How to overcome discouragement

If you have a goal, then you’ll probably face a lot of discouragement. Rejection, criticism, frustration, obstacles and failure are all part of the package.

Instead of affirmations, motivate yourself with ideas. It's been found out that ideas flowing are a far better remedy for an emotional setback than telling myself I’m a good person. Generating new ideas, solutions and goals can snap you out of a negative state.

Here are some motivational idea-generating tips:

1.Do Something Creative. If you’re recovering from a particularly disappointing setback, getting new ideas won’t be easy. Trying to tackle the problem directly may backfire. Instead, spend a few hours doing something creative and relaxing. Drawing, painting and building can start your idea-generators going in the background before you try to motivate yourself.

2.Listen to Audio Tapes. It’s a good idea to have a few motivational audio tapes. These can help steer your thinking away from negative thoughts and towards new ideas. The content of these programs isn’t usually groundbreaking, but where it starts, you can usually continue in generating new ideas.

3.Journal. Write down all of your ideas on paper. Explore any problems you face and start thinking of possible solutions. Writing is better than just thinking, because you have more control over where your thoughts lead. Journaling gives you an added layer of control over your mind.

4.Review and Plan Goals. Go over your goals. Review, change them and set new ones. Setting new goals can restart the enthusiasm you might have lost after a setback. When you get stressed after a particular negative result, tweaking your goals and reminding yourself of them can start you on the flow of ideas once more.

5.Meditate. Meditation can help if you treat it as an interactive self-dialog. Practice your breathing and visualization until you can start creating other characters in your mind. You can then “talk” with these characters to sort through problems. The intense focus combined with relaxation can often give ideas you would otherwise miss.

6.Exercise. One of the major symptoms of depression is a lack of energy. While your temporary setback might be nothing compared to full-blown depression, a bad mood can drain the energy out of anyone. Exercising can be the first step in reversing this trend by boosting your energy. Even going from apathetic to angry can be a stepping stone to rebuilding your enthusiasm.

7.Posture and Body Language. Standing and moving as you would if you were in an enthusiastic state can be enough to trigger the feelings of enthusiasm. Dont take this as a magic cure-all, but if you are feeling down, the first step should be to adjust your posture.

8.Spend Time With “Idea Magnifiers”. Some people can do a great job of magnifying and reflecting any enthusiasm you have. Spending time with these people and avoiding negative people can also help. This step isn’t as easy as it sounds. Identifying the people that actually cause a change in your mood rather than the people who tolerate your complaining is critical.

9.Achieve Something Easy. A good way to look at motivation is like a ball rolling down a hill. If it hits an obstacle, all of the momentum stops. However, only a slight push forward can start the ball rolling again. Take on a simple task you know you can accomplish. Organize your office. Go to the gym. Empty your inbox.

Motivation is Built in Steps. Starting with a small idea-generating activity can be better for recharging your motivation than with a big one.

Mail: thewavesofdestiny@yahoo.com

THE POWER OF IMAGINATION

Imagination is the ability to form a mental image of something that is not perceived through the senses. It is the ability of the mind to build mental scenes, objects or events that do not exist, are not present or have happened in the past. Memory is actually a manifestation of imagination. Everyone possesses some imagination ability. In some it may be highly developed and in others it may manifest in a weaker form. It manifests in various degrees in various people.
Imagination makes it possible to experience a whole world inside the mind. It gives the ability to look at any situation from a different point of view, and enables one to mentally explore the past and the future.
It manifests in various forms, one of which is daydreaming. Though too much idle daydreaming may make one impractical, some daydreaming, when not being engaged in something that requires attention provides some temporary happiness, calmness and relief from stress.

In your imagination you can travel anywhere in the speed of light without any obstacles. It can make you feel free, though temporarily, and only in the mind, from tasks, difficulties and unpleasant circumstances. A developed and strong imagination does not make you a daydreamer and impractical. On the contrary, it strengthens your creative abilities, and is a great tool for recreating and remodeling your world and life.

This means that we should think only in a positive manner about our desires, otherwise we may create and attract into our lives events, situations and people that we don't really want. This is actually what most of us do, because we don't use the power of imagination correctly.

Lack of understanding of the power of the imagination is responsible for the suffering, incompetence, difficulties, failures and unhappiness people experience. For some reason, most people are inclined to think in a negative way. They do not expect success. They expect the worst, and when they fail, they believe that fate is against them. This attitude can be changed, and then life will improve accordingly.

Understanding how to use your imagination correctly, and putting this knowledge into practice, for your own and others' benefit, will put you on the golden path to success, satisfaction and happiness.

