Hiten Vyas's Blog, page 6

6 Myths that Hold You Back in Life

Life is full of ups and downs. However, it’s possible to have more ups than the downs. A lot of the downs can stem from myths you’ve bought into but usually aren’t true. Below are six myths that might be preventing you from reaching your true potential.

The ‘I can’t change’ myth

Many people think personality is locked. Perhaps you do. I hear it all the time, usually from people who’ve never really engaged in any serious self-development.

I beg to differ greatly. People all over the world are creating changes in their lives every day, which includes learning new skills and behaviours and adapting their characteristics. Just like others can change dispite difficult circumstances, so can you.

The ‘I don’t have it in me’ myth

This is similar to the first one, but differs in one big way – that you believe change is available to everyone except you. This is a self-esteem issue. If you believe you can change, then the framework for changing yourself is already there. You do have it in you to change. Just use some courage which is already in you and dare to be different to what you normally do or say.

The ‘I don’t have time’ myth

Yes, you’re busy with work and have other people to support. However, are you saying you can’t even find 1 hour in your weekly schedule, to do an activity that will progress your inner growth? If so, you might want to analyse where the belief that you don’t have enough time, is coming from. Most likely you’re creating excuses and procrastinating due to some underlying fear.

The ‘I don’t have the right background’ myth

You have a background and history just like all of us do. However, your background doesn’t define what you can do and/or what you can become now and in the future. Instead of looking at your background as a barrier to what you can achieve, use it to extract out sources of strength, which you can build upon to create the life story you’ve dreamed of.

The ‘I have to do everything perfectly’ myth

This myth is completely false. It is unreal because there is no such thing as ‘perfect’ . Trying to be perfect is a state of mind born out of fear of not being good enough. When you were young, if elders told you to always be perfect, they might have wanted you to be the best you could, yet the words they were using were unwise. Instead of striving for an ideal that doesn’t exist, aim for becoming highly skilled and competent.

The ‘if I achieve/get something, then I’ll be happy’ myth

Developing yourself and growing your confidence is a wonderful thing to do. It makes your life enjoyable. As you do, you will believe in yourself more and one of the by-products will be the attainment of material items. However, remember, that although the feeling from achieving will be a good one, it won’t last long. Before you know it, you’ll be worrying about something else.

This is the way the mind works. Therefore, learn to appreciate what you already have, no matter how small you might believe it to be and find joy in the simpler things in life. Doing so will give you the ability to always have a sense of satisfaction for what you have, at any point in your life.

My friends, it’s over to you:

• What other myths hold us back in life?

• What can we do to dispel such myths?

• Please share your valuable experiences, thoughts and views in the comments box below.

• Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

 

Photo Credit: Keng Susumpow

7 Ways to Increase Your Happiness

We all want to be happy in life. We all want to enjoy our days, months and years. However, sometimes it is happiness that can seem like the most difficult thing to obtain. If you want to increase your happiness, the following tips will help you:

Choose to be happy

Happiness is a choice. You can either feel bad about yourself and the situations you find yourself in. Or instead, you can use your power of choice and choose to be happy. When you make a conscious decision to face the world with a cheerful attitude, you set yourself up with the basis to smile in the face of any adversity that your daily activities might bring.

Don’t react to the stimuli

The outside world will throw all kinds of stimuli at you all day long. People will say things to you. Events will happen. By constantly reacting in ways that leave you feeling bad, you’re at the mercy of your surroundings. When something happens, pause before responding. Learning to not always react to what happens around you is a sure way to help keep your mind balanced, and maintain your happiness.

Spend time with people

If you’re already a social butterfly, then this one shouldn’t be an issue for you. On the other hand, if you’re not getting out and about and connecting with others, it can take a big hit on your self-esteem and confidence. Spend time with your family and friends. We are by nature social, and our happiness rises when we’re surrounded by people who care about us and inspire us.

Take it slowly

One of the great things about living is being able to analyse areas where you can make improvements in your life, be it professionally, personally, spiritually or socially. However, wanting to do too many things at once is a guaranteed way to burn out. Instead, do one or two things first and learn to do them well, before moving onto bigger and more challenging activities.

