Mind & Emotions Archives - Page 21 of 25

The Wisdom of the Serenity Prayer

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”

Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr wrote what is usually called ‘the serenity prayer’ for a sermon in the 1930s, although it is sometimes misattributed to other writers. The prayer is now quoted widely, and you don’t have to be a Christian or, indeed, have any religious beliefs to see the timeless wisdom in this simple and profound statement.

Some years ago, I attended a seminar given by an excellent motivational speaker. At one point, he handed out pens with the words ‘fact of life’ printed on the side. On stage, he had a large version of the pen, and repeatedly dropped it. The idea was that, like gravity acting on the pen, some things were just ‘facts of life.’ They cannot be changed and you have no power over them. To complain about these things or to seek to change them is, at best, a waste of time and, more often, corrosive and self-defeating.

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How to Change Your Mindset for Growth

By Ali Luke / 34 Comments

Pop quiz. Which of these do you agree with? 1) Intelligence is fixed at birth. 2)Some people are creative, others aren’t. 3) You can become a world-class expert through enough practice, whatever your starting point. 4) You can change your personality.

If you agreed with the first two statements, you’re coming from a fixed mindset. If you agreed with the second two, you’ve got a growth mindset.

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How to Be Less Sensitive

By Melinda Elliott / 26 Comments

I know, dumb title. If we’re sensitive, we’re sensitive. And it’s not a bad thing, to be sensitive, it’s what makes us compassionate toward others.

But, as a sensitive person, I know that it can get in the way sometimes – when I’m over-sensitive it can sour my day, cause problems in my relationships, or make me overreact to trivial stuff.

The good news is that there are ways to rein in our sensitivity so that it doesn’t get in our way:

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7 Habits that Will Make You Happier, Healthier & Way More Likeable

By Marcus Sheridan / 102 Comments

Happiness — I want it, you want it, we all want it. Just the fact that you’re reading The Change Blog means that you and I are on a similar path—seeking for those nuggets of wisdom that will bring us more peace, joy, and personal fulfillment.

After having owned a businesses for about 10 years in the swimming pool industry, a little over a year ago I commenced a new quest in life to satiate my need to teach and help as many possible to achieve their full potential. This is also why I asked Peter if I could contribute a guest post to The Change Blog. So if you’re looking for ‘change’, if you want more joy and fulfillment out of life, here are 7 qualities that, for me, have made all the difference:

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The Sweet Satisfaction of Positive Thinking

By Olusegun Jegede / 14 Comments

Positive thinking is a choice. It is a mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. It brings inner peace, success, improved relationships, better health, happiness and satisfaction. It also radiates to people around you, and one way or the other, they are influenced by it.

Why is it so much easier to have a negative attitude than a positive one? The situations and challenges we face in the world each day expose us to negative thinking which, in turn, pull us down. When these situations and challenges enter our minds, they generate negative thoughts and feelings. These negative thoughts begin to rule our minds the moment we choose to believe them.

The BIG question is ‘How do we develop a satisfactory positive mind?’ The following tips will help you develop one.

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Facing the Fear of Not Enough

By Meg Ward / 11 Comments

It’s hard to be generous when you feel you don’t have enough. The fear of running out is deep, insidious and ingrained; and it presents itself in many guises. Giving in to this fear is to avoid risk, to burden yourself with precautionary excess and to restrict your enjoyment of life itself. It’s time to change your mindset.

On a two-day, 850-mile drive between Austria and Wales, I found myself faced with a traffic jam leading up to a lane closure about a mile ahead. One lane of traffic was almost at a standstill as the other crept steadily ahead, filtering into the first at the last possible moment. For once, I took the bull by the horns and stayed in the moving lane. I crept guiltily past a few cars but, afraid of running out of time and space, slunk back into the slow lane with plenty of room to spare.

‘That’s you all over’, said my fella, ‘you’re always afraid of running out’.

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How to Overcome Fear & Let Your Creativity Flourish

By Karl Staib / 16 Comments

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” – Sven Goran Eriksson

When you are happy you are confident, and you make choices that give you a better chance at success. When you procrastinate and resist change, that’s fear taking over.

It’s difficult to pull up that creativity anchor and let the “happy you” set sail.

Your fears are just trying to protect you from emotional pain. It’s self-preservation.

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9 Ways to Be Happy Within Yourself

By Olusegun Jegede / 38 Comments

Have you ever found yourself standing in front of the mirror and yelling at yourself or hating yourself? Do you understand what it feels like to be completely disgusted with yourself and longing for a change? We often spend time upset about something, allowing our environment and circumstances to dictate whether or not we are going to be happy. The truth is that we can live our lives with happiness and decide that we are going to do whatever it takes to be happy. You can be happy if you have the mind to.

Happiness is something we must do on purpose. In the midst of struggles or difficulties, we must choose to be happy. Happiness does not come from the acquisition of money or things; happiness begins from within each of us. Being happy within ourselves simply means showing mercy to ourselves, forgiving ourselves, befriending ourselves, accepting ourselves, and loving ourselves. It’s a lifelong journey that requires regular self-examination and an ongoing process of making peace with ourselves. It means discovering what makes us unhappy and choosing to live in peace. It means treating ourselves with compassion and kindness. It makes us to begin to enjoy life more and more and celebrate it as adventure in peace. It helps us to live life to the fullest, and help make the world a better place for us and others.

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5 Ways to Remove Negativity From Your Life

By Deborah Fike / 21 Comments

If there was one word on this planet that killed more change, it would be the word ‘No.’ No, I don’t have the energy to launch a new business. No, I don’t have time to write a novel. No, I’m not smart enough to learn Chinese.

It can be hard to turn a ‘no’ into a ‘yes,’ especially if we ourselves are the sources of our own negativity. It’s possible, though, if we work to eliminate the sources of our self-doubt and indecision.

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Throw Away Your Labels and Accept Change in Others

By Deborah Fike / 25 Comments

The hardest part about change isn’t that it happens to you. Of course it happens to you. You remember how breaking up with that guy made you see life from a different perspective. How quitting your job made you learn a new skill. You are a constantly evolving person and, for better or worse, you have learned to cope with change all throughout your life.

But do you realize change happens to those around you too?

Before you say “yes,” consider this anecdote from my childhood. I grew up in a family with six children. Separated from oldest to youngest by 13 years, you can imagine that we had a wide variety of personalities amongst the siblings. My oldest sister was the Care Giver. My brother, the Logical Scientist. Me, the Dreamer. My younger sister, the Lazy Genius. My youngest sister, the Hard Worker.

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On Taking Risks and Gambling

By Mark Harrison / 8 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I went to the races with some friends. I’m not a huge fan of horse racing, but someone was kind enough to invite me and so I went along for some food, some company and to while away a lazy Sunday afternoon. As always, people had various tips and ‘sure things’ and so, just for fun, I placed three bets. Not knowing much about horses, I tend not to follow the races very closely, but placing the bets made watching the races a bit more exciting. The first horse I bet on came fifth, and the second one didn’t seem to be doing very well either for most of the race, but with half a lap to go, the horse shot to the front of the pack and won by a nose. For a short while I was getting excited and started thinking of the money I could win if the third horse came in. I watched the third race with bated breath and, lo and behold, the nag came in well behind. So I went home with nothing, and that, of course, is the nature of gambling.

Some years ago, I made another gamble. I moved to a new country and walked away from my old life – I left behind my job, my friends, my house and my parents. I started again. People have sometimes asked me why I took the risk – wasn’t it too much of a gamble? I have often thought about this, and it seems to me that there is an essential difference between taking a risk and gambling.

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