Values

‎

"Health is the greatest possession.
Contentment is the greatest treasure.
Confidence is the greatest friend.
Non-being is the greatest joy."

                                                                          - Lao Tzu

Claudio Naranjo - Seeker After Truth - Interview by Iain McNay - YouTube

 loaded on Dec 21, 2010

Claudio Naranjo - Seeker After Truth - Interview by Iain McNay

Author of over 20 books including 'Healing Civilization' and 'Enneagram of Society: Healing the Soul to Heal the World'. In this interview Claudio talks about his life and his first teacher, Totila Albert. How he first experimented with Ecstasy in therapeutic sessions; how he worked with Fritz Pearls; his time with Oscar Ichazo and how he took the basic Enneagram idea and developed the personality types. He shares about his first 'Seekers After Truth' groups and the long period when he felt he had 'fallen from Grace.' A fascinating interview.

• Category

  Education

Source:
Claudio Naranjo - Seeker After Truth - Interview by Iain McNay - YouTube

Have Fun. Make Money. Change the World.

 

“Smile, breathe, go slowly.”
Thich Nhat Hanh

 

“There is no charge for awesomeness, or attractiveness.”

Po ~ Kungfu Panda



Life flies by. And the older we get the faster it seems to go.

There never seems to be enough time in the day to get everything done. Let alone squeek out a moment of peace for ourselves.

So with all of responsibilities and obligations is there something that can help us?

What can we do to not feel overwhelmed, overworked, or overtired?

Maybe it’s time for a different approach to life.


 

Source:
3 Keys To An Awesome Life From A Zen Master | Success For Life - Have Fun. Make Money. Change the World.

 Link:
http://ianpaulmarshall.com/3-keys-to-an-awesome-life-from-a-zen-master/

Vegetarian 101 | PETA.org

 

When it comes to vegetarianism, the number one question on most meat-eaters' minds is, "What do you eat?" The answer: Anything we want! There are vegetarian alternatives to almost any animal food, from soy sausages and "Fib Ribs" to Tofurky jerky and mock lobster.

Vegetarian-friendly menus are sprouting up everywhere—even Burger King offers veggie burgers—and more and more eateries are focusing exclusively on vegetarian and vegan foods.

There are fantastic alternatives to every dairy product you can imagine, including Soy Delicious ice cream, Silk chocolate soy milk, Tofutti cream cheese, and more.

Going vegetarian has never been easier, and we're here to help! From our fantastic recipes and list of favorite products and favorite vegetarian cookbooks to our free vegetarian starter kit and online shopping guide, PETA has all the information you need to adopt a healthy and humane vegetarian diet!

Every year in the U.S., more than 27 billion animals are slaughtered for food. Raising animals on factory farms is cruel and ecologically devastating. Eating animals is bad for our health, increasing the risk of developing various diseases and illnesses, including heart attacks, strokes, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

In response to animal welfare, health, and ecological concerns, compassionate people everywhere are adopting a vegetarian diet.

For Animals

Animals on factory farms are treated like meat, milk, and egg machines. Chickens have their sensitive beaks seared off with a hot blade, and male cattle and pigs are castrated without any painkillers. Farmed chickens, turkeys, and pigs spend their brief lives in dark and crowded warehouses, many of them so cramped that they can't even turn around or spread a single wing. They are mired in their own waste, and the stench of ammonia fills the air.

Animals raised for food are bred and drugged to grow as large as possible as quickly as possible—many are so heavy that they become crippled under their own weight and die within inches of their water supply.

Animals on factory farms do not see the sun or get a breath of fresh air until they are prodded and crammed onto trucks for a nightmarish ride to the slaughterhouse, often through weather extremes and always without food or water.

Many die during transport, and others are too sick or weak to walk off the truck after they reach the slaughterhouse. The animals who survive this hellish ordeal are hung upside-down and their throats are slit, often while they're completely conscious.

Many are still alive while they are skinned, hacked into pieces, or scalded in the defeathering tanks. Learn more about the factory-farming industry. By switching to a vegetarian diet, you can save more than 100 animals a year from this misery.

One suggestion: If you plan to make the transition to a vegetarian diet gradually, the most important foods to cut out of your diet first are bird flesh and eggs. While many people think that “red meat” and dairy products should be the first to go, this isn’t the case.

By cutting bird flesh from your diet, you’ll save many more animals. Because chickens are so small, the average meat-eater is responsible for the deaths of many more chickens than cows. Plus, chickens and turkeys exploited by the meat and egg industries are the most abused animals commonly used for food.

For Your Health 

Some of the leading killers in America today, including heart disease, cancer, obesity, and strokes, are directly linked to meat-based diets. Heart disease is the number one cause of death in America today, and it can often be caused by the build-up of cholesterol and saturated fat from animal products in our arteries.

The only two doctors in human history who have successfully reversed heart disease have included an exclusively vegetarian diet as a part of their programs. The average vegan cholesterol level is 133 (compared to 210 for meat-eaters); there are no documented cases of heart attacks in individuals with cholesterol under 150. Other health problems tied to clogged arteries, like poor circulation and atherosclerotic strokes, can be virtually eliminated with a vegan diet.

Vegans are approximately one-ninth as likely to be obese as meat-eaters and have a cancer rate that is only 40 percent that of meat-eaters. People who consume animal products are also at increased risk for many other illnesses, including strokes, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, Alzheimer's, multiple allergies, diabetes, and food poisoning. Learn more about the health benefits of a vegetarian diet.

For the Environment

America's meat addiction is poisoning and depleting our potable water, arable land, and clean air. More than half of the water used in the United States today goes to animal agriculture, and since farmed animals produce 130 times more excrement than the human population, the run-off from their waste is fouling our waterways. Animal excrement emits gases, such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, that poison the air around farms, as well as methane and nitrous oxide, which are major contributors to global warming.
Forests are being bulldozed to make more room for factory farms and feed crops to feed farmed animals, and this destruction causes soil erosion and contributes to species extinction and habitat loss. Raising animals for food also requires massive amounts of food and raw materials: Farmed animals consume 70 percent of the corn, wheat, and other grains that we grow, and one-third of all the raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S. go to raising animals for food. In short, our country's meat addiction is wrecking the earth.