Email: thewavesofdestiny@yahoo.com

WORDS OF WISDOM

1. Life's blows cannot break a person whose spirit is warmed at the fire of enthusiasm.
2. Deeds, not stones, are the true monuments of the great. Let us endeavor to live so that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.
3. Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
4. A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out. A true friend is someone who is there for you when he'd rather be anywhere else. 
5. We will often find compensation if we think more of what life has given us and less about what life has taken away.
6. It is by what we ourselves have done, and not by what others have done for us, that we shall be remembered for after ages.
7. Remove the log of wood in your own eyes before you offer to remove the speck of dust in your neighbor’s eye.
8. Silence is the sleep that nourishes wisdom. It is not so important who starts the game but who finishes it.
9. Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly.
10. To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate our personal life; we must first set our hearts right.

Mail: thewavesofdestiny@yahoo.com

JUST A SMILE

Just a Simple Smile:
How often have you woken up on the wrong side of the bed or had a bad encounter with someone and assumed the rest of your day would follow suit? Then, out of the blue, you are side swapped with a smile from a stranger or friend. You physically feel lighter, with a glimpse of hope for the rest of your day. A simple smile actually turned your day around. Who can deny the power of a smile, the impact a smile can make from one person to another?
Commit to Smiling:What if you harnessed that same logic for yourself and committed to smile even when you weren't feeling in the best of moods. Could you change your own mood and situation by "faking" to be happy? At the very least you could make someone else feel good. Would the act of smiling impact your mood? It is truly amazing what a simple act of kindness can do for yourself and others around you. Who is to say your smile didn't come at the exact right moment for someone having a horrible day? Your actions will soon become habit and you will wonder why you are feeling more optimistic and genuinely happy. Here are three ways to get you smiling this week!

1. Smile for the Sake of SmilingMake an effort to smile more during the day. Smile to yourself as well as others and notice the impact it has on everyone. Most of us don't realize the effect we can have on others' lives. Make it a point this week to smile when you least feel like smiling.
2. Write it DownThis week, make a point of writing down your experiences with the "smile experiment". Keep a journal or notepad and write down every evening what effect your smiling had. Write down how you felt. Write down how it affected your day. Write down the differences it made. Being aware and fully present not only keeps you in the moment, but opens your eyes to the power of your actions.

3. Impact AnotherThis week, make a commitment to smile at 5 strangers every day. It may feel awkward at first, but again, this is about expanding your comfort zone. You can truly make a difference in the life of another with a simple smile. Try it out this week and see how it feels. Notice how it changes your own outlook. Common give me a wild smile!

Email: thewavesofdestiny@yahoo.com

Your Thoughts Are Powerful

What thoughts dominate your life?
Do you ever stop to notice?
Most people are unaware of the impact their thinking has on their lives.
However your thoughts directly affect your mood and self-esteem. Here’s a little experiment.
The next time you feel sad, angry, or anxious for no apparent reason, take a moment to observe what you were just thinking and jot it down. It could be quite a revelation!

How you think and feel also affects your body. Your thoughts have a powerful influence on your mental, emotional and physical health. For example, if you are in the habit of entertaining self-critical, pessimistic
thoughts, you may find that your body becomes tense from that stress. This can lower your immune system.

How Your Thoughts Affect Your Health.
The relationship between your thoughts, emotions, and your immune system can be explained in physiological terms. According to Dr. Christiane Northrup in her book, Healing Toxic Emotions, when you think a thought or feel a feeling, it communicates itself to every cell in your body by way of small protein molecule messengers called neuropeptides. Neuropeptides, also known as neurotransmitters, are the chemicals
produced by the brain to communicate with every cell in your body.

Hormones, which function like neurotransmitters, also involve communication among the cells. The hormonal level of your body fluctuates according to your emotional state. How you perceive stress has a dramatic effect on the production of immune molecules in the bloodstream as well as certain immune cells via messages from the hypothalamus, the control center of the brain.

Both positive as well as negative thoughts affect your immune system. Positive thoughts and feelings cause your neurotransmitters to move your immune system towards health and balance. However, a predominance of negative thinking taxes your immune system throwing it out of balance.

Email: thewavesofdestiny@yahoo.com

RISING ABOVE LIMITATIONS

You may wonder why things just don't seem to go your way. Each time you add another limitation like mentioning something you can't do or indicating a reason why your dream won't happen or even justifying why ideas are impossible, you may stifle creativity and define your life path. Although a negative comment may appear insignificant on its own, when added to the others, they may become 'the straw that broke the camel’s back.' How can we discover the sources of our hidden limitations and eliminate them?

1) Learn to recognize how you limit yourself. If you choose to focus only on your strengths and deny your weaknesses, this may hinder more than help you. Learn instead about your own reasons for your sense of weakness. How do your beliefs hold you back? As you realize why you benefit from all your skills and qualities, this will assist you to rise above your self-imposed limitations.

