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| Motivation Information |
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Practice, Practice, Practice
It may sound silly but the key to self-confidence and building more self-esteem is through practice. Practice what it is you want to feel more confident about and eventually, the confidence will show itself. That makes sense if we're talking about a skill like playing the piano. With enough practice, you naturally begin to get good at it and then you feel more confident. But what about tougher things like public speaking or meeting new people? How do you practice something that you are terrified to do in the first place? If you have extreme self-esteem issues then you might want to seek professional help, but if you've determined that isn't necessary, I would suggest that you start out by finding something that you genuinely love to do. Other than maybe reading books or doing crossword puzzles over coffee, most hobbies are a good place to start. Do you love to paint? Do you love to play a musical instrument? Do you love athletics? Find something that you love to do or that you think you would love to do. It's not important what it is other than that it would bring you into contact with people on a tiny level. Unless you are living in a cave somewhere, somebody is going to see your art work, hear your music, or see you running around practicing your sport. You don't have to pick a big team oriented thing, just something that fascinates you and will be noticeable. Then do it. Learn to draw, take music lessons, start playing basketball in your own driveway, whatever, just start doing something that you can really enjoy. Keep doing it until you get really good at it. It doesn't have to necessarily be your career, but that would be fun for you if it was. Practice often and with complete joy. Lose yourself in it. That's part of overcoming self-confidence issues is forgetting to think about you. Swim laps at the pool until you forget to care how you look. Get lost in something other than analyzing yourself. Fall in love with some hobby that takes your mind away from what others might think of you. Just keep practicing something you love until you get really good at it. It's your hobby and your love, so don't make any judgments over whether or not it's stupid to like doing whatever it is that you like doing. Just get on with it. When you are in the moment -- writing music or designing websites or whatever it is you've chosen, take a moment to reflect on how far you've come. At some point, you are going to realize that you are not too bad. At another point, you'll even think, "Hey, I'm pretty good at this." Someday, you'll look up and notice that you are an expert or at the very least awesome at what you've chosen to do. Take that growing self-confidence that's connected to your hobby and begin channeling it into other areas. Depending on how much of a self-esteem problem you started out with it could be a matter of months or years before you are able to really see yourself in a new light. It's one thing to say that everyone has their unique and special talent. It's quite another to find and embrace your own. Your talent will not be something you hate doing. Sure, I'm really very good at scrubbing the bathroom. You can conduct a white glove inspection when I'm done, but that's not my special talent. That's not my special gift to the world. And it sure as heck never built an ounce of self-confidence for me. No, you have to really truly deeply love what it is you are doing or the talent won't show itself. You have to forget to think and lose all track of time while zoning out in the flow of creating, building, stretching, and growing with the hobby. Get to the point that when you look up and notice what you've done, that you are impressed with yourself. Practice until you get to that point where you forget to judge yourself. You could very well end up making it into your career if there's a market for it. If there isn't, no harm done. You have got to build a can-do attitude around your ability to do something well. Once you've learned something that well, you can begin stretching beyond your comfort zone and trying other things like public speaking. Okay so that might not happen right away, but once you've really mastered something, then you can always remind yourself that you are capable of success and you are capable of learning something new. Once you know that you can practice and learn new things, then the fear of new things isn't nearly so immobilizing. You can step beyond your fears knowing that with enough practice you can master almost anything you set your mind to. At that point, you won't actually have a self-esteem problem anymore. The point is that by playing around with something you love until you are very good at it, you will gain self-esteem and that is going to make it possible for you to hold your head high and to bravely step into other more frightening areas of life. Start out by practicing at something you love until you are good at it, then move on to the other things that don't sound like much fun at all. You'll really know deep down that there's nothing to be afraid of. It all comes down to whether or not you believe that you are capable of learning something new. That's all. Self-confident people reassure themselves when walking into unknown territory by saying, "Well, I'll just have to wing it until I learn how to do it right. I'm sure I'll figure it out soon enough." That comes from experiencing the positive effects of having practiced and learned something new. So go learn something new -- start with something fun. Copyright 2004, Skye Thomas, Tomorrow's Edge About The Author Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow's Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying spirituality, metaphysics, astrology, personal growth, motivation, soulmates, and parenting. Her books and articles have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness. After years of high heels and business clothes, she is currently enjoying working from home in her pajamas. To read more of her articles, sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, and get free previews of her books go to http://www.TomorrowsEdge.net.