Read more about factory farming and the environment.



Request a vegetarian starter kit to get started today!

Vegetarian 101 | PETA.org

The Case for Vegetarianism; Should Everyone Choose to Be a Vegetarian? a Comparison of Two Articles Investigating the Reasons People Choose to Become Vegetarians

In a poll conducted by TIME magazine, ten million Americans identified themselves as vegetarians, while an additional twenty million claimed to have experimented with vegetarianism at some point (Corliss). Apparently, people subscribe to a vegetarian diets for a surprising number of reasons; one vegetarian invented an imaginary character as a child to help explain her distaste for meat-products to her family (Decker). According to Richard Corliss, the author of an article from TIME magazine entitled Should We All be Vegetarians?, vegetarianism is on the rise. 
Corliss believes that as our knowledge of nutrition and disease continues to increase and our pressing environmental concerns continue to mount, contentious Americans looking for solutions will increasingly turn to a vegetarian diet in order to achieve better health, embrace responsible ethics, and contribute to the efforts for environmental conservation.

In his article, Corliss acknowledges that vegetarianism has become, "trendy." Throughout various issues of debate that he explores, Corliss repeatedly references the idea that the popularity of vegetarianism is not only prevalent among the young or successful, but that it also reflects a shift of sentiments in an increasingly aware and ethical society. Corliss does however punctuate his article by mentioning of a variety of celebrity vegetarians including, " the rock star Moby and Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich." Corliss strategically utilizes the impact that Hollywood has on the American public; his piece even concludes with a quote from vegetarian television icon Mary Tyler Moore: "It may take a while, but there will probably come a time when we look back and say, 'Good Lord, do you believe that in the 20th century and early part of the 21st, people were still eating animals?'"

Emma Decker, author of another article, Becoming a Vegetarian, prefers to adopt a position of neutrality stating, "I do not have an opinion on whether or not it's a good choice to become a vegetarian. Both sides have their pros and cons." Ironically, Decker makes this proclamation after having rattled off an imposing list of the meat-related diseases and health conditions she avoids as a vegetarian. Corliss elaborates much further on how vegetarianism relates favorably to health by providing clinical studies which show evidence of an impressive array of benefits ranging from reversing age-related dementia to a longer-than-average life expectancy.

Where health is concerned, Corliss' apparent position is neatly summarized by a quote from Dr. Joan Sabate, chairman of the Loma Linda nutrition conference: "for the average sedentary adult living in a Western society, a vegetarian diet meets dietary needs and prevents chronic diseases better than an omnivore diet." Additionally, Corliss appears to be interested in giving a responsible depiction of how, if poorly-executed, vegetarianism, more specifically veganism, can potentially have negative affects on one's health; he dedicates a generous portion of his article to naming possible nutritional complications of the diets. Likewise, based on her personal experiences, Decker acknowledges that finding alternate sources of nutrition can be a challenge.

Unlike Decker's article, Corliss' piece provides a generous number of credible sources from within the medical community, both pro-vegetarian and otherwise. Despite the fact that he consults multiple experts who disapprove of vegetarian diets, Corliss himself maintains a modest tone of approval, even describing vegetarians to be, "conscientious" and, "smart." Aside from making vegetarianism look cool and healthy, Corliss also manages to portray its adversaries as being fanatical, angry, or unintelligent; he includes an interview with cattle rancher Jody Brown who happens to run an anti-vegetarian website which promotes slogans such as, "Vegetarians don't live longer, they just look older" and "If animals weren't meant to be eaten, then why are they made out of meat?" Contrary to the thoughtful vegetarian community he describes, "Jody admits to at least one liberal sympathy. 'If a vegetarian got a flat tire in my community,' he says, 'I'd come out and help him'" (Corliss).

Both articles mention the positive environmental impact of vegetarianism. Decker's article simply deduces that younger generations are, "more conscious about subjects such as animal rights, global warming and environmental health." However, Corliss features an in-depth perspective, detailing the specific points of vegetarianism which make it a more ethically responsible and environmentally sound choice. Corliss establishes reliable evidence for his claims by citing David Pimentel, an ecologist at Cornell University and Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest located in Washington.

Pimentel explains how, in addition to its health and environmental benefits, vegetarianism could potentially feed the hungry and even support the economy: "In terms of caloric content, the grain consumed by American livestock could feed 800 million people-and, if exported, would boost the U.S. trade balance by $80 billion a year." Expanding on these benefits, Corliss notes that, "Grain-fed livestock consume 100,000 liters of water for every kilogram of food they produce, compared with 2,000 liters for soybeans." He continues by revealing that, " Animal protein also demands tremendous expenditures of fossil-fuel energy-eight times as much as for a comparable amount of plant protein." A quote from Pimentel provides a meaningful comparison for a modern audience that is generally alarmed by excessive fuel consumption:

The average omnivore diet burns the equivalent of a gallon of gas per day-twice what it takes to produce a vegan diet. And the U.S. livestock population-cattle, chickens, turkeys, lambs, pigs and the rest-consumes five times as much grain as the U.S. human population.

Of the two articles, only Corliss approaches the question of animal rights among his final points. Aside from the animals being slaughtered, the readers are informed that shocking numbers of rabbits, mice, pheasants and other field animals are routinely killed by tractors and other plowing equipment (Corliss). Corliss points to Steven Davis, professor of animal science at Oregon State University, who estimates that even replacing poultry and pork production with beef, lamb and dairy products, "would result in the deaths of 300 million fewer animals annually."

Each article provides thoughtful insights into vegetarianism and attempts to evaluate the merits of a vegetarian lifestyle. In the case of Decker's article, her personal experiences as a vegetarian proves to be interesting yet far less persuasive than Corliss' evaluation. By way of his many, varied and reputable expert sources, Corliss establishes credible evidence for the benefits of a vegetarian diet. Moreover, his reasonable tone and inclusion of dissenting views of vegetarianism effectively create a sense of fairness for the reader. By building a better argument model, Corliss has obviously crafted a more complete and compelling article supporting a vegetarian diet.

