Growing Up Does Not Mean Giving Up By Ronnie Nijmeh

Remember your first kiss? How wonderful it was? Even though you had butterflies in your stomach, and your heart raced a mile a minute, it was such a memorable experience. What about that first thrilling ride on a roller-coaster or blowing out all of the candles on your fiftieth birthday cake? Those moments just takes your breath away, and they warm your heart and rekindle your spirit.

These cherished moments are the fuel for our fire. They are the soothers for our souls and the band-aids for our emotional wounds. Without these unique, extraordinary experiences, we would not be who we are today. And, we would not be where we are today. Each of these fond remembrances is like a distinct fingerprint in our minds. They are special - no two are alike, and they identify specific momentous times. We merely need to close our eyes and tap into our memory banks to be reminded of the wondrous impact these memories have on our existence.

More often than not, we need these reminders of our past to help us see our future. Each and every act in our lives happens for a reason, and they all lead us to something greater. We just need to learn to read our life’s map.

To help us understand and master the ability to read our map, we should incorporate faith, positive energy, happiness, confidence, peace and motivation into our normal routine. These attributes shape our thinking and behavior. They are the drivers for our journey in life. They help to keep us whole, grounded, and on our way to bigger and better things. Without them, we can become hollow, confused, and lost.

And as with everything else in our life, we must engage and interact with our drivers to see profound results in our careers, relationships, and personal development. We need to feed the drivers and make certain that they don’t ever fade. And our memories are a wonderful source of nourishment for them.

Yet, another way to cater to our drivers is through inspiration - a consistent well of stimulation and encouragement. And an inventive, good source of incitement can be found on motivational desktops. These free motivational wallpapers represent each driver in stunning forms. The inspirational quotes provide a sort of legend, or key, to help us decipher our maps. The combination of art and words show an individual where they are, where they’ve been, and where they have still to go.

By maintaining reminders of the people we love, the accomplishments we’ve achieved, and the goals we are ascertaining, in plain view, we are exercising our drivers and launching them to new heights. And these motivational desktops are ideal tools to guide us along the way. They allow us to truly keep what’s important in sight.

If we can hang on to those little motivational treasures, our minds and spirits can take us anywhere. For some of us, our memories may not always be great, but they are ours to own. And from them, we can generate the desired outcomes. As we continue on our voyage through life, we are surely to create more memories and experiences, which we can later add to our glorious life maps. The essential part of growing up is knowing that you don’t necessarily have to give up yourself to obtain the things that you want.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=264767&ca=Self

How to Live Up to Your Greatest Potential By Yvonne Skudder

Live up to your full potential. You have the power to change your habits to acquire new skills and fully use the skills you now have. You can improve your performance, your productivity, and the quality of your whole life.

What makes a high achiever? Is it luck, intelligence, talent, dedication? All of these things figure in - they all make a difference. But we all know intelligent, talented, hard-working people who do not consider themselves very successful or even happy. And we know people who are not exceptionally bright but seem happy and successful.

So there must be something else, some secret to success. Actually there are several secrets to achieving your peak performance - living up to your full potential.

Your success at business, friendship, love, sports - just about anything you try - is largely determined by your own self-image. Your unhappiness is something you choose. So, you're thinking no one chooses to be unhappy. Well, maybe not - but you have to consciously choose to be happy, self-confident, and successful.

Happiness is elusive when we go after it directly. So is self-confidence. Both seem to be more 'side-products' than something you can achieve in and for itself. So how, then, can consciously choosing to be these things be of any value? Well, the secret is to focus on other things.

First, focus on your potential. Begin by making a complete and accurate assessment of your potential. To do this you must take an inventory of yourself - you will make a few lists. Sit down and make a list of all the things you can do well. Be honest with yourself. When that list is done, make a list of all the things you like to do, even if you think you can't do them well. Then, make a list of all the things you would like to do, if you could. Now list your hobbies.

Then, go back to the list of things you can do well. You are probably being much too hard on yourself. Most of us are. We have this little voice in our heads telling us things like: 'You're so dumb,' or 'You can't learn to do that,' or 'You never do anything right,' or similar nasty things. And even worse, we listen to that voice as if it's telling us the gospel truth. So now, shut off that voice - you can do it - and add a few more things to the list of things you can do well. Pretend you are your best friend - it's amazing how much more forgiving and charitable we are with our friends than we are with ourselves. Now that you are your best friend, you should be able to add a few more items to your 'do well' list. But do be honest - don't list things you feel you really can't do well.

Next, go to your list of things you like to do but you feel you don't do well. Speaking as your own best friend, do you think there are some things on this list that could be moved to your 'do well' list? There probably are. If you like to do it, chances are you do pretty well at it. Treat your hobby list in the same manner.

Next, go to your list of things you would like to do if you could. Ask yourself, 'Why can't I do this, if I'd like to?' Put your reasons on another list. OK. So you have a lot of lists going - what good is that going to do? Well, you have just made an assessment of yourself. If you have been truly honest in making these lists, it may even be a fairly accurate assessment. Probably it isn't, but that's OK. This assessment isn't carved in stone. It's subject to change. But for now we will work with what's on the lists. At least you have a place to start.

Look over your lists again. You are focusing on all the things you feel you can't do and the reasons why you can't do them, right? Well, don't. FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN DO - FOCUS ON YOUR POTENTIAL. Make it a habit to focus on your strengths. Don't forget to include your undeveloped potential, as well. Train yourself to focus on your potential instead of your limitations.

Once you have trained yourself to focus on your potential your journey will become a lot easier. Don't think that this part of the journey is easy, but it will be worth your while staying with it. Be very patient with yourself, take small steps and reward yourself often for achievements.

If you become aware of your thinking you will grow your POTENTIAL and with that you develop a happiness you would never have dreamed of. You also develop self confidence and a self belief that will be a foundation for life.

Resource: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=377431&ca=Self