Self Improvement Brain's Podcast

Everyone has a dream, a vision. In order to get to the ‘ultimate’ state, one has to chalk out ax exhaustive roadmap. This formal process of personal planning is called Goal Setting. Ambitious but finicky people set numerous goals but are often clueless as to how to work towards them! It is important to set the right goals that are realistic yet challenging. Goals are normally set along different levels. We have just one life that God has given to us. You cannot become a doctor, lecturer, CEO of a company, engineer, finance expert, lawyer etc. all in one life! Hence, seek opinions and analyze your strengths, weakness. Put down in writing, your large scale goals. These goals must be further broken into smaller goals. And then work towards it step by step. Prioritize your activities. For some persons, family is more important than work or vice versa. This is dependent on a lot of factors like values, attitudes, principles, upbringing, culture etc. Hence, once the main goals are put down, rank them in accordance to their importance. This helps in apportioning the appropriate time to each of the activities. Goal setting is certainly more than just scribbling on a piece of paper. It has a definite, binding purpose. It is the roadmap to achieve your dreams. It has to be followed very strictly. A lot of goals look nice and idealistic. However, unless the goal is something you really want with all your heart, you will work towards it. Goals must be consistent with values, principles and aptitudes. It should not contradict each other. Example: With an annual income of $50,000 you cannot want to buy a house that costs $900,000. Goals must be set in various areas: family, career, health, social, educational, financial. This way, there is a balance that is maintained in all areas and leads to a wholesome development as an individual. However, importance given to each area may vary. Believe in the power of positivity. Writing down goals leads to our subconscious mind to follow those instructions. The more positive the instructions, the more positive will be the results. When you aim at the moon, you will shoot at the stars, if you miss the moon. Do not aim at the tree, for you will shoot the ground! Ensure that your goals are set high. They should be challenging, yet achievable. Concentrate on adding value to yourself everyday. We should live everyday, and not just exist. Fill yourself with positive thoughts always. Write down your goals and put it up in a prominent place on the wall. Read it everyday. Put in on your cell phone as notes. Also make a copy of the goals on a word document on your desktop/laptop. Review your goals on a daily/weekly basis. Make it part of your routine. Visualize yourself having achieved the goals! See in your mind’s eye, the benefits and fruits of your goals. Your subconscious mind will automatically drive you to get there. Resist temptation. Ask yourself – “will this action take me closer to my goal?” If yes, don’t pause! Else, you know what to do. Set your goals. Prioritize. Lay your road map. Be aware of what you’re doing. Review regularly. Success will be all yours. Good luck!

Do you know what the most important kind of goal is for your life? We all have goals that we set and we know the importance of goal setting and it's one of those topics that gets beaten to death and a lot of us don't want to hear about goal setting anymore. We're sick and tired of goal setting. But we know they're necessary as well, and that's why we always come back to them. You do, I do, we all do goal setting at one level or another. Maybe you just do it mentally and you think about them from time to time. Other people like me, I'm very, very strict about my goals. I'm always writing them down and refining them. But there are different kinds, and this is a very, very critical aspect. There is a type of goal where you define what you want to do, there is a type of goal where you define what you want to have and there's also a kind of goal where you define who you want to be. The kind of person you want to be. It's the third one, the goals you set on the type of person you want to be, that are the most pivotal, most important and most influential in your life. Your material wants or even bigger wants than that, the things you would like to acquire, the things you would like to eventually achieve in your life, some you'll hit and some you'll won't. Some will take longer than planned, some you'll maybe get shorter than you planned. They're going to be all over the map. As an example, you may be at a certain financial position right now. Let's say you're earning $50,000 a year and you want to take that to $100,000. There are a number of different ways you could do that. You could set a goal to do that within the next year, the next six months or the next three years and you go after it. You may or may not hit the goal, and you may or may not try as hard as you can, although the whole point of goal setting is you do try and you go for it. But this is a measurable, specific thing that you're shooting for and you may or may not get there. There's all kinds of circumstances, things that could come up that could prevent it from happening. But think about the type of goal where you decide who you want to be, and the exercise of writing down your goals on a daily basis and reviewing them. Sure, you can have a plan that says I want to get from 50k to 100k and I'm going to do this, this, this and this over the next X amount of months or years and you do those things and that plan may or may not work. But what if you started asking yourself or writing a goal down to say, here's who I want to be. I want to be a positive and uplifting person. I want to be loving towards my family. Every time I see my family I want them to feel excited in my presence. I want them to feel uplifted. I want them to feel inspired. When I meet new people I want them to feel like they just met somebody really interesting, and they want to get to know me at a deeper level. I want to set a goal to be the kind of person that follows through on every commitment I make to myself. I'm going to achieve XYZ by a certain date, such as I'm going to lose 20 pounds by March 30th is very results driven. It's very achievement driven, and the timeline for that may change. You don't know how quickly you can lose that weight and you want to be able to do it in a healthy way, so you may have to adjust that plan. But who do you have to be to reach that weight? You have to be the kind of person who commits to their goals, who does whatever it takes, who when they say they're going to do something they do it and follow through and hold themselves accountable. So here's my challenge to you, or even call it a suggestion or tip. Begin journaling on a daily basis, writing down where you're at but more importantly where you want to go, goals. It's very fun to set goals like the type of income you want to earn, the type of business you want to run, the trips you want to take, the material possession(continued)