Do what you enjoy

Yes, you’ve read this one many times. However, I include it because it is true. Sure, you’re schedule is busy. However, make time to do what you enjoy at least once a week, even if it’s for a couple of hours. Engage in activities that really nourish your mind-body and spirit.

Forgive

Indeed, it can be hard to let go of injustices carried out against you by others. However, carrying onto past hurts just brings back unnecessary pain. Forgiveness really is the key ingredient for emotional freedom.The benefits of doing so can be improvements in your relationships, helping others to get on with their lives and of course enabling you to get on with yours.

Keep breaking down barriers

If you feel your life is lacking in anyway then do set yourself some goals to improve yourself. The confidence you will gain from overcoming fears and improving your performance will do wonders for you, and of course you will become happier in the process.

My friends, it’s over to you:

• In what other ways can we increase our happiness?

• Please share your valuable views, experiences and thoughts in the comments box below.

• Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

 

Photo Credit: Quique López

How to Have a Stress Free Holiday – Before and After

The UK has been basking in glorious sunshine for the past 15 days and more is set to continue next week. The holiday season is well and truly here.

You may be going on holiday soon. Perhaps you’re on one at the moment. We all deserve a decent break over the summer, and it’s great to get away from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

However, a vacation can often create anxiety and worry both before and after you return. If you’re concerned with negative feelings around your holiday, or at the prospect of experiencing them, then the following tips will help you:

Accept that it will come to an end

Ever experienced post-vacation blues, where your plane is about to land in your native country or your car has just turned into your drive after a week away on the coast, and there is a feeling of dread in the pit of your stomach? This is from knowing that your holiday as come to an end.

Well, this is caused by resistance to change. Remind yourself before you even go on your vacation that it will end, just like everything else, which is governed by the natural law of arising and passing. This way you will be expecting that an end has to come, rather than wishing it never does.

Maintain balance of your mind

We all like pleasant experiences such as wonderful vacations. However, in general we want to avoid unpleasant experiences like getting back into our daily routines. Whether the experience is good, or bad, it is the same. By looking at your holiday experience objectively and also how you feel once you return in the same way, you won’t get too attached to the pleasant emotions or the undesirable ones. This will help your mind to remain balanced.

Leave your work alone

When you go on holiday, take a total pause from your work. Only by doing this, will you actually be able to rest and enjoy your holiday. Otherwise, your attention will remain focused on work and this is not really taking a proper holiday is it?

If you really do need to work while on holiday, then set a certain period of time during the day to deal with phone calls and e-mails and stick to it.

Take a day or a two get back into it

If you’re schedule allows it, extend your holiday for a day or two when you get back. Although holidays can be relaxing, if you’ve been travelling across the world, then your body will need some time to get settled back into the particular time in your country. Some extra time at home can also act as peaceful rest before getting back into work.

Continue with activities you enjoyed

If there was a particular activity you enjoyed doing on your break, and if you can continue doing so when you get back, then make effort to do so. For example if you tried salsa dancing while on your vacation, then join a class when you get back. Such activities you do on holiday and continue on your return are wonderful ways to remain occupied and to increase your happiness.

My friends, it’s over to you:

• What other ways can we use to deal with anxiety before a vacation and negative feelings after we return?

• Please share your valuable views, experiences and thoughts in the comments box below.

• Please also share the post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

Photo Credit: goat.pirate

7 Ways to Live Mindfully

Do you find yourself constantly on the go, and you feel anxious and stressed? If so, learning to be mindful can be a great way to relax from your daily, hectic schedule. Below are seven ways you can live more mindfully.

1. Do your activities slowly

Your day will most likely consist of a number of activities mainly to do with your work and your family and friends. Do you tasks slowly and deliberately. In effect, give your entire focus to what it is you’re doing and take your time to do so.

2. Do one thing before starting another

Multitasking is a great skill to have. However, if doing many activities at once leaves you feeling overwhelmed then it’s not really helping you. Instead, attend to one thing until you have completed it, before moving onto another.

