Self Improvement Brain's Podcast

Creativity is defined as a tendency to produce new ideas, alternatives or possibilities that may be useful in problem solving, communicating with others and entertaining others and us. What motivates one to be creative? A need for novelty, a need to express one’s ideas and, a need to solve problems. How could one become creative? In order to be creative you need to view things in different perspective, approach problems in new ways, generate new possibilities for existing problems as new alternatives and express yourself in unique ways such as drawing, painting or creative writing, etc. We notice certain characteristics in creative individuals. They are: Creative individuals are calm. They are often quiet though they have a great deal of energy they are smart and naïve at the same time, they have a combination of opposite qualities such as playfulness along with discipline and responsibility along with frivolity, they alternate between reality and fantasy,they tend to carry opposite tendencies between extroversion and introversion. They may be introverts in the sense they are often quiet but they are also extroverts when they express their ideas through their creativity. Creativity is a spontaneous expression of your ideas. Everyone is creative. It is our natural state of being. But we seem to forget this when we are immersed in stress while dealing with our problems in life. Our creativity is in fact boundless. Everyone could create as much as they want to create. Creativity could be expanded by learning and development. We all are creative but when we are bound by ‘should’s as defined by other people our creativity dies down at its very origin. What are some of these conditions that are levied on creativity? You should create only when you are inspired – Creativity is a way of living and being spontaneous. How does one wait for an inspiration? Creative individuals seek out new inspiration in everything they come across – they just do not wait for an inspiration to spark their creative ideas. You should listen to others when they tell you what is best for you – a creative person is unable to stop his own creativity. It is not possible for a creative genius to just listen to anybody else because he only knows what he enjoys doing, what works well for him, etc. You should only pursue creativity as a hobby – We all are creative and we have our choices in life. If we choose to make it a full time living it is up to us. Imagine the plight of product designers for giant corporate who come up with great creative ideas for our daily use if they use their creativity only as a hobby. Well. These are only myths and these do not stop creative individuals from being creative. After all creativity is one of nature’s endowments on human beings. Who has the capacity to interfere with nature? SelfImprovementBrain.com

Wherever we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems – Nelson Rockefeller Do you currently have a lot of problems in your life? Do you think that it is too much for one person to handle all these problems? Do you think that life is unfair? If your answer is yes, then here is an important truth that you must know: The opportunities to grow and learn are hidden in your problems. Your problems are your best chance to stretch your mind and take your life to the next level. There are lessons you must learn in order to progress in your personal development quest. Problems and failures are your best teachers. To see these hidden opportunities, you must develop the right attitude. You must be grateful to all that happen to you. Everything that happens to us is happening for a reason. There is a purpose for everything. You must stop and reflect. Look for the lessons and the opportunities within your problems. To solve your problems, you must learn new skills, adapt new thought patterns, and become a different person than you were before that problem. God has crafted you for success. In the middle of every adversity lie your best opportunities. Discover it, build upon it and move forward in your journey to live an extraordinary life. You owe it to yourself to live a great life. Don’t let negative thoughts pull you down. Be grateful and open to learn and grow. Life is full of abundance. You just need to align yourself with life!

You are, at any given time, a son/daughter, sibling, parent or friend to someone else and as such, you carry on a ‘role’ that suits your relationship. When you work for someone or with someone, you are expected to put on a different persona other than these existing ones – that of being a professional. It is not as easy to be one though as being a professional doesn’t come naturally. Being a professional means that you carry a responsibility given by the company. It trusts you to do your job and to do it the best way that you can. Deadlines should be met. Work should be beyond reproach. Attitude and PR should always conform to the company’s standard. Keep this as a mantra whenever you have to do work regardless of your personal feelings. Say for example, your job is to answer questions on your company products and a customer kept on badgering you with endless questions on it. You have to be patient and answer the questions until the customer is satisfied; that’s part of your job. Retain a grip on your temper and find ways to keep your cool even if you feel like bashing the person’s head with a pipe. That’s what a professional should do. A professional should separate his/her personal feelings when it comes to business. Our natural inclination is to try and get along with everybody but in business, teamwork and friendships don’t always come together. You must be able to separate your personal relationship from that of your function as a co-worker. Much more so, if you are a supervisor or manager. The primary goal should always be on how the business will benefit or get affected by your work and/or your group’s work. So you must draw a line on what you can allow as a friend from what you have to do as a professional. For example, your work is getting affected by another employee who happens to be your friend. You might try talking to him first as a friend but if the situation does not improve and the damage is spreading, you have to bring up the matter to a superior officer. You can’t cover for him anymore; it’s not right. Remember the line of friendship and your job. That’s what a professional should do. There will be times when you will be called to task or be given more work than what you were expecting. Being a professional means that you must not take this as an attack on you personally. It’s not you, it’s the job. Use the lesson to improve yourself instead of delving in pity. That’s what a professional should do.  SelfImprovementBrain.com