Not everyone is a natural born leader. Occasionally you may find yourself at a loss when delegated with a task to oversee a certain group of individuals. You begin to panic. Your serene comfort zone has just been crossed over by a superior persona whom you regard with deep seated ambivalence. There really is no reason for you to fuss and fret. Leadership is as much a skill as a talent so there is a great hope for those who know a zilch about managing people. Therefore, if it is a skill, anyone can learn the basics of leadership through constant practice. Here are some basic values that you need to assimilate in your life to make you become better at handling issues at the pinnacle of a group: Service-oriented. To become an effective leader you need to understand that you are giving much of yourself to the group. An excellent leader knows that a lot of sacrifices have to be made for the sake of the group’s success. You are at the front of the pack not because you are important or famous, but because the entire group needs your service. Without your efforts, less goals and objectives will be achieved. Management. You are placed in a position where decisions have to be made. It is understood that for the group to attain its goals, all members need to contribute yet unity and coordination among the members still rely much on your skills as a good manager. You need to learn how to delegate tasks, how to modify behavioral errors, how to reach out to everyone for inputs, and several other skills inherent in a good manager. Resolute. You have to demonstrate a certain degree of determination. You have to be steadfast in your decisions and extremely confident about the choices you make. You are the strength of the whole team; therefore, you must maintain a firm and unflinching character, always eager to take the team to the next level. You should make yourself accessible to each member but you have to delineate a line between respect and insolence. Make each member know that you are the leader and that they are in excellent hands. Impartiality. As a leader you must promote an equal opportunity zone for everyone. Never give special treatment to anyone. If an individual has brought fame and triumph to the group, give him due felicitation and use that as a means to encourage idle members. Be fair and reasonable. These are just some of the many values that you need to incorporate within your character to improve your chances of becoming a very effective leader.

Problems are present in everyone’s daily life. Life is filled with never-ending problems. We all experience problems at work, home, with relationships, children, society, etc. They just creep up everywhere in every area of our life. When problems overshadow you, you are affected by physical and mental illness. Problems seem to be one common factor that pervades each and every soul on planet earth. Could we look at problems in a positive way and overcome them easily? We could. Problems are only problems if we define them so. You could look at problems in a different light. Whenever you encounter a problem in future, try to look at it indifferently. If you analyze your problems they may turn out to be learning events in real life. Problems are solvable. Here are 7 easy ways to overcome problems: Own a problem – People generally blame others when they are faced with problems. Problems never go away with this approach. Instead, accept responsibility for the problem. Do not blame anyone else or any other circumstance for your problem. When you own a problem, you take up the issue in your hand and start to work for a solution with a personal interest. This is the first sign of progress towards a solution. Define the problem – You have to define a problem in order to understand the exact issue. Analyze it to understand it well. Ask the right questions - what is the problem, how did it start, how bad is the effect, etc. When you look into the problem rather than at the problem, you get to the core of the problem. Getting at the root cause would eradicate the problem forever. So define and look for ways to eradicate the root cause of your problem. Analyze the ‘ifs’ and ‘but’s - Ask more questions such as: ‘what if the problem is not solved immediately? What is the worst outcome? ‘But, if not solved, how long could you go on with this problem?’ etc. Be prepared to face risks and proceed to accept the worst. After good brainstorming, you would feel calm since you are ready to face the consequences. List possible solutions – When you are calm look around for possible solutions. Make a list of all possible answers. Again brainstorm. You could examine and evaluate all possible solutions. You would be surprised at the possible answers you have at hand for your problem. Select the best solution - After examining and evaluating and brainstorming, you would be able choose the best possible solution. Once you decide on a particular solution take steps to act on it immediately. Focus only the end results – Focus only on what you desire to achieve. According to the law of universe, your thoughts, feelings, intentions and actions create your reality. If these were clear, your problems would also clear out into thin air. So remember, whenever you have a problem – own it, define it, analyze the ‘if’s and ‘but’s, list your solutions, brainstorm and select the best one, act on it immediately and focus on positive results. It is that simple!