3. Take time to focus on your breathing

Mindfulness Meditation involves observing your breathing go and in out, while observing thoughts and emotions arising and passing, without getting attached to them. Spend 5-10 minutes every day observing your respiration like this and notice what it is like to be totally in the present moment.

4. Eat slower

Have you ever sat down for dinner, but all you can think of is work or some other issue troubling you? A way to counter this is to eat slowly and taste the food you’re eating. Notice the texture of the food in your mouth, and how hot or cold it is. Observe what it feels like as you swallow the food.

5. Reduce your agenda

One frame of mind you can get into is thinking you have to do everything all at once. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is always time to do what you want to, and the plan to do so can be spread over an extended period of time. By reducing your daily activities, you will feel less tense as there is less for you to do. Also, you end up doing what you’re doing, better.

6. Watch those thoughts about the past and the future

If you’re mind is occupied with thoughts about the past or the future, then it will not be resting. Instead let the past remain in the past and let the future happen in the present, the only time when it really can happen.

7. Learn to accept change

Emotional turmoil occurs when you resist change . This can be resisting variations in your moods. It could be fighting undesirable events that happen in your life. It makes no sense to fight change, as it will always happen. Instead, accept whatever emerges in your inner world in terms of thoughts and emotions, and in the outside world, too. Work with what happens. Doing so will enable you to notice how things are always in a state of flux. Subsequently, you give yourself the opportunity to use what happens in your life as a source to get done what you want to.

My friends, it’s over to you:

• What other ways can we use to live more mindfully?

• Please share your valuable views, experiences and thoughts in the comments box below.

• Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

Photo Credit: Angela Schmeidel Randall

Why Confident People Rule the World, and How You Can Too

This is a special guest post by my good friend, Razwana Wahid. Please join me in giving Razwana a very warm and gracious welcome.

We all know the guy.

The one that glides into a room like he owns it already. Everyone thinks he rocks.  He stands tall. His attire is impeccable. And when he talks to you, you feel important.

It’s effortless.

You know that if we were under attack and he was leading the battle, we’d all survive.  And so would the neighbour’s dog.

You just know it.

Wouldn’t you love to have confidence like that?

The bad news is that you can’t. Not instantly. Not before taking some action.

And that’s the good news.

Whether you want to:

- Talk to the girl you’ve liked for months

- Ask your boss for a raise in salary

- Nail your next interview

Your confidence levels dictate how you approach each of these situations, and your likelihood of success.

Before we dive in, let’s get something straight.

Confidence is a facade.  Confident people do not *feel* confident before they do something.

And another thing.

Confidence comes after the act, not before.

I’ll repeat that:

Confidence comes after the act, and not before.

We will come back to this.

Being a confident person brings you better social skills. And better social skills means you are liked, recommended, and get what you want.

“But no!” I hear you whine.

- “I don’t care if people don’t like me.”  Breaking news. It matters. A lot. How many people do you hang out with, or recommend, that you hate?

- “It’s not what you know, but who you know.” Perhaps it is. But how do you get to know more people? That’s right, by increasing your confidence and improving your social skills.

- “Who cares what people think? It’s how you feel about yourself that matters.” Yes, there’s a time and place for this. But when you’re at a job interview, how much do you care about what the interviewer thinks of you?

So how is this mysterious confidence built? You don’t wait to ‘just feel more confident’.

There’s a little bit of faking, and a little bit of practice.

The practice

First, do think about how you feel about yourself. Notice what you do that either comes across as confident, or not.

- Do you turn up your voice at the end of a sentence so it sounds like a question?

- Do you slouch or have bad posture?

- Do you talk too fast or not smile when you are listening to people (I’m guilty of both these and am adamant to improve).

Don’t just sit and ponder. Gather evidence. Ask a trusted friend to observe you and give you feedback. Audio / video record yourself and take note of what you want to change.

- If you do talk to fast, make it a conscious effort to slow down. Have you noticed how people that command authority talk slowly?

- If you don’t make eye contact, make the decision to. Start with your friends.

- Do you interrupt people when they are mid-sentence?  Practice patience and listening. People like people who listen to them.

