Self Esteem is Highly Important to Your Enjoyment of Life

Self-esteem is how you evaluate yourself on an imaginary scorecard. If your self-esteem is low, you will score less because you tend to think poorly of yourself. It is not uncommon to experience this. Fortunately, the therapy is at hand- in fact in your own hands. All you need is the guidance, which I am going to provide you with. I will be suggesting you ways and means to get your scores nice and high and build up your self-esteem.

You may ask why we need to go through this process at all. Well, the reason is simply because low self-esteem can be disastrous to our health - physically and mentally. Many a time low self-worth is the result of conditioning that all children are exposed to. They are taught to put their own needs at the very end. They should ideally think of others first. I am not saying selflessness is bad but when it causes you to disregard yourself, it is ceases to be a virtue. In the right amounts, selflessness keeps you modest and humble.

You may ask how low self-esteem affects you? Low self-value results in despair. You start thinking of yourself as a failure, as an insignificant speck in society. You place everybody else on a pedestal and end up feeling worthless. Consequently, you face dejection and depression, which leads to poor physical and mental health.

You begin to lose your confidence, start neglecting yourself totally. You no longer care how you look. Your working environment seems alien. You lose initiative and miss opportunities. You won't strive to make more money because you don't believe you deserve it (or don't believe you're capable of earning it in the first place). In fact you end up repelling all good things coming your way because of your attitude.

Subsequently, your life gets affected totally - your job, your relationships - basically your entire existence. When you have a low opinion of your self, you will project the same to others who in turn will also hold a low opinion of you. So, it is all in your hands to make a difference to yourself.

It must seem quite negative all that I have said so far but the aim is not to depress you, but to make you aware of the ill effects of low self-esteem.

5 Ways to Keep Your New Year's Resolutions

With good intentions, many of us come up with resolutions. These goals can have a major impact on our lives if only we could fulfill them. Here are five quick tips designed to put your on the road to success:

Take it step by step: Many marathon runners get through the race by taking it a few steps at a time. They see the long race as the repetition of those steps, again and again. Try to break down your goal into pieces. If you're trying to lose 20 pounds, then set a goal for the first four pounds. Psychologically, it's more like climbing a hill, rather than a mountain.

Have a carrot: Pick a special reward for when you achieve your objective. This should be something fun that you don't normally do. You could eat out at a special restaurant, go to a concert, or take a trip. The key is that you really want to do the activity but won't enjoy it until you've reached your goal. No cheating!

Have a buddy: See if one of your friends, who also has a goal, will agree to be your resolution partner. You both will need to keep in touch with each other, provide support, and make sure the other is making progress on his or her goal. This is better than telling everyone about your resolution. Sadly, some people like to see others fail at their dreams. They'll help undermine your success. Stick with one or two people who are motivated to change their lives. You'll create a much stronger support network this way.

Talk to yourself: You may not want to do this in public but it's a good habit to give yourself some daily feedback about your goal. Again, if you're trying to lose weight you might take a minute every day to talk about what you did that day. For instance: "Today I made smart choices about what I ate. I resisted the urge to eat foods that get me into trouble. Every day, I'm getting closer to my goal." Keep this affirmation as positive as possible. This is also an exercise that you can do with your resolution partner.

Think about the goal: Pick a time during the day (after waking up or before going to bed works well) and visualize that you've achieved your resolution. Imagine what that feels like. If you want to quit smoking, imagine being healthier and breathing much better. If you're trying to lose weight, think about your clothes fitting looser on your body or even shopping for new, thin, clothes. This habit helps program your mind, making your goal seem that much more real.

Are You Making New Year's Resolutions?

With Christmas just around the corner and New Years not far off, people are soon going to be thinking of what new promises they would like to make to themselves for 2009. There are many out there who don't think too much about making new resolutions, either because they don't believe in doing such a thing or they have never been able to keep up with them in the past. Others continue to make new resolutions every year, either because they feel they have kept up with them well enough in the past to warrant making a new one, or they legitimately want to make a lasting change in their lives. Regardless of whether your friends or relatives feel making resolutions are important or not, what really matters is if you would like to make a resolution for yourself.

