Personal Growth Cafe – Page 56 – Empowering You to Live Your Inspired Vision!

February 11, 2019February 28, 2018

Building Self-Awareness

Would you like to see some changes in your life?

You can begin making these changes by building self-awareness.

Self-awareness is a self-conscious state where you’re focused on yourself and your well being.

It’s often said, “We cannot change what we will not see.”

Self-awareness is the process of acknowledging not only our strengths, but our weaknesses as well.

Becoming self-aware entails listening to your body and feelings and taking action based on what you hear.

If you’re in tune with your body, you’ll know when to say no to that extra piece of cake or say no to staying up late.

You’ll become more in tune with your body the more often you respect it.

Self-awareness is a process. The more we do it, the better we become at it.

How do you become self-aware?

These tips will help you in your journey to self-awareness:

1. Reflect on who you are and who you’d like to become.

While it’s important to notice your faults and weaknesses, it’s equally important to acknowledge your strengths.

The better you understand yourself, the better you’re able to accept yourself as you are or change the things you’d like to be different.

Self-awareness requires you to be honest with yourself and have the courage to change the things you can.

A full recognition of yourself gives you the opportunity to become the self-fulfilled person you’re destined to be.

Looking deep within your soul, you’ll find the many character traits that make you unique. Begin by acknowledging the positive things.

This will strengthen and encourage you to face the less favorable character traits without abandoning your new venture.

On the other hand, when evaluating your strengths, don’t let your ego get the best of you.

If you magnify either your strengths or your weaknesses, you can’t possibly get a realistic picture of yourself.

Until you examine the truth of who you are, you cannot move into the person you can become.

2. Pay attention to your likes and dislikes.

Far too often, people make life-changing choices without acknowledging deeply rooted personal preferences.

Before you embark on goals for your future, have a full awareness of the things you especially enjoy and those you prefer not to have in your life.

3. Face your inner self.

During your self-awareness process, think about your motivations, dreams, fears and stressors.

Think about why you feel the way you do, then begin to work toward overcoming these inner battles.

4. Ask your loved ones’ opinions.

Talk to people who know you best and really listen to what they see as your dominant character traits and motivations.

Ask them to be completely honest with you and be prepared to hear their opinions.

You may not be your own best judge of character.

Accept the way your loved ones see you as part of this process.

Consider their opinions along with your own analysis in order to see the full picture of who you are.

Self-awareness is a necessary part of self-esteem and change.

If you want to grow as an individual, begin with a complete and honest picture of who you are now.

This total awareness will start your journey to becoming the best you can be.

How aware are you of your talents and abilities?

How are you using those to your advantage and to better your life?

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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February 10, 2019February 28, 2018

Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are. – Malcolm Forbes

February 10, 2019February 28, 2018

Becoming a Master of Self-Discipline

One of the greatest gifts you can give yourself is learning to master the art of self-discipline.

Learning how to tell yourself no is an important step to become a stronger, wiser and more mature person.

While practicing self-discipline isn’t easy, there are many benefits to mastering this art of personal control:

1. Self-discipline can help you achieve your goals and realize your dreams.

Many times, achieving the goals you set for yourself requires you to sacrifice time, money and energy you might prefer to spend on other things.

Are you willing to have this dedication?

2. Self-discipline helps you get more done.

By cutting out time wasters in your day, you can accomplish more every day and reach your goal sooner.

Without the self-discipline to stick to a task, you can be easily distracted by less important details.

Are you willing to remove these distractions?

3. Self-discipline helps you have greater focus.

By shutting out the things that take you away from your work, you can focus on what is most important.

You can’t say yes to everything and everyone; you must be able to focus on one thing at a time and do it well.

Focus is nearly impossible to achieve without self-discipline, and goals are nearly impossible to achieve without focus.

Are you willing to focus intensely on your goals?

4. The keys to self-discipline are simple.

If you make a commitment to someone, keep it. If you make a commitment to yourself, guard it with your life!

If you break a commitment to yourself, remember that you are human.

You need to prioritize your commitments to yourself in the same way you prioritize other people’s needs.

5. Part of self-discipline is self-respect.

In order to live the life you truly desire, you need to care for yourself properly.

Respect every part of yourself:

Respect your body. Pay attention to the signals your body sends you.

We’re masterfully created, and your body will tell you when something is out of balance.

Listen to the signals and treat yourself with VIP handling to be the strongest and most productive you can be!