The faking

Confidence doesn’t come naturally. So fake it until it starts to feel natural.

Fake it by doing things like:

- All of the above points you said you would improve

- Dress well and stand tall. When was the last time you made an effort with your appearance and felt crappy?

- Put yourself in situations where your skills are challenged. Walking up to a girl in a bar once is tough. The tenth time, not so much.

Over to you:

What have you done to improve your confidence? What worked? What didn’t?

About the Author:

Razwana Wahid is the founder of Your Work Is Your Life, a movement created around finding wildly wonderful work and a courageous career path you’re truly passionate about.  Read more at http://www.yourworkisyourlife.com and follow her on Twitter: @razwanawahid.

Photo Credit: OttoKristensen

How to Overcome Limiting Beliefs about Your Communication

How finding it difficult to communicate can impact you

Being able to communicate is essential for living. We need to be able to communicate with others to get things done. Communication challenges such as the fear of public speaking, anxiety about interacting at social gatherings, worry about what to say in meetings etc, can affect your self-confidence and self-esteem. A good first step in getting over your problem is to look at the beliefs you currently have about your communication.

Unhelpful beliefs you might have about your communication

Unhelpful beliefs behind the way you communicate usually arise through the experiences you have in life and the perceived meanings you give to those experiences. For instance, examples of beliefs about communication you may have could be the following:

“I can never speak in front of a group.”

“I fear being rejected by other people.”

“I look foolish because I can’t express myself.”

It could be a whole host of other beliefs.

The more experiences you have, which you find unpleasant, the more beliefs like those above repeat, which then strengthens them. Before you know it, your communication problems become problems about you as a person.

Beliefs about your identity

“I’m a bad communicator.”

“I’m too shy to talk with people.”

“I’m worthless.”

“I’m tense.”

“I’m stupid.”

“I’m inadequate.”

When beliefs become about you, they seem final, rigid and unmovable. However, with some effort, such beliefs can be changed and you can empower yourself to communicate confidently.

A good place to start to overcome negative beliefs, involves questioning and doubting your current beliefs around communication, finding evidence to the contrary and using this evidence to help you overcome what you currently believe.

Has it always been like this?

If you currently believe you’re a poor communicator, then have you always believed this?

Has there ever been a time when you did communicate well? Even if it’s just one time you can think of and it may have been a long time ago, it is still evidence to the contrary of your current belief.

What was it like that time when you did communicate effectively? Remember the time as vividly as you can and consider how you can use this experience now to help you overcome the unhelpful belief.

Do some difficulties with communication really define you?

You may be experiencing some challenges with communication, but does this really define who you are a person? Surely, you are more than a problem you are facing?

For instance, if you’re having challenges with giving presentations at work and because of this, you tell yourself “I can’t do anything right”, is this really true? Surely you can still do other things.

We humans usually take on multiple roles and positions in different stages of our lives. A good way to get unstuck from negative beliefs about communication is to consider what else are you that is, more than the current difficulty you’re facing. Perhaps you’re a mother, a father, a brother or sister, a good musician or a talented author.

Have you considered you might have exaggerated a little?

Let’s say for instance, you’re in a social situation and suddenly you become unable to speak because you become anxious. You then tell yourself “I’m going to die if I don’t get out of here.” The next time you think about going into the same social situation, you just avoid going altogether, telling yourself “I can’t go there. I’ll die.”

This would be an example of taking a situation or experience and exaggerating it. In reality, you wouldn’t die from going to a social gathering.

It’s helpful to bring such beliefs into conscious awareness and really consider whether what you tell yourself will happen, will happen in reality. Most likely it never would.

Are you taking it too personal?

For example let’s say you’re at work and an important potential client comes in for a meeting with you and three other colleagues. The meeting happens and you don’t get the order. You then blame yourself because you believe you were too passive in the meeting because you were slightly nervous.

However, in this case you forgot this potential client was only interested in seeing if your company could do the work cheaper than a competitor, which your company couldn’t afford to do.

