My General Interests :)

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Heather_Gray]Heather Gray

Have you ever thought, if you only knew your life purpose, then everything would fall into place? Or wished for crystal clear clarity about your life’s mission so that you could stop wasting time on mundane activities that seem to get you no where? I know I have.

In 2007, I worked on clarifying my own mission and created the following statement: “To inspire others as a creative source of light, joy and wisdom.” And, yes, this is helpful work for to do: capturing the essence that lies behind your busy life and giving meaning to what otherwise might feel insanely meaningless or uncertain. But these lofty mission and purpose driven statements may also leave you with little information on “Where do you go from here?” Though my mission statement gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, I find that I often need to follow the guidance of simply taking the next step.

Note to self: success may be found in the step-by-step journey.

Though your ego would love to know the Big Picture and what lies ahead, the future will forever be a mysterious “out there,” unpredictable, and untouchable phenomenon. You only ever have right now. Eckhart Tolle, the master of NOW, puts it so well, he writes in “The New Earth”: “The paradox is that the foundation for greatness is honoring the small things of the present moment instead of pursuing the idea of greatness. The present moment is always small in the sense that it is always simple, but concealed within it lies the greatest power.”

It is painstakingly simple: just do the next indicated step, enjoy the present moment, have faith and trust that your internal compass knows where to take you. But I also know that these simple truths can fly out the window during those dark moments of the soul: when you question yourself, fret about tomorrow, or worry that you are off course.

You need to remember that the universe gives us little baby steps – one step at a time. Go read a certain book, take a class, call someone or write a letter. Once we do step one, then step two is revealed, followed by step three, and so on. The journey is made step by step.

In the Movie, “You Can Heal Your Life,” Louise Hay, the founder of Hay House Books and an international best selling author, says that her vision for her life is “How can I help the people?” She states: “Ever since I put myself on the spiritual pathway, it is as though I’ve had nothing to do with my life. Life has taken over and said, ‘You will do this, you will go here and this will happen.’ I just do what’s in front of me. From the very beginning, I answered the telephone, opened the mail and did what was in front of me, and things kept growing and growing and growing.”

Keep doing the next step. And the next one after that. Soon you will have walked a long path of synchronicities, happy surprises and accomplishments…many that you would never have predicted from the starting line!

Heather Gray is a certified Soul Coach and Author of “Real Girl, Real World: A Guide to Finding Your True Self” (Seal Press, 2005). Her desire is to inspire others to find and follow their true path while creating joy and abundance along the way. Go to: http://www.spreadyourwingsandinspire.com for a FREE subscription to “Spread Your Wings…and Inspire,” revealing EASY, clear ways to thrive and prosper by following your true path.

“Heather Gray is a remarkable and compassionate Soul Coach. She creates a safe and nurturing environment for discovering your soul’s truth.” –Denise Linn, Author, International Speaker, and Founder of the International Institute for Soul Coaching

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Heather_Gray http://EzineArticles.com/?Confused-About-Your-Life-Purpose?—Success-in-the-Step-by-Step-Journey&id=1273959

Get Over It – Overcoming Your Resistance to Personal SuccessBy John U. Lord

What’s going on?

You’ve done it all. The affirmations. The meditations. You’ve drawn up you list of goals and created your vision board. But nothing seems to be happening! “What,” you ask yourself, “am I doing wrong?” You may feel discouraged. You may even feel that it’s time to give up.

But hold on! A few simple insights may help you finally overcome those blocks to personal success that have been holding you back.

Let’s take a look.

First of all, it’s important to understand exactly where these personal blocks come from. Then we’ll suggest five ways to overcome them once and for all.

The sources of resistance or personal blocks are essentially self-protective mechanisms. It is really important that you “get” that before moving on. There is a part of you that is very concerned with protecting you. This anxious hidden presence is constantly fretting that change is bad, that no matter how grim things may seem now, change will only make it worse. This fretful voice is quick to remind you of all your past mistakes and lost causes are proof that anything you do will only bring disaster. Although you may not recognize this part of you right away, it is without doubt your most potent source of resistance and the chief explanation behind your blocks to personal success.

OK. So you have a neurotic little stowaway troll that is keeping you stuck. What do you do about it? Here are five things you can do right now. Expect immediate results.

First, be grateful. Yes, that’s right. Stop calling this part of you names (like “neurotic troll”) and recognize that like it or not, this voice within you cares deeply about you and wants to protect you from all possible harm. Your expressions of gratitude will let this part of you know that it’s being heard (or at least listened to), and it will soon begin to loosen its grip.

