Building Your Self Esteem; A Starter Guide To Self Improvement

Copyright © Success Network Group
www.SuccessNetworkGroup.com


How do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may consider as a starter's guide to self improvement.

Imagine yourself as a dart board. Everything and everyone else around you may become a dart, at one point or another. These darts will destroy your self esteem and pull you down in ways you won't even remember. Don't let them destroy you, or get the best of you. So which darts should you avoid?

Dart #1: A Negative Work Environment
Beware of the "dog eat dog" theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. Most of the time you get to work too much without getting help from people concerned. Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy environment. one of my friends used to say "The best part about banging your head on the wall is how good it feels when you stop!" How true!!

Dart #2: Other People's Behavior
Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipers, whiners, backstabbers, snipers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders, patronizers, sluffers: all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme. Stay away from them as mich as possible!

Dart #3: Changing Environment
You can't be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Some changes will make life difficult for a while. They may cause stress, but it will help us find ways to improve our selves. Change will be there forever, we are susceptible to it. It is inevitable and we must be comfortable with its presence.

Dart #4: Past Experience
It's okay to cry and say "ouch!" when we experience pain. But don't let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

Dart #5: Negative World View
Look at what you're looking at. In other words, don't wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of the worst situations.

Dart #6: Determination Theory
Your behavioral traits are said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, your company, the economy, and your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn't mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people's experiences, so you'll never have to encounter the same mistakes.

Sometimes, you will wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn't come down from heaven and tell you "George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self."

In life, its hard to stay tough. Especially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right weapons to bring and armor to use. We need to pick those that are bullet proof. Life's options give us an array of additional options. Along the battle, we will get hit, kicked, and bruised. Wearing a bullet proof armor (ideally) means "self change" or "self improvement." This is the kind of change which only comes from within ourselves, voluntarily. Armor, or Self Change, changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. Its like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline. Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination.

So how do you start erecting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to pay a compliment. A positive way of living will help you build self esteem. This is your start to self improvement.

As Always ... Make it a GREAT day!

The Key To A Better Life

Copyright © Success Network Group
www.SuccessNetworkGroup.com



Time management is basically about being focused. The Pareto Principle, also known as the '80:20 Rule', states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort.

Although the ratio '80:20' is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating to do lists and prioritizing.

These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

But there are more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth.

Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big or how small, everything counts.

Every new piece of knowledge you acquire, each new bit of advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Having a balanced life-style should be the primary goal in maintaining your personal time management. This is the main aspect that many practitioners of personal time management fail to grasp.

Time management is about getting results, not about being busy.

The six areas that personal time management seeks to improve in anyone's life are physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual.

The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress and fatigue.

The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities.

The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations and being an active contributor to society.

The career aspect involves school and work.

The emotional aspect involves appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them.

The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.

Thoroughly planning and having a set of things to do for each of the key areas may not be very practical, but determining which area in your life is not being giving enough attention is part of time management.

Each area creates the whole you, if you are ignoring one area then you are ignoring an important part of yourself.

Personal time management should not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small.

A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities.

One of them is to review your goals, whether it be immediate or long-term goals, often.

A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you.

Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style.

Each and every one of us has a peek time and a time when we slow down, these are our natural cycles. We should be able to distinguish that its time to do the difficult tasks when we are the sharpest.

Learn to say "No". You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends.

Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result.

Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.

Don't procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately. Make the main thing, the main thing!

Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals.

Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

These are the few steps you initially take in becoming a well rounded individual. Personal time management is the art and science of building a better life.

From the moment you integrate time management skills into your life, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth and create more doors for opportunities to knock upon.


As Always ... Make it a GREAT day!

Ethics: Doing The Right Thing Isn't Always Popular

Copyright © Success Network Group
www.SuccessNetworkGroup.com


In order to live by your own ethical standards, you must first define and know what they are! Life today moves faster than ever.

Getting ahead, making lots of money, becoming successful and winning often is associated with "No Matter What!"

But is this ethical? Ethics are ignored and pushed aside all too often both on a professional and personal level.

Ethical behavior and standards need to be revisited by courageous leaders who are willing to take on unpopular issues. We can all make a difference by questioning things that don't seem ethical to us. We must let our views on the subject at hand be known!
Ethics need to be kept at the highest priority. This will keep our minds open to changes that might just be very important.

You must allow your mind to remain open. A closed mind accepts the "status quo" and can't see the reasons for supporting political and social concerns that need to be addressed. Closed minds support the old adage that "That's the way it's always been.

"Taking the "high road" requires courage and "doing the right thing" is not always popular! People who put their lives on the line to bring about the necessary changes on issues are people who put ethics first on their list of priorities.

Now, a lot of times people in political leadership positions or who are popular often obtain those positions in an unethical manner. Once they obtain their desired position, it is likely that their ethical conduct will continue in order to retain that position.

Some of them feel that they are "above the law", and it is our responsibility to insist that the people who hold positions of power function ethically. Laws are created for everyone and should be enforced for everyone equally; there are no exceptions!

America was founded on the principals of equal rights and freedom for all people. The reason America has grown is because of the open minds willing to accept new ideas and positive changes.

This means living by our defined values (ethics). Our shared ethical values keep us free and allow us to grow and stay strong. We can make a difference in conduct by setting a good example with high ethics.

So you are asking: "What can I do?" Here are a couple of suggestions:

1] If you are involved with situation, or see a situation, where ethics are being ignored or compromised, speak up! Make your objections known! Involve other people in the discussion when it is appropriate or required.

2] Set an example for others. Speak up, write letters, and do whatever you can to change the unethical behavior and bring it to the attention of other parties involved in the situation. Ask other
people to join you in your objections.

A group is stronger and has more influence that an individual standing alone. That doesn't mean that if nobody joins you in your objections you should just forget about it. You still need to voice your opinion and objections until somebody listens!

3] Make it one of your priorities, or even your mission to make a difference in areas where you believe ethical standards need to be raised. Take a job or join a political campaign, whatever you need to do to change the situation.

Keeping ethical conduct as a priority will assure that we all have a "future so bright we'll need to wear shades." We need to encourage and develop leaders in all aspects of our lives who make ethical behavior and standards the top priority in everything they do.

As Always ... Make it a GREAT day!