Hence, if you believe aspects of your communication, are the cause of undesirable outcomes of situations, then a good habit is to look for other reasons why an outcome might have happened. They are usually there. You just need to spend some time looking for them.

Continue getting into communication situations

You can do a lot of work by yourself just through looking at beliefs you currently have about your communication and looking for evidence to suggest otherwise, or through considering other aspects of life in which you have made progress, or by looking for situations where you might have over exaggerated about.

In order to help re-enforce this work, actually going into those situations where you find communicating difficult, is a great way to slowly become de-sensitised to the difficulties you are experiencing.

As you do go into communication situations,  notice how you’re feeling without judging yourself and practice new communication behaviours. By adopting such an approach you’re just trying things out. This then takes off the pressure to communicate in a particular way and gives a sense of always working on improving your communication and getting better.

Friends, it’s over to you:

• What other ways can we use to overcome limiting beliefs about the way we communicate?

• Please share your valuable views, experiences and thoughts in the comments box below.

• Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

Photo Credit: Andrew Feinberg

How to Be a Quiet Person

Do you find yourself always talking and not letting others get a word in? Do you often say things without thinking, when having a conversation, which ends up creating conflict? Would you like to take more time before responding to others, or appreciate the views of people, without always being right? If so, check out the following tips to help you be quieter:

Put yourself into other’s shoes

When you’re talking to another person, it can be easy to continue speaking, because you’re keen to say what you want to. By doing this however, you can forget that there is person in front of you, who is actually listening and wants to contribute to the discussion.

If you find yourself caught up in endless talking, mentally switch positions and put yourself into the shoes of the person you’re talking with. Now, look at yourself through the eyes of the other person. When you do this, how do you look when you see yourself chattering away?

This switch in perspective can help you to stop talking as much and allow the other person to speak, in order to create a more balance conversation.

Make an effort to pause

If you find it hard to stop talking, then make a conscious effort to pause for a few seconds before responding back to another person. By doing this, you’ll give your brain some more time to consider a thoughtful response rather than replying back in an impulsive way.

Stop interrupting people

When other people are talking, you might become compelled to have your say on a topic. Resist the urge to do so and allow the other person to finish what he/she has said before responding.

Channel your talking energy

Another technique you can use to say less, is to use the energy behind your wanting to speak a lot, to do other activities, like exercising, going for a stroll, listening to music or reading a book, or a blog.

Quieten your mind

Your thoughts can often be a precursor to your wanting to talk. Take out 5 minutes every day to meditate, focus on your breathing and observe your thoughts without reacting to them. By doing this, you will develop the ability to resist the urge to respond to those thoughts that would have resulted in you saying something.

Spend time with quiet people

Do you have a friend, a family member, or a colleague who you get on with, and is someone you would consider as being more quiet and thoughtful? If so, spend time with that person. By doing so, you will be able to notice his/her peaceful demeanour and get ideas on how you can adopt similar characteristics.

Soften your voice and speak slower

If you have a tendency to talk really loud then lower the volume of your speech. This will help you to sound quieter. Also, if the pace at which you talk is very fast, then slow down the delivery of your speech.

My friends, it’s over to you:

• Have you been trying to become quiet? If so, what ways have you been using to do so?

• Do you already consider yourself to be a quiet person? If so, what advice would you give to others who want to practice becoming quiet?

• Please share your valuable views, experiences and thoughts in the comments box below.

• Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

Photo Credit: Elliot Brown

How to Accept Yourself – 7 Ways

There are certain things about you, which will always be unique to you. Perhaps you’re shorter in height or are taller. Maybe you just talk naturally fast. You might have long fingers. You might be a little slow at maths. Perhaps you have a particular dress style. OK, so you get the picture. Do you like the way you are? If so, then this is great.

Or do you find yourself disliking yourself, or perhaps even hating yourself because of the way you are? Such emotions never really help. If you’re experiencing such things, then the following 7 ways to accept yourself will help you:

1. Look to accept yourself first

If you’re finding it hard to accept yourself for whom you are, then you might engage in self-contempt, feel guilty or perhaps blame others. Instead, give an order to the commissioning part of your mind to always focus on acceptance, tolerance and flexibility of the way you are first.