Corliss, Richard. "Should We All be Vegetarians?" TIME. July 2007.

Retrieved on July 14, 2008

http://www.time.com/time/covers/1101020715/story.html>

Decker, Emma. "Becoming a Vegetarian" The Oregonian. April 2008.

Retrieved on July 14, 2008.http://blog.oregonlive.com/oregonianopinion/2008/04>




The Case for Vegetarianism; Should Everyone Choose to Be a Vegetarian? a Comparison of Two Articles Investigating the Reasons People Choose to Become Vegetarians - Yahoo! Voices - voices.yahoo.com




link: http://voices.yahoo.com/the-case-vegetarianism-everyone-choose-2969931.html

Vegetarianism may be the only answer to food shortages facing the world.

Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists


Water scarcity's effect on food production means radical steps will be needed to feed population expected to reach 9bn by 2050
 
 

John Vidal, environment editor
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 26 August 2012 19.00 BST

A bull grazes on dry wheat husks in Logan, Kansas, one of the regions hit by the record drought that has affected more than half of the US and is expected to drive up food prices. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images


Leading water scientists have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages.

Humans derive about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world's leading water scientists.

"There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations," the report by Malik Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.
"There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5% of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a … reliable system of food trade."

Dire warnings of water scarcity limiting food production come as Oxfam and the UN prepare for a possible second global food crisis in five years. 

Prices for staples such as corn and wheat have risen nearly 50% on international markets since June, triggered by severe droughts in the US and Russia, and weak monsoon rains in Asia.

 More than 18 million people are already facing serious food shortages across the Sahel.

Oxfam has forecast that the price spike will have a devastating impact in developing countries that rely heavily on food imports, including parts of Latin America, North Africa and the Middle East.

 Food shortages in 2008 led to civil unrest in 28 countries.

Adopting a vegetarian diet is one option to increase the amount of water available to grow more food in an increasingly climate-erratic world, the scientists said. 

Animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet. 

One third of the world's arable land is used to grow crops to feed animals. Other options to feed people include eliminating waste and increasing trade between countries in food surplus and those in deficit.

"Nine hundred million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food production continues to increase," they said. 

"With 70% of all available water being in agriculture, growing more food to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land."

The report is being released at the start of the annual world water conference in Stockholm, Sweden, where 2,500 politicians, UN bodies, non-governmental groups and researchers from 120 countries meet to address global water supply problems.

Competition for water between food production and other uses will intensify pressure on essential resources, the scientists said. 

"The UN predicts that we must increase food production by 70% by mid-century.  

This will place additional pressure on our already stressed water resources, at a time when we also need to allocate more water to satisfy global energy demand – which is expected to rise 60% over the coming 30 years – and to generate electricity for the 1.3 billion people currently without it," said the report.

Overeating, undernourishment and waste are all on the rise and increased food production may face future constraints from water scarcity.

"We will need a new recipe to feed the world in the future," said the report's editor, Anders Jägerskog.
...........................................................................


Global development
Food security ·
Access to water
Environment
Food ·
Water ·
Drought ·
Farming
Society
Life and style
Vegetarianism
World news
Population 





Source:
Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists | Global development | The Guardian


link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/aug/26/food-shortages-world-vegetarianism

Forget meat – there's a world of vegetarian food out there

As shortages threaten to force meat off the table, you don't need to dust off dreary 1970s cookbooks to find great alternatives

Lagusta Yearwood
guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 28 August 2012 12.16 BST

A market in Ahmadabad, India … 'India has long traditions of meatless cuisines, and so do many Middle Eastern countries.' Photograph: Ajit Solanki/AP

We need to make shifts in our personal lifestyle habits to attempt to stem the worst of the effects Global Warming.

Case in point: this week brings us a report from leading water scientists who have issued one of the sternest warnings yet about global food supplies, saying that the world's population "may have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophic shortages".


First, we need to jettison the idea of meat as the center of the plate...

Instead, let us abolish the idea of a "main dish" and dive into the wonderful world of a meal made up of several smaller dishes that compliment each other.

Instead of a giant steak with watery green beans, how about green beans long-simmered in olive oil in the Italian tradition, which renders them silky and rich, topped with quickly sautéed onions and a sprinkle of smoked paprika, alongside a dish of stewed cannellini white beans with fat plum tomatoes threaded throughout, accompanying angel hair pasta with a quick garlic and oil sauce? This meal can be made in less than an hour, and the leftover beans can become the basis of a bean soup for tomorrow, with some of the leftover olive oil used for the green beans folded in for richness – with perhaps a purée of a root vegetable like sweet potatoes or carrots stirred in for depth. Add some fresh ground pepper, quality sea salt and a sprinkle of lemon juice, and lunch is on the table.

Another way to make a meat-free diet more palatable is to take comfort from the rest of the world's cuisines: there are meatless dietary traditions all around the world, and looking to them can help us understand how one's diet can be joyful and plentiful without animal flesh.
 
Vegetarian dishes are everywhere, if we look. 

The Japanese Buddhist temple cuisine called Shojin ryori has been free of all animal products for centuries, yet has created some of the most decadent and breathtaking dishes – many of which are adaptable for modern western kitchens. India, of course, has long traditions of meatless cuisines, and so do many Middle Eastern countries. For example, take the verdant vegetable salad spreads of Morocco: grated carrots scented with oranges; beetroot with cumin and cinnamon; squash with fresh parsley, fresh cilantro, fragrant with sweet paprika, all of them served with fresh and warm flatbread. Simple, everyday kind of food.

Throughout most of our history as eaters, meat has been scarce. This has left us with a rich global legacy of delicious naturally vegetarian dishes – there's no need to dust off 1970s brown rice-heavy cookery books to find vegetarian inspiration. The world itself can be a guide. Vegetarian cooking isn't difficult or pricey. It just asks for a different starting point than we're used to.







