Archive for January, 2008
« Previous EntriesBeware - Hater Alert
Sunday, January 20th, 2008Beware of your Haters. We all have them. What is a Hater? A Hater is a person who does not like you and wants to expose your flaws or knock you down a notch or two. Whether we admit it or not, we all have people who dislike us or want to make us feel less worthy. That’s life. Unfortunately, many people tend to react emotionally to Haters. Personally, I’ve learned to deal with them as irritants forcing me to grow into a better person.
Your Willpower Is Sabotaged
Sunday, January 20th, 2008Willpower in another way of describing our determination, our resolve, or simply stated…. our will. I started thinking about this, because at the beginning of every year people start setting New Year’s resolutions to lose weight, save money, or make other life changes. The hard part is that willpower isn’t effective for just one day. We need to consistently exercise our will over an extended period of time to experience success. This is a pretty daunting task in the type of society we live in today. Everyday, we are conditioned to seek the convenient way out. Here’s what I noticed on a typical food shopping day.
What Type of Talker Are You?
Saturday, January 19th, 2008Over the past year, I’ve been paying close attention to the type of talker I am. My goal in doing this is to improve my communication skills, as well as the type of person I’m striving to become. Over the years, I watched all kinds of talkers in action - the smooth talkers, the shit talkers, the big talkers, the wind talkers, the sweet talkers, and the trash talkers to name a few. Each type of talker has made an impression on me - either positive and negative. For instance, the smooth talker knows how to work
his/her communication to influence or get what they want; whereas the trash talker tends to rub people the wrong way.
Trusting God With All My Heart
Saturday, January 19th, 2008When I first decided to use this Blog to record my thoughts, feelings, and experiences as I learn and grow as a person, I was a little apprehensive about publicly postings for everyone to read. However, trusting God to help me deal with one of my biggest challenges - strengthening my ability to express myself to others as I continue to get to know myself - pushed me forward.
Tired Vs. Lazy
Thursday, January 17th, 2008Personal progress is damn hard work. When you’re busy it can make you wonder whether lack of progress is because your too tired or just plain lazy. I’ll be the first to admit, it’s easy to use my busy lifestyle as a scapegoat for lack of personal progress or results. When I come home from the office, I’m usually overworked and emotionally drained, which makes me tired.
The Constant Complainer
Thursday, January 17th, 2008Today in the office, I spoke with an employee who informed me that she left her old job, because the place was full of chronic complainers and she couldn’t stand it. This person then proceeded to complain about her old workplace for the next twenty minutes. It made me think about all the complaining I’ve been doing lately about my son’s basketball coach. I was quickly reminded that misery loves company and complaining NEVER helps a situation, because it’s not constructive. At best complaining is an outlet for
penned up frustration. At worst, chronic complaining is a fast way to be labeled with a poor attitude, as well as becoming a person that others try to avoid at all costs.
Comfort Zone and Self Esteem
Friday, January 11th, 2008Whether good or bad, we often become comfortable with the routine or events in our lives. I call this place our comfort zone. Unfortunately, when it comes to our self-esteem, our comfort zone can, and often does, work against us. How so?
Think about a time when you didn’t particularly like a situation or event, but you stayed with it anyway. I have many such examples to reference. For instance, I worked in a job that I didn’t like for about sixteen months. I wasn’t bad at it, I just didn’t like it. This particular job didn’t take advantage of my strong points and required me to focus on task I found tedious and boring. Nonetheless, the paycheck was fabulous. How does this impact my self esteem you may wonder? Well, I didn’t feel good about my situation. My self worth was already low so my unpleasant feelings towards my work paralleled with my feelings about myself.
Stress Less
Wednesday, January 9th, 2008Stress less. These were the beginning words in a magazine advertisement I noticed today. I started thinking, “how in the heck do I stress less?” Truthfully, I’d have to eliminate everything that gets on my nerves and irritates me on a daily basis if I’m really going to stress less.
As I’m sure you know, I can’t realistically ignore or eliminate every daily stress factor. However, I can incorporate techniques and habits to help myself stress less. As I matter of fact, lowering my stress levels is high on my personal growth list.
Understanding Your Strengths and Weaknesses
Monday, January 7th, 2008A lesson I’ve learned the hard way is the importance of knowing and understanding your strengths and weaknesses.
The funny thing is….. when most of us talk about improving some area of our lives we focus on fixing weaknesses. For instance I hate public speaking. Granted, public speaking is an excellent and important skill to have; however, if I’m a much better writer than speaker then guess where I should place more of my efforts? You guessed it. I should focus on how to capitalize on my love and talent for writing.
Spirituality and Self Esteem
Sunday, January 6th, 2008My self esteem received a major boost when I worked on my spirituality - my personal relationship with God.
I’ll never forget the day I was driving home from work - my self esteem at an all-time low. I was on my cell phone talking to my grandmother. I admitted to her that I needed professional help. My grandmother became very emotional - telling me that I didn’t need professional help - what I needed was God.
« Previous Entries