It is normal to feel emotionally low sometimes, especially during difficult and trying moments.  To dwell in that condition, however, even when the storm has faded away, is unreasonable. Life is a mind game. You can either channel your mind to live your life the way you always want it to be or play puppet to the hands of cruel relentless fate. They say you are what you eat.  That must also be true with your thoughts.  You are what you think.  Your will is an extremely powerful tool that can set the events that will ultimately happen in your life.  Your resolve spells all the difference in the world you tread.  It can either bring you success or misfortune.  Therefore, the best way to do it is to make it work to your advantage.  Learn to control your life through a consistently empowering strength of mind. Think positive.  Do not ignore life’s harsh reality but always take each occasion with an optimistic mind.  Yes, an awful lot of things can happen to your life but to let such unhealthy thoughts always preoccupy your mind is a sign of a weak resolve.  Do not let your worries get the better of you.  Events will happen if they must.  If you can control them, well and good; if you cannot, there is no need to bother. Read between the lines.  You need to learn to go beyond what seems to be and decipher what its genuine meaning is.  The petty things that happen in your life might be opportunities for self-discovery and growth.  The simplest things can sometimes bring about the most profound changes.  Learn to read between the lines and unearth beauty even in the most unsightly circumstance.  There has to be something more than just relentless malice.  Life has got to be better than that.  Concentration camp survivors learned this lesson the hard way.  Nevertheless, they tried to squeeze the meaning of their suffering and let hope be their guiding light.  They realized things happen for a reason. Feed from positive sources.  When you were young, you probably thought once you are done with your formative years in school, education stops.  You discovered it is not the case.  You can never outgrow the need to educate yourself.  Your experiences can get you through tough times, but they are not enough.  You need to embrace other people’s experiences as well.  Life is one big circle of humanity.  Be one with the community.  Contribute and share your personal knowledge.  Study and hear out the rich history of successful people. You are what you think so it is up to you to take the challenge and live your life according to the merits of your willpower.

Life is simple and peaceful if you incorporate the following six rules into your daily routine.  1. Practice some quite time everyday Quietness of mind is the secret ingredient to a happy and successful life. Make it a regular habit to enjoy some quiet time every day. To start with set aside just 10 minutes at the start of the day. Just sit in a quiet place without paying any attention to your passing thoughts. You could pay attention only to your breathing and notice your chest and abdomen while breathing. This is not yoga, meditation, etc. This is simply a quiet time. Just ten minutes a day in the morning or night before bedtime is ideal for you to enjoy the peace within. If you make this a regular habit you would witness a better quality of life real soon. 2. Exercise your body and mind Daily exercise keeps you away from mental and physical illness. Exercise keeps your body flexible, supple and strong. This leads to a balanced mind. There are plenty of good exercises you could choose from to keep yourself healthy and enjoy a long life. If you have not been exercising, you could start today. Just go for a brisk walk and feel the fresh air filling your lungs. 3. Eat sensibly This area really poses a challenge for most of us. ‘You are what you eat’ is not just a mere saying. It is a fact of life. What we eat, why we eat, when we eat and how we eat are important factors related to our physical, psychological and spiritual well-being. It would be wise to choose a healthy diet and stick to it. Your goal should not only be to lose weight but also to keep it under control so that your body and mind does not bear the strain of overweight. 4. Choose a fulfilling profession or job Many people have a habit of switching jobs. They do not seem to know what they are looking for. They are not sure if they are after money, challenge, job satisfaction, etc. It is important that you have clear-cut ideas of what you are looking for in a job. You should love your job in order to do it well and succeed in it. You would find fulfillment in your career only when you love your profession or job.  5. Maintain good relationships Life is for sharing. Share your love and happiness with your friends and family. Learn to cherish your relationships. Respect everyone around you and develop good communication skills to establish truly valuable relationships. Relationships make your life meaningful. 6. Get enough sleep Sleep restores energy. Make sure to get 6 to 8 hours of sleep each night. Deep, regular and restful mind is good for body and mind. If you have unhealthy sleeping habits get rid of them and develop good sleeping habits. Enjoy the benefits of good sleep. When you practice these simple rules you are bound to enjoy a happy, healthy and peaceful life. Life is quite simple, really! 

