Contents

Three Simple Steps to End Low Self Confidence

Five Strategies to Better Learning

Goblins in Thongs: The 5 Rules of Creativity Explained

Journal Keeping as a Tool for Change

How to Smile Full Blast All Day!

Three Simple Steps To End Low Self Confidence!
by Joe Czarnecki  

Low self-confidence affects everyone at different times of one’s life. Self-confidence is a trait that is needed in order for us to accomplish our daily goals and achieve success in all areas of life. It is expected that one may experience short time periods of low self-confidence much like how professional athletes encounter a slump from time to time. However, prolonged periods of low self-confidence can be a serious problem to one’s physical and mental health.

Low self-confidence can at times feel like an impossible task to overcome. The reality is that we are usually only a few simple steps and practices away from achieving high levels of true confidence and poise. There are many practical tips one might use to solve their own low self-confidence problem. I will introduce three simple steps that are easy to understand and building blocks for establishing self-confidence.

The first tip is proper breathing. The importance of breathing is crucial to developing self-confidence. I am referring to methodical breathing that gives one a sense of physical balance. We all breathe all the time even though we are rarely aware of it. That is why we do not know how to increase the power and capacity of our lungs.

One simple exercise on breathing consists of standing straight with your head turned slightly back. Fill your lungs with air by taking a deep breath and count up to ten before exhaling powerfully. As you exhale, maintain a continuous low hum and be free of any trembling. The purpose of this exercise is to instantaneously provide you with a stimulus before an important encounter. This exercise should be performed twice a day at a minimum of five minutes per session. This deep breathing will develop your lungs over time. You will notice yourself having much less occurrences of being out of breathe and also much more control when you are affected by emotion that accelerates your senses.

The second tip is maintaining effective physical motion. Many people fear that others will ridicule them because of the awkwardness of their physical movements. Other people are embarrassed because of clumsiness in which they cover themselves with ridicule. They then think and focus on this in their minds, which causes further constraint in their gestures and mannerisms.

It is very simple to cure this condition. You must make up your mind to conquer this weakness by acquiring ease in all of your movements. Awkwardness occurs only in public. We are never embarrassed alone in the privacy of our home. Like all things, repetition of any act will diminish the emotion that gives rise to it. That is why consistent physical exercises are needed to reprogram one’s outlook on this problem.

You can practice this tip after your breathing exercises. The object is to acquire an easy, relaxed carriage from repetition. One exercise to achieve this is as follows. Expand your chest as far as possible while throwing back your head and extending your arms. Use smooth movements not jerky ones. Try to extend yourself further every time you perform this exercise. As you do this, hollow out the back so it becomes a perfect arch. Next one should walk through a room and focus on keeping their steps of even length and body erect.

The focus of this tip is to remove all jerky and abrupt movements that portray timidity. You will eventually feel relaxed in public and move in a very slow and controlled fashion. This tip alone can increase one’s self worth dramatically.

The third tip is to practice speaking. A forceful speech will always convince an audience. Eloquence is one of the true gifts of self-confidence. One major reason for this is that one’s mind is always fixed upon the object he or she wishes to attain by arguments. This eliminates all unnecessary wandering of thoughts.

Clearness of conception will be reflected and poise will manifest itself in someone who no longer feels himself to be the object of laughter or mockery. In addition to mental focus, there is a distinct physical exercise that can give you powerful speech.

Open your mouth as wide as possible and then shut it rapidly. Open it once more to its fullest extent and then shut it to a point where the jaw fatigues. This exercise is used to combat “heavy jaw”. This is a feeling in your jaw that restricts pronunciation of words and causes people to hesitate or feel uncertain about their speech patterns. In addition to this exercise, practice reciting long sentences containing difficult consonants. This will give you the self-confidence to speak more fluidly in public.

Begin practicing these tips right away. Remember to focus on your breathing, your posture and your speaking. These tips are simple to apply and integrate in to your daily life.

Click Here For the Gas Contest!

Five Strategies to Better Learning
Author: Deanna Mascle

here has never been so much information to absorb and so much to learn in the history of humanity! The more technology we create, the greater the need for learning, so anything that can aid us in learning better is very welcome. Here are five simple strategies that can increase learning and retention of information.

