Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Time Management: Know about time management

Great time management is one of the most vital skills leaders can develop. All of us have the same number of hours in a day, and no amount of effort can change that. What we can influence is how we spend those hours. A quote from Stephen Covey sums up how we can best use our time : "I am personally persuaded that the best thinking in the area of time management can be captured in a single phrase : Organize and execute around priorities."

We offer three tools to help leaders focus their time against their priorities :

time management grid

TOOL 1 : The Time Management Grid.

This grid focuses on the two key dimensions of Time Management Grid : the urgency and importance of tasks clamouring for our attention. long the top is the urgency axis : LHS is very urgent, RHS is less urgent. The vertical axis is the importance axis. The top boxes contain more important activities, the bottom activities are less important. This gives us four quadrants :

time managementQuadrant 1 represents things which are both urgent and important. We've called this "firefighting". The activities need to be dealt with immediately, and they're important.
time management Quadrant 2 represents things which are important, but not urgent. We've termed this one "Quality Time". Although the activities here are important, and contribute to achieving the goals and priorities - they don't have to be done right now. As a result, they can be scheduled in when you can give quality thought to them. A good example would be the preparation of an important talk, or mentoring a key individual. Prayer time, family time and personal relaxation/recreation are also part of Quadrant 2.
time managementQuadrant 3 are distractions. They must be dealt with right now, but frankly, are not important. For example, when you answer an unwanted phone call, - you've had to interrupt whatever you were doing to answer it.
time managementThe final quadrant, Quadrant 4, are things which are neither urgent nor important. Some meetings could fall into this category - they've been scheduled in advance, but if they achieve nothing, or you don't contribute to them, then they have simply wasted time. Other examples could include driving time and low quality relaxation or family time.
Using the tool : consciously strive to maximize Quadrant 2 time. Allocate time in your diary to carry out these tasks when you are at your best. Doing so can reduce the amount of time taken up by firefighting quadrant 1 activities, since many quadrant 1 activities could have been quadrant 2 if they had been done earlier. You can also seek to reduce time spent in Quadrant 3 by improving your systems and processes for dealing with distractions, and you can seek to eliminate as much as possible of quadrant 4 activities, by either not spending time on these things, or changing the nature of them to make them more productive. For example, driving can be quadrant 4 if the time is unproductive, but there are a number of ways of making this time more productive by listening to a praise tape, praying, learning new skills with a tape course, planning and so on.


TOOL 2 : Goal Planning

Many people have a daily to-do list which they can prioritize and then work through. However, to focus your time on that which is truly important, ie in line with your goals, you will need to : i. Consciously become aware (and write down!) of what you are trying to achieve across the key roles and different parts of your life. Some leaders may feel strange to set goals for family life, but these goals may be more about finding quality time together than achieving specific objectives. However, if you only set goals for the parts of your life which are concerned with business or ministry, then these elements may squeeze out time for other parts of your life. ii. Write down three or four monthly plans of the progress you would like to achieve towards these goals. This can inform your daily and weekly planning. Don't be over ambitious, since that can lead to feelings of frustration, but equally set at least one or two stretching challenges for some of the most important goals.

Tool 3 : Eight Tips for Great Time Management

time managementKnow what is important - write down the key goals you are working towards. (This can apply to all parts of your life.)
time managementConsciously plan your time : using three or four monthly and weekly plans
time managementChoose how you communicate : phone, memo, meeting or e-mail.
time managementWrite in your diary in pencil, then you won't feel bad about changing your plans.
time managementAvoid being driven by your diary. Just because something has already been entered, doesn't mean that you can't do something else with the time.
time managementKnow when you are at your best, and schedule quadrant 2 activity for that time.
time managementMake the most of 10 minutes - many tasks can be done in a "spare" 10 minutes, including taking a relaxation break.
time managementPeriodically review your time effectiveness against the quadrant map, and against your goals.

Improve Time Management: Overcome Procrastination


Improve your time management routines, following some simple tips. Don't say "I'll read them later".

* start with a written plan of action to avoid getting distracted
* keep your plan simple and straightforward
* start with the one thing you must get done today to feel productive
* should be a manageable item you can complete in 10-15 minutes
* your tasks should match your values or purpose
* bring each task into congruence with your basic mission
* if you can't, take it off of your list
* don't put any "to-do" on your list that takes more than 30 minutes
* if it takes longer, it's actually a series of smaller "to-do's"

* don't try to do everything perfectly
* perfectionism often causes procrastination
* any small step toward completion is an accomplishment
* do the worst job (or part of the job) first and get it out of the way
* set a time limit -- "I'll file papers for 5 minutes"
* alternate unpleasant jobs with tasks you enjoy
* delegate out items you can't make yourself do

* interruptions tend to occur in identifiable patterns
* notice when interruptions occur, by whom, and why
* take steps to prevent those interruptions before they occur
* if they can't be prevented, learn how to delegate to someone else
* if they can't be delegated, learn how to delay until you are finished

* make the project and environment as pleasant as possible
* give yourself the best tools and work space for the project
* take a few minutes to organize your work space
* schedule a regular time to check in with a friend or colleague
* rewarding your accomplishments encourages productivity

My Ten Principles of Time Management


An econ grad student writes to ask about time management:

One of the most interesting topics discussed in Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography was his schedule. It was helpful to see how he organized his day, which I imagine a proper allocation of time was necessary for his diverse and fecund life. In an earlier post, you answered why economists, including you, take the time to educate the public. My question is a combination of both: how do you spend your time?....I am curious how you schedule your time and, like Benjamin Franklin, if you have a fixed schedule or if what you do is guided by what you feel like doing.
Time management is a topic I have occassionally struggled with, as I like being involved with a diverse range of activities, and figuring out the right balance is not always easy. Here are ten things I have learned about myself. (Note: I don't pretend these observations apply to others; they are functions of my own tastes, quirks, and personality.)

1. When I am involved in a big writing project, such as one of my textbooks, I try to keep to a very regular schedule. I aim to start every day, seven days a week, writing about 600 words. It is the first thing I do (after getting my kids off to school). After that, I feel I have "earned" my freedom for the rest of the day. If you do this for a few years, you have a good-sized book on your hands.

2. I like to attend seminars and take classes. It feels like goofing off at the time, but it often ends up productive. Interesting ideas pop up in unexpected places. During the academic year, the seminar and class schedule is the skeleton of my day.

3. Travel is usually an inefficient use of time. I hate sitting on planes and waiting in airports. As a result, I turn down over 90 percent of invitations I get to attend conferences, give talks, etc. Being in Cambridge, at Harvard and near the NBER, makes this choice a luxury that is feasible at low cost. It is harder to replicate in other places. There are so many seminars and conferences here that I don't feel the need to travel.

4. I don't allocate any of my time to consulting. I did some consulting once, very briefly for Microsoft during the antitrust case. I was interested in the policy issues, and Microsoft approached me after I had written a column critical of the government's case. But I learned that consulting was not to my taste. I prefer the freedom of more academic work.