Consider adding exercise or yoga to your daily routine to help you achieve balance in your body and mind.

Nurture your mind by filling it with positive, engaging information.

Read books for the sheer joy of learning.
Engage in meaningful discussions with people of all backgrounds and philosophies.
Avoid negative people and conversations.
Listen to joyful, uplifting music instead of letting the television flood your mind with commercialism and negativity.

Respect the spiritual part of yourself.

It’s important to feel connected to something larger than you are.

Connect with your Creator by meditating, praying or spending time in nature.

Attend worship services at a local church, if that’s part of your belief system.
Allow the spiritual side of yourself to become stronger and more important to you.
Base decisions on the greater good rather than simply what feels good at the time.

Respect your physical health.

Taking good care of your health requires self-discipline.

Your body will help you accomplish amazing things if you treat it properly!

Eat a healthy diet.
Get plenty of rest and exercise.
Strive to maintain a healthy weight.
Refuse to smoke.
Avoid over indulging in caffeine or alcohol.

Respect your time.

This includes your work time, family time, playtime and personal time.

Make space in your life for every area.

Schedule family time and alone time just as you do work time and other obligations.

By adding everything to your written agenda, you create a priority within yourself and self-discipline helps you stick to your priorities.

If you want to live your life to the fullest and achieve your goals, self-discipline is a must.

Learning how to control your impulses and make strong decisions is one of the best things you can do for yourself.

Self-discipline can bring you the life you always wanted.

How can you control your thoughts and actions to better yourself?

What things do you consider when making a decision for yourself?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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February 9, 2019February 28, 2018

Five Ways to Nurture a Positive Relationship

A positive relationship can be one of the most wonderful things in the world, while a negative one can turn your life into a disaster!

Do you yearn to cultivate a positive relationship with your partner and help it grow stronger?

Having a positive relationship takes effort from both of you, but you can get it started.

Your partner will surely enjoy the benefits and follow your lead.

Here are five important techniques you can use to nurture your relationship:

1. Give 100%. First and foremost, if you want to build a relationship that’s positive, passionate, and withstanding, you need to give 100% of yourself.

This is one of the most important things for success, not only in your relationships, but life in general.

There’s no “50/50” when it comes to giving in a relationship.

You’ve got to give freely of yourself if it’s going to work. It’s almost impossible to receive from your partner if you don’t give in return.

Remember the golden rule.

When you fully give of yourself, the other person will see the effort you’re making and soon begin to reciprocate with the same type of behavior.

2. Focus on loving your partner. In nurturing a positive relationship, your main focus should be on simply loving your partner.

Show your love in both your words and actions, in all you say and do.

The expression “actions speak louder than words,” is definitely true when it comes to a relationship.

However, your partner still wants to hear you say, “I love you.”

Be generous with compliments and mean what you say.

3. Use charitable acts. The things you do for your partner make a difference in your relationship.

When you love someone, acts of kindness toward him or her come naturally.

No action should be done just because you feel obligated to do it. The things you do for your partner should be done because you want to do them.

Remember, your actions are more important than your words, so use them to help build up a relationship that’s naturally positive.

4. Respect your partner. Always respect your partner in every way to build a lasting and positive relationship with them.

Respect is an important building block of any relationship.

Respect your partner not only in a physical sense, but also mentally, emotionally, and spiritually as well.

5. Build a strong friendship. Your romantic relationship needs to have the stability and deep roots that come from a strong friendship.

With a meaningful friendship as its basis, your relationship becomes stronger and more lasting.

When you work hard to construct a strong friendship, you can be assured that your relationship is ready to weather whatever life may throw at you in the future.

If your goal is to create a stronger bond with your partner, take the time to think about what it is you’d like from your partner.

Give those things to your partner, and you’ll almost always find the answers you seek about how to create a nurturing relationship.

Following these five steps can have a positive impact on any relationship.

Once you begin taking care of your relationship and making a conscious effort to improve it, you’ll see a stronger, more positive bond flourishing before your eyes.

How important is your relationship with your husband/wife, girlfriend/boyfriend?

What makes you fall in love with this person over and over again?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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February 9, 2019February 28, 2018

The greatest oak was once a little nut who held its ground. – Unknown

February 8, 2019February 28, 2018

Five Ways to Be Assertive and Say “No”

Do you find it difficult to be assertive and say “no” to people’s requests?

Since there just aren’t enough hours in the day to appease everyone, the art of saying “no” without hurting the feelings of others is an important skill to acquire.