Imagine this situation: you have a test in two days that you should be studying for. Problem is, the weather outside is perfect, you cannot focus on your work, and if that were not enough, you just do not feel like studying right now. After all, you have two days to prepare for the test. How hard can it be? Almost everyone has been in this situation at some point in their lives. While some actually work better at the last minute, it is not a habit that you should practice. Like all things, procrastination in moderation is a way for the brain to re-energize and refocus. Too much procrastination, though, and you could find yourself over-worked, over-stressed and quickly burnt out. How can you finish your work on time and still enjoy yourself in the process? The following are a few tips that should help you to get off the road to perpetual procrastination and help you get back on the road to effective productivity. Step 1: Make a schedule for yourself of what is due and when it is due. If you have a gage of when everything is due, you will be less likely to put it off until the last minute. Additionally, the presence of due dates on a calendar will serve as a reminder to you, as well as an organizational tool. By breaking down your responsibilities and their deadlines into terms of what and when is due, you will be less stressed when you finally do begin to do the work. When you are less stressed, you generally tend to be happier and more relaxed. Despite what you may believe, the relaxation experienced when you are procrastinating is a false one. Many people, despite the fact that they appear to be worry-free are, in fact, subconsciously concerned about the very things that they are putting off. Step 2: Prioritize. Separate your work into piles of “urgent” and “can wait.” No one likes to find themselves surrounded by excessive amounts of work and bills; however, by putting the most important ones first, you can eliminate some of the stress involved. Your “important” work should include items that are due soon and large projects that will time-consuming. On the other hand, your pile should include items that are not conducive to you that do not need to be addressed immediately, such as writing letters to friends, finishing the latest pop culture magazine, or re-organizing your CD collection, all of which further contribute to your procrastination. The use of Post-It notes or other organizational supplies are heavily recommended, as they provide a more vibrant and therefore more forceful reminder of what needs to be done and when it should be done. Step 3: Focus. All of the organizational materials in the world will not help you if you aren't willing to help yourself. Sit down, choose one task to focus on at a time, and begin working on it until you are finished, then move on to the next task. Before you know it, your work will be completed, and you will actually be able to feel relatively stress - free without the looming worry of work owed. 

When you were in pre-school, you felt like you were the unluckiest person on earth, for you were burdened with the task of learning alphabets and numbers which seemed to be an almost impossible thing to do! A few months hence, you proudly wrote your name on paper and boasted of your little achievement! Your parents watched you in awe and were so thrilled that their little child has learnt to read and write! Transformation of a small dream into reality.  A new born baby does not know the laws of the society. It is ruled by the ‘id’ which are basic instincts that we are all born with. As we grow up, we learn to live with certain constraints and be a part of the society. We learn that certain things are ‘possible’ and certain things are ‘impossible’. But from where exactly has this concept of impossibility crept into our minds? How do you know that a particular task is ‘impossible’ to achieve?  Our ‘ego’ is meant to protect us from prospective dangers. Based on past experiences, the ego makes judgments. However, one should not let ego control him/her. Instead, from the moment one starts taking control of the ego, all the so called ‘impossible’ things will suddenly seem ‘possible’, almost instantaneously! We have preconceived notions about various things and we assume that it is ‘reality’. Eg: When you touch a hot stove by mistake, you take your hands off almost immediately by reflex action. So the ‘ego’ has learnt that fire is dangerous. Now if someone asks you to voluntarily touch a hot stove, you will not, because, your ego warns you against consequences. On the other side, have we ever wondered how certain people have been able to walk on fire?! They have proved that fire-walk is NOT impossible. These are the people who take control of their ego. This is the first step to achieve any dream that you think is impossible. What we see is only our perception. To a large extent, our perception is influenced by our level of awareness. Sometimes, we find some problems difficult to solve. The same problem will look a lot easier when you look at it a little later. This happens because we grow constantly and we should work towards gaining more knowledge and increasing our level of awareness. Those who achieve the impossible have an everlasting thirst for knowledge. The more you gain of it, the concept of ‘impossibility’ will vanish from your mind. There are only three key focus points to achieving impossible dreams: Clarity, Commitment and Focus. Be clear of what your “impossible dream” is. Have the burning desire in you to convert it into reality. Channelize all efforts towards achieving the dream with a single and focused mind. Visualize yourself and your state of mind when after having achieved the goal. How would you feel? Wonderful, right?! You feel are in a state of renewed confidence and self-worth. Keep these fruits in mind, and work towards it. Draw a road map to achieve the goal. Put down the goals in writing and stick it on your wall/pinboard such that you are reminded of it everyday. Establish timelines, review your progress periodically and take alternative courses of action when necessary. 