5. I avoid university committees. They are vast wastes of time. I won't bother saying anything more about them, because that would be a waste of time, too. (If some Harvard dean is reading this, thinking "Yes, we need a new committee to investigate how to make university committees more efficient," please don't ask me to be on it.)

6. I have never accepted offers to edit academic journals. Bob Solow made the same decision during his career. He once explained that decision to me as follows: "For every ten papers you handle, you create nine enemies and one ingrate."

7. Time allocated to talking with students is always well spent. Whenever my ec 10 students invite me to dinner, I accept the invitation if I possibly can. If I keep doing this, I am confident that Saint Peter will smile down upon me when my time comes.

8. I usually spend my research time working on whatever moves me. One of the great features of an academic career is the freedom to think and write about those topics that most interest you. As a young academic, one has to consider, to some degree, what will impress colleagues on promotion and hiring committees. (But even youngsters shouldn't overdo it: I recommend that students focus more on their own passions than on those of others.) But certainly, after publishing dozens of academic articles and collecting a few thousand citations in the Social Science Citation Index, I now think less about impressing others and spend more of my time doing what I want. It is one of the upsides of getting older, perhaps God's way to compensate for the graying hair and expanding waistline.

9. Lately, I have been spending some of my time writing this blog, which started as a by-product of teaching ec 10, the principles class at Harvard. I am still trying to figure out if this is a good use of my time or not. On the one hand, this feels like providing a public good. (Perhaps at a low cost: some of the time I spend on it has come from watching reruns of Law and Order.) On the other hand, at times writing this blog feels like being hooked on crack.

10. My wife would tell you that my life works only because I am a workaholic. But I don't think of myself as a workaholic, and I don't feel like I am working hard. I just really enjoy what I do.

courtesy @ http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/2006/05/my-ten-principles-of-time-management.html

Monday, January 14, 2008

Negative thinking leads to negative assumptions!

Most people aim at nothing and hit it accurately. Manypeople who do plan, plan, and plan some more, never reach their goals. Others plan, take action, and seem to succeed without much struggle. Why do some people fail while others succeed?

Success is achieved by planning action and taking action. However, before defining goals and putting together an action plan, it is important to do a self-evaluation. This evaluation must extend deep in one's attitude.


Now I am not saying that having a good attitude will bring you success. What I am saying is that your attitude must be in line with the results you want to achieve. you must examine your inner self and know why you are striving for the goals you say you want to achieve.

Build your attitude positively from the inside out. Begin by building a sustainable motivating attitude. Plan your goals around your strengths and build on your personal confidence in all you do. Over time, you will find yourself achieving more.

TIP - Do not internally focus on the negative, focus on what you can achieve. When one focuses on what can go wrong or what is going wrong, they tend to dig themselves deeper in a pool of negativity and non-accomplishment. Positive thinking and positive doing will nurture you toward success.

Life : Define Your Life

"Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead." - Scottish Proverb

Everyone says, "How the time flies." The days go by and they are years, and the years finally become our whole life. Each daily portion can be wasted, or it can be a pleasure, before it is gone forever. If a bedtime review of the day concludes that we were too stressed, too busy, didn't accomplish anything, didn't have any fun, then it has been another lost piece of precious life.


Perhaps we are putting off our enjoyment until we have more time, or money, or some other improved condition. The trouble with that is that it might never happen, or it may be too long in coming. It's so important to accept this time, this very minute, as something of tremendous value that will very soon be gone forever. There are many ways to ensure that we make the best of our time here on earth.

In our daily routine let's include time to enjoy others and thus ourselves. Look and wonder at the trees, fields and mountains, smell the flowers, hear the birds, and watch the clouds in the sky.

"This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it." - Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

Face your problems bravely, confidently, and improve on your situation, no matter what state it be in. Be good to feel good. Be active and improve your mind. Laugh, relax, and sleep well.

Life is mostly froth and bubble; Two things stand like stone: Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in our own. - Adam Gordon (1833-1870)

Self discipline :Know about Self Descipline

Of all the attributes required by people and entrepreneurs lack of discipline in all things becomes the one catalyst that can contribute to destroying everything else. All the motivation and commitment in the world behind an excellent achievable and well researched goal can fail if the discipline is lacking to continue with persistence to follow though.

Self discipline is a basic requirement in any career. The drive required to start new ideas in business will nearly always meet the strong resistance of entrenched forces. Vested intere

sts and ways of doing things have become a habit and the uncreative mind sees any change as a challenge to their own comfort levels. Any innovation that challenges this bureaucratic situation or threatens the comfort levels of the existing system will be resisted.

The innovator must be disciplined by an absolute belief in the new system and willing to commit all his resources to overcome this obstacle. Once the innovator is rebuffed and lacks the discipline to follow through on his excitement and commitment to attain the immediate goal, natural resistance to any innovation might completely overcome the entire venture.

Discipline should not be confused with conformity. The problem psychologically with rebuttal within a system is that some educational systems and some rigid conformist societies do not encourage independent thinking. This tends to dampen non conformist thought among the young who are not encouraged to think beyond what that society regards as norms. This creates a youth that have their creative, intellectual and financial thinking stunted by dogma. The unfortunate result is that the discipline of thinking is held captive and not allowed to innovate. This is not only a factor in conservative societies but also in conservative families. The unfortunate result of this thinking is that when the rebellion comes against the shackles from a creative and driven entrepreneur there is the danger that the rigidity of discipline is also lost. Deep in the subconscious is buried the desire to break from the rigidity of negative discipline. This negative discipline must be replaced with positive discipline.

One of the greatest problems facing many of the youth is the factor of teen self- esteem. If a teenager grows up in an environment of lack of trust where the role models lack ethics, goals or commitment to a value system, they can only become part of the problem. Teens might also be discouraged from innovation. If they observe the system all about them as dysfunctional it must be very difficult to believe that they can change anything. Yet it is vital for the young to be able to believe that they can decide what they want to be in life. Once this idea takes root they can start building the vital self esteem that is essential to self motivation.

Self motivation starts with self esteem, an ambition to make a difference or achieve a goal, and to start on the road to achieve it with the correct positive attitude and the discipline to drive the desire and achieve the goal.

Create That Winning Feeling By Bob Proctor

I believe we would all agree that having a winning feeling is prerequisite to achieving outstanding results. A person can't possibly expect to win if they're constantly focusing on failure!

The real secret here is to capture that winning feeling of success as often as you can to create the environment necessary to succeed.

If you've been a little down in the dumps, feeling insecure or perhaps not feeling as confident in your ability as you'd like, I have a great tip for you. My suggestion to anyone looking for a success track to run on, or to a person who is looking to get back on one, is to start capitalizing on short-term victories.

That means specifically focussing on tasks you can achieve daily. The principle is to start with an adversity over which you can succeed, and gradually take on more and more difficult tasks. Nothing succeeds like success.