Is it possible to forgive someone truly from the bottom of our heart? We could say that the ability to forgive lies in direct proportion to the degree of the harm done. Still forgiving is better than harboring enmity. When you harbor negative thoughts of revenge and harm against your enemy your enemy would not suffer from those thoughts. But you certainly would have bad effects. Your thoughts could linger in your mind and smother positive feelings. In order to replace the poison of negativity with the pure air of positive thoughts, you should consciously take the action of forgiving. Forgiveness is possible and it is necessary for your physical and mental health. Research shows that people who forgive show lesser depression, anger and stress and have more positive attitude in life. Psychologists say that forgiveness help save on the wear and tear of our organs and reduce the wearing out of the immune system. You could try these tips to forgive and forget: Learn to calm yourself: Stress-management techniques help you resolve anger. Take a couple of deep breaths when you feel anger or pain from your past memories. Instead, think of some pleasant memories. Do not expect an apology: If the other person perceives things differently he or she may not have even meant to hurt you. When you understand this possibility you also realize that the other person obviously is not going to apologize. Do not expect an apology and just let go of the incident, because it's not going to come and you would be brooding over it unnecessarily. If, the other person apologizes, you must be willing and open to accept it in order to forgive and forget and put the matter behind you. Acknowledge the benefits of forgiveness: Numerous studies have shown that people who forgive reap better health benefits, increased energy, much better appetite, and sleep. You could check health websites online that focus on this area. Do not blame yourself: You are only human and it is natural to make mistakes in life. Accept yourself first so that you do not blame yourself. If you blame yourself forgiving poses a bigger challenge and your self-confidence is lowered. First forgive yourself: Sometimes when you do not own or accept responsibility for a particular incident, you tend to blame the other person. In that case, you may be harboring anger at yourself, which you may be projecting on the other person. It would be wise for you to accept responsibility and forgive yourself first. Once you forgive yourself, you would realize that the other person is not responsible and it comes easier to forgive the other person. Forgiving makes you feel better. SelfImprovementBrain.com

Do you always try to please others in order to gain acceptance from them? Sometimes this may lead you to unhappiness and depression. It is nice to care about other people’s feelings, but you should understand that your needs are just as important. By giving more importance to others, you tend to ignore yourself as a special being. You could be considerate of others and at the same time you could be just yourself in order to maintain personal balance in your life. Have you thought about ‘being yourself?’ Being yourself is empowering yourself to improve your life and career. By being yourself you build a strong foundation of your personality and attitude. You could realize or develop your full potential by being yourself. Here are some powerful tips to learn to be you: Be a unique person. Each one of us is unique in this world. You are different from all others. You have a personality and character. Your personality has its positive and negative sides. You would feel comfortable with yourself if you accept yourself and feel safe to be who you are. Accepting yourself raises your self-confidence. So develop your individuality by accepting the fact that you are unique. Know yourself. You would know yourself if you get familiar with yourself. You must know yourself physically, psychologically and socially and in fact you should know yourself in all aspects, in all entireties. Do you know how tall you are, how much you weigh, your color of eyes, hair, etc.? You could look in a mirror and familiarize yourself to know yourself physically. How about your disposition? Are you friendly? Are you a person who likes to be alone? What are your habits? What are your strengths and weakness? You would know yourself only by observing yourself. Assess yourself. Once you get familiarized with yourself try to evaluate yourself. While evaluating yourself it is good to be open and honest. You could take the help of your close friend or relative to help you analyze and evaluate you. You would be your own critic of how you look, the way you walk, dress, speak, behave, etc. Being critical of yourself would help you improve upon areas where you feel you need to change or get better. Respect Yourself. You need to respect yourself first so that you could learn to respect others. If you have some bad qualities and you are aware of it, you do not need to disrespect yourself or hate yourself. You do not need to condemn yourself of who you are. Learn to understand that no one is perfect. You could on the other hand look at the positive side of yourself and project yourself in positive ways while working on the negative aspects. Once you understand your uniqueness, get familiar with yourself, assess and respect yourself you would be able to accept yourself. When you accept yourself you become a powerful person.  SelfImprovementBrain.com