IQ is a term that is commonly heard of. It is an abbreviation for Intelligence Quotient, a test that is used to measure intelligence. Imagine being put through a host of tests and being awarded a number that stands for your intelligent quotient! What does this number really mean? What is its significance?! IQ tests are used to distinguish people into the normal, gifted or challenged category. Children are tested relative to each other in data interpretation, logical reasoning, vocabulary, quantitative abilities and spatial orientation. The most commonly used test for measuring IQ is the Stanford-Binet intelligence test. A person with an IQ score of 100 is said to be ‘normal’ and those with scores of 130 above are said to be ‘intellectually gifted’. Does this mean that people with a high IQ are extraordinarily successful and those with an average IQ are limited to average success? Certainly not! A television program in Canada recently tracked down several people with high IQ scores. One such person was found working as a motorcycle mechanic, who hangs out in bad company and is a frequent visitor of the jail! Another such person works as a in a bar, earns a pittance and lives in a pitiful garage. Very clearly, a high IQ certainly does not ensure success! So all you ‘normal’ people out there get out of your depression! And the alleged intelligent ones buck up, for you ought to sweat it tout to make it to the top! What IQ tests measure is a certain potential. This potential ought to be nurtured and develop by the person who is blessed with it. However, one may not have an inclination to do so! Example: there might be a person who’s gifted with an extremely melodious voice, but hates music. Or someone who has a perfect physique for a high jumper, but may loathe sports! In these cases, having a high IQ means practically nothing. Standard IQ tests measure only a part of intelligence potential. But that cannot be called ‘intelligence’ from a wholesome perspective. Psychologist Howard Gardner of Harvard University says that there are 7 types of intelligence - verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, visual-spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, social-interpersonal and intra-personal. IQ tests do not accurately measure all of these. There are people who do exceedingly well in school. But they are failures in real life, because they lack the dynamism and smartness to pull them through work. On the other hand, there are people who have failed miserably in school, but have emerged millionaires, thanks to their smartness and practical orientation in life. Was Michelangelo incompetent because he was not a great mathematician? Or was Einstein inept because he was not a great artist? Which one of these two men is more intelligent? How should intelligence actually be defined? The answer is, there really is no definition of intelligence that explains its totality. Hence, a mere IQ number cannot determine a person’s success/failure. Qualities such as determination, willpower and vision play a greater role in a person’s success. There really is no substitute to hard work. Creativity, foresight, optimism, goal-orientation and the drive to succeed are essential qualities of a successful person. There have been great people in the history, who have been nothings in their childhood but have built empires today because of their vision and drive. Hence, an IQ score is just a number. It does not define a person. Successful people develop and exhibit various qualities that are responsible for their success. It cannot be attributed entirely to their IQ. So buck up! And work hard! Dream big and success will be all yours! :)