2. Focus on what you can do

Rather than focusing on your own perceived flaws, emphasise on what you can do and what your strengths are. Even better is to write down your strengths, to help reinforce that they are characteristics about you that you can be proud of.

3. Find examples of other people

With their being 7 billion people in the world, it is guaranteed there will be someone else in the world who is totally comfortable with themselves. It could be someone as close as a really good friend of yours, to a famous person you often see on the TV. If that person can be happy with themselves, despite their particular characteristic(s), then so can you.

4. Practice acceptance from a position of power

Acceptance isn’t resigning to the fact that you are a certain way and staying down in the dumps about your life. When you do practice acceptance, do so from a position of empowerment. Accept yourself as the way you and decide to make the most of what you have in your life.

5. Do what you can to create change

There are certain things about you, which you can’t change. However, there a number of things you can change. A common one is your weight. If you’re currently overweight, then you can certainly exercise more to lose some pounds. If you don’t like your clothes, you can change your current threads with some updated outfits.

6. Tell yourself

The way you talk to yourself impacts how you feel. Create a habit then to make yourself feel better, by telling yourself that you accept yourself and love yourself unconditionally.

7. Be prepared to make effort

Practicing and developing self-acceptance will involve developing new behaviours. It will take some time for these to internalise. Be prepared for setbacks and expect your ego to want to destroy any progress you make, either through creating doubt, worry or negative self-talk. When this happens, become objective to any unhelpful thoughts and emotions and continue with the faith that these are just expected stumbling blocks, which are a part of the journey.

My friends, it’s over to you:

• In what other ways can we accept ourselves?

• Please share your valuable views, experiences and thoughts in the comments box below.

• Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

Photo Credit: Lorraine Santana

How to Play the Game of Your Life

This is a wondeful guest post by my good friend David Stevens. Please join me in giving David a very warm welcome.

Do you play with never ending energy and vitality?

If so … and I hope that you do, what about in the ‘Big Game’? The biggest game of all … the Game of Life. Do you play with the same energy for this?

Let me get back to this point a little later.

The main difference (or maybe an advantage?) with this “game of Life”, is that you can play with rules or without. A major key, I have found is to play by “rules” that will give you the best chance to win. So, what’s the big surprise there?

The Start of Play

Most of the games that we play have core guidelines that have been left largely untouched since inception. These form the base and structure of the game. As time goes on however, some of the ‘supporting’ guidelines get tinkered with. Interpretations of these rules change and they are adapted to suit current times and circumstances.

The game of Life is much the same, yet on a terrifically larger scale.

We have our core beliefs/commandments/values. And we have many other ‘beliefs’ which are sometimes varied through the ages … [though some of these simply refuse to change, it seems.]

When you are playing with ‘old habits & beliefs’, ones that are best suited to another day and age, you are not really in the game. You will get left behind. Playing the game of Life to its full extent will require you to stay on top of your game. Old habits and beliefs simply do not cut it when you want to play today’s game for its full value.

During play – the first half

Establish your attack and defence. This will be what you can rely on when things get tough. This will be the Values that you live by or, for the game, let’s call them “decisive plays”. For example, my top 6 personal Values are; Integrity, Positive Attitude, Freedom, Family, Feeling, Ethics.

Now, you may wish to choose decisive plays that will be ‘game breakers’. You know, things that will give you an edge over any opposition that you are likely to encounter.

Opposition like ….. negative thoughts, procrastination, doubt, laziness. No doubt you can add a few of your own. I think you get the idea. Now your game breakers may be something like … “freedom of choice”, “positive thoughts”, “Big dreams’, “never give up”, “fertile Imagination”.

These will give you added flexibility over and above those who are using old beliefs. (They will encounter various opposition and be unable to deal with it). These decisive plays allow you additional creativity.

Old beliefs and habits stunt your growth and keep you ‘inside the box of normalcy’. You then lack the ability to free yourself and express who you really are.