Do you feel like you always have too much on your plate? Like your day needs to be 48 hours because: your boss requested that you walk his dog, your wife needs your sheets changed, and you still need to edit your kid’s album on Photo shop? Well, if you’re like me, your days stretch into 60 hours, right? Well, there’s a solution to that! You can prioritize. Sure, it seems simple. But choosing which to prioritize is not. The trick is to have the willpower to drop whatever is not urgent and important in your day. So how do you do the choosing? First, get a pen and paper. Or open your computer’s spreadsheet or word processing program. Make categories: “urgent and important”, “important but not urgent”, “urgent but not important”, and “not important nor urgent”. Under “important and urgent,” write down what you need to do now that is of high importance. The kind that if you don’t do tonight, you’ll get fired, or worse, your wife will make you sleep outside the house. Make sure that these are really important, that not doing this would have a big consequence. No, it does not mean the task of having to buy your wife a can of Pringles in the middle of the night. Unless she’s pregnant and you don’t want to wake up next to the dog. Next, under “important but not urgent,” write what is of great importance to you but you can do tomorrow or next week. Under “urgent but not important,” write down what you want to do today, but not really essential to survive another (normal 24-hour) day. Finally, under “not important nor urgent,” write what you honestly could live without. Next go through your list. For the ones under Category 1 (urgent and important), see how much you could squeeze today, with enough breathing space and time to sleep for 6-8 hours. Budget your day around that, and make sure you stick to that schedule. If your day still runs over, this means you need to choose some tasks and schedule them the next day. If it’s not on a deadline anyway, do so. For Category 2 (important but not urgent), schedule a maximum number of 5 tasks from this list to do daily, with the task’s deadline in mind. Make sure to make some allowance for Murphy’s Law (everything that can go wrong will go wrong), if it’s a really important task. For Category 3 (urgent but not important), if a task on the list says “send email greetings to mom-in-law (ordered by wife) today,” do it after everything else in Category 1 has been done. Unless mom-in-law’s birthday is today and not emailing will mean a World War, that is. Finally for Category 4 (not important nor urgent): Yes, you can live without checking Facebook (or your blog or whatever) today. So turn off your computer, take a bath, snuggle next to the wife, and rest well. For tomorrow, you’re doing another Category 1 list again. Simple, right? Now, all you need is the willpower to stick to the list and learn to realize that not checking Facebook today will not result in severe stomach ulcers. SelfImprovementBrain.com