Source:
Forget meat – there's a world of vegetarian food out there | Lagusta Yearwood | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/aug/28/forget-meat-vegetarian-food-shortages

Find your path, your purpose, your focus...

Never bear more than one trouble at a time. Some people bear all they had, all they have now, and all they expect to have." Edward E. Hale


 "Patience and time accomplish more than strength or passion." — Jean de La Fontaine


 "Happiness is not a goal, but a byproduct."  -- Eleanor Roosevelt


"Life comes at us in waves. We can't predict or control those waves, but we can learn to surf." — Dan Millman


 "Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value." — Albert Einstein 

“To think is easy. To act is hard. But the hardest thing in the world is to act in accordance with your thinking.   ― Goethe http://www.goethesociety.org/pages/quotescom.html

 "Stay firmly in your own path, and dare." — Paul Gauguin


"The world makes way for those who know where they’re going." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (Dream big but start small. Then connect the dots...)



 
"Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back-- Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. 

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would have come his way. 

Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now."
-- W. H. Murray in The Scottish Himalaya Expedition

In praise of … going veggie

 

Being a vegetarian can carry with it an oppressive aura of smugness, as each day being a carnivore gets a bit more like smoking – an act that is not only self-destructive but damaging the rest of the world too.

As the US grain plains swelter under an unrelenting sun, and fresh water becomes a declining resource, another slew of reports warns of the impending crisis in food production – all those acres devoted to growing thirsty corn and soya just to make more hamburgers.

Going veggie is the only sane response. But meat production is only one of the sources of global food insecurity.

The real case for going veggie is that being vegetarian has never been easier, tastier or more varied. It needn't have anything to do with drought or famine, nor with animal welfare nor even the myriad benefits it confers.

Famous vegetarians like Gandhi, Einstein and Plutarch can't all be wrong, or at least not about the same thing.

As the ad used to say, it tastes good and it does you good.

Source:
In praise of … going veggie | Comment is free | The Guardian

• guardian.co.uk, Monday 27 August 2012 22.40 BST

Napoleon Hill-Whatever the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve.

Napoleon Hill explains how it is true that what ever the mind can conceive, and believe, the mind can achieve. 

Regardless of how many times you may have failed in the past, or how lofty your hopes may be.

He breaks this down in easy to understand point form for immediate transformation of your life.

He also talks about the wisdom billionaire Andrew Carnegie shared with him nearly hundred years ago, and how this information was instrumental in his own personal success, and the success techniques he was able to teach millions of others.

HEAR Napoleon Hill - personally - read over nine hours of his acclaimed Think & Grow Rich and listen to a free selection of online .mp3's featuring his work at 

www.TheUniverseWithinUs.com.

Category:

Education

License:  Standard YouTube License

Source:
Napoleon Hill-What the mind can conceive, believe & achieve. - YouTube

How to be Happy in 12 Simple Steps

By SONJA LYUBOMIRSKY






STEP 1 - Show gratitude 

(* There's a lot more to gratitude than saying "thank you." Emerging research shows that people who are consistently grateful are happier, more energetic and hopeful, more forgiving and less materialistic. Gratitude needs to be practised daily because it doesn't necessarily come naturally.)


STEP 2 - Cultivate Optimism


STEP 3 - Avoid overthinking and social comparison

(* Many of us believe that when we feel down we should try to focus inwardly to attain self-insight and find solutions to our problems. But numerous studies have shown that overthinking sustains or worsens sadness.)


STEP 4 - Practice kindness



STEP 5 - Nurture social relationships


STEP 6 - Develop coping skills


STEP 7 - Learn to forgive 

(* Forgiveness is not the same thing as reconciliation, pardoning or condoning. Nor is it a denial of your own hurt. Forgiveness is a shift in thinking and something that you do for yourself and not for the person who has harmed you. Research confirms that clinging to bitterness or hate harms you more than the object of your hatred. Forgiving people are less likely to be hostile, depressed, anxious or neurotic.


* Forgive yourself for past wrongs. Recognising that you too can be a transgressor will make you more empathetic to others. )


STEP 8 - Find more flow

(* "Flow" was a phrase coined by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi in the 1960s. It means you are totally immersed in what you are doing and unaware of yourself. Happy people have the capacity to enjoy their lives even when their material conditions are lacking and even when many of their goals have not been reached.)


STEP 9 - Savour the day


STEP 10 - Commit to your goals 

(* People who strive for something personally significant, whether it's learning a new craft or changing careers, are far happier than those who don't have strong dreams or aspirations. Working towards a goal is more important to wellbeing than its attainment.)


STEP 11 - Take care of your soul

 (* A growing body of psychological research suggests that religious people are happier, healthier and recover better after traumas than nonreligious people. ...

* Find the sacred in ordinary life ...)

STEP 12 - Take care of your body

"The How of Happiness" Sonja Lyubomirsky - TalkRational



Sonja Lyubomirsky

link: http://lyubomirsky.socialpsychology.org/

Positive Emotions: Barbara Fredrickson

Purpose


You have -- within you -- the fuel to thrive and to flourish,
and to leave this world in better shape than you found it.
Sometimes you tap into this fuel – other times you don’t.
But the sad fact is that most people have no idea
how to tap into this fuel or even recognize it when they do.
Where is this fuel within you?

You tap into it whenever you feel energized and excited by new ideas.
You tap into it whenever you feel at one with your surroundings, at peace.
You tap into it whenever you feel playful, creative, or silly.
You tap into it whenever you feel your soul stirred by the sheer beauty of existence.
You tap into it whenever you feel connected to others and loved.
In short, you tap into it whenever positive emotions resonate within you.


















Source: http://www.unc.edu/peplab/purpose.html

Practice Patience for Patience is the beginning of Mindfulness

Patience is the companion of wisdom. 

-- Saint Augustine (354 AD - 430 AD)

There art two cardinal sins from which all others spring: Impatience and Laziness. 

-- Franz Kafka (1883 - 1924)

 

 

 

 

 

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent. 

- Isaac Newton (1642 - 1727)

 

Patience serves as a protection against wrongs as clothes do against cold. For if you put on more clothes as the cold increases, it will have no power to hurt you. So in like manner you must grow in patience when you meet with great wrongs, and they will then be powerless to vex your mind. 