2) Ask people for input. What you perceive as your 'trouble spots' may differ from what other people think. By asking for feedback, you may open your eyes to new personal qualities you didn't recognize. Consider people who have told you what they think you can or can't do. Other people's views of your character may not always be accurate. It's up to you to find the courage to inquire, to learn to discern the difference and come to accept your own view of the truth.

3) Evaluate possible action. Once you have an idea of the kinds of things that hold you back, the next thing is to devise what you'll do to swing things in your favor. Defining a challenge enables you to pay more attention to detail. Whether its the state of your health and well-being and a desire to improve a quality of life, your view of behavior in relationships or the workplace and the aim to rethink interactions, or discontent in another area of your life, its to your advantage to review possible approaches that will help you move forward on your terms.

4) Commit yourself to take action. Regardless of your circumstances, you have the choice to alter your beliefs and take new kinds of action to refine and expand on your view of success. Deciding you wish to understand yourself better is paramount. This isn't only a desire to isolate and clarify your goals, but also a desire to learn why you fear or hesitate to reach them. Why you hold yourself back and how may ultimately surprise you. Knowing is the first step to overcoming such obstacles.
Email: thewavesofdestiny@yahoo.com

DEALING WITH BAD HABITS

A habit is any action that we have performed so often that it becomes almost an involuntary response. If we consider this habit to be undesirable then we may label it a "bad habit". People spend countless hours and dollars each year attempting to break these bad habits and often do not have any success. Why? Because there is no magic bullet. Change is hard work and there is no short cut to achieving it. To effect a change in habits, one needs to bring the action back into the realm of consciousness and regain the ability to make choices.


Substitute Better Behaviors: The whole reason you formed your habits in the first place is that they filled a need. You had tension that needed relief or you had a desire to surf the Net. As you break the old patterns you still need a way to fulfill these needs. You will be not only making an active choice to not do the old action you will also be making a choice to perform a better, alternative action in its place. What the new habit is that you substitute isn't so important as whether you feel good about the choices you have made. After all, the reason you consider it a bad habit is because it leaves you feeling bad about yourself.

The only way to continue with a bad habit for very long is to sink back into denial of why you are doing it in the first place. You will be forced to make a choice, whether good for bad, about continuing your habit. What choices will you make? The one that makes you feel bad about yourself or the one that makes you feel good? It's up to you.

E-mail: thewavesofdestiny@yahoo.com

BENEFITS OF FORGIVENESS

  The benefits of forgiveness are huge:

• Relief of emotional and physical stress,
• Freedom from the pain of the past,
• Greater happiness in the present and
• Greater health and well-being.

The idea of forgiveness is simple.
Just let go of all of your resentments and anger.

But the practice of forgiveness may seem difficult.
Some of us hold on to our resentments because they "seem so justified"
Some people actually get pleasure from their resentments.
Learning how to deal with anger can really help.


The cost we pay for holding on to resentment is very high.
Resentments are very stressful and weigh us down with the inflated
burdens of the past. Holding resentments doesn’t punish the other person, it punishes us.

Forgiveness does not change the past.
What ever happened ... has happened .... it is done.
But our feelings about the past can change.

The amazing benefit of forgiveness is this;

When we make peace with the past,
forgiveness frees us to enjoy ...
a better, healthier, happier life right now.

LOVE LANGUAGES

THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES
What if you could say or do just the right thing guaranteed to make that special someone feel loved? The secret is learning the right love language! Millions of couples have learned the simple way to express their feelings and bring joy back into marriage:

Words of Affirmation
Actions don’t always speak louder than words. If this is your love language, unsolicited compliments mean the world to you. Hearing the words, “I love you,” are important—hearing the reasons behind that love sends your spirits skyward.

Quality Time
In the vernacular of Quality Time, nothing says, “I love you,” like full, undivided attention. Being there for this type of person is critical, but really being there—with the TV off, fork and knife down, and all chores and tasks on standby—makes your significant other feel truly special and loved. Distractions, postponed dates, or the failure to listen can be especially hurtful.

Receiving Gifts
Don’t mistake this love language for materialism; the receiver of gifts thrives on the love, thoughtfulness, and effort behind the gift. If you speak this language, the perfect gift or gesture shows that you are known, you are cared for, and you are prized above whatever was sacrificed to bring the gift to you. A missed birthday, anniversary, or a hasty, thoughtless gift would be disastrous.

Acts of Service
Can vacuuming the floors really be an expression of love? Absolutely! Anything you do to ease the burden of responsibilities weighing on an “Acts of Service” person will speak volumes. The words he or she most want to hear: “Let me do that for you.”

Physical Touch
This language isn’t all about the bedroom. A person whose primary language is Physical Touch is, not surprisingly, very touchy. Hugs, pats on the back, holding hands, and thoughtful touches on the arm, shoulder, or face—they can all be ways to show excitement, concern, care, and love. Physical presence and accessibility are crucial, while neglect or abuse can be unforgivable and destructive.