Some people value spontaneity. Others crave structure. Still, it would help if you would go through life with direction, and with goals. Goals help in guiding your choices. Purpose underlines everything you do. So you’re in a new stage in your life. Either you’ve graduated from high school or college, decided to move on from a suffocating job or just basically in a new stage in your life. You want to plan out the steps you want to take now, and you want to make the best choices that life has to offer. Get a pen and paper; we have lots of writing to do. On that piece of paper, put a heading in the center: Mission/Vision. Take some time to think about this. Take hours. Days. Weeks. It doesn’t matter, but give yourself a deadline. When you have thought it over, write down what you would want to achieve by the end of your life. What do you want to build your life around? Is it to attain certain educational milestones? Earn a certain amount of money? Be a philanthropist? State it under your Mission/Vision. This will be the center theme of your life. You can change it any time you want, but the entire list will be built around this. Under Mission/Vision, divide the paper into two equal halves. One side will go to Short-term Goals. The other side will go to Long-term Goals. Under the Short-term Goals, write down everything you want to get done within five years. Under Long-term Goals, write down the milestones you want throughout your life. In the Short-term Goals, assign the deadlines by which you want these goals done. In the Long-term Goals, assign your age by which you would want to achieve these milestones. Now rewrite the entire list in chronological order, then examine your list. Commit to memory your Short-term Goals, and the Long-term Goals you have for this year. If you have trouble remembering your list, use a calendar. A paper one will do, but you can also use a computer program if you have one, or an application in whatever handheld gadget you have (a PDA or cellular phone with reminder or calendar applications would do fine). The purpose of this exercise is for you to have a visual representation of your goals. Having a visual representation of your goals heightens the chances that you will commit to seeing them done. Knowing that you have concretized your plans gives you more resolution to stick to these. But even if you have your plans on paper, you will need to remember that you have to be flexible. Life is fluid and seldom goes according to plan. But if you really want to reach your goals, despite the shifts in life, you will always revert to your “blueprint” (the paper outline you just made). Your Mission/Vision, as said earlier, will be the theme driving your choices. This will be the anchor when storms rock your life’s boat. The chain links of your anchor will be your personal values, principles, and your growth in character. It would help if you would keep a diary to outline the life lessons you’ve learned, and your driving values and principles. When faced with dilemmas, revert to these. It may not make the problems go away, but they will help in making decisions, especially if these decisions tempt you to compromise. Sail through the sea of life, and remember, you have an anchor when storms come your way. SelfImprovementBrain.com

How well do you take care of yourself? Taking care does not mean your daily routine such as brushing your teeth, bathing, cooking, TV time, etc. Taking self-care means much more than that. Could you list a few ideas? There are a lot of simple self-improvement ideas that many are not aware of. Eating a nutritious diet, pursuing your ambitions and goals, using personal time to relax, choosing friends, keeping up doctor’s annual checkups, getting enough rest, making plans for your future and amusing yourself in entertainment are all simple but important things that one could add to their own self-improvement list. Self-improvement simply means unfolding. You open up yourself with proper self-care strategies to a better quality of life. Self-improvement not only stands for what makes you feel good but also about understanding your inner self and reaching your highest self. We have had our share of responsibly in life in the past when we had given our energy, time and care and did our best for our family and our profession or job. But even as life goes on and we get older it seems like there isn’t enough time to take care of ourselves. We are still worried about our family and children and their children. Some people even feel guilty about taking care of themselves. They are torn between responsibilities at work and at home. They hardly find time to satisfy their own needs. It is important that we realize that we have a right to self-care and exercise this right without feeling guilty. Here are a few effective self-improvement strategies that you could use from today: 1. Learn to change your sad emotions into happy ones. Whenever you feel overwhelmed, instantly think of a pleasant thought. Sadness is a negative emotion. If you linger too long in it, you may fall into depression. It becomes difficult to bring you back to normal world once you settle into depression. So give no place for depression or despair. Change your negative emotion into a positive emotion every time it surfaces in your mind. 2. Realize that you and you alone had caused your present life situation. You should not blame anyone else and take responsibility for your own life. When you are aware of your responsibility you tend to make better decisions for the betterment of your life. Let go of the past and take responsibility for your future. 3. Educate yourself. There is no age restriction for education. You are more likely to learn better from books and audios after experiencing life all these years. If you could afford it, join a self-improvement program or course under experienced gurus. You could help others who are going through the same journey. These are just a few ideas that you could start implementing today. Remember, your self-improvement is in your own hands. SelfImprovementBrain.com How well do you take care of yourself? Taking care does not mean your daily routine such as brushing your teeth, bathing, cooking, TV time, etc. Taking self-care means much more than that. Could you list a few ideas? There are a lot of simple self-improvement ideas that many are not aware of. Eating a nutritious diet, pursuing your ambitions and goals, using personal time to relax, choosing friends, keeping up doctor’s annual check-ups, getting enough rest, making plans for your future and amusing yourself in entertainment are all simple but important things that one could add to their own self-improvement list. Self-improvement simply means unfolding. You open up yourself with proper self-care strategies to a better quality of life. Self-improvement not only stands for what makes you feel good but also about understanding your inner self and reaching your highest self. We have had our share of responsibly in life in the past when we had given our energy, time and care and did our best for our family and our profession or job. But even as life goes on and we get older it seems like there isn’t enough time(continued)