Half – Time

Review your strategies. Have you been caught “off side”, let yourself down with poor habits? How many successes have you had? Has your defence let you down? What is working well … what needs to change? How are your Energy levels?

Play on – the second half

“The very best way to end a day … is to look forward to the great beginning that you are going to create tomorrow” ….. the same with playing the Big Game.

If you have had a poor first half, (whatever length of time that you have been playing with old habits and beliefs), look forward to creating a great second half.

Alternatively, if your first half has been satisfying, build upon that to create more of the same. Or go harder and create even greater satisfaction!

To do this, you must have the energy and vitality necessary to elevate your level of play. Your Goals and Dreams must be vivid … and must have sufficient reward to drive you on. Your energy can be sourced from setting meaningful goals, having dreams that set your world alight and being open to all the wonderful opportunities that are there when you are aware and focused.

This is the money end of play. A time to consolidate your learnings regarding the state of play and apply them to your game. You are now looking at creating winning strategies that will see you play with Freedom and expand the way that you play so that You can play the best game of Your Life!

Post Match

Well this I hope comes much, much later on. Because I want you to play on. There is no end time until you call it. No matter what your current age, you have the ability to play a Big Game … and enjoy the fruits of your great play.

How well you play depends on the tools that you have developed along the way. Stay sharp, be aware … and focused on the things that give you the greatest satisfaction.

Play well my friends.

Be good to yourselves

David

Life Coach. Listener. Solution Finder.

Over to you friends:

What are you thoughts on the Game of Your Life?
How are you currently playing the Game?
Please share your valuable views, thoughts and experiences in the comments box below.
Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

About the Author:

David Stevens is a Life Coach who has a passion for helping Mid Lifers achieve their dreams and goals. David is a Specialist Listener and Solution Finder. He loves to break old fashioned Rules and create ones that allow him to Grow … and help You do the same.

You can find David at various points on the Internet and his website at www.davidstevenslifecoach.com.au is a great place to start.

How to Live with More Purpose

Are you currently living an unfulfilled life? Do you feel like you’re not living to your full potential, or experiencing the happiness you want? Often the reason why this can be so, is due to a lack of doing things that truly make you happy and bring out the best in you.

If you’re currently finding this to be a problem for you, then the following tips will help you:

Find your purpose

Each one of has things in our lives that have real meaning to us. It could be strengthening our bonds with our families and friends. It could be making a difference in the lives of people less fortunate than us, or bettering ourselves so that we live more wholesomely.

Find what matters the most to you, and creates a drive in you to do something about it. Such activities are exactly what you want to do to get involved in to help you live with more purpose.

Follow your dreams

Your family and friends will want the best for you. They will want you to do things in life, and behave in particular ways.  However, keep the final decision making for yourself and ensure that what you’re doing is what you really want to do in life and it isn’t someone else’s dream that you end up living.

Increase your focus

Although you might have a number of different callings, work on each one first with focus before moving onto the next. Doing this will help you to put in the needed effort to work on one thing you are passionate about and do it well, before moving onto other interests.

Take responsibility

In order to live with purpose, plan the activities you need to take to realise your dreams and take complete responsibility for the actions you will take to make a difference in the world. By doing this, you’re also taking responsibility for your life.

Stay true to your core values

A wonderful practice to support living a life of meaning is, to stand up for and live out your core principles without compromise. We all have certain beliefs and principles, which are our own truths. By living your life aligned with your core values, your sense of living with purpose will increase.

Be simple

Where possible, simplify what you need in your life, be it the food you eat, the drinks you drink, the clothes you wear and any other material objects you feel you really need, but in reality you can do without. Again, this will allow you to focus more authentically on your purpose and on those other people involved.

Be flexible

You may have set out to do an activity that will increase your sense of purpose. However, the world is full of change as is your own life. As time goes on, and if your own priorities change, be flexible enough to move the goalposts in order to now give focus to other activities, which also hold importance to you.

My friends, it’s over to you:

• What other ways can we use to live our lives with more purpose?

• Please share you valuable views, experiences and thoughts in the comments box below.

• Please also share this post on your favourite social networks. Thank you.

Photo Credit: Ron Mader