The first learning strategy is a simple one, and one that might not appeal to young people in particular. This strategy is simple: Turn off the TV, turn off your radio and find a quiet place to work with no distractions. If you must have music, opt for classical music, and not rock music or hip-hop. It is amazing how many students like to have background music playing when they are learning, unaware of how counter-productive it can be. If you need to have background music, then choose Baroque, and then preferably strings, rather than brass. Baroque music played on strings has actually been shown to be beneficial to learners.

The second strategy follows on from the first. Don't slob out on the bed, especially on your front, when you are trying to study. Sit at a desk, if possible, with a comfortable, but straight-backed chair and make sure your materials are within easy reach. You don't want to have to break your leaning state over and over again; by having to retrieve items you need from elsewhere.

Strategy three: Breathe deeply and relax. Close your eyes breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth a few times, slowly and evenly. This helps prepare you for your study session and the next strategy.

Strategy four: You will be amazed how many students, adults and children, approach a study or learning task without first asking themselves why they are learning and what they want to achieve. After you have implemented strategy three, and relaxed somewhat, ask yourself what you want to achieve in this study session you are about to undertake. Having a concrete reason to do anything makes your brain focus more on the task. With studying this step is vital, because studying is essentially a brain-oriented task.

Strategy five: Study for short periods or 20 to 30 minutes each, and take breaks of about 10 minutes in between. Experts have found that our peaks of learning information tend to come at the beginning and the end of a session. In other words, we remember material more easily that we learned in the first few minutes of a session, and the last few minutes. Therefore, creating many beginnings and endings in one learning session should increase the amount we are able to take in and, more importantly, recall.

Click Here For the Gas Contest!

Goblins in Thongs: The 5 Rules of Creativity Explained
by: Will Kalif

Creativity has a "Mysterious Force" connotation. It is often thought of as something that only genius artists possess. And while it is true there is a bit of mysterious force about creativity it is something that everyone possesses. Understanding the 5 rules of creativity will help you to develop and grow your creative potential.

Rule1: "The rule of Fusion" This is where the title of this article becomes clear. Addition is the rule of adding two things together. This is a fundamental skill of creativity. Taking one thing and adding it to another to come up with a totally new thing, idea, concept, or thought. Often times these additions might at first seem extremely incongruous but it is through these incongruities that the most creative ideas emerge. Aren't we all so glad that somebody used this rule on peanut butter and chocolate? Don't dismiss even the craziest addition. It may lead to other, better, ideas. This is what the second rule of creativity is about.

Rule 2: "The logical progression" Every single thing came from an earlier thing. No thought, idea, product, story, painting ever was brought into existence from nothing. It derived from something earlier. This brings up an interesting bit of trivia about Picasso. A Woman, meeting him in a restaurant asked him to draw something for her and she said that she would pay him anything. He quickly drew out a sketch on a napkin and said "That will be six thousand dollars please." She was shocked at this and retorted: "But it only took you five minutes to draw it!" To which he replied: "No Madame, it took me forty years and five minutes to draw it!" Picasso was proving the point that he didn't just draw it out of nothing. He drew it out of the progression of artistic ability and skill he developed over 40 years of learning. Think about something and then try to peek back into where it originated from then try to extrapolate this into what could be next for it. You will be surprised where this takes you.

Rule 3: "The rule of scattershot" Edison is famous for his quote that inventing is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. What he meant was that you have to just try a whole bunch of things, no matter how crazy it might seem because sooner or later something special will come out of it. The trick here is to be observant enough to know what is working. This is a famous technique used in Brainstorming where you just come up with as many things as possible regardless of their initial apparent relevance or worth. It does lubricate creativity and generate lots of good stuff.

Rule 4: "The rule of discipline" While creativity has the bad reputation of being something for dreamy types who lounge under a tree waiting for an apple to fall it is just not true. Creativity follows the "opportunity comes to the prepared" rule in that if you want to be creative you have to do and learn. From this you will grow in your creativity. If you want to be a more creative painter you have to paint - a lot. Through this practice your mind will generate creative thoughts. The same is true for any pursuit. The more you do it the more prepared you will be to receive creative inspiration and more importantly the more prepared you will be to realize them.

Rule 5: “Transference” Every invention, thought, idea, product, or other thing was created for a purpose but every one of these things can be applied in other ways. A hammer is much more than just a tool for pounding nails. If you are working on a creative problem look at other similar or even dissimilar solutions to problems and see how you can apply these solutions to your problem. This brings us right back to the goblins. Some goblin saw the success of thongs on human beaches and thought, “maybe this will work on goblin beaches.”