Another technique used by many people in developing or maintaining a winning feeling is what we call the reflection method.

Think back during a time where you were really successful at something... we all have times to which we can relate. It could have been a sale, a particular speech, a school play, or standing up to the town bully. Each one of us can reflect back on a moment in time to recapture that winning feeling.

Professional sports coaches often replay winning games of the past for their team prior to a big game to stimulate and create a winning feeling!

Years ago, a good friend of mine had left his job and a company that he had worked with for many years. He was one of the top VPs with his company and had done extremely well. He had left because he wanted to start his own business. I told him he could use one of our offices until such time as he was ready to open up his own office.

In any event, I happened to be in the office one afternoon and Grant, who normally was very upbeat and positive, was really having a difficult time. After a few moments of small talk, it became apparent what the problem was. Grant had hit the terror barrier and the possibility of starting his own company was overwhelming him... he just didn't think he could do it. Here's a man who had risen to the top of his field, made a high six-figure income for years... and yet was still having doubts as to his ability to start his own company.

I asked Grant to go home, get a notebook and start to write down all of his accomplishments; as far back as he could remember. The look on his face was priceless – I'm sure he thought I'd lost my mind.

I told him that the accomplishment could be small or large... it didn't really matter. The point was to focus on something positive. I still remember him asking, "Well, what if I only fill half a page." I just smiled and asked him to do his best and start writing.

Monday morning came and Grant was back in the office with a notebook full of accomplishments. I smiled and said, "You must have been fairly confident, you picked up a good sized notebook!" We both had a good laugh. Grant went on to build a multi-million dollar financial planning company and later franchised the operation to extend across Canada and the US!

This is a great exercise for anyone needing a bit of a boost. What would give you a winning feeling of pride and satisfaction?

Remember... a winning feeling is a confident feeling and one that forgets misses, and reinforces successful attempts.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Happiness is all a state of mind

We always want to be happy in our life. In the name of search for happiness we read various books, tips and consult with experts as if they give us happiness they already have with them. Definitely, these helps us little. But, actually happiness is a state of mind.

Most people believe that happiness develops automatically itself. However, in fact this is not correct psychologically and according to the researchs and most psychologists believe

that you will be happy if you feel you are happy. It is you who should make you happy and you can as well. By birth, some people are always happy and positive. They manage to turn any uneasy if happened in their life into happiness quickly and easily. Here, fortunately others can also practice at it like our daily exercise.

We take various medicine to kill the unhappy moments which gives us only short term relieve and cause many side effects in after long period of time. Rather, psychologically developed happiness remains for long period of time. You can do some practice or adopt some habits which helps you to be happy.


  • Most people become unhappy when they are not able to do what they wanted to do. In such situation, we can remain happy if we are satisfied with what we get and where we reach. Everything in the past happened for certain reason. If we become unsatisfied and depressed , this brings us to even more mental and physical difficulties.

  • Be satisfied with who you are and what you have got.Understand the reality of this world in everything.

  • Whatever you may doing, do with your full focus and attention. If you can do interestingly and happily, nothing is boring to do.

  • Do not make unnecessary and negative comparison with others. Such comparison will create feeling of unsatisfaction with your achievements and your life.

  • Always think positive and feel that you will be happy tomorrow and your life will be interesting if only you are happy today.

How to choose rose of different color for different occasion

Roses is the obvious answer when it comes to the question of gifts in most cases. Roses make great idea, may it be a small or big occasion. It is necessary to know the meaning of different colors of rose. But unfortunately, many people don't have this knowledge. In some case, if the receiver know the meaning of the flower s/he is getting and sender gives the wrong flower, it may give bad impression of the sender on receiver.

The month of love, February; more accurately Valentine's day is coming soon. So, it is important to choose the right rose for that particular occasion. Here are some tips:


  1. give red roses to show Love and respect.


  2. Show appreciation or gratitude with pink roses.


  3. share joy with yellow roses.




  1. to say you understand, you're sympathetic or you are sorry if someone is ill, disappointed or bereaved, send light pink roses.


  2. send a dozen white roses when you want to connote secrecy, innocence and/or purity.


  3. to convey friendship, give pale roses of any color.


  4. announce a new engagement by wiring two roses together to create a single stem ans use it as decoration for an engagement party or send it to the couple.


  5. choose rose buds to recognise beauty, youth and innocence.


  6. convey desire with coral and orange rose.

If the recipient doesn't know the significance of the roses' color, the sentiment expressed in an accompanying card will convey the color's meaning. If you remove the thorns, it means you care but remember that leaves are symbol of hope.


At last, choose carefully and enclose a note describing how and why you made your selection. Make your gift the most memorable they received by using appropriate color of rose.

Motivational Sayings - Great Ones


















Why read motivational sayings? For motivation! You might need a bit, if you can use last year's list of goals this year because it's as good as new. All of us can benefit from inspirational thoughts, so here are ten great ones.

"Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what you really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are." - Dale Carnegie

"Do not wait; the time will never be 'just right.' Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." - Napoleon Hill

"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Some men see things as they are and say, "Why?" I dream of things that never were and say, "Why not?" - George Bernard Shaw

"A small trouble is like a pebble. Hold it too close to your eye and it fills the whole world and puts everything out of focus. Hold it at a proper distance and it can be examined and properly classified. Throw it at your feet and it can be seen in its true setting, just one more tiny bump on the pathway of life." - Celia Luce

"Though no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending." - Carl Bard

"I'm not telling you it is going to be easy - I'm telling you it's going to be worth it" - Art Williams

Motivational Sayings - Attitude

Attitude "There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative." - W. Clement Stone

"Nothing on earth can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." - Thomas Jefferson

"A person cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances." - James Allen

"Man often becomes what he believes himself to be. If I keep on saying to myself that I cannot do a certain thing, it is possible that I may end by really becoming incapable of doing it. On the contrary, if I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning." - Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi

These are quotes that mean something to me. Hopefully one or two of them are also inspiring to you. If not, maybe they will motivate you to create your own motivational sayings.

Steve Gillman has been studying brainpower and related topics for years. For more on a Better Life Through Brain Power, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.com

Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure

James Dale Davidson: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
When you subsidize poverty and failure, you get more of both.

Red Sanders: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.

Sandra Bartky: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
Women punish themselves for the failure to conform.

Mickey Rooney: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
You always pass failure on the way to success.

Napoleon: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
You become strong by defying defeat and by turning loss into gain and failure to success.

Beverly Sills: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don’t try.

Mary Pickford: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
You may have a fresh start any moment you choose, for this thing that we call "failure" is not the falling down, but the staying down.

George S. Patton: Motivational Sayings: Overcoming Failure
You're never beaten until you admit it.

The above list of quotations is page 18 of a collection of motivational and inspirational quotes on Overcoming Failure.

