Being Appreciative Can Lower Your Stress

appreciate

Did you know that when you appreciate the small items in your life, you are less likely to be stressed out? It makes sense when you think about it. People who are high-strung will get upset about every little item. They don’t appreciate these aspects, and it causes them to blow up at every opportunity they get.

Contrast this with people who appreciate the small things. They aren’t going to let little situations bother them. In fact, it’s those little things that they learn to enjoy and embrace. For instance, at work suppose there is a problem with the shipment of an order. The high-strung individual is going to blow things out of proportion and yell at everyone to get it fixed. The appreciative person is going to calmly figure out how to solve the problem and work with people to make the situation right. They will also think it’s not that big of a deal and is happy to have the job they have.

Who would you rather associate with, the high-strung person who doesn’t appreciate anything or the person that appreciates everything? It’s likely you chose the appreciative person. This person will also be able to handle major issues since he or she is at ease handling the minor ones.

It is true that appreciative people have lower stress than people who are not. However, this is not a way to reduce stress completely. Appreciative people still need to eat correctly and exercise well. These people are probably already doing that because they love life and want to prolong it. Even if there is room for improvement in that area, appreciative people will quickly adapt because they have the right attitude.

If you are hot-headed about every little item, it’s time to reevaluate this stance. Be grateful for what you have and who you have. When you take the time to be grateful, you will start to relax as a byproduct of this change. You’ll stop jumping to conclusions, and you’ll look for ways to solve problems in a relaxed manner.

You can also use exercise and relaxation techniques such as meditation and massage. Keep trying different ways to relax but above all, be appreciative of your entire life. Others will be attracted towards you as they key off your positive energy. They will also be more willing to follow your lead.

To your success

Michael W

Michael W

P.S. If you are looking for a confidence program that can help you with your self development. Send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com to request a copy of my “Maximum Confidence Transformation Package. Afterwards we can arrange a discovery telephone call to discuss the package and how you can benefit further from developing your confidence level.

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Learn the Reasons Why You Don’t Trust Yourself

trust

Many people don’t trust themselves for one reason or another. If you include yourself in this group, ask yourself why. Knowing the cause can help you break the issue down and begin to change. Once you discover the problem, you will be well on your way to learning how to trust yourself.

Start with your childhood. No, this doesn’t mean you have to spill your guts to a shrink lying on a couch. However, if you think back to your childhood, it can give you some clues as to why you have developed a distrust of yourself. Perhaps your parents were distrustful of themselves. It could also be siblings or other relatives. The purpose is not to blame them. Just recognize that it happened and use it to move forward.

Do you find it difficult to trust others? It’s a situation that causes you to be in a constant mode of distrust. It isn’t too much of a stretch for that mode to extend to you. Therefore, you have to learn how to start putting trust in other people. Most people will appreciate you for it.

Are you an overly sensitive person? If so, this could cause you to be mistrustful of yourself. You may take what others’ say out of context. That is because of your sensitive nature. It’s not wrong to be sensitive. You just have to realize that it can cause you to misread what others are saying or feeling.

Putting your trust in others is sometimes going to backfire. Some people are simply not trustworthy. They may even put on a front that they are. You should accept this as a part of life, and try not to project experiences from a few onto other people. Otherwise, you are going to continue to maintain your wall. This wall will make it difficult for you to trust others as well as yourself.

Another reason for not trusting yourself is that others don’t trust you. If you are not trustworthy, how can you expect to trust yourself? You may not even realize this is happening. You may think you are doing right by others when in fact, you aren’t. Ask for an honest assessment as to whether your friends and family feel you are trustworthy. That can be a hard pill to swallow, but it will offer great insight. Try not to get upset if people tell you that you aren’t trustworthy. It’s a learning experience.

To your success

Michael W

Michael W

P.S. If you are looking for a confidence program that can help you with your self development. Send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com to request a copy of my “Maximum Confidence Transformation Package. Afterwards we can arrange a discovery telephone call to discuss the package and how you can benefit further from developing your confidence level.

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It’s Natural for People to Make Mistakes

mistakes are not failures

Have you ever made a mistake? It’s not likely that you went as far in your life without making any mistakes. Most people (if not all) make them. Also, they will continue to make them. It’s part of the human experience.

Sometimes, people make mistakes that will put you in difficult positions. For instance, suppose you own a company and one of your workers mistakenly misrepresented your company. You know that your company is responsible for that misrepresentation. The person may not have known they made a mistake.

Your first reaction may be to fire the person. In some cases, you would be justified in doing so. However, did the person have the necessary knowledge to prevent him or her from misinforming others? If not, you need to consider that regarding the situation.

If people deliberately took adverse action, then that is a different situation. If they did know what they were doing, and they had malicious intent, then you are within your right to let them go. You should make sure that they were acting maliciously, however.

There are no easy answers when people make major mistakes. They may not be able to make it right, either. You will be left to deal with the consequences. It is easy to lash out at the person responsible. Of course, you should give them the opportunity to rectify it if they can.