-- Leonardo da Vinci (1452 - 1519)

Have patience with all things, but chiefly have patience with yourself. Do not lose courage in considering your own imperfections but instantly set about remedying them - every day begin the task anew. 

-- Saint Francis de Sales (1567 - 1622)

 

 

 

 

Patience is the best remedy for every trouble. 

- Titus Maccius Plautus (254 BC - 184 BC), Rudens

 

 

 

Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake. 

- Victor Hugo (1802 - 1885)

 

 

 

A high hope for a low heaven: God grant us patience! 

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Love's Labour's Lost, Act I, sc. 1

 

 

 

A very little thief of occasion will rob you of a great deal of patience

-William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Coriolanus, Act II, sc. 1

 

 

 

Had it pleas'd heaven to try me with affliction... I should have found in some place of my soul a drop of patience. 

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Othello, Act IV, sc. 2

 

 

How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees? 

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Othello, Act II, sc. 3

 

 

How poor are they who have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees. 

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616)

 

 

I do oppose my patience to his fury, and am arm'd to suffer with a quietness of spirit, the very tyranny and rage of his. 

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), The Merchant of Venice, Act IV, sc. 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patience is sottish, and impatience does become a dog that's mad

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Antony and Cleopatra, Act IV, sc. 15

 

 

Though patience be a tired mare, yet she will plod.

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Henry V, Act II, sc. 1

 

 

Upon the heat and flame of thy distemper sprinkle cool patience. 

- William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616), Hamlet, Act III, sc. 4

 

 

Patience, my lord. Why, 'tis the soul of peace.
Of all the virtues 'tis near'st kin to heaven.
It makes men look like gods; the best of men
That e'er wore earth about him was a sufferer,
A soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit,
The first true gentleman that ever breath'd.
- Thomas Dekker and Thomas Middleton
The Honest Whore Part One, act V scene II

 

 
Patience is the ballast of the soul, that will keep it from rolling and tumbling in the greatest storms: and he, that will venture out without this to make him sail even and steady will certainly make shipwreck, and drown himself; first, in the cares and sorrows of this world; and, then, in perdition.
- Ezekiel Hopkins,  Death disarmed of it Sting Of Patience under Afflictions.

 

 
Patience is the guardian of faith, the preserver of peace, the cherisher of love, the teacher of humility; Patience governs the flesh, strengthens the spirit, sweetens the temper, stifles anger, extinguishes envy, subdues pride; she bridles the tongue, refrains the hand, tramples upon temptations, endures persecutions, consummates martyrdom; Patience produces unity in the church, loyalty in the State, harmony in families and societies; she comforts the poor and moderates the rich; she makes us humble in prosperity, cheerful in adversity, unmoved by calumny and reproach; she teaches us to forgive those who have injured us, and to be the first in asking forgiveness of those whom we have injured; she delights the faithful, and invites the unbelieving; she adorns the woman, and approves the man; is loved in a child, praised in a young man, admired in an old man; she is beautiful in either sex and every age.
- Bishop Horne, Discourses on Several Subjects and Occasions Patience Portrayed

Perfer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim.
Have patience and endure; this unhappiness will one day be beneficial.
- Ovid, Amorum (16 BC), III. 11. 7.


Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.
Persevere and preserve yourselves for better circumstances.
Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), I. 207.

Superanda omnis fortuna ferendo est.
Every misfortune is to be subdued by patience.Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), V. 710.



Patience and diligence, like faith, remove mountains.
- William Penn, Some Fruits of Solitude In Reflections And Maxims (1682) no. 234.




Font plus que force ni que rage.
By time and toil we sever
What strength and rage could never.
Jean de La Fontaine, Fables, II. 11.





Rule by patience, Laughing Water!
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha (1855), Part X. Hiawatha's Wooing.


Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, A Psalm of Life, Stanza 9.


All things come round to him who will but wait.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Tales of a Wayside Inn, The Student's Tale, Part I.


Endurance is the crowning quality,
And patience all the passion of great hearts.
James Russell Lowell, Columbus, line 241.


Sua quisque exempla debet æquo animo pati.
Every one ought to bear patiently the results of his own conduct.
Phaedrus, Fables, I. 26. 12.


La patience est amère, mais son fruit est doux.
Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau.


Nihil tam acerbum est in quo non æquus animus solatium inveniat.
There is nothing so disagreeable, that a patient mind can not find some solace for it.
Seneca, De Animi Tranquilitate, X.


Furor fit læsa sæpius patientia.
Patience, when too often outraged, is converted into madness.
Syrus, Maxims. 289.



La patience est l'art d'espérer.
Patience is the art of hoping.
Luc de Clapiers, Marquis de Vauvenargues, Réflexions, CCLI.






It is not necessary for all men to be great in action. The greatest and sublimest power is often simple patience.
Horace Bushnell, p. 443.


Teach me to feel that Thou art always nigh;
Teach me the struggles of the soul to bear;
To check the rising doubt, the rebel sigh;
Teach me the patience of unanswered prayer.
George Croly, p. 444.



Patience! why, it is the soul of peace; of all the virtues it is nearest kin to heaven; it makes men look like gods. The best of men that ever wore earth about Him was a Sufferer,— a soft, meek, patient, humble, tranquil spirit; the first true gentleman that ever breathed.
Thomas Decker, p. 443.



Patience is enduring love; experience is perfecting love; and hope is exulting love.
Alexander Dickson, p. 442.



It is easy finding reasons why other folks should be patient.
George Eliot, p. 443.



Patience is the ballast of the soul that will keep it from rolling and tumbling in the greatest storms.
Bishop Hopkins, p. 442.



Dispose thyself to patience rather than to comfort, and to the bearing of the cross rather than to gladness.
Thomas à Kempis, p. 442.



The holier one is, the more forbearing and loving he is; the more tender and patient and anxious to help others in every way. Think how forbearing and loving Christ is when we do wrong; and there we are to be like Him.
Arthur Henry Kenney, p. 444.