Motivational Sayings-2

Our greatest battles are that with our own minds.
Jameson Frank


The man of character finds an especial attractiveness in difficulty since it is only by coming to grips with difficulty that he can realize his potentialities.
Charles de Gaulle


No matter how difficult the challenge, when we spread our wings of faith and allow the winds of God's spirit to lift us, no obstacle is too great to overcome.
Roy Lessin


If I were asked to give what I consider the single most useful bit of advice for all humanity, it would be this: Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high. Look it squarely in the eye, and say, "I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.
Ann Landers


Difficulties should act as a tonic. They should spur us to greater exertion.
B. C. Forbes


The Difficult is that which can be done immediately; the Impossible that which takes a little longer.
George Santayana


It is surmounting difficulties that makes heroes.
Louis Kossuth


Into each life some rain must fall, some days be dark and dreary.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.
William E. Channing


Triumphs without difficulties are empty. Indeed, it is difficulties that make the triumph. It is no feat to travel the smooth road.
Source Unknown


Nothing is particularly hard if you divide it into small jobs.
Henry Ford


It is a good rule to face difficulties at the time they arise and not allow them to increase unacknowledged.
Edward W. Ziegler


In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.
Albert Einstein


To be successful you must accept all challenges that come your way. You can't just accept the ones you like.
Mike Gafka


Troubles, like babies, grow larger by nursing.
Lady Holland


For every mountain there is a miracle.
Robert H. Schuller


I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.
Mother Teresa


Little minds are tamed and subdued by misfortune; but great minds rise above it.
Washington Irving


A desire can overcome all objections and obstacles.
Gunderson


Obstacles are like wild animals. They are cowards but they will bluff you if they can. If they see you are afraid of them... they are liable to spring upon you; but if you look them squarely in the eye, they will slink out of sight.
Orison Swett Marden


The true measure of a man is not how he behaves in moments of comfort and convenience but how he stands at times of controversy and challenges.
Martin Luther King Jr.


Smooth seas do not make skilful sailors.
African Proverb


It's not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get up again.
Vince Lombardi


Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven't half the strength you think they have.
Norman Vincent Peale


You must do the thing you think you cannot do.
Eleanor Roosevelt


Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.
Bernice Johnson Reagon

Motivational Sayings-1

Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable.
Theodore N. Vail


The individual who know the score about life sees difficulties as opportunities.
Norman Vincent Peale


There are two ways of meeting difficulties: you alter the difficulties, or you alter yourself to meet them.
Phyllis Bottome


You can't fly a kite unless you go against the wind and have a weight to keep it from turning a somersault. The same with man. No man will succeed unless he is ready to face and overcome difficulties and is prepared to assume responsibilities.
William J.H. Boetcker


The greatest difficulties lie where we are not looking for them.
Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe


When I hear somebody sigh that Life is hard, I am always tempted to ask, Compared to what?
Sydney J. Harris


Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.
Ronald E. Osborn


If you would only recognize that life is hard, things would be so much easier for you.
Louis D. Brandeis

Inspirational Quotes

Hopefully, these inspirational quotes will inspire you and those around you to achieve to the highest degree. Many of them provide an excellent basis for graduation and other speeches.

  1. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." ~Thomas Edison
  2. "Hitch your wagon to a star." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson
  3. "If you knew how much work went into it, you wouldn't call it genius." ~Michelangelo
  4. "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." ~Mother Teresa
  5. "If we did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves." ~Thomas Edison
  6. "All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them." ~Walt Disney
  7. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~Dr. Seuss
  8. "Success is never final. Failure is never fatal. It is courage that counts." ~Winston Churchill
  9. "If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~Henry David Thoreau
  10. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. ~Eleanor Roosevelt
  11. "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." ~Goethe
  12. "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes
  13. "Courage is doing what you're afraid to do. There can be no courage unless you're scared." ~Eddie Rickenbacker
  14. "Quit now, you'll never make it. If you disregard this advice, you'll be halfway there." ~David Zucker
  15. "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." ~Albert Einstein

Motivation

Motivation is a word used to refer to the reason or reasons for engaging in a particular behavior, especially human behavior as studied in psychology and neuropsychology. These reasons may include basic needs such as food or a desired object, goal, state of being, or ideal. The motivation for a behavior may also be attributed to less-apparent reasons such as altruism or morality. According to Geen, motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity and persistence of human behavior.

Reward and reinforcement

A reward, tangible or intangible, is presented after the occurrence of an action (i.e. behavior) with the intent to cause the behavior to occur again. This is done by associating positive meaning to the behavior. Studies show that if the person receives the reward immediately, the effect would be greater, and decreases as duration lengthens. Repetitive action-reward combination can cause the action to become habit.

Rewards can also be organized as extrinsic or intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards are external to the person; for example, praise or money. Intrinsic rewards are internal to the person; for example, satisfaction or accomplishment.

Some authors distinguish between two forms of intrinsic motivation: one based on enjoyment, the other on obligation. In this context, obligation refers to motivation based on what an individual thinks ought to be done. For instance, a feeling of responsibility for a mission may lead to helping others beyond what is easily observable, rewarded, or fun.

A reinforcer is different from reward, in that reinforcement is intended to create

a measured increase in the rate of a desirable behavior following the addition of something to the environment.

Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation
Intrinsic motivation is when people engage in an activity, without obvious external incentives, such as a hobby.

Intrinsic motivation has been studied by educational psychologists since the 1970s, and numerous studies have found it to be associated with high educational achievement and enjoyment by students. There is currently no universal theory to explain the origin or elements of intrinsic motivation, and most explanations combine elements of Bernard Weiner's attribution theory, Bandura's work on self-efficacy and other studies relating to locus of control and goal orientation. Thus it is thought that students are more likely to be intrinsically motivated if they:

* Attribute their educational results to internal factors that they can control (e.g. the amount of effort they put in),
* Believe they can be effective agents in reaching desired goals (i.e. the results are not determined by dumb luck),
* Are interested in mastering a topic, rather than just rote-learning to achieve good grades.

Note that the idea of reward for achievement is absent from this model of intrinsic motivation, since rewards are an extrinsic factor.

In knowledge-sharing communities and organizations, people often cite altruistic reasons for their participation, including contributing to a common good, a moral obligation to the group, mentorship or 'giving back'. In work environments, money may provide a more powerful extrinsic factor than the intrinsic motivation provided by an enjoyable workplace.

The most obvious form of motivation is coercion, where the avoidance of pain or other negative consequences has an immediate effect. Extreme use of coercion is considered slavery. While coercion is considered morally reprehensible in many philosophies, it is widely practiced on prisoners, students in mandatory schooling, within the nuclear family unit (on children), and in the form of conscription. Critics of modern capitalism charge that without social safety networks, wage slavery is inevitable. However, many capitalists such as Ayn Rand have been very vocal against coercion[citation needed]. Successful coercion sometimes can take priority over other types of motivation. Self-coercion is rarely substantially negative (typically only negative in the sense that it avoids a positive, such as forgoing an expensive dinner or a period of relaxation), however it is interesting in that it illustrates how lower levels of motivation may be sometimes tweaked to satisfy higher ones.