The way some people deal with the situation of others making mistakes is to reflect on their own mistakes. This way, you can empathize with them. When that happens, you’ll be less likely to lash out at them and make the wrong decisions.

There are situations where people make the same mistakes repeatedly, even when you give them guidance on how not to make those mistakes. That is tough as these people may not be acting maliciously but may not have the ability to change. For instance, not everyone is cut out with their chosen vocations. In these situations, you need to weigh whether the mistakes they make have a serious impact. Even small impacts can add up when repeated.

When people make mistakes, and you forgive them, they will be appreciative. Many of these people will use your forgiveness as a means to grow. They become better people because of it. You will feel good knowing that these people have used the situation to their advantage.

To your success

Michael W

Michael W

P.S. If you are looking for a confidence program that can help you with your self development. Send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com to request a copy of my “Maximum Confidence Transformation Package. Afterwards we can arrange a discovery telephone call to discuss the package and how you can benefit further from developing your confidence level.

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Why It Is Important to Believe in Yourself

believe in yourself

You may wonder why it is important to believe in yourself. The simple answer is that no one else will. Your spouse and your family will believe in you to a certain extent. However, when times get tough, family support tends to wane. It’s not that they don’t love and care about you. It’s just they stopped believing in you.

While this doesn’t always happen, it happens often enough to cause conflict. An example is when a spouse or parents initially give you support on a new venture. When the venture doesn’t work out as they believe it should, they start to question whether you should continue with it. If your belief starts to weaken, you may take on their way of thinking.

The reason beliefs start to weaken is due to a fear of the unknown. When you start a new venture, everyone is excited for you and will tell you to give it your best shot. However, when the prospects of the business become murkier, that excitement turns to fear.

The problem is the path towards success for these ventures is not a straight line up. Having some bumps in the road is normal. In fact, this is what defines the success of the enterprise, and the people who are taking risks. It should be welcomed and not feared.

The fear of the unknown may start to creep into your psyche. It’s easier to listen to your family and friends tell you to dissolve your venture because it is failing. They will continue down this negative path until you decide to stop. If you do choose to give up on your business, they will tell you that it wasn’t meant to be and that starting a business is difficult.

That time is precisely the moment that you shouldn’t stop. People never get ahead by quitting. If you believe in yourself, you would have had the conviction to see it through. You would have the appropriate guidance to give you strength to surge ahead. You could have done all of it while telling your family and friends to have some faith. A firm belief in yourself would give you the courage to stand up to them.

Whatever venture you decide to pursue, know that only by continuing will you make it work. Think of Thomas Edison’s contribution to the lightbulb. While he did not invent the lightbulb (contrary to popular belief), he made ones that lasted longer. Imagine if he decided to quit after he ran into a few stumbling blocks early on.

To your success

Michael W

Michael W

P.S. If you are looking for a confidence program that can help you with your self development. Send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com to request a copy of my “Maximum Confidence Transformation Package. Afterwards we can arrange a discovery telephone call to discuss the package and how you can benefit further from developing your confidence level.

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Using Social Media to Be Appreciative

social media

Social media has invaded everyone’s lives. People are willing to share many aspects of their lives on social media, from cute pictures of their cats, to what they had for breakfast. While not everyone appreciates these constant updates, when used correctly, social media can be a great way to show the world all the small things that you appreciate.

If you have never used Pinterest before, start setting up boards about your favourite items. It could be songs of your favourite bands. If you have great recipes that you have tried in your past, create a board for that. You can even set up some of your boards as group boards. You then invite others to post on your boards. The advantage of this is you can find ideas of what others enjoy. You can control who is allowed to join to prevent spammers from infiltrating your boards.

If you insist on posting every meal on social media, consider using Twitter to do this. It’s a more forgiving platform as the messages pass through quickly and only contain a small number of characters. Your friends on Facebook are probably not as receptive. Now you know.

While it’s great to show your appreciation for the small things using social media, make sure you have the rights to post what you post. People and companies take copyright infringement seriously and posting any picture on a whim can get you into serious trouble. The fines can be hefty, and there have been instances of criminal actions taken against perpetrators. If you search on Google for images and you don’t know whether it’s okay to use them, likely it’s not. Don’t take this issue lightly.

You also want to make sure you have permission to post pictures of people. If they are people you know, you can simply ask them with a verbal confirmation. If you wish to post people you don’t know, make sure you get a signed release that it’s okay to use their image. Never use people’s images in a negative light. You wouldn’t want them doing that to you so they won’t appreciate it either.

Be respectful of what you post on social media. Some media channels may allow you to post inappropriate material, such as nude pictures, etc. However, just because the particular channel allows it doesn’t mean you should engage in the practice. If it’s not something you are willing to show to your mother than that is probably a good indication it should not go onto social media.

To your success

Michael W

Michael W

P.S. If you are looking for a confidence program that can help you with your self development. Send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com to request a copy of my “Maximum Confidence Transformation Package. Afterwards we can arrange a discovery telephone call to discuss the package and how you can benefit further from developing your confidence level.

Feature photo used under CCO and available at https://pixabay.com/en/mobile-phone-smartphone-keyboard-1917737/