Do you always find yourself doing numerous tasks at the last minute? Does the sight of voluminous paperwork make you feel swamped, eventually leading you to put them off for "just a few more minutes"? Does the word deadline unfailingly give you panic attacks? If you answered in the affirmative to any of the questions mentioned above, then you are undeniably guilty of wasting a precious resource - time. Like most people, you may get a rush out of beating the clock and submitting your work, although sloppily done, on time. This chronic battle waged during crunch time invariably leads to the ubiquitous raccoon eyes and zits popping uncontrollably all over your face. And as you continue to cope with the nerve-wracking pressure of accomplishing so much in so little time, your once gentle personality mutates into a hideous monster. While there may be no getting around job orders, here are some essential tips of managing your time efficiently: 1. Write a to-do list. Keep a record of all your tasks such as school assignments, job presentations and household chores. There is something about the written word that makes it harder to ignore. This list is also an easy way for you to keep track of what needs to be done and when the due dates are approaching. 2. Prioritize. Once all the tasks are listed already, prioritize them according to their sense of urgency. Arrange the tasks whether they are due in the next few days, weeks or months. It only makes sense that a presentation due tomorrow will be given more importance than one that is due a month from now. 3. Act. Do not procrastinate. All your dreams, plans and goals are worthless if you don't act on them. Your ideas, no matter how lofty, will not come to fruition if you remain rooted to where you are. While it is true that you have a tendency, like the rest of nature, to follow the line of least resistance in surviving this challenging world, you can evolve and turn out to be way stronger than you once were. Say goodbye to stalls. Stop making alibis. Kick those innumerable excuses that hinders you from becoming a better person. Act now. 4. Tackle the toughest assignments first. When you have two or more projects to finish, try to accomplish the more difficult one first before proceeding to the next. In that way, your mind will be clearer and you will get through it more quickly. 5. Remove distractions. In order to maximize your time, you should remain focused on your tasks. This means that you have to minimize, if not totally remove, all the distractions surrounding you. Turn off the television, lower the volume of the beat blaring from the radio, tell your little siblings to stop screaming at each other and keep your mobile phone outside your reach. Do not try sneaking at your incoming text messages and tell your parents that you won't be receiving any calls for a few hours. 6. Use rewards to mark your progress. A tireless 24/7 machine you are most definitely not, so don't forget to indulge in life's little pleasures. You can set a contract with yourself that after finishing a certain work, you can pamper yourself with a manicure or a short stroll around your neighborhood. For harder tasks, you can always treat yourself to a whole body massage or foot reflexology. Always remember that every project ticked off that list brings you one step closer to a more manageable schedule. SelfImprovementBrain.com

Admit it. You are afraid. There are things that give you goose bumps, as well as make your body tremble, your palms sweaty, and your heart beats faster. These things do not necessarily mean to be real because oftentimes, you fear things that are mere creations of your ingenious imagination. Fears or anxiety, according to Freud, is a basic emotion that influences everyone's life from earliest childhood. This influence shapes your life, as you grow old. Usually, the things that you fear in your childhood are still the same things that you fear even when you get older. This only suggests that it is never easy to conquer fears especially if you don’t have a willing heart and a focused mind. Fears vary. Some of you may fear imagined objects; some fear real things and activities; and some have particular dreads (phobias). While there are some who are weird enough that they just suddenly lose out of control of their actions and reasons. You commonly know these startling out-of-the-blue-attacks of intense fear or terror as panic disorders. These usually crop up when we face danger, but sometimes, they occur without obvious reason. If that happens, you have to see a psychologist or a psychiatrist for you may be having a mental illness. Your doctor may recommend to you effective treatments like psychotherapy and behavior therapy. Your fears, as mentioned by experts, are learned response, but they can be unlearned. Doctors may expose you to your respective fears that may take place in real life or in your imagination. While there are those who will encourage you to talk with others who have the same fears as you have. Yet the best and the most effective therapy in treating fears are not those that doctors can offer. Even the most erudite doctor (may he be a graduate of am internationally acclaimed medicine school, or has received prestigious awards) cannot give you this kind treatment because no one but YOURSELF can only give you this. No one but yourself can cure your fears. If you are unwilling to be cured, then your fears will continue to linger. They will never leave your side, shocking you day by day, even in the quietness of your sleep. What do you have to do then? Here are some advice given by people who succeeded in defying their fears: “They are all in your mind. Control your mind and you’ll be able to control your fears.” — Karen, 20. “Pray. It’s the best shield when you are frightened.” — Martin, 16. “Just be bold. As Amy Tan said: Anything that cannot kill you will only make you stronger. Live with that kind of thinking.” — Rom, 21. “Occupy your mind with happy thoughts. If you are happy, you’ll forget the things that you are dreadful of.” — Sarah, 32. Your “healing” generally depends on you. It’s your choice whether you want to be cured of your fears or not. In making the decision to defeat your fears, you have to prepare your heart and mind, for their full participation is most needed. If your hearts and minds are not willing, your fears will not go away. Freedom from your fears lies in your hands and in your hands alone. Defy your fears and be free!