No matter how hard we try to reverse situations, we come across these days where everything, I mean EVERYTHING goes wrong. You feel so ridiculous and despondent at the end of it. You’re angry, low, and gloomy all day. The day normally begins with something that is completely unpleasant and it does not get any better during the course of the day! Yes, we’re talking about one of those “bad” days, when you feel like you’re the unluckiest human being ever born and that you’re burdened with the world to carry on your shoulders. This state of mind is also associated with what we commonly call “depression”. We hear people say, “I’m so depressed in life.” They’re probably having a bad day! The most fundamental of things that we have to keep in mind is that the “bad” phase is only temporary. It will pass, sooner or later. The tendency to feel like ‘it’s all over’ is natural. It will also seem forever since you were caught in the quagmire. Remember, no matter how bad your problem is, it will get over eventually! Let us focus on something we could do to get over the disgusted, depressed feeling for the moment! Indulge! Grab a pastry, or a chocolate or packet of potato chips! This is an instant remedy for that will cause a sugar rush and help you feel temporarily ‘up’. Do not make this a habit; you might just end up putting on too many extra calories! Sometimes, you may not even know what exactly is bothering you or the reason for your feeling low. Watch a really sentimental movie. Cry it out. All your bottled up emotions will find a gateway. You will a lot better after you’ve cried your heart out and a nap soon after. You will rest your tired body as well, in the process. You will wake up feeling a lot lighter. The above two solutions will help you get out of the state temporarily. However, if you think the “bad” day has a deeper underlying cause to it, you must analyze. Although it might seem like a bad idea to dwell on the things that are going wrong in your life when you’re already in a bad mood, still think about it. You will realize the need to change. Change the situation/yourself or find a solution to the root problem, so that you don’t have bad days on account of that particular reason anymore. Recognize where you are and what you need to do, to fix the problem. Think of all those people who’ve hurt you in the past and all those people that have taken you for a ride. Sometimes it just takes a rotten day to help you realize that people whom you thought were your well wishers and friends are actually not. Realize now that those people did no good to you and will not do any good to you in future. Flush them out of your life, once and for all. Start anew. Think of all those things that are responsible for your wretched day. What you did wrong, who did what wrong, something else that you’ve always wanted to confront but have been putting off for ages. Clear it off from your mind NOW. Cry if need be. Get angry if need be. Take efforts to change those things that are in your hands. You certainly want to change those things that are responsible for you feeling so dismal. Accept those things that you refused to, all along. Accept reality. Life is not always a bed of roses. It takes these “bad” days to help us all realize the truth. Sometimes, you see and realize a lot of things more clearly amidst pain. Reality hits hard and loud. Somewhere, something has gone wrong about your life. You have to fix it. Your body and mind are telling you that. Are you listening?

Do you ever stop to think how hard your brain works for you every Day? Most of us do not consider the importance of our brain while we focus on the rest of our body. Your brain is the most essential organ and yet it is the organ least cared for. You need not study hard or become a bookworm to boost your mental faculties. Just a few smart tricks, techniques, habits, changes in diet, lifestyle and behavior could energize your grey matter and get the best results from your brain. Here are a few tips to tend proper care for your brain: Physical exercise strengthens your brain, too. Exercise benefits your brain cells. The blood vessels inside your brain dilate and increase blood flow when you engage in regular exercise. Exercise helps to excrete toxins and allows oxygen and other nutrients to flow into your brain strengthening your brain cells. Start your day with a healthy breakfast. Skipping breakfast affects your brainpower and performance at home, school or work. Kick-start your brain in the morning so that it wakes up and is all ready when you start your morning. Why don’t you start off your day with a crossword puzzle or sudoku from your morning newspaper? Your brain needs these teasers to be more efficient during the fist few lazy hours in the mornings. Research backs up the support in favor of omega-3 fatty acids. Fish is the best brain food. Omega 3 fish oil is not just healthy brain food for babies. It's also an essential brain food for children, adolescents and adults. The EPA and DHA in fish oil seems prevent dementia. Here is a trick to remember something important for the next day – read and review over the matter needed for the next day before you go to sleep the previous night. While you sleep your brain does its sorting and filing for you and stores it for you. When you think about it the next day your brain supplies this information fresh out of its memory cells. Did you ever get stuck with a small detail when your brain just stops and you experience a mental block? Try darting your eyes from side to side. You would be amazed at the results! What is the reason behind this? Everyone has a left and right hemisphere in the brain. They communicate constantly on a daily basis throughout your thinking process. Sometimes when this communication link or connection gets weaker for some reason you may experience a memory lapse. Darting your eyes helps to strengthen this connection to jerk your memory and bring back into focus that little detail you had forgotten all along. All it takes is 5 to 10 seconds to jolt your brain. Try it. Good sleep, music, busy life and plenty of water are also factors that help in building your brainpower. It is possible to boost your brainpower at any age. Try these strategies and you would start praising your brainpower in as little as two weeks!