Self-control

The self-control of motivation is increasingly understood as a subset of emotional intelligence; a person may be highly intelligent according to a more conservative definition (as measured by many intelligence tests), yet unmotivated to dedicate this intelligence to certain tasks. Yale School of Management professor Victor Vroom's "expectancy theory" provides an account of when people will decide whether to exert self control to pursue a particular goal.

Drives and desires can be described as a deficiency or need that activates behaviour that is aimed at a goal or an incentive. These are thought to originate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to encourage the behaviour. Basic drives could be sparked by deficiencies such as hunger, which motivates a person to seek food; whereas more subtle drives might be the desire for praise and approval, which motivates a person to behave in a manner pleasing to others.

By contrast, the role of extrinsic rewards and stimuli can be seen in the example of training animals by giving them treats when they perform a trick correctly. The treat motivates the animals to perform the trick consistently, even later when the treat is removed from the process.
Motivational Theories

Drive Reduction Theories

There are a number of drive theories. The Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by fulfilling its desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the theories of Freud and the idea of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.

There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of the Drive Reduction Theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary Reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money does not satisfy any biological or psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a pay check second-order conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be able to explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food before they finished cooking it.

However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does get hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been consumed the drive decreases. The only reason the food does not get eaten before is the human element of restraint and has nothing to do with drive theory. Also, the food will either be nicer after it is cooked, or it wont be edible at all before it is cooked.

Cognitive dissonance theory

Main article: Cognitive dissonance

Suggested by Leon Festinger, this occurs when an individual experiences some degree of discomfort resulting from an incompatibility between two cognitions. For example, a consumer may seek to reassure himself regarding a purchase, feeling that another decision may have been, in retrospect, preferable.

Another example of cognitive dissonance is when a belief and a behavior are in conflict. A person may believe smoking is bad for one's health and yet continues to smoke.

Affective-Arousal Theories

Need Achievement Theory

Main article: David McClelland

David McClelland’s achievement motivation theory envisages that a person has need for three things but people differ in degree in which the various needs influence their behavior: Need for achievement, Need for power, and Need for affiliation

Interests Theory

Main article: Holland Codes

Holland Codes are used in the assessment of interests as in Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI; Holland, 1985). One way to look at interests is that if a person has a very strong interest in one of the 6 Holland areas, then obtaining outcomes in that area will be very strongly reinforcing relative to obtaining outcomes in areas of weak interest.

Need Theories

Need Hierarchy Theory

Main article: Hierarchy of needs

Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of human needs theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation.

The theory can be summarized as thus:

* Human beings have wants and desires which influence their behaviour; only unsatisfied needs can influence behavior, satisfied needs cannot.
* Since needs are many, they are arranged in order of importance, from the basic to the complex.
* The person advances to the next level of needs only after the lower level need is at least minimally satisfied.
* The further the progress up the hierarchy, the more individuality, humanness and psychological health a person will show.

The needs, listed from basic (lowest, earliest) to most complex (highest, latest) are as follows:

* Physiological
* Safety and security
* Social
* Self esteem
* Self actualization

Herzberg’s two factor theory

Main article: Frederick Herzberg

Frederick Herzberg's two factor theory, concludes that certain factors in the workplace result in job satisfaction, while others do not, but if absent lead to dissatisfaction.

He distinguished between:

* Motivators; (e.g. challenging work, recognition, responsibility) which give positive satisfaction, and
* Hygiene factors; (e.g. status, job security, salary and fringe benefits) which do not motivate if present, but if absent will result in demotivation.

The name Hygiene factors is used because, like hygiene, the presence will not make you healthier, but absence can cause health deterioration.

The theory is sometimes called the "Motivator-Hygiene Theory."

Alderfer’s ERG theory

Main article: Clayton Alderfer

Created by Clayton Alderfer, Maslow's hierarchy of needs was expanded, leading to his ERG theory (existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety, the lower order needs, are placed in the existence category, Love and self esteem needs in the relatedness category. The growth category contained the self actualization and self esteem needs.

Self-determination theory

Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's hierarchical theory and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward growth and development. Unlike these other theories, however, SDT does not include any sort of "autopilot" for achievement, but instead requires active encouragement from the environment. The primary factors that encourage motivation and development are autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness.[2]
Cognitive theories

Goal-setting theory

Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's efficiency is affected by three features; proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behavior and the end state is close in time. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal in their class. The goal should be objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to reach that goal. For further reading, see Locke and Latham (2002).

Unconscious motivation

Some psychologists believe that a significant portion of human behavior is energized and directed by unconscious motives. According to Maslow: "Psychoanalysis has often demonstrated that the relationship between a conscious desire and the ultimate unconscious aim that underlies it need not be at all direct ." In other words, stated motives do not always match those inferred by skilled observers. For example, it is possible that a person can be accident-prone because he has an unconscious desire to hurt himself and not because he is careless or ignorant of the safety rules. Similarly, some overweight people are not really hungry for food but for attention and love. Eating is merely a defensive reaction to lack of attention. Some workers damage more equipment than others because they harbor unconscious feelings of aggression toward authority figures.

Psychotherapists point out that some behavior is so automatic that the reasons for it are not available in the individual's conscious mind. Compulsive cigarette smoking is an example. Sometimes maintaining self-esteem is so important and the motive for an activity is so threatening that it is simply not recognized and, in fact, may be disguised or repressed. Rationalization, or "explaining away", is one such disguise, or defense mechanism, as it is called. Another is projecting or attributing one's own faults to others. "I feel I am to blame", becomes "It is her fault; she is selfish". Repression of powerful but socially unacceptable motives may result in outward behavior that is the opposite of the repressed tendencies. An example of this would be the employee who hates his boss but overworks himself on the job to show that he holds him in high regard.

Unconscious motives add to the hazards of interpreting human behavior and, to the extent that they are present, complicate the life of the administrator. On the other hand, knowledge that unconscious motives exist can lead to a more careful assessment of behavioral problems. Although few contemporary psychologists deny the existence of unconscious factors, many do believe that these are activated only in times of anxiety and stress, and that in the ordinary course of events, human behavior — from the subject's point of view — is rationally purposeful.

Controlling motivation


The control of motivation is only understood to a limited extent. There are many different approaches of motivation training, but many of these are considered pseudoscientific by critics. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary to understand why many people lack motivation.

Early programming

Modern imaging has provided solid empirical support for the psychological theory that emotional programming is largely defined in childhood. Harold Chugani, Medical Director of the PET Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Michigan and professor of pediatrics, neurology and radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, has found that children's brains are much more capable of consuming new information (linked to emotions) than those of adults. Brain activity in cortical regions is about twice as high in children as in adults from the third to the ninth year of life. After that period, it declines constantly to the low levels of adulthood. Brain volume, on the other hand, is already at about 95% of adult levels in the ninth year of life.