Second, “re-frame” these blocks to success. Instead of seeing them as problems or personal defects, see them as indicators that help you measure your progress. No Olympic athlete would ever expect to get the gold without overcoming obstacles along the way. See your blocks as benchmarks on your road to success.

Third, define them. Describe these personal blocks. Write them down. Clearly. What you understand fully is always less frightening than something that is vague and shadowy. Once you have done this, you will have a list things for you to work on that will have incredible leverage. Work away at this list and you will find your personal success becoming more tangible every day.

Fourth, create a list of specific daily actions that will help you demonstrate to yourself that these blocks are illusions. For example, if you believe that you can’t achieve success because you are not a “people person,” give yourself a goal of going out and striking up a conversation with a stranger. And do it today! It doesn’t doesn’t have to be much: just ask someone for the time. Even this will show you that you can do it. Start there and build daily toward more significant demonstrations that your fear of relating to others is not real.

Fifth, and finally, work on your “self talk.” When you approach a new situation, what do you tell yourself? Do you say that it’s scary and threatening? Try changing that to “What can I learn from this?” or “What opportunity does this situation have for me right here right now?” Techniques such as self-hypnosis can be a great help here. I have included a few of programs that I use and value highly in the links listed below. Try them out. Some have free trial periods. If they work for you, make them a daily habit.

Overcoming blocks to personal success, getting past “stuck,” is a universal phenomenon. Equally universal, time-tested, and reliable, are techniques such as the ones I have described above.

The journey to fulfillment and personal success is your journey. The blocks and experiences of resistance are merely milestones along the way, showing you how far you have come.

My name is John Lord. I am a teacher and a personal coach based in New York city and Puebla, Mexico. My personal mission is to help individuals who at mid-life are looking for proven ways to achieve personal transformation and success.

You can find out more about me and the work we are doing at: http://anotherolddog.blogspot.com

I’ve been away for a very long time from updating this blog…

but I’ll make it breathing again on weekly schedule, stay tuned.

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Steve_Wickham]Steve Wickham

Do you fail often? Do you, every now and then, fail to complete a task properly? Do you fail in your relationships with people? — Every now and then? Do you fail yourself — probably through one or both of the previous two by not living up to your own standards? Are the world’s, or even your own standards, consistently too high for you to meet? Everyone is faced with such questions at various stages throughout life, and we can fall for the trap of flagellating ourselves very easily; we may fail, but, now hear this… we are not ‘failures.’

I find the following unfortunate paradox… when I feel like a failure I sink into my shell; yet the thing I notice or sense most, at that time, is a feeling of abandonment from others — I’m alone in the world. I can’t interact when I need most to interact. I think a lot of us are like this. When things get on top of us, and we feel like we’re failing at every turn, and we wallow in the defeat of our own consciousness. We can’t then escape our own negative mindset.

How do we recoil from this sort of horrid experience? There are a number of considerations from not going hard on yourself, to seeing things from a different, fresh viewpoint, to simply accepting the status quo and finding a smile, somehow.

Failure — some days are simply designed for it! What can we do but take them gracefully and ‘on the chin’ as would a boxer fighting a title bout, and be gentle with ourselves, or take it to heart and sink into the feelings of inadequacy and shame even more. That’s no choice at all in my opinion.

I find being honest with myself is one step. It might take a few moments to sink in, or even a few hours or possibly overnight, but eventually, we must come to terms with the fact that it’s okay to fail; if we’re being honest. We’re not failures, we just fail every now and then. Honestly, we fail, and we fail often. So what!

This is what! We’re learning. Each time we fail we have an opportunity to learn. Okay, we might be sick of learning the same crummy lesson, but eventually it’ll stick, and when it does, hurray! Focusing on what we’re learning and how we’re developing and getting oodles of second chances must be a good thing. It’s also good to praise others who’ve perhaps more patience with us than we even have with ourselves at times.

To be successful at failure means to learn from the mistake; this does not mean learning perfectly though. It often takes several attempts. So what! It involves self-acceptance and self-grace too, or allowing the grace of God to shine through the experience and permeate our heart. Can you accept his blessing? His presence is enough. More than enough.

Copyright © 2008, Steven John Wickham. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Steve Wickham is a safety and health professional (BSc) and a qualified lay Christian minister (GradDipDiv). His key passion is work / life balance and re-creating value for living, and an exploration of the person within us.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Wickham http://EzineArticles.com/?Accepting-the-Defeat-of-Failure-Successfully&id=1280500