Swat that annoying habit

As you get-to-know yourself, you begin to recognize patterns.  How can you learn to distinguish between the constructive and destructive ones for you?  You may seem to fall into new jobs because you presume you'll get them, even if your qualifications don't fit the bill.  People may naturally blame you when things go wrong or, question your reliability even when your track record doesn't give them reason to think that way. Do you feel like you only do the wrong thing? Examine your mindset and swat those habits that don't help you. You have power to choose!

1) Why do you talk so much? Its possible you're a big talker yet, you may still sense that you're unable to do everything you say.  Acting as though you're 'bigger than your britches' implies you will find yourself in an embarrassing situation. As you defend ideas, be ready to live accordingly.

2) What is it about forcing the issue?  Each time you talk inventory of where you are and how you feel, identify whether you're satisfied and whether you have faith in evolving situations.  Whenever things don't feel right, it's the time to stop and re-evaluate.  People react to you in ways that reflect how comfortable you feel about yourself.  Take a cue and better equip yourself.

3) Do you assume you know it all? People you know may point helpful things out  that you failed to notice yet, you get tense.  To be responsible means you're always ready to watch and learn.  To be irresponsible would imply you disregard external input and refuse to remain open to learning lessons.  Assuming you know everything closes you off from growth and new motivation.

4) Who are your peers? If you choose company in people who criticize, belittle or otherwise harm you, then you may not know the value of true friends.  You may be on a self-defeating road.  True friends support you in all conditions and do not focus on your faults and weaknesses.  They seek to encourage you, to help you develop your skills and talents, rather than break your confidence.  If you don't yet know anyone like that, these people are "out there." It's up to you to find them.

5) How is it you dwell on guilt or sadness?  It can be tempting to get wrapped up in conflict and human tragedy around you.  Don't.  Recognize people will always be happier or worse off than you somewhere.  This doesn't beg indifference, but on some level, it does give you reason to believe you deserve what you experience.  As you learn to stop asking why me?, why not ask, why not me?  Overcome negative feelings about things you can't control.  Shape your life instead. 

Angel or devil?

Inside each of us, if we listen intently, we can hear a voice that clarifies our dreams.  Whether we choose to hear an encouraging angel or a discouraging devil determines how we perceive our life situations and courses of action we choose.  Struggles between good and evil have been described as what moves Humanity forward.  In your life, you may detect seeds of good in difficult situations.  Do angels whisper in your ear?  How else might you explain your ability to sense hope?

Although you may never have been taught that existence goes beyond what you experience now, you may sense that some external, angelic force or guide is attached to you from birth.  This angel may never abandon you completely, but may step back to enable you to face your struggles alone and build more useful skills, such as self-confidence.  What is really happening to you during hardships?

As you face discomfort, one side of your spirit may draw your attention to doubt, fear and vulnerability, all the things that reinforce uneasiness.  This side of you made initially console, but then reprimend and confuse you.  Another part of you will cause you to reflect on the basis for your attitudes to where you learn to see through them and see yourself separate from emotions that aim to control you.  This side of you discerns love and goodness.  It urges you to believe in miracles.

Guardian angels influence your intuition.  They supposedly correct your mindset when you stray from where your life path should be.  Reflect on the meaning of your nightime dreams and the impact of ideas that seem to erode your conscience.  Where do you think the ideas come from?   Would your guardian angel lead you down a dead-end road? Balance solitude and dependence.

Snow leopard without spots

Snow leopards are a dream-like species often found in central and south Asia. This endangered creature has grey-and-white fur, rosettes on the flanks and spots on its head and neck, similar to jaguars. Losing its spots would be symbolic of fear, discouragement or low confidence. What's curious is this predator is highly-adaptive and secretive about its abilities. Snow leopard often underestimate their potential and surprise themselves. They've jumped as far as 14 meters (46 feet).

People are a lot like snow leopards. Both learn through their own trials. After all, no creature is stupid. Life experience offers everyone opportunities to learn. We're all taught different things in our own time. What do you choose to see? If you put your best foot forward, you will not only show yourself what you're capable of achieving, but you will also encourage other people without really trying. Ideal moments for action begin in your head. Why not start?

If you're the type of person who is well-aquainted with your faults, recognize that each one has a strength that balances it. Rather than assume people around you have more opportunities and advantages than you, why not evolve to zero in on those qualities within yourself that you miss? Ask yourself what traits preoccupy you and consider whether it makes sense to work on them.

The snow lion's strength lies in its ability to focus accurately on its targets with skill and agility. He is flexible enough to seek out alternative paths to destinations and readily finds ways to his overcome obstacles. These animals are known to live solitary lives. Its precisely the time alone which enables learning resourcefulness, courage and self-sufficiency to facilitate their survival when the going gets tough.

Like this species, you can grow to identify what you can rely on in yourself. What are your stellar qualities? You have more assets than you realize. Being aware of what lies in your heart will fuel the determination to face unforeseen challenges.  Even if your battles last longer than expected, learn from the snow lion. Open your senses to things all around you. Its never possible to foresee everything. Learn to deal with what comes. Never permit yourself to feel discouraged.