One of the most essential skills needed in handling people and situations is assertiveness. You are assertive if you are clear in letting others know about your expectations without any anxiety or hesitation. This is one area of development to be focused on when coaching executives. Many in management sectors confuse ‘assertiveness’ with ‘aggressiveness.’ What are some of the differences between assertiveness and aggressiveness? If you are assertive you ask people of what you want directly and openly. There is an air of reassurance and confident around you at all times. While you do ask for your wants and preferences, you make sure to respect other people’s rights and you do not expect others to know what is on your mind without expressing yourself. If you are aggressive you try to get what you want in someway or the other and you may often cause bad feelings in others. You may resort to different tactics - request, beg, entice, persuade, manipulate or threaten as your means to get what you want. In the process you do not respect others rights or feelings. You do not even look into situations that may get both sides what they want, such as win-win situations. Aggressive behavior might help one to achieve immediate or short-term results but the longer outcome is a steady decline in performance due to unpopularity and non- cooperation from others who are often victims of aggressive or bullying behavior. With the result the aggressive person ends up being over stressed and depressed. Mr. Aggressive is often not supported by his colleagues and is therefore unable to reach his goals in his career. Mr. Assertive is able to lead, direct and motivate without much of huff and puff. Since he already is clear about what he wants and is able to convince others without hurting their sentiments and feelings he is popular among employees and he gets good cooperation from his colleagues. An assertive person is able to give unequivocal direction and leadership through his positive motivational messages to his team members. As a result he is able to achieve his goals sooner and rises up the corporate ladder easily. Body language is an important factor of assertiveness. You could keep the following in mind if you would like to develop assertiveness: A warm smile or a friendly expression shows respect to your listener Maintaining eye contact shows that you are actively listening to the other person A relaxed and straight stance should be adopted during communications Your hands should be kept in an open position to show candidness. Assertiveness in appropriate situations is bound to win you friends and supporters in your career and in society. SelfImprovementBrain.com

In this podcast, you will learn how to be the change for good in your own life. Learn how to rise above the old you to a new understanding of your potential. http://SelfImprovementBrain.com “We must be the change we wish to see” – Mahatma Gandhi Do you want to change your life? How do you describe your ideal life? What are your dreams and aspirations? Have you tried a lot before to change your circumstances and improve your life without any success? What approach were you taking? Here is the best way to embrace the change you want to see in your life: Work on yourself. Become the person who deserves the position that you want to be in. You want more money… Do you have the required wealthy and abundant mentality? You want better relationships… Are you the person who people would enjoy being around? You want a better job… Do you have the skills and qualifications required for your dream job? You want better health… Are you thinking in terms of a healthy life style? Or do you just focus on diet? You can’t be rich while you have negative thoughts and beliefs about money. Whatever you aim for, you must first be the change you wish to see. You must tune yourself and be ready to receive the change you wish to see. Change starts from within. Live your life from the inside out. You must be the change.   Feed your mind with positive thoughts. Develop every day. Work on yourself. Learn and grow. You are the key. Change to see the change! Success is a journey that needs a lot of patience along the way. “We must be the change we wish to see” – Mahatma Gandhi 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