Saying “no” doesn’t mean you have to be rude about it.

There are plenty of polite, yet assertive, ways you can tell people “no” when you need to.

Here are some ways you can say “no” without being rude or impolite:

1. “No” to now, but “yes” to later. “I’m very busy at the moment.Perhaps someone else can help you. If not, I’ll have time later in the week to help you out.”

This is a great way to say “no.” It’s assertive, but also positive and kind.

You let the person know there’s no way you can do what they’re asking at the moment.

However, you give them the option to ask someone else or wait until you have the time to help out.

2. “No” unless something changes. “I’m very flattered that you’ve asked me. However, I’m not currently in a position where I can take on this responsibility. Could we talk about this at another time if there’s a change in my circumstances?”

This statement says “no” while still being very polite.

You let them know how thrilled you are that they’ve asked you, but then you’re honest about how little time you have to commit to their request.

3. A definitive “No.” “I hate to disappoint you, but I’m not able to do this. I’m afraid I’ll overextend myself.”

With this statement, you express regret for disappointing the person, yet you still let them know that this is a solid “no.”

No doubt they’ll understand you don’t want to overextend yourself, which makes them sympathetic to the plight you’re in as well.

This answer is very kind and polite. Plus, it allows them to understand where you’re coming from.

4. “No” to attend an event. “I had a great time before, but I won’t be able to make it this time since I’m already overscheduled.”

Sometimes you may get asked to an event you don’t want to attend or that you just don’t have the time for.

You don’t have to feel obligated to go.

This statement lets the person know you’ve had a great time in the past, yet you’re over scheduled or busy this time around.

5. “No” to loaning money. “I really wish I could but I make it my practice not to loan money to friends and family.”

Money is one thing that many people ask for from their friends and family.

It’s a difficult situation since you don’t want to insult them or hurt their feelings.

This statement is a nice way to be assertive and say “no” while still being kind.

You let them know that you wish you could loan them the money, yet you go on to explain why you won’t.

You make it clear that this is the practice you have for everyone, and you’re not just saying “no” to him or her personally.

For some reason, parents often feel the need to always say “yes.”

Whether it’s working at a PTA function, helping in your child’s classroom, or going to yet another classmate’s birthday party, you may feel like these are things you must fit into your already busy schedule.

However, you can take control of your family’s calendar – and your sanity – by saying “no” to some offers that come your way.

Saying “no” in a pleasant tone of voice won’t lose any friends; but it will allow you to set boundaries so you can enjoy life rather than racing through it.

How easy is it for you to decline something or someone?

What considerations do you look at before saying “no”?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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February 8, 2019February 28, 2018

Motivating gets you going and habit gets you there. Make motivating a habit and you will get there more quickly and have more fun on the trip. – Zig Ziglar

February 7, 2019February 28, 2018

Five Things You Need to Know About Debt

These days everyone is looking for ways to reduce debt and save money.

It is possible to wipe out your existing debt and learn how to live your life within your means.

Here are five tips that will help you on your way to debt free living:

1. Stop using credit cards. One of the leading factors in the current economic crisis is people buying things on credit they cannot afford.

The next thing they know, they find themselves unable to do anything more than make minimum monthly payments.

Minimum payments will keep you in debt because every month interest continues to accrue on your original balance.

A $1,000 balance on a typical credit card can take 22 years to pay off if you make only the minimum monthly payments!

Don’t fall into the trap of credit card debt. Instead, avoid the hassle and expense by paying cash for the things you buy.

If you want a big-ticket item, save the cash before you make the purchase. Only buy when you can afford to pay for the item in full before you bring it home.

2. Buy luxury items with cash. We all have extras and luxuries we want, but using credit to get them is a dangerous path to take.

You’ll get much greater enjoyment from the extras in your life when you pay cash, rather than ongoing monthly payments.

Nothing takes the excitement out of a new toy or nice vacation more than the large payments that strain your budget month after month.

3. Create a realistic budget that includes debt repayment. The first step in gaining control over your debt is creating a workable budget.

Rather than stifling you, a budget can bring you freedom!

You’ll know where your money goes and you’ll set a spending plan so you can continue buying the most important things in your life.

Your budget should take into consideration all facets of your lifestyle, including housing, food and household items, utilities, savings, recreation and debt repayment.

If your budget doesn’t include room for debt repayment, there will never be enough money to pay off your debt.

Take control of your financial reality by working with a realistic budget every month.