Helen Thayer & 4 Ideas to be resilient snowballs

Helen Thayer had dreams of surviving in extreme conditions. In March 1988, this then 50-year-old New Zealander ventured out from Resolute, NW Territories, Canada, to ski alone to the North Magnetic Pole, located just south of King Christian Island. She planned to pull her supplies (160 lbs.) on a sled. Three days before departure, a local hunter gave her a black husky, named Charlie, as protection against polar bears. Many people thought she was out of her mind to undertake this solitary journey. What kinds of advice would she offer to anyone considering a harrolding undertaking or facing major life change?

1) Take a companion. Thayer admits that taking a companion on a long trip gave her someone to talk to, helped her put things in perspective, and keep her sanity in check. It was a grueling journey where she and her dog fought off polar bears, barely escaped drowning, and survived storms. Yet, whenever an obstacle arose, they faced it head-on, and triumphed. They learned to believe in themselves by believing in each other. No matter who you are, you can also do this.

2) Adapt to life's curves. During her journey, Thayer found inspiration to write a book entitled, Polar Dream. She detailed how she coped with unexpected hardships by learning to anticipate, tolerate and grow from harsh conditions. She chose to nurture confidence and esteem so she felt stronger and more capable. When things don't go your way, do you bounce back or do you fall apart? Resilient people harness inner strengths and tend to rebound more quickly from a setback or challenge. Adapting won't necessarily erase problems. Yet, you can develop the ability to see past them, to savor challenges and handle future stressors better.

3) Keep faith. Close to the end of her gruelling journey, a gale blew away most of Thayer's remaining food supplies. As the result, during the final week of her journey, her daily ration was only a handful of walnuts and a pint of water. Nonetheless, she tended best she could to her own needs and feelings, both physically and emotionally. She demonstrated determination to grow. She suggests that when you're in the middle of a crisis, regardless of where, it only seems as though things will never improve. Although you can't change events, you can look hopeful toward the future. Believing things happen for a reason may also help sustain you.

4) Work toward goals. After 364 miles, 27 days, Thayer and Charlie were picked up as frozen snowballs at their destination. Being results-oriented, they endured hardship, loss and stress. They also learned to trust each other to solve problems, make sound decisions and manage situations with renewed optimism. In your case, evolve to do things daily that give you a sense of accomplishment. Recognize you change throughout your journey to a given destination. You are stronger than you think. Goal-setting and taking steps forward will invite progress and gratitude.

Steve Jobs & 4 Strategies to stay hungry & quirky

Steve Jobs never graduated from college, but he nurtured big dreams. From age 20, he build a computer career from the ground up in his parents' garage to where Apple computer has 4000 employees and continues to develop. What is it that awakens in such a person to compel extraordinary efforts and experiences that are rare for most people?What is it that leads a savvy entrepreneur to inspire a generation of innovators? Steve Jobs' life choices are a source of inspiration no matter what your life phase or job focus. Reflect why he encourages us to do what it takes to stay perpetually hungry and quirky:

1) Pursue your passions. Life experience can be ugly or even seem to whack you like a brick. Whatever happens, don't lose faith in yourself. Stay hungry to discover and build on what you love. Work and relationships will only ever be truly satisfying if you're honest with yourself and others. To do great work requires passion. If you haven't yet found that thing that gets you, keep looking. Don't settle. When it comes to love, you'll sense it when you find it. Great relationships, like good wine, simply improve as time passes. The best are worth waiting for. Life happens when you're focused on other things.

2) Do meaningful things during the time you have. don't waste time you've been given living someone else's life. Don't get trapped in other people's thinking or view of what's best. Don't let the noise of others' opinions block the advice of your own inner voice, as quirky as your ideas may seem to others. Most of all, nurture the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They already have insight into what you want to become and who would help you transform. Everything else is less important. Make the most of your time to enrich your life.

3) Don't be afraid to start again from scratch. Being successful in a team with diverging interests was stressful and burdensome. It was tough to live up to expectations balance. Steve embraced being fired and welcomed the freshness of starting from scratch again, less sure about everything. It freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. Within five years, he launched a company called NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman whom he married. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and became the most successful animation studio ever. In a remarkable, unforeseen turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, Steve returned to Apple, and tech developed at NeXT became the core of Apple's comeback. Amidst positive developments, Steve had a new family. This renewed his creative energy.

4) Live Each day as if it was your last. This doesn't mean to drink and eat yourself senseless or do things you would later regret. It implies its desirable to live life to the fullest, whatever this means to you in the 'here and now'. In 2004, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a rare pancreatic cancer and was told he had little time to live. As luck would have it, it turned out this was a rare operable cancer and Steve lived. He admits his brush with death taught him valuable lessons about appreciating each moment. No one escapes death, but the fear it triggers often leads to positive change. Clear out what's unnecessary in life to make way for essentials.