Therefore, let us be patient, patient; and let God our Father teach His own lesson, His own way. Let us try to learn it well and quickly; but do not let us fancy that He will ring the school-bell, and send us to play before our lesson is learnt.
Charles Kingsley, p. 443.



Be patient, my friends; time rolls rapidly away; our longing has its end. The hour will strike, who knows how soon?— when the maternal lap of everlasting Love shall be opened to us, and the full peace of God breathe around us from the palmy summits of Eden.
Friedrich Wilhelm Krummacher, p. 613.



When I am about my work, sometimes called unexpectedly and suddenly from one thing to another, I whisper in my heart, " Lord, help me to be patient, help me to remember, and help me to be faithful. Lord, enable me to do all for Christ's sake, and to go forward, leaning on the bosom of His infinite grace."
Mary Lyon, p. 444.


We are waiting, Master, waiting,
Wayworn, pressed with toils and strife;
Waiting, hoping, watching, praying,
Till we reach the gates of life.
Ray Palmer, p. 613.


Not without design does God write the music of our lives. Be it ours to learn the time, and not be discouraged at the rests. If we say sadly to ourselves, "There is no music in a rest," let us not forget " there is the making of music in it." The making of music is often a slow and painful process in this life. How patiently God works to teach us! How long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
John Ruskin, p. 443.


Show yourself a Christian by suffering without murmuring. In patience possess your soul — they lose nothing who gain Christ.
Samuel Rutherford, p. 444.



The disciples of a patient Saviour should be patient themselves.
Charles Spurgeon, p. 442.



How poor are they that have not patience!
What wound did ever heal but by degrees?
William Shakespeare, Othello (c. 1603), Act II, scene 3, line 376.


Had it pleas'd heaven
To try me with affliction * * *
I should have found in some place of my soul
A drop of patience.
William Shakespeare, Othello (c. 1603), Act IV, scene 2, line 47.


Like Patience gazing on kings' graves, and smiling
Extremity out of act.
William Shakespeare, Pericles, Prince of Tyre (c. 1607-08), Act V, scene 1, line 139.


She sat like patience on a monument
Smiling at grief.
William Shakespeare, Twelfth Night (c. 1601-02), Act II, scene 4, line 117.


He that will have a cake out of the wheat must tarry the grinding.
William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida Act I, scene i.


Patience is the art of hoping.
Marquis De Vauvenargues Reflections and Maxims (1746) no. 251.


Durate, et vosmet rebus servate secundis.
Persevere and preserve yourselves for better circumstances.
Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), I. 207.


Superanda omnis fortuna ferendo est.
Every misfortune is to be subdued by patience.
Virgil, Æneid (29-19 BC), V. 710.



With strength and patience all his grievous loads are borne,
And from the world's rose-bed he only asks a thorn.
William R. Alger, Oriental Poetry, Mussud's Praise of the Camel.


I worked with patience which means almost power.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Aurora Leigh (1856), Book III, line 205.


And I must bear
What is ordained with patience, being aware
Necessity doth front the universe
With an invincible gesture.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Prometheus Bound.



But there are times when patience proves at fault.
Robert Browning, Paracelsus, scene 3.



There is however a limit, at which forbearance ceases to be a virtue.
Edmund Burke, Observations on a Late Publication on the Present State of the Nation.



Thus with hir fader for a certeyn space
Dwelleth this flour of wyfly pacience,
That neither by hir wordes ne hir face
Biforn the folk, ne eek in her absence,
Ne shewed she that hir was doon offence.
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Clerkes Tale, V, line 13,254.


Patience is sorrow's salve.
Charles Churchill, Prophecy of Famine, line 363.


Patience is a necessary ingredient of genius.
Benjamin Disraeli, Contarini Fleming, Part IV, Chapter V.


But the waiting time, my brothers,
Is the hardest time of all.
Sarah Doudney, Psalms of Life, The Hardest Time of All.


The worst speak something good; if all want sense,
God takes a text, and preacheth patience.
George Herbert, The Church Porch, Stanza 72.


Durum! sed levius fit patientia
Quicquid corrigere est nefas.
It is hard! But what can not be removed, becomes lighter through patience.
Horace, Carmina, I. 24. 19.


For patience, sov'reign o'er transmuted ill.
Samuel Johnson, The Vanity of Human Wishes, line 352.









Source: http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patience

Define Success to properly set your compass on your definite purpose.

I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair. In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.
- Bertrand Russell


“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. ”
― Mark Twain




"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins
- not by strength but by perseverance."
- H. Jackson Brown



“Don't mistake activity with achievement.”
― John Wooden


“Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War


“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich



Define Success to properly set your compass on your definite purpose.



“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning





“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”
― Amelia Earhart



“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody." ... [My dark side says,] I am no good... I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”
― Henri J.M. Nouwen

Set your compass on your single definite purpose

I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair. In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.
- Bertrand Russell

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. ”
― Mark Twain

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins
- not by strength but by perseverance."
- H. Jackson Brown 

 “Don't mistake activity with achievement.”
― John Wooden

 “Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

 

“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”
― Amelia Earhart

“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody." ... [My dark side says,] I am no good... I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”

― Henri J.M. Nouwen

Define Success to properly set your compass on your single definite purpose

I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated, but he replied: The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that's fair. In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.
- Bertrand Russell

“All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. ”
― Mark Twain

 
"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins
- not by strength but by perseverance."
- H. Jackson Brown 

 “Don't mistake activity with achievement.”
― John Wooden

 “Supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

“Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
― Napoleon Hill, Think and Grow Rich

 

“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it”

― Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

“I want to do it because I want to do it. Women must try to do things as men have tried. When they fail, their failure must be but a challenge to others.”
― Amelia Earhart

“Over the years, I have come to realize that the greatest trap in our life is not success, popularity, or power, but self-rejection. Success, popularity, and power can indeed present a great temptation, but their seductive quality often comes from the way they are part of the much larger temptation to self-rejection. When we have come to believe in the voices that call us worthless and unlovable, then success, popularity, and power are easily perceived as attractive solutions. The real trap, however, is self-rejection. As soon as someone accuses me or criticizes me, as soon as I am rejected, left alone, or abandoned, I find myself thinking, "Well, that proves once again that I am a nobody." ... [My dark side says,] I am no good... I deserve to be pushed aside, forgotten, rejected, and abandoned. Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved constitutes the core truth of our existence.”