A New Year's resolution is basically a promise that one makes to their self for that year, whether it is to lose twenty pounds, to quit smoking or to minimize the number of drinks they have per day. It is something that only you can decide for yourself. First, you have to think about what is important to you, and what it is about yourself and/or your life that you would like to change for the better. It helps to think back to the last year and pin point what you may want to improve upon it for next year. Now, a New Year's resolution doesn't necessarily have to be for only one year, it could be a long-term promise that you feel you want to keep for a few years or even for the rest of your life. It all depends on what the promise to yourself is.

When making a New Year's resolution, many will make a hasty choice as to what it will be and then forget about it shortly after. Some will make a resolution that they have full intention of following through on, but then it falls to the back of their mind and they slowly forget about it. This, of course, defeats the whole purpose of making a resolution. If you want to make a serious New Year's resolution, you need to give it some serious thought. You want to think of something that you really want to change, as well as something that you will be able to follow through on. What good is a promise if you can't follow it through? It should be remembered, however, that regardless of what you decide your New Year's resolution to be, you will have to be prepared to put some effort into following through with it. If you need a little help with your resolution, you can always contact an online counselor. You might be wondering how online counseling can help you with this. Some online therapy can help a great deal when trying to learn more about yourself and decide what about yourself you would like to change in the New Year. Speaking with and online therapist can also go a long way in helping you to achieve your resolution.

Are you tired of Procrastination?

Procrastination is a type of behavior which is characterized by deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. For an individual, procrastination may result in stress, a sense of guilt, the loss of personal productivity, the creation of crisis and the disapproval of others for not fulfilling one's responsibilities or commitments. While it is normal for people to procrastinate to some degree, it becomes a problem when it impedes normal functioning.

Have you heard the saying it takes 20 days of constant practice to form a habit? Think of that and then think of this: if all it takes is 20 days to form a habit, what can 20,000 days do? I'll tell you what these 20,000 days can do - they can reshape your character. This makes learning time management skills all the more important.

After all, procrastination may be a habit now but 20,000 days down the line, it will define who you are and what you do. Martin Avis knew this (he wasn't a former procrastinator for nothing!) and he used this knowledge to come up with a helpful, concise, but enriching guide, '14 Days to Total Time Control'. The ebook simplifies the concept of time management and offers tips for time management that are easy, practical, and workable. It is an entertaining read, too, as Avis draws from his rich trove of procrastination experiences to illustrate certain points.

Time management experts like Avis aside, though, here are some tips for time management that you can try right this moment.

1. Do not wait for things to become urgent before you do them.

Ever told yourself, "If it's not urgent, it can wait"? Snap out of this self-created myth. Time does not wait for anyone. So do what you can do now. Do not wait for tasks to pile up before you get to them.

2. Make a list.

Elephants, it's been said, do not forget. But you're not an elephant; you're human! It is natural for you to forget. So try this strategy: every morning, sit down and think of how you want your day to go. Then, write down all the tasks you need to do. Arrange them according to their order of priority and do them accordingly.

3. Learn to delegate.

You can't do everything yourself so why try? You don't need tips for time management to realize that you should delegate the things you do not have time for - what you need to come to that realization is plain common sense. So go ahead, ask others for help.

Remember, time is precious. You do not always get the chance to do tomorrow what you can't do today.

Time Management, a very important aspect of life

When there is so much competing for our attention, how do we keep up our work productivity? We've all had days when it seems like nothing gets accomplished, facing one interruption after another. As a creature of habit, I seem to work better when I have a system to follow.

The key to getting things accomplished is to maintain focus and build momentum on the important tasks. Here's a few things you can do to improve your time management skills.

Vary your Work Environment

These days, I do everything via a laptop computer that I can take with me. Sometimes I find that there are certain types of work for which my home office is just not conducive...such as a big research project, contemplating an important financial move, and such. These are typical things that many of us procrastinate on because it seems so cumbersome to do them.

However, I find when I change my surroundings, I can create an environment where I can actually get excited about that which I have been avoiding. This might be the local library or a coffee shop/internet cafe. The net effect is that I am creating a comfortable environment in which to put forth a focused block of time toward an important task...all contributing to a feeling of well-being.

Match Tasks with your Work Productivity Patterns

Do you find that you work most effectively if you stay focused on one task at a time? But what about those emails that need to be answered, websites you want to check out, that essential reading you need to do? I group these tasks into several categories which I handle in focused segments of time throughout the week.