Before long, you’ll see your debt diminishing while your savings grow.

4. Seek the help of a professional credit counselor, accountant or financial planner.

The best way to be sure you’re making sound financial decisions is to seek out the help of a financial professional.

Credit counselors, financial planners and accountants are experts in the areas of savings, debt repayment, investments and tax deductions.

Implement each of these areas into your finances to eliminate financial strain and secure a stable financial future.

5. Negotiate better rates with the banks or credit card companies.

Many people assume they have no choice but to accept the interest and finance rates offered by their banks and credit card companies, but that isn’t always the case!

Talk to the people at your financial institutions. You may be surprised at how willing they are to budge.

If your credit is in good shape or you’ve made steady, progressive strides to improve it, you may be able to get lower interest rates on your debts.

You might also receive higher interest rates on your savings, giving you a double shot at eliminating your debt entirely and moving forward with your finances in a positive direction.

You can repair your debt problems and learn to avoid creating them in the future.

These five steps will point you in the right direction and get you started on a new path to financial freedom and prosperity!

How can being debt-free bring more joy in your life?

How do you keep yourself debt-free?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

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February 7, 2019February 28, 2018

Always do what you are afraid to do. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

February 5, 2019February 28, 2018

Making Healthy Food Choices In Our Busy Lives

You already know how important it is to make healthy food choices for you and your family.

But how can you fit the best choices into your busy life?

You’ll be pleased to discover that a hectic life doesn’t mean that every meal has to be fast food on the run!

Sometimes it’s difficult to make healthy changes, but with a little planning and know-how, it can be done.

Here are some strategies to help you and your family make healthy choices:

1. Avoid temptation.

It’s so easy to walk into the store with good intent, but walk out with bags full of unhealthy foods.

Unfortunately, our wills are weak, especially if we’ve trained ourselves over the years to buy junk foods.

2. Never shop when you’re hungry.

This way you won’t pick out unhealthy choices because they look good at the moment.

3. Get rid of the unhealthy foods in your home.

If they aren’t around, you won’t be tempted to eat them.

4. Think of healthier alternatives to your family’s favorite unhealthy foods.

Rather than high calorie chips, try trail mixes or rice cakes.

Low calorie puddings or frozen yogurts are better alternatives to higher fat ice creams.

5. Eat fast and healthy meals at home.

When you’re tired at the end of the day and you realize you still have to feed the family, it’s easy to go to a fast food chain and throw fast food on the table.

It may save some time, but it won’t save your health – or your pocket book!

The great thing is that there are many easy, fast, and healthy foods you can make at home.

This takes some planning, but you’ll be more satisfied, save money, and be healthier as well.

6. Look online for quick and easy recipes made with all natural ingredients.

Many recipes can be made in 30 minutes or less and only have 5 ingredients.

Taking the time to do some recipe research will save your sanity in the long run.

Then once you find a “hit” with the family, store the recipe in a book or on your computer.

7. When you cook, make large batches and freeze the leftovers.

This way, you’ll already have meals in the freezer that you can just thaw, heat, and serve.

No muss, no fuss! This is the opportune way to enjoy “fast” food at home.

8. Eat Slower.

Since the brain takes about 20 minutes to get the signal that the stomach is full, if you eat too fast you’ll pack in a lot more food than you need.

When you’re still thinking you’re hungry, it’s easy to make the wrong choices about food.

If you slow down while you’re eating, you’ll eat less and you’ll still feel full.

9. Set a calming mood before sitting down for a meal.

Avoid having the television on or eating as you’re rushing the kids out the door to another activity.

Sitting calmly at the table will allow everyone to relax and enjoy their meal.

10. Make dinner time a social experience.

Dinner should be about enjoying your company and taking pleasure in the foods you’re eating.

When you begin to look at mealtime as a social experience, it becomes easier to make the right choices about healthy foods.

Suddenly you aren’t so worried about rushing through and making it quick.

Dinner becomes a great experience when you’re able to enjoy healthy foods together.

Take time to eat as a family and enjoy a real conversation with each other.

Talking will naturally slow down your eating pace, while also reconnecting you with your family members.

Using these techniques will bring all kinds of healthy benefits to your family and teach your children a healthy lifestyle.

Healthy food choices are a possibility in your busy life if you take the time to plan ahead and make dinner time a priority in your home.

What are your favorite recipes that can be prepared quickly?

How healthy is your meal menu this week?

Talk about that in the Personal Growth Cafe Community!

Before you leave…

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