Organization

Besides the very direct approaches to motivation, beginning in early life, there are solutions which are more abstract but perhaps nevertheless more practical for self-motivation. Virtually every motivation guidebook includes at least one chapter about the proper organization of one's tasks and goals. It is usually suggested that it is critical to maintain a list of tasks, with a distinction between those which are completed and those which are not, thereby moving some of the required motivation for their completion from the tasks themselves into a "meta-task", namely the processing of the tasks in the task list, which can become a routine. The viewing of the list of completed tasks may also be considered motivating, as it can create a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Most electronic to-do lists have this basic functionality, although the distinction between completed and non-completed tasks is not always clear (completed tasks are sometimes simply deleted, instead of kept in a separate list).

Other forms of information organization may also be motivational, such as the use of mind maps to organize one's ideas, and thereby "train" the neural network that is the human brain to focus on the given task. Simpler forms of idea notation such as simple bullet-point style lists may also be sufficient, or even more useful to less visually oriented persons.
Drugs

Some authors, especially in the transhumanist movement, have suggested the use of "smart drugs", also known as nootropics, as "motivation-enhancers". The effects of many of these drugs on the brain are emphatically not well understood, and their legal status often makes open experimentation difficult.

Converging neurobiological evidence also supports the idea that addictive drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, and heroin act on brain systems underlying motivation for natural rewards, such as the mesolimbic dopamine system. Normally, these brain systems serve to guide us toward fitness-enhancing rewards (food, water, sex, etc.), but they can be co-opted by repeated use of drugs of abuse, causing addicts to excessively pursue drug rewards. Therefore, drugs can hijack brain systems underlying other motivations, causing the almost singular pursuit of drugs characteristic of addiction.

Applications

Education
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Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.

Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and their behavior towards subject matter (Ormrod, 2003). It can:

1. Direct behavior toward particular goals
2. Lead to increased effort and energy
3. Increase initiation of, and persistence in, activities
4. Enhance cognitive processing
5. Determine what consequences are reinforcing
6. Lead to improved performance.

Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

There are two kinds of motivation:

* Intrinsic motivation occurs when people are internally motivated to do something because it either brings them pleasure, they think it is important, or they feel that what they are learning is morally significant.
* Extrinsic motivation comes into play when a student is compelled to do something or act a certain way because of factors external to him or her (like money or good grades).

Note also that there is already questioning and expansion about this dichotomy on motivation, e.g., Self-Determination Theory.

Business
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At lower levels of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, such as Physiological needs, money is a motivator, however it tends to have a motivating effect on staff that lasts only for a short period (in accordance with Herzberg's two-factor model of motivation). At higher levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor's Theory X and theory Y (pertaining to the theory of leadership) demonstrate.

Maslow has money at the lowest level of the hierarchy and shows other needs are better motivators to staff. McGregor places money in his Theory X category and feels it is a poor motivator. Praise and recognition are placed in the Theory Y category and are considered stronger motivators than money.

* Motivated employees always look for better ways to do a job.
* Motivated employees are more quality oriented.
* Motivated workers are more productive.

The average workplace is about midway between the extremes of high threat and high opportunity. Motivation by threat is a dead-end strategy, and naturally staff are more attracted to the opportunity side of the motivation curve than the threat side.

Managers need to understand how company employees see them in order to manage the impression they make, not just their intentions. Don Sheelen notes that "If a business wants its people to make a lot of money for them, then it must set high standards and give employees something they can get excited about."

According to the system of scientific management developed by Frederick Winslow Taylor, a worker's motivation is solely determined by pay, and therefore management need not consider psychological or social aspects of work. In essence scientific management bases human motivation wholly on extrinsic rewards and discards the idea of intrinsic rewards.

In contrast, David McClelland believed that workers could not be motivated by the mere need for money-- in fact, extrinsic motivation (e.g., money) could extinguish intrinsic motivation such as achievement motivation, though money could be used as an indicator of success for various motives, e.g., keeping score. In keeping with this view, his consulting firm, McBer & Company, had as its first motto "To make everyone productive, happy, and free." For McClelland, satisfaction lay in aligning a person's life with their fundamental motivations.

Elton Mayo found out that the social contacts a worker has at the workplace are very important and that boredom and repetitiveness of tasks lead to reduced motivation. Mayo believed that workers could be motivated by acknowledging their social needs and making them feel important. As a result, employees were given freedom to make decisions on the job and greater attention was paid to informal work groups. Mayo named the model the Hawthorne effect. His model has been judged as placing undue reliance on social contacts at work situations for motivating employees.

Wake up Call: How to get up early in the morning?

At what time do you get up in the morning? Before 5 o'clock, 6 o'clock, 7 o'clock or after 7 o'clock? Different person get up at different time. But, for a particular person this time do not changes lot with time. Because it is like human behaviour or habit. If someone gets up at 6 am one day, in most cases it is sure that s/he will get up at 6 am or around 6 am the next day. In this article I am giving important tips on how to get up early in the morning.

For some people who work late the previous night, it will be hard to get up early the next day. But, there are such people for whom even if they went to bed at 9 pm pr

evious night, it will be hard for them to get up before 9 am the next day if s/he usually used to get up at 9 am the others day. This is because it is his/her habit of getting up at 9 am in the morning. If such people get up before this time, they may feel bored and lazy throughout the whole day. Because I already said getting up is our habit, we can change this slowly with time. It is like changing our other habits and behaviours. It doesn't need much effort, money and consulting experts frequently. We can try this technique on our own and get rid of getting up late in the morning. Before giving these tips, let me remind you of this incident related to getting up late in the morning:

During first year of my college
study, I used to share room with other three friends who were studying in the same college. We had morning class to attend then. One of my friends used to attend only 15 classes in a month though we did 25 classes regularly because he used to get up late in the morning. He would have attended only 7-8 classes if he were living alone. Always before going to bed, he used to say he would make new history by getting up at 4:00 am the next day and set up alarm. But, the next day his usual action was to switch off alarm and sleep till 8:30 am.Due to this habit , he changed his class to day shift next year. This gave him some physiological pressure as well. I was also shocked by his problem. Then I thought some ideas and let him to practice them everyday throughout that whole year. I am going to note those ideas we practiced successfully here:

  • It is difficult to get up at 4:00 am in the morning if you usually get up at 9 am. I again say it is our habit. We can't change our any habit from east to west in a single or two days. What you have to do is to decrease the time you get up by certain limit. If you get up at 9 am usually, try to get up the next day at 8:45 am, the next second day at 8:30 am and decrease the time in similar manner. I am here talking about decreasing the time by 15 minutes each day. If you can't decrease by 15 minutes a day, try to decrease by 5 minutes a day or 30 minutes a week. My friend decreased the time he gets up by 10 minutes each day.



  • It will be hard to do above technique initially on your own without help. So, either set up alarm at what time you are going to get up or if you live with your friends as we used to do or in family, ask other members of family or your friend who you know gets up earlier than you to wake you up at the time when you thought to get up. During first 2 or 3 months, our neighbor and sometime we ourselves used to wake my friend up.