It is true that creativity is a bit of a mystery but these five rules help you to understand what creativity really is and how you can harness it and develop your creativity to a fuller potential.

Click Here For the Gas Contest!

Journal Keeping as a Tool for Change
By: Mark Sanford

As a tool for overcoming inner obstacles, I have found that journal keeping is an invaluable resource. I have used it in various strivings in the areas of smoking cessation, overcoming writer’s block, mastering call reluctance and, most recently, managing weight loss.

As an inveterate journal keeper for many years, I have always found that the writing down of thoughts, concerns, interests, observations, and feelings are a great aid in staying focused on whatever it was I was trying to accomplish.

A journal also helps you identify motives for what you are doing, understandings of where those motives come from, benefits and costs of change, and it helps you identify what kind of decisions have to be made in order to move forward.

A journal will enable you to generate rationalizations to restore equilibrium caused by lack of correspondence between aspirations and results. Whether you are trying to overcome procrastination, reduce social anxiety in public speaking or in writer’s block, it is helpful to have a place to work out your scripts….your understandings, worries, and fears.

Change is never linear. There are stops and starts, periods of progression and regression and hence it is inevitable that you find yourself in conflict between your hoped for goal and your actual achievement. Therefore the need arises to take stock, revise strategies, recommit, and persist with repeated attempts.

In all of this, a place to dialogue with yourself about what you are undergoing, a record of progress, and a noting down of what works, and what doesn’t is very helpful.

And furthermore, activities which lessen fear and anxiety, in this case, the fear of failure and disapproval in weight loss, for example, are reinforced because tension is reduced by keeping a journal.

This is the real value of journalizing. It gives you an additional means for self-awareness and self-rectification, for analyzing your weaknesses, and then designing and implementing your own program for improvement or renewed effort. The thought and planning process itself serve to increase your chances of success; and each successful step serves to give you more confidence that eventually you will succeed.

My journal is where I uncovered my main motive for weight loss, namely, the need for more worthiness and self-respect; this was important given my background of always thinking I wasn’t good enough. The journal is also where I raised questions the answers to which permitted me to identify what would help with weight loss. I’m thinking here of such factors as role models, record keeping, reward rituals and accountability partners.

The self analysis made possible by keeping a journal allowed me to generate my own program, my own motivation, and permitted me to take advantage and use a catalyst that came along just when I was in need of a stimulus to push me forward. So many procrastinate when it comes to weight loss which is why some sort of catalyst can be a key change agent.

Because it worked for me, I think it can work for anyone who will take the trouble to record their thoughts and observations so that they can thereby steer themselves by their ideas and not just be in a reactive mode, following the urgings of outside authorities in the culture or in your social network. Outside blandishments are not nearly as effective as internal resolves firmly based.

Click Here For the Gas Contest!

How to Smile Full Blast All Day
by: Joseph R. Plazo

Did you notice how some people are just so insanely happy? Sling all the insulting barbs you want or hurl impossible tasks their way and yet they keep on ticking. Blissfully. Happily.  And that makes you drip with envy all the more.

A small segment of the population comes factory-built with a natural propensity for positive outlook. They’re hardwired with copious amounts of zest. This zest easily shields them from the buffets of life that normally faze the rest of us.

Recently scientists discovered how the naturally occurring-drug serotonin flows more generously in such individuals. Serotonin is magic. It’s a chemical produced in the amygdala and can give far more pleasure signals than cocaine or marijuana can. No wonder happy people are unstoppable! They’re simply cocooned in bliss that rose-tints the blight of the world!

Wouldn’t you love to experience their reality?

Try these three tips now!

1) Discover what you REALLY want and enjoy your passions. Is it drawing? Painting? Designing web pages or collecting toys? The more you do what you want, the faster you pump out serotonin and create an inner zest. Take time out and hobnob with folks passionate about what they do. Did you notice how the air about them literally crackles with energy? And it's infectious! Everyone about them feels simply great!

2) Give unconditional love and respect. Face it, connection with others creates that warm fuzzy feeling inside. That fuzzy feeling expands into unmitigated, explosive joy when done regularly. Imagine how unstoppable you’ll be when you feel loved- and are loved! Spread the warmth and you'll float on cloud 9.

3) Take an inventory of your thoughts. The next time a depressing, critical or evil thought swims into view, ask yourself ‘Does this Serve Me Well?’ If it doesn’t, chuck it! There's no point entertaining darkness- no matter how logical it may be.

Fly high!

Click Here For the Gas Contest!