You probably have decided to change your attitude towards the effective use of your time. Still, you are short of accomplishing your tasks. You begin to wonder whether you have made the right decision or not. Do not lose hope and opt to go back to your old habits. You are making the correct decision. Overcoming the oppressive procrastination habit begins with a resolute choice to change. The road ahead is laden with stumbling blocks that will be extremely trying especially for someone who is used to taking the easy way out. Acknowledge the fact that it is not going to be a smooth ride to success. Knowing what you are dealing with can spell all the difference. Here are some helpful tips to achieve your goals through an effective time management:   Plan. It is your best defense against reverting to your old habits. Be specific about what you need to accomplish for a particular period. Write them all down and classify them according to the level of priority. You need to accomplish first the tasks which bear the highest priority. This way, you are able to spend much of your strength and energy on the most arduous tasks when you still have them. Later you will discover that the most difficult part is done and it becomes extremely easy for you to finish the rest of it. Practice. You need to continually develop the habit of knowing the difference between effective time management and dawdling. Planning is the easier part of the whole process. It is very effortless to jot down goals and objectives but to actually accomplish them is the test of genuine desire to change. Be wary of potential disruptions. You have to be clever enough to spot even the most minute schedule interruptions. Shake them off at once and get on with the program. It is only through good practice that you can master the art of time management. The rule is not to be impenetrable, that is too impractical. Rather, you need to know the means to effectively put into practice what you have set to do whether you will achieve it or not. Pat. Reward yourself whenever you have successfully accomplished any set goal. Do not be too hard on yourself. The point is to adapt a better understanding on the proper use of time. If you do achieve some of your goals, do give yourself a pat on the back. The fact that you have done well is already a reward in itself but you can go beyond that and indulge once in a while. Life is short to be wasted on worthless activities. Take charge of your life by taking control of your time. //

Professional growth is essential for everyone. Your quality and status of life depends on you position in your profession and financial income. Your professional growth plan would lead you to the position and income you desire so as to fulfill the dreams of your life. Your professional growth development depends upon these factors: Your ambition, your drive, your abilities and your interests. You should have a clear-cut idea about these factors so that your path towards your future becomes clearer to you. Your professional growth plans need not be complicated but you could write down simple but detailed plans so that you could eventually achieve them in time. Here are a few tips to map out your professional growth plan: Take responsibility and be in charge of your professional growth - Do not rely on others to map out your career plans. If you have a mentor or a manager to support do not hesitate to take advantage of it. But otherwise you would be better off scheduling and planning your own growth in order to reach the top. Write a list of different ways you want to grow - If you would like to stay on with the current employer and plan to grow with the company you could look for skills you need to beef up. Check you performance reviews, feedback from management and peers, any appreciation letters, awards, etc. These are some inputs that could reveal your strengths and weakness. Whether you plan to change careers or go up the ladder in the same career find someone who has tread-ed the path before you and ask them for advice. Focus on one or two areas on improving at one time. Learn to grow slowly and steadily so that you could win the race. Explore your options open before you, to learn and grow - Research your scope and options open before you. Check around the various educational opportunities, training opportunities, etc. that would help you to grow personally and professionally. Time management, leadership development and team building skills, etc. are essential for corporate promotions. Your social skills also develop along these lines. Identify suitable options that fit your needs and learning style - Each one of us is unique. We all learn in different ways at different pace. Once you explore the learning options before you, consider the methods that best suit you – Do you like interacting with others? Do you prefer to listen to classroom lectures? Are you a self-learner who learns by reading books? Are you a self-motivator? Do you have time needed to attend regular classes? How much could you spend on these programs? Does your company support your interests by paying for them? These are important points to explore. Do not procrastinate and get started - The biggest and the most common barrier to development is procrastination. We all plan and talk about our plans. But only a few stick to their plans and start off at the planned time in a planned manner. What good is it if you just plan and do not take steps to execute your plans? If you do not start, you would never succeed in your professional growth development. So start now.