  • Getting up early in the morning is possible only if you have much or required amount of sleep the previous night for many people. So, if you want to get up early in the morning, it is necessary for you to go to bed early.



  • Make mentality that you should get up early for yourself. Because this makes you fit and will not lose your work as our friend missed his morning classes. After waking up, so not feel lazy and bored.



  • After getting up it is better and healthy yo go out for jugging, walking or running. You can also play the game you like and can afford.

How to start each day positively?

As we know morning shows the day, whether we remain positive and happy throughout the day also depends on whether we are happy or not in the morning. If one is happy and without any tension in the morning, there is no doubt s/he become stressed during the day in most cases. Opposite of this is definitely true.

Naturally due to many hours of sleep, we are in less stress, in happy mood and energetic in the morning. Cool and fresh outside environment also helps to be fresh at the start of the day. But, due to various reasons such as tension, stress, unable to control the emotion etc., some people's mood turn into bad and as a result of this, their whole day becomes less useful and they can't do what they are doing completely or may feel difficulties in doing their work. If this continues for many days, such people feel stressed in doing everything and due to stress ad difficulties with their work, they get depressed with their life. This is not the way to live. Each day nature gives us brind new, fresh day with bright sky and new warm sun. So, it is also important for us to start our own day in a positive manner. So that we remain happy all the day long and make out life happy. This is not a difficult job if we k

now how to do and tried our self.

Here is what you can do:

  • On a special note, make a list of things that inspire you, For example, you can write your favorite inspirational quotes- at least five. Or, you can have a book with story that inspires you to do something in your life. You can collect and write as many such things as you can. Then, each day after having morning bath, look at these things or read them. Try to feel what is there in yourself. Add many things or incidents that may be small or to the note and I am sure, you start your day positively. Do not forget to name this note The Positive Note of Your name.
    Richgrad had seven motivational quotes to start the day!


  • Everyday after you get up, feel that you are happy and think everything that comes in your mind positively. Forget the argument you had yesterday with your neighbor, mistake you made, word of scold you heard, fear thinking what your boss will say because you were absent yesterday or didn't complete the task given by him or her.If you need to work on these things, do it in positive way.


  • Try to control your emotion as well. I have seen many people saying I try to be happy in the morning but aren't able to do that. This is their inability to control their emotion. Feeling that I am stressed, not enjoying my life, can't do what I am doing etc. are some bad emotions or thinking that leads you to negativity. It takes time for one to minimise such emotions. But, slowly we can do this by regular practice and our inner will that we should kick out these emotions and will be able to do that.


  • If you maintained your mood happy and fresh till 9 or 10 am, then generally your whole day will be good and balanced.


  • Regular exercise, yoga, meditation etc. also help us to be happy in the morning.

Made mistake but don't know what to do?

Have you finished your work or still uncompleted but unfortunately you have made a mistake while doing that work? And you are worried what to do now? Then



Every human being makes mistake that may be small or big at some stage of his/her life. We are not machine.We are free to think each and every moment. If you are frightened, worried, become mentally helpless, then that mistake even may effect your whole life. Here below are some tips you can do after if you have made mistake.


  • Try to take control of your emotions and thinking. Take a long breath and release slowly and make yourself mentally fresh.

  • You can go to some open, fresh place and drink cold water and try to engage yourself with the beauty and scenes of nature. As much as possible, forget all the mistake at this time.

  • Now after you are refreshed, think where and how you've made that mistake without any hurry. Look for if there is anything you can do to correct the mistake. If there is no possibility of correcting the mistake, then promise yourself not to repeat the same mistake again.

  • Time and your life are great things. It is human nature to make mistake sometime.What you can do is to focus all your attention to the work or thing that you are doing at this moment.

  • You won't gain anything by regretting about the past mistake negatively except mental pressure, hopeless. So learn lesson from that mistake.

How to avoid regret

Regret is present feeling of unhappy, loss, disappointment for an act you did in the past. A certain amount of positive regret is healthy and if you do correctly, you and your life may get surprise. But, if your regret turns small problem into bigger one, then this becomes unhealthy for you and it may lead you into some mental and psychological diseases such as depression. Here is some tips on how to get rid of regret.

  • Always look everything positively. Develop positive attitude and behaviour in you. Your outlook on everything will be mapped in the same way in your mind and all output or result definitely will be positive, no doubt.

  • Try to understand the reality of the world and everything. You have to face many bad as well as good events. Enjoy your good events and never be unhappy for bad events. That is also part of your life. Consider your life as a journey from the place where you are living currently or from Antarctica to the Mt. Everest. You will have to travel by different means such as plane, ship, bus, train etc. or you even may have to walk on your own foot, climb high hills, mountains, plain fields.You even may have to fight different types of environmental situation and so on.
    If you feel regret that you didn't visited some particular place on your journey, plan a trip there now.

  • Before doing anything or making a decision, figure out possible difficulties and take necessary action to minimise that difficulties in time. This helps you from future regret and it may much easier for you to do that work than you thought before.

  • Don't have any doubt , negative thinking on your decision once made. Be positive, happy, confident and do what you are doing to do confidently thinking that you will be successful.

  • Rather than thinking that you didn't have a chance to say something, try to focus on good moments you had with that person in someones demise.

  • If you made a mistake or missed a deadline, accept what you have now and if there is anything you can do to correct it, do as soon as possible. In spite of regretting about your mistake, try to learn lesson from that and do not repeat the same mistake again. You will not get anything by regretting negatively about your past action or decision except depression, weakness etc.

  • Enjoy your every moment of life with full happiness. Your life is not for living with regret, being unhappy, disappointed, unsatisfied.So, be happy and let other as well to be happy.

Lessons from Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa

Let me introduce Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa first if you don't know. They are the persons who climbed Mt. Everest for the first time in May 29, 1953.Hillary is from New Zealand and Sherpa from Nepal. Mt. Everest(8848 m) is the highest peak in the world which lies in Nepal.

Today more than thousand mountaineers from around the world climb Everest every year. You might not know following things from climbing success of two climbers.


  • Their target was to be the first to be on the top of the highest peak in the world. But they didn't know how to go to the top. Only they knew was that they should be on the top one day. However, they themselves searched the way up there. Similarly to be successful in our life, we should set a goal and try ourselves even if you are trying for the first time. Whether you become succeed for not, totally depend upon you.

  • Climbing that complicated, high peak where weather condition was not sure because you don't know when it rains, snows.even if it is good in the morning, within a minute it may snow heavily. So that work was great risky. Greatest risk being with their life. But they were not afraid. Great achievements and deeds contain risk. But we should have to be straightforward to our goal.

  • They were positive about their goal that the could climb that peak. So be positive about your goal. Being positive is directly proportional to the possibility of achievement of our goal.

  • Other climbers had also tried to climb but why Hillary and Sherpa became successful? Because the two changed their way and idea according to the various situation there on their journey.