Motivation - Google News |
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Business Management Were Good at the Things We Like Read that again. It doesn't say "We like the things we're good at," though that's true as well. No, it says we're good at the things we like. That statement was made to me just today in reference to something I hate to do and am not very good at. I just nodded, thinking I'd heard it the other way around, or that my sister had said it backwards. Then she repeated it and said, "It works the other way around, too, but we're good at the things we like." What Motivates the Motivator? Someone wrote me an email a couple of weeks ago and said, "I would love to know what motivates YOU!" So I took them up on it and I want to spend some time telling you how I stay motivated. 7 Steps to a New Life Overseas Research shows that at any one time more than half of us are dreaming of a new life overseas, but few actually succeed in making the transition from fantasy to reality. How To Become More Patient "Lord give me patience and hurry!" The Power I had a friend ask me a question not to long ago that really led me to do some thinking. "How do you manage to stay so positive all the time?" You never seem to have "bad" days she said. The Time To Start Working On Your Dream is Now - Not Later Most of us are hesitant to start anything because we are afraid we might make a mistake or fail. Go ahead make mistakes! Don't wait for more experience or to be good enough to start. You don't have to be good to start, but you have to start to be good. Victorious Living How are things going for you? Are you sitting on top of the world or at the bottom of a pile of problems? Were you born with a silver spoon in your mouth or raised on the wrong side of the tracks? Do you say that life dealt you a bad hand? Know what? You are in good company. Everyone has their share of troubles. Keeping Perspective: When Bad Things Happen That Are Not Life Threatening The very first thing to question is how important is this in the overall scheme of life? Compared to all of the things that have happened, are happening, and could happen in my life - how bad is this? Is it something that will impact the rest of my life? Is it temporary? Although the pain may not feel like it's temporary, it usually is. It's important to get a perspective. If your car has been stolen, that's a major nuisance that will cost you time and money to replace, but how does that compare to a diagnosis of cancer? If your marriage is ending, it can be extremely painful, but your life will continue no matter how bleak circumstances may seem. So wouldn't it be easier to find a way to transcend the pain and move on, let go, and take away the power from the negativity? Wouldn't it be more pleasant to look at the 'bright side'? and yes! There always is a flip side! It may not be one you believe in at the moment, it may not be where you want to focus, but there IS another perspective. 7 Tips to Keep up Your New Year Resolutions There are many people who enthusiastically make their New Year Resolutions with a fond hope that they will stick to them and thus make changes in their life for the better. Dont Let Failure Go To Your Head I watched as an 8-year-old All-Star slid dramatically into second base. Yet the umpire gave the dreaded signal, "Out!" The crowd yelled, "That's OK. Way to hustle! Great try!" Motivation: 3 Keys to Lasting Change David Bowie once sang, "Ch-ch-changes, tryin' to face the strain." Motivation: No Finish LInes There is a saying that goes something like "getting to the top is easy, the hard thing is staying there once you get there." Make The Most Of Today "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do and you've done it!" - Margaret Thatcher (Former British Prime Minister) Going with the Flow This whole idea of change is founded on a single principle: CHANGE IS ALL IN YOUR MIND. How Do I Stop Procrastinating? Often times we procrastinate because it just seems like so much WORK to get what we want! We just don't feel like the rewards justify everything that needs to be done to obtain those goals. The P Word... Procrastination A problem many of us are familiar with. Its showing up in your work environment interfering with your daily life.and peace of mind. Letting Go Of Our Negativity Everyone has something, whether it be a habit, or aspect of their personality, that they wish that they did not have. For me, that something is fear. I am constantly afraid of just about anything you could name...car crashes, meeting new people, tornados, driving in the dark, sleeping with the closet open, public speaking...you name it, I'm probably afraid of it! This is a negative habit, and certainly one I would like to change. Most people can name at least one similar habit or personality trait off the top of their head. Think about it for a moment. What part of yourself would you truly like to be rid of? Now take that part of you, and imagine it disappearing forever. If you want, you can even make it more physical and real by writing that trait down on a piece of paper, then burying it or destroying it. Questions for the Game of Life "If you could eliminate one day from your past so that you never had to live through it, what day would you erase?" Citizens of the Land of Opportunity "We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." --The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776 Happy New Year H appiness depends upon your outlook on life.
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