something, but we let our skills go untapped while we wait for the confidence and courage to take action.

There are even some people whose self-esteem is suffering to the point that they truly believe they don’t possess any talents at all!

If this is you, please believe that your talents are there, just waiting to be revealed to you!

These tried and true strategies will help you develop your strengths to their full potential:

1. Research. Perhaps you think that you’re strong in one area, but you aren’t completely sure.

This is where you need to look into things that interest you or that you believe you might be good at.

See what resources are available and what it would take to make the commitment to strengthen your strengths.

2. Patience. Developing your strengths to their full potential won’t occur overnight.

To fully develop a talent, you must be patient.

Patience is not easy and many of us tend to struggle with it.

But if you can be patient, you’ll definitely reap the benefits at the end of the process.

3. A useful way to think of developing your talents is to consider it as a journey.

It may take a while, but you’ll learn a lot along the way.

You’ll make mistakes and celebrate milestones, and by the time you’re done, your strength will be fully developed to the peak of your abilities.

4. Set goals. People are more successful when they set goals.

Write down what you’d like to accomplish and what date you’d like to achieve this by.

Remember to be realistic and review your goals frequently to keep yourself on track.

Post your goals in places where you’ll see them throughout the day.

The refrigerator, bathroom mirror, and your computer monitor are a few ideas.

This will not only keep you on track, but it’ll also motivate you to reach these goals as quickly as possible.

5. Believe you can do it. Confidence can be one of your greatest strengths and assets.

When trying to improve yourself in any capacity, if you truly believe that you’re able to accomplish anything, you’ve won half the battle.

The battle with your mind is often greater than any challenge you face in reality.

You may have tough days when you’re unsure of yourself, but as long as you get back on track quickly, you’ll build momentum.

Remember, you can do this!

Final Thoughts on Developing Your Strengths

Strengthening your strengths may be a daunting and overwhelming journey at times.

And, yes, it will take some work.

But everything worth anything involves hard work!

It’s important to focus on the big picture and remember the rewards you’ll enjoy once this process is over.

Also, ensure that you have the unwavering belief that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to.

By possessing these two attributes, you’ll be on the road to success in no time!

What new skills have you discovered?

How are you developing these skills and turning them into strengths?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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August 5, 2019March 26, 2018

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of work. – Sarah Bolton

August 4, 2019March 26, 2018

You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. – Unknown

August 4, 2019March 26, 2018

How to Get More Done in Less Time

Do you find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day?

Our lives are so filled with work, family, and appointments that we often can’t seem to fit in everything we need to accomplish in a 24-hour day.

But what if we could accomplish more in less time?

If this were actually possible, it would allow us more time with those we care about and more time to focus on ourselves.

The good news is: there are simple strategies you can use to make the most of your days!

These tips will enable you to get more done in less time:

1. Make a list. Write out everything that you need to accomplish, and then joyfully cross off each task as you complete it.

As you see your list dwindling, it’ll provide the needed motivation to get the rest of the list done, too.

Put your list on the refrigerator, in your daily planner, or on the computer. Keep it somewhere handy so you can look at it often and stay focused.

2. Prioritize effectively. Determine which tasks are most important and what can possibly wait until later on in the day, week, or month.

If this is something you’re having trouble with, you may be trying to squeeze in tasks that can actually be put on hold for a future time.

Note the deadlines for your tasks.

If your in-laws are coming to visit, then cleaning the guest bathroom takes priority over re-organizing the basement.

3. Avoid procrastinating. Far too many people put things off to the last possible minute.

When this happens, we rush frantically to accomplish everything, but we end up doing a cruddy job and get ourselves all worked up for no good reason.

There is a better way!

Use your morning hours wisely and get tasks started early in the day.

Chances are you’ll finish them in one day rather than having it drag into a second day because you didn’t have enough time to get things done.

For some, this may mean waking up an hour or two earlier instead of sleeping an hour or two later.

4. Do the unpleasant tasks first. A great time management trick is to get the things you dislike out of the way first.

If you keep putting it off, you’ll attempt to squeeze it in somewhere, and you’ll get the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Schedule something fun after you finish your to-do list. This will motivate you to complete the list quicker.