― Henri J.M. Nouwen

Rules of charisma

by Julia Llewellyn Smith

Late Apple CEO Steve Jobs: Developed an "almost messianic aura". Photo: Reuters

IT'S a rainy, midsummer evening. I'm standing in a hall, holding a glass of cheap, white wine and staring at a middle-aged man as if he's the Messiah. ''In my view, the problem with Britain today …'' he drones.
A group nearby laughs uproariously. It's too hot, my shoes pinch. The people here are acquaintances rather than friends, and this is one of those social functions I'm attending out of duty. Normally, I'd be appeasing this gasbag with the occasional ''Oh?'' Meanwhile I'd be eavesdropping on the fun gang.
But tonight is different. Tonight, rather than sinking in discomfort, I decide to bask in it. Dispassionately, I analyse the sensation of sore toes. I objectify the uproarious laughter by dismissing it as just another sound, rather than a siren call. When the man pauses, instead of interrupting, my eyes remain fixed on him. I pause two seconds, then ask a question. He runs a hand through his hair. I run a hand through mine.
Am I attempting a seduction? Heaven forbid. Do I care what he thinks about me? Not particularly. No matter. For I have just obtained the latest American must-have, a charisma coach, and tonight I am practising my new skills.

Advertisement

Until I encountered Olivia Fox Cabane, whom US executives at companies such as Google, Deloitte and Citigroup pay up to $100,000 a year to help boost their X-factor, I would have naively believed charisma was an intangible, magical aura.
The word comes from the Greek ''gift'', befitting the notion that allure is something you're born with, and can't earn. It's the ''It'' that differentiated Baroness Thatcher from John Major, George W. Bush from John Kerry, Lady Gaga from her hundreds of imitators.
But, as Fox Cabane points out in her new book The Charisma Myth: How Anyone Can Master the Art and Science of Personal Magnetism, it was also the difference between Marilyn Monroe and her alter-ego Norma Jean Baker.
In 1955, the film star rode the New York subway, unnoticed by her fellow passengers because, she explained, she had chosen to adopt ''Baker'' mode. But when she emerged onto the city pavements, she asked an accompanying journalist: ''Do you want to see her?'' She fluffed her hair, struck a pose. Suddenly, onlookers reported, magic seemed to flow from her.
''That shows that charisma isn't innate...'' Fox Cabane says.
The idea that it can be taught is hardly new: Dale Carnegie's 1936 manual, How to Win Friends and Influence People, has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. But now Fox Cabane is transforming what was considered an art into a science.
''It's all about learning to play chemist with your brain,'' she explains. ''If you're able to flood your body with oxytocin [the love hormone] whenever you want, your body language will be transformed. People will want to be near you.''
Fox Cabane estimates that three sessions of around a couple of hours can transform a reasonably personable person into someone magnetic.
Dr Nicole Gehl, a psychotherapist, is cynical, saying what Fox Cabane offers is little more than a gimmick. ''Charisma is a personality characteristic and personality traits are moderately to highly heritable. Truly charismatic people genuinely like other people … that is really hard to fake.''
Fox Cabane has no problem with that. ''Most of us learn these behaviours early in life, as we try them out, see the results and refine them,'' she explains from her office in Palo Alto, California, the heart of Silicon Valley, the legendary habitat of brilliant, but charmless, geeks.
''Eventually the behaviours become instinctive, without the learner having ever been aware of the process.'' she says. The techniques she uses to teach emotionally illiterate clients to read body language are the same as those employed by the CIA and FBI.
''By observing people's micro-expressions, they really do learn to read people like a book, which makes them more empathetic,'' Fox Cabane says.
Steve Jobs, the late CEO of Apple, was renowned for his almost messianic aura, yet Fox Cabane says it was manufactured.
''If you watch videos of Jobs speaking from 1984 onward, you can see him gaining confidence, poise, warmth in his voice,'' she says. ''My guess is that he took some lessons from a professional magician. He uses theatrical techniques in his speech, he dresses all in black against a black background, before pulling something white out of his pocket, he speaks slowly, isn't afraid to pause.''
Fox Cabane speaks from experience. Now 33, she was ''your typical nerdy kid, socially awkward, introverted''.
In her teens she resolved to conquer her insecurity by gleaning tips from psychological and neurological research into human interactions.
''I just took the best bits out of some rather arcane data to help me … to be one of those normal human beings who can make people like them.''
TELEGRAPH

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/executive-style/management/rules-of-charisma-20120627-212uf.html#ixzz20FN6X5Cv

Rules of charisma

11 Goal Hacks: How to Achieve Anything — PsyBlog

 

Goal-setting research on fantasising, visualisation, goal commitment, procrastination, the dark side of goal-setting and more...

We're all familiar with the nuts and bolts of goal-setting. We should set specific, challenging goals, use rewards, record progress and make public commitments (if you're not familiar with these then check out this article on how to reach life goals).
So how come we still fail?
This psychological research suggests why and what mindsets should help us reach our goals.

1. Stop fantasising

The biggest enemy of any goal is excessive positive fantasising. Research on fantasising in goal-setting shows that positive fantasies are associated with failure to get a job, find a partner, pass an exam or get through surgery. Those whose fantasies were more negative did better. Don't experience the future positively before you achieve it.

2. Start committing

The reason we don't achieve our goals is lack of commitment.
One powerful psychological technique to increase commitment is mental contrasting. This involves entertaining a positive fantasy but then pouring a bucket of cold reality over it (follow this link for the details). It's hard, but research shows people really respond to it.