Everybody wants success in life. A certain level of personal development, personal growth and self-improvement helps you to attain goals and achieve success in your life. These factors enrich your relationships, career prospects, professional success and life in general. Personal development, personal growth and self-improvement techniques are inter-related and help you to improve your personal and professional management techniques. Here are some of the important skills that help you to succeed in life: Effective communication - Communication is the key to accomplish your goals in personal and professional life. You should be able to express your ideas clearly and effectively so that others understand exactly what you want and what you are trying to convey to them. Your communication skill should include the following to be an effective one – a good vocabulary, a proper tone, proper voice modulation and the right approach. You should also develop writing skills using the same factors mentioned above. It is good to develop these - your language, speaking and writing skills, sharp listening skills and proper telephone communication. Self–confidence - Self-confidence means believing in oneself. A small boost in self-confidence allows you to take long strides towards achieving your goals in life. A lack of self-confidence hinders personal growth. If you are one with low esteem and low self-confidence you should take steps to build your self-confidence before it is too late. People who lack self-confidence tend to have self-doubt, fear, inferiority complex, etc. If you want to be successful in life you need to overcome all these negative traits. Stress management - Stress challenges everyone in life. If you buckle down under stress you would not be able to achieve anything in life. If you let stress overrule you completing even simplest tasks would pose a great challenge. There are many stress relieving techniques you could learn to overcome stress and meet life’s challenges in order to meet your goals. Positive attitude - A negative attitude stands as a stumbling block in anything and everything you do in life. It zaps the much-needed energy associated with attaining your goals. Positive attitude on the other hand keeps your creative ideas flowing and makes you feel energetic to move forward towards your goals. If you are seriously seeking improvement in these areas there are plenty of avenues to consider. Seminars and self-improvement publications, library, online resources, CDs etc. are all rich resources that help many people on their journey through personal development, personal growth and self-improvement. Develop these 4 qualities and see a sea of change in your life. These are the most important traits that could help you achieve success in all the spheres of your life. I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com

What is life without challenges and problems? Everyone faces challenges in life, regardless of age, gender, economic status, etc. Right from a young age up to a ripe old age everyone faces challenge almost everyday in life. The bigger your life’s goal, the greater is your challenge. Facing and overcoming problems require some amount of maturity, understanding and some strategy. Here are four tips to face your challenges in life: 1)  Learn to forget the problem and focus only on solutions – Well, forgetting the problem does not certainly make it disappear! But if you temporarily take your mind off the problem you would save yourself from unwanted anxiety. Unwanted stress would only lead to wasting your energy. You could instead spend that energy on looking for ways to solve the problem.   Majority of us just freeze when we are faced with challenging situations. Instead, if we could immediately look for solutions the problem may clear easily. This is not easy but with some self-awareness and positive attitude you would learn to find your way through problems. When you are challenged with a problem the next time, first set aside your emotions, understand the problem and search for a solution right away. 2)  Get help by reaching out to friends and family: Sometimes when you just let go of your ego and shame and ask for help you would be surprised at the way people receive you with love and concern. What are family and friends for? These days support groups are available online and in the community for almost every problem. You have support groups for addictions, seniors, single parents, parenting, marriage, education, health and religion… just about anything. When you have a problem do not think you are all alone. When you get in touch with these support groups you would realize that you are not the only one being tested by life’s challenges. You would share each other’s experiences and shoulder each other’s problems through these support groups. You could search for support groups in the Internet or call an expert, look in the newspapers, magazines, talk to people, etc. Support groups give a lot of strength and courage to fight your challenges. 3)  Act now! - ‘Now’ is the best time to take on your challenges. Many people think and think and think and talk about it all the while but they would not move an inch towards a solution. What good is that? When you see a challenge, take action immediately. You would waste precious time if you wait around or wait for someone else to start dealing with your issues. Build self-confidence and resilience and start to fight your problems and you would have overcome your challenge before it settles down on you! The faster you act, the speedier the problem gets solved. 4)  Practice patience and Perseverance - Nobody is a born professional at solving problems. Each time a problem challenges you it is a new experience. You could act wise by learning to be patient and persistent and practice perseverance in order to study your pattern of problems. This is a good way to draw your strategies and act accordingly. Soon you would be a master at dealing with your challenges.    I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com