Stories

10 Things You Can Do to Make Today More Meaningful

According to Benjamin Wiker and Johnathan Witt, authors of A Meaningful World, “…nature is a work of genius, like a Shakespearian play is a work of genius — both are rich, deep, and complex, full of meaning at every level.”

Do you find yourself wanting for more meaningful experiences?

Sometimes the best way to get what you’re craving is to give it first. Don’t wait for someone else to make the first move or for a situation to spontaneously occur. Be liberal with, and unrestrained in, whatever you share. Create your own meaningful moments, and your life will be all the richer for it.

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How To Unleash Your Creative Genius

By Marelisa Fabrega / 28 Comments

James M. Higgins, author of 101 Creative Problem Solving Techniques: The Handbook of New Ideas for Business,defines creativity as the process of generating something new that has value. Creative ideas run the gamut from new associations of existing ideas, elements, or concepts, to radical breakthroughs which extend the boundaries of human knowledge and create paradigm shifts. That is, you don’t necessarily have to make a quantum leap to be creative; you can begin by finding ways to improve an existing product, or by modifying a process to make it more efficient.

Creativity can mean identifying an untapped market for an existing product, finding a new solution to a problem, finding creative ways to resolve a labor dispute, and so on. In addition, creativity is not the sole domain of the arts—whether it’s painting, theatre, music, architecture, dancing, literature, and so on—but is important in any field, from medicine to business, and from engineering to economics.

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3 Ways to Identify and Master the Bug of Creative Procrastination

By Shilpan Patel / 26 Comments

Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday – Napoleon Hill (1883-1970) American speaker and motivational writer.

Procrastination is a term that needs no introduction. I’ve lived much of my life battling this bug, and I have come to believe that it grows from a fear of action.

Creative procrastination is a trick our mind plays to defer things we should do now until the future with an abstract goal to banish our desire.

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7 Lifestyle Changes that Will Help the Environment

By Scott Bird / 13 Comments

Over the past few years, most people I’ve spoken to have become (or already were) environmentally conscious to some degree. What often begins simply as saving money – such as reducing the amount of electricity you use – turns out to have quite a positive impact. If, however, you want to do even more; there are several things you can do. Here are just 7 lifestyle changes which will help the environment.

1. Use the car less. This is perhaps the simplest change in this list – reduce the time you spend behind the wheel. In addition to the environmental benefits of doing this, you’ll probably find that you become slightly fitter; and have more money in your pocket at the end of the week. In short, there’s no downside. How do you do this? Here are a few suggestions.

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What Makes a Good Life?

By Peter Clemens / 12 Comments

Some time ago now I came to realize that how we define particular words – success, happiness, love, etc – can have a major impact on the way in which we live our life. One term that I hear thrown around often is “good life”, eg “he lived a good life” . But what is a good life exactly? This term will mean different things to different people, and yet I believe there are some ingredients that all “good lives” share. Here are a some of these ingredients:

Being present in the moment

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Going Against the Flow

By David B. Bohl / 11 Comments

In life, we’re often told to “go with the flow.” Meaning, the flow of energy, the flow of events as they unfold. The implication here is that we shouldn’t struggle against forces beyond our control. To do so is to expend valuable energy that’s better exerted elsewhere.

Lately, I’ve been thinking about this going with the flow business, and what it all means.

It’s my feeling that people who are passive accepters will always go with the flow, no matter what. And that’s the majority of people. But then you have the other brand of personality – the movers and shakers. They’re fewer and farther between, sure. These people seem to have that killer gut instinct telling them when it’s right to go against the flow.

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How to Become Comfortable in Your Own Skin

By David B. Bohl / 12 Comments

Did you ever enter a room, see people talking and laughing together and wonder: how are they so at ease? Does it feel like a big deal to just “jump into a conversation” or assert your opinion? Do you have trouble relaxing and just being yourself in the company of others?

Many of us carry around the notion that other people are more emotionally and intellectually solid than we are. Is this true? Is it some kind of glitch in the human brain which makes us regard others as being better or superior?

If we press the pause button and really stop, what happens? We realize that our comfort level has much more to do with ourselves than anybody else. Here are some ways to become more effective, simply by feeling more at peace with who (and how) we are.

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Why a Strong Foundation is the Key to Change

By Mark Harrison / 6 Comments

In The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey gives some brilliant insights into living a truly effective life. The key is, before anything else, you must have a good foundation. This foundation is a ‘private victory,’ a self-mastery which comes before the success we aspire to achieve in our interdependent social environments – our work, our business, our family. This foundation is twofold, consisting of ‘habits’ which constitute the cornerstone of our lives. Without practicing these habits we build our life on quicksand, on the shifting, uncertain tides of a complex and ever changing world.

When we have mastered ourselves, when we have this foundation, we need not fear change. Indeed, we can embrace it and use it creatively, integrating new learning and insight into our lives, building greater synergy and reaching higher peaks of personal and social achievement.

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5 Signs of a Stress Ridden Mind

By Shilpan Patel / 30 Comments

“No man is free who is not master of himself”- Epictetus, Greek Philosopher

There is a plethora of stress in our lives these days. Divorce, layoffs, threats of terrorism – these are just a few of the many things that can leave our mind, body and soul feeling anxious.

Stress is not necessarily a bad thing. It can be essential form of our emotional state for balanced growth in our life. A conscious form of stress motivates us, prepares us for things we have to face, and sometimes give us energy to take action when we need to. However, excessive stress can hinder our ability to set goals, focus on what we want to achieve and to live in harmony with our family.

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Finding the Path to a Meaningful Existence

By Kent Thune / 18 Comments

“As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” – Henry David Thoreau

People want to be told what to do; they want to be “inspired;” they want to be influenced from external sources; and they want their “life instructions” to be delivered in neat and convenient little packages. Although our deepest desire is to find “the path to a meaningful existence,” it is our human nature to seek “the path of least resistance.” We prefer to take one sure step to find what we want, rather than taking many uncertain steps to find what we really need… Why?

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The Perfect Day

By Peter Clemens / 19 Comments

Every so often life gets a bit hectic and crazy. When this happens, one thing I like to do is to slow down and think about my perfect day. This is not a perfect day in the sense that I can do whatever or be wherever I want. It’s nice to picture myself on a beach somewhere drinking coronas or skiing down the slopes of Whistler, but what is of more benefit to me is to visualize (and even better write out) the perfect day that I can experience right here, right now (as Fatboy Slim would say).

This exercise is based on a simple, but very powerful belief: it is possible for each of us can live happy, consciousness, and meaningful lives each and every day. Everything in our life may not be “perfect” – perhaps we are lonely, want more money, desperately need a holiday, dream of a better body or are bored with our work – but I believe with a shift in our mindset we can start enjoying the present, while still working towards the future we desire.

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