3. Start starting

You can use the Zeigarnik effect to drag you on towards your goal. A Russian psychologist, Bluma Zeigarnik, noticed that waiters seemed only to remember orders which were in the process of being served. When completed, the orders evaporated from their memory.
What the Zeigarnik effect teaches is that one weapon for beating procrastination is starting somewhere...anywhere. Just taking that first step could be the difference between failure and success. Once you've started, the goal will get lodged in your mind.

4. Visualise process NOT outcome

We're all susceptible to the planning fallacy: that's thinking all will go smoothly when it won't (and hardly ever does). Visualising the process of reaching your goal, helps focus attention on the steps you need to take. It also helps reduce anxiety.

5. Avoid the what-the-hell effect

When we miss our target, we can fall foul of the what-the-hell-effect. It's best known to dieters who go over their daily calorie limit. Reasoning the target is now gone, they think 'what-the-hell', and start eating too much of all the wrong food.
Goals that are vulnerable to the what-the-hell-effect are generally short-term and inhibitional (when you're trying to stop doing something). The effect can be avoided by setting goals that are long-term and acquisitional. Find out more about the what-the-hell effect.

6. Sidestep procrastination

When goals are difficult and we wonder whether it's really worth it, procrastination can creep up on us. Under these circumstances the key is to forget about the goal and bury yourself in the details. Keep your head down and use self-imposed deadlines (read more on how to avoid procrastination).

7. Shifting focus

You can't keep your head down all the way or you'll get lost. In the long-term, the key to reaching a goal is switching between a focus on the ultimate goal and the task you are currently completing. Research suggests, when evaluating progress, especially on difficult tasks, it's best to stay task-focused. But when tasks are easy or the end is in site, it's better to focus on the ultimate goal (read more on how to shift focus).

8. Reject robotic behaviour

Often our behaviour is robotic. We do things not because we've really thought about it, but because it's a habit or we're unconsciously copying other people (e.g. Bargh et al., 2001). This type of behaviour can be an enemy of goal striving. Ask yourself whether what you are doing is really getting you closer to your goal.

9. Forget the goal, what's the aim?

Goals should always be set in the service of our overall aims. But there's a dark side to goal setting. When goals are too specific, it's easy to get stuck; when they are too many goals, unimportant, easy ones get prioritised over vital, difficult ones; when they are too short-term, they encourage short-term thinking. Badly set goals reduce motivation and may increase unethical behaviour.
Remember to keep in mind the whole point of the goal in the first place.

10. Know when to stop

Sometimes the problem isn't getting started, it's knowing when to stop. Psychologists have found that sunk costs make us do weird things (Arkes & Blumer, 1985). 'Sunk costs' refer to the effort or money we've already expended in trying to reach our goal. So, even when our plan is failing, we keep pushing on.
Research shows that the more people invest in a goal, the more they think it will succeed; irrespective of whether it actually will succeed. Know when to change tack or you'll end up flogging a dead horse.

11. If-then plans

What all these studies show is the importance of self-regulation in achieving a goal. Unfortunately, as we all know to our cost, controlling the self can be very hard.
One strategy with plenty of research to back it up is forming 'if-then' plans (Gollwitzer et al., 2006). You simply work out in advance what you're going to do in a particular situation. Although it sounds simple, we often prefer to wing it, rather than plan. With a little ingenuity, though, if-then plans can be used to surmount the obstacles described above.
For more on self-control check out: Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.
Image credit: Matthias Weinberger






Source:
11 Goal Hacks: How to Achieve Anything — PsyBlog

 http://www.spring.org.uk/2011/03/11-goal-hacks-how-to-achieve-anything.php

Find Your Focus

All beings are flowers

blossoming

In a blossoming universe.

by Soen Nakagawa

 

 

 As every divided kingdom falls, so every mind divided between many studies confounds and saps itself.

- Leonardo Davinci

A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labours of a spasmodic Hercules.

-Anthony Trollope

7 Effective Habits of ADDults

1. Do what you're good at

2. Delegate what you're bad at

3. Connect your energy to a creative outlet

4. get "well enough" organized to achieve your goals

5. Take advice from people you trust

6. Keep in touch with a few close friends

7. Keep a positive outlook in making decisions and running your life.

Robbie Burns: To A Mouse

 

 

TO A MOUSE

ON TURNING HER UP IN HER NEST WITH THE PLOUGH, NOVEMBER, 1785

by: Robert Burns (1759-1796)

I

 

EE, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,

Oh, what a panic's in thy breastie!

Thou need na start awa sae hasty,

Wi' bickering brattle!

I was be laith to rin an' chase thee,

Wi' murd'ring pattle!

 

II

 

I'm truly sorry man's dominion

Has broken Nature's social union,

An' justifies that ill opinion

Which makes thee startle

At me, thy poor, earth-born companion

An' fellow-mortal!

 

III

 

I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve;

What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!

A daimen-icker in a thrave

'S a sma' request;

I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,

And never miss't!

 

IV

 

Thy wee-bit housie, too, in ruin!

Its silly wa's the win's are strewin!

An' naething, now, to big a new ane,

O' foggage green!

An' bleak December's winds ensuin,

Baith snell an' keen!

 

V

 

Thou saw the fields laid bare an' waste,

An' weary winter comin fast,

An' cozie here, beneath the blast,

Thou thought to dwell,

Till crash! the cruel coulter past

Out thro' thy cell.

 

VI

 

That wee bit heap o' leaves an stibble,

Has cost thee mony a weary nibble!

Now thou's turn'd out, for a' thy trouble,

But house or hald,

To thole the winter's sleety dribble,

An' cranreuch cauld!

 

VII

 

But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane,

In proving foresight may be vain:

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men

Gang aft a-gley,

An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain,

For promis'd joy!

 

VIII

 

Still thou art blest, compared wi' me!

The present only toucheth thee:

But och! I backward cast my e'e,

On prospects drear!

An' forward, tho' I cannot see,

I guess an' fear!

"To a Mouse" is reprinted from English Poems. Ed. Edward Chauncey Baldwin & Harry G. Paul. New York: American Book Company, 1908.

 Source:
 http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/to_a_mouse.html

  

 Robert Burns by Alexander Nasmyth
(By permission of the National Galleries of Scotland)