  • Sir Edmund Hillary came in Nepal from New Zealand to climb Everest because he wanted to do something new. We have to think new ideas every time positively to be successful.

Important tips on How to build your confidence

For the past few weeks, I received many emails from my valuable readers commenting about my blog and some of them requesting me to write on different topics, one of which was confidence. How can I upset my readers. So in this post, I am writing about how to build confidence using some techniques which we can do ourselves. But remember this takes some time, dedication, patience and regular practice and anyone can benefit. How less or more confidence build in you totally depends on yourself.

Confidence to do a work generally means strong feeling from the inner part of your heart and mind that you can do that work easily and you do not even think of any failure or unsuccess while doing that work. If you've confidence, then you can do anything easily than you thought before doing that work or any action. What I think is thinking that you can do what you are doing or going to do, having positive looking to that action and believing that you are confident to do what you are going to do is 50% of that work already done. This concept is quite unbelievable and unacceptable for the beginners but it is true for who have done. Now, let me give you some tips on how to build confidence:


  • Do not make unnecessary comparison with others. Understand the fact that this world is very much diverse in different aspects and you are different and unique from others in thousands of ways. So why to be worried thinking for example that you couldn't become pilot as your close competitor friend? You may have ability to draw good picture, sing very well and many more. What would be situation of this world if everyone of this world worried thinking one doesn't have the ability, quality or thing that the others have? Rather try to find out what special ability or quality you have that other don't and follow and work accordingly.
    We all are given many special qualities by God. Only our defect is either inability or careless to find those qualities. One fact that we have to keep in mind is why some of our ancestors or those people who lived in past history were scientists, others doctors, singers and many more? Why did they all not become only scientists, or doctors or singers? Because they had different qualities, abilities of their own. So be a person of your own.

  • Even a very good runner who used to be always first in past can not become first if s/he have thinking that s/he will not be winner.This simple thinking weakens his muscle and whole body, inner power, confidence and finally results turns same one thought before in the beginning. In such case your belief about what you are doing and who you are play as much role as your skills, your way of doing that work. Positive thinking that you will win and should win makes you confident to do that work.

Greatest source of everything is YOU!!!

There are some people who thinks more the things they don't have than the thing they have. Actually, these are people who are unhappy about their life or everything in general. Such people always looks upon dark side of everything and only care about the things such as ability, habit that they don't have. This totally interferes with their personal development and they can't do anything notable. But, those who are happy and successful cares more about the quality or thing they have most often than that they don't have.

We all are borned with our own many special skills which in many case differ from person to person. Happy and successful persons are able to coin these skills carefully than

worrying about what they don't have. It is also true that we all don't have same capacity and skill. That is why this diversity in the world. It is our job to find out these special thing we have. We can't imagine the existence of this world for even one day if we all worry about the things that we don't have.

Comparing oneself negatively with others also creates unhappy and unsatisfied feeling. This makes one unsatisfied with one's life or what one is doing. In such condition it will be hard for us to think about what we have to do next.

On the other hand, if one is happy and care about of what one have, it is sure that s/he will have positive thinking, have confidence. The more confidence we have the more probability that we'd be successful in everything we are doing. Such confidence, positivity makes us easier to develop some skills that we don't have.

I already have said that we don't have all skills or habits that other have. Sometime we need these skills and have to develop them in ourself as well. In such case some people become worried thinking that they don't have that particular skill. This harms that person's present ability as well. Here, what is wise and better to think is to find out the ways to develop that skills about do the work. It may take time but we can sure develop that skill.

So, it is up to us either to live thinking only what we don't have or spending more time on caring about what we have. To be happy, successful it is necessary to think and live with what we have rather than what we don't have.

How to turn negative thought into positive

Our personality, lifestyle, whether we become successful or unsuccessful, can do or not what we wanted to do etc. all depends on how we think, how we take life or our perspective towards life and everything we do or deal with. If we take or think our life or everything we do in negative way, then the result definitely will be negative and our life will be worthless and such person only will be unnecessary weight for the earth. This is not the way to live. On the other hand, if we think positively, take life in assertive way we can do whatever we wanted to do and our life will be successful. We can do many things for our self and for others who shares this earth with us as well.

By birth, we all are borned to think positive, live successful life and not be less than any human being in this world. But, after birth due to different situations, circumstances we have to think many things in many ways. Someday we are student, the other day teachers. Due to limited source and increasing number of population in many countries, competition is very high. In such situation, some people become depressed and think negatively when they re unable to compete with others. . In some case, even very small incident may force some people to think negatively. In this post, I am going to tell on how to turn negative thought into positive with a small incident which made one of my friend depressed and started to think negative but after some discussion with me, some other friends he turned his thoughts into positive. Let me start with that incident:

My friend David( name changed) have been using his bike for the past five years. About three weeks ago Blue book of his bike was taken by police saying there was no record file in Ministry of Transportation on licence of his bike.He was surprised by action of police which never before. Then, he didn't go to college, stayed alone in the home without talking to anyone. He didn't tell this to his parent because he was frightened and started to think what will happen next? What if he have to stay in jail or pay money and have to do process for next file and so on.

After five days, we were surprised not to see our regular friends for five days and went to visit him at his home. He was staying in his room alone and everything was here and there in his room and his face was dark. We asked him why he didn't come to college and what happened? Initially, he refused to tell and said nothing happened. We knew something had happened. But, after many request he told everything. This is very interesting why such small incident made this guy to be in this situation. We then told him not to behave in that way and many tips to solve that problem and change his way of taking such situations. It was so fun and and memorable that day for me. We discussed many things to tackle such situations and turn negative thought into positive one. It was so cold as well. So, we drank five cups coffee by each. I am summarizing that tips here so that it will help others as well.

  1. Think positive
    In David's case though he said above questions such as what will happen next etc. were negative, I thin they are not negative totally. It is his believe that he was thinking negative was actually negative. This believe directed him to think more negative ideas.So, never believe that you are thinking negative after some problem. Rather, be assertive and feel that you will solve the problem easily and positively.



  2. Find the main cause of the problem
    There is no reason David to be frightened. If there is no record file, that is mistake of Transportation Ministry. Blue book is his prove that he is not guilt because he got the blue book after doing many processes in Ministry. His blue book shows that there should be file ad he had done everything he should have done before receving the blue book. So, if you think that you are thinking negative, stop this and find out what caused you to think negative. If there is nothing, then why to think negative?



  3. Do not be frightened
    In some cases, our worry, fear leads us to think and behave in negative way. Such fear, worry only makes the situation even worse. So, do not be frightened and worried.



  4. Think in opposite way
    If you think you don't want to live, think why do other people take medicine, visit doctors and why all these medicines, hospitals, doctors are for? Their life is important for them. That is because they want to live more. So, is your life very important for you as well.
    If you think you can never pass the exam, take this in this way. Even great scientists and philosophers failed in their life. But, due to their courage, internal belief that they will and should pass exam or any test or do what they wanted to do made them become successful in their life.