5. Multi-task if you can. If you’re able to accomplish two things at once, then by all means do it.

If you can put dinner on the stove while making a doctor’s appointment or wait for a load of laundry to finish while you mend a pair of pants, you can cut your time in half.

6. Don’t sacrifice the quality of the tasks you’re performing.

If you burn dinner because you were looking at the calendar to make an appointment, this only wastes more of your time in the long run.

Unfortunately, there are days where it seems like we don’t have enough of the precious gift of time.

Thankfully, we can improve our time management skills so we’re able to accomplish more in any given day.

Improving these skills will reduce your stress level and give you more time to do the things that make you happy, leading to a more peaceful and fulfilling life.

How successful have you been lately about time management?

How much time have you given for yourself, your family, and your responsibilities?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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August 3, 2019March 26, 2018

How to Grow a Backbone

Do you feel as if everyone is taking advantage of your good nature?

Do you think they would still do it if you were more assertive?

Becoming more assertive is a goal that many of us want to achieve.

We feel disrespected and we want to be able to stand our ground without guilt or fear.

Developing a backbone is not an easy task, but it can be accomplished if you’re committed to it.

Here are some simple tips that will enable you to strengthen your assertiveness as quickly as possible:

1. Stop apologizing. Many of us use the term “I’m sorry” far too frequently and often at inappropriate times.

Think about when you use those two simple words. Is it in a situation that you truly should be sorry for?

Once you’re able to stop apologizing for every little thing, you’ll become more assertive.

Learn to differentiate between when there’s a need to apologize and when there isn’t.

Hitting someone’s cart in a grocery store because you weren’t looking warrants an apology.

Drinking the last cup of orange juice before your spouse is not a situation that warrants an “I’m sorry.”

If you’re watching television and your child prefers to sit in the chair you’re sitting in, “I’m sorry” isn’t appropriate.

2. Speak up. Tell those around you what you need.

Assertiveness requires good communication skills.

Be clear and firm with what you desire.

Practice standing up for yourself by conveying your wants and desires to others.

There’s no need to be aggressive or nasty.

Simply communicate that you have thoughts, opinions and needs, too.

Once you begin to express these better, the people around you will learn how to appreciate and respect you more, too.

If you want to develop a backbone, this isn’t the time to be a mouse and stand in the corner.

Voice your opinion and be proud of what you have to say; people will take notice and listen.

3. Be committed and patient. It’s wonderful that you’ve decided to make positive changes in your life.

It’s something that you should be proud of!

Unfortunately though, a complete transformation won’t occur overnight.

You’ve entered into a journey, and you must be willing to stick it out!

You’ll experience good and bad days, but you mustn’t give up.

As long as you remain committed and patient, you’ll succeed in what you’re trying to accomplish.

Focus on the big picture down the road and imagine how much your life will improve once you’re able to stand up for yourself.

4. Work on your body language. Body language is extremely important in any situation.

When trying to become more assertive, your body language must reflect this as well.

Stand straight, speak up, make sure your hands aren’t crossed over your chest, and maintain eye contact with whomever you’re speaking with.

5. If you look assertive, people will perceive you as such.

If you keep your eyes on the floor, have your hands across your chest, or mumble incoherently, you’ll have trouble to get your point across.

Assertiveness can help you in your personal life, career, family, and many other areas.

Though it may take a bit of time, as long as you make positive steps to grow your new backbone, it will be there before you know it!

How can you be more proactive?

How can you face a stressful challenge that you have been backing away from?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Before you leave…

Please share the link to this post on your Facebook, Twitter, etc., and like it, and comment right here – THANKS!

August 3, 2019March 26, 2018

Posts

It only takes one person to change your life – YOU. – Ruth Casey

Build Confidence With Daily Affirmations

Positivity fills my mind.

Burnout Relief Strategies

How to Develop Your Strengths

The victory of success is half won when one gains the habit of work. – Sarah Bolton

You cannot plow a field by turning it over in your mind. – Unknown

How to Get More Done in Less Time

How to Grow a Backbone

Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. – General George Patton