For example, I handle emails in short blocks, 2 times/day. I return calls twice/day. I group my catch-up reading time and website reviews into the early evening, because this is the time when I let myself relax after a productive day. Being a morning person, this works for me; whereas, you may be a night person and setup a different routine.

Treat Important Blocks of Time as Appointments

I find it helpful to break my day into segments, being flexible around what is most pressing. Most people have no problem, typically, in blocking off a piece of the day for a meeting. Yet, if we know that we should take a block of time to design a new landing page, or write a series of articles, we often allow that time to get interrupted with phone calls, going off on internet tangents, constantly checking emails, etc. Instead, treat those segments like appointments...allowing nothing to get in the way.

Do your Most Important Project First

For me, creating forward momentum on our Internet business is the highest priority. So, the first 4 hours of my work day is when I devote to that purpose. It's like an ongoing appointment that I do not vary unless something pressing (pre-planned) trumps it. I shut off the phones and don't check emails. This allows me to get into the productive space such that one task flows efficiently into the next.

Then, at the end of this period, I have a feeling of accomplishment. I can then focus on the other tasks that need attention, or as is often the case, continue on my internet business-building tasks. Most importantly for me, it allows me to approach the rest of my day in a more relaxed fashion.

Try these approaches for yourself. You might just find that they increase your personal productivity.

Career Success Strategies - Interview With Your First Impression in Mind

"A statesman who keeps his ear permanently glued to the ground will have neither elegance of posture nor flexibility of movement." -- Abba Eban (1915-2002)

It takes less than 6 seconds to leave a first impression. It is said not to judge a book by its cover, but come on, isn't it the color, the design, the layout and title that draws us to pick up a book that may be of interest to us? When perusing magazines or CDs we are attracted to the cover. Notice what you make up about a person when you are first introduced to her/him? What are you making up about that person? Spend some time people watching and notice the assumptions you make. Is most of what you hear yourself saying negative or positive?

Something that most of us don't take notice to is how we stand or walk. The military requires soldiers to have the best postures. Why do you suppose the military trains its soldiers to march straight and tall? What possible difference can standing tall make?

Let's say you are going for a job interview or you are networking at an event to build your business. Within seconds you have already said a lot about yourself by the way you walk. The unseen that surrounds you is the energy you are expending which comes from your attitude and self-esteem. The seen part is your body language.

How you stand and walk says volumes about you before you even say a word. The majority of us walk around everyday without paying any attention to what we are saying even though we are not uttering a word. There is a lot that can be said about body language from the clothes you wear to gestures.

I took notice of this topic recently as I recalled something about changing my posture to improve my level of confidence. I was about to venture on a new project, which would take me out of my comfort zone. My gremlins were having a field day with me uttering all kinds of reasons why I couldn't do a good job with this new opportunity. I tucked in my tummy, put my shoulders back, held my head high, and took a walk. Soon thereafter, I felt so much better.

I approached the project with new zest and possibility. Wow what a difference! Try it.

Practice standing with tummy tucked in, shoulder blades reaching to touch each other, chin up and looking straight ahead. This exercise is quite effective regardless of body size. For those of you looking to lose weight, standing more erect gives the impression you have lost 5-15 lbs, depending on your current weight. Since pulling in my tummy and walking straighter, my friends are asking me if I lost weight. It's magic! It's so simple! It is also healthier. Walking tall may even give you the momentum to start exercising and eating more moderately if you so wish.

The ability to capture your audience when you walk into a room is sure to start you off on the right foot when going on an interview or making a presentation to prospective clients. Non-verbal signals have five times the impact of verbal signals. So you can count on losing your audience when you walk in with head down dragging your feet regardless how much you try to change it. This is a small step in making a big impression in your non-verbal communication.
Questions hold the answers:

* What can be improved in the way you stand and walk?
* When you stand and walk erect what do you notice?
* When you slouch what does it feel like compared to standing erect?
* What is your assessment of someone who slouches?
* What is the posture of the leaders you admire?
* What benefits would "standing tall" have when going on an interview?

Tips:

* Correct posture can actually help you be calmer and more relaxed, which is the way you want to be on an interview or making a presentation. This can actually be put to the test. Check out the above website to see how.
* Listen to your body and feel the power as you individualize your "standing tall".
* Do you know that it is impossible to be depressed with correct posture and chin up? Try it!

Remember to stand tall and anything is possible!