Pre-paid funeral madness

You may dream of organizing everything about your life so that it’s neat and tidy. Some people, regardless of age, like to think all details they can control will be covered, and this includes pre-organized funerals. Thus, that eventual happening can go on schedule, according to specifications of the deceased.

Consider that with over 200,000 cemeteries in the United State, many cemeteries operate through volunteer boards of directors and one or two employees. There are also about 25,000 funeral homes, where the vast majority of cemeteries and funeral homes (~87%), are small businesses and family-owned operations.

Fraud runs rampant in the prepaid funeral business. The government has issued warnings to protect the naive, the elderly and anyone who might think they're a good idea. Many companies sell services they never intend or don't have the capacity to make good on, and prepaid funerals, along with pet cemeteries, have become highly-suspicious. Do your homework. If 9-11% of Americans polled purchase prepaid funerals and over 2,000,000 people die in the U.S. per year, this can lead to a considerable amount of money. What research have you done?

Even if you choose a legitimate firm, a prepaid funeral doesn't necessarily make financial sense. Consider the numbers. The average pre-paid funeral costs $5,000. If you that money and invested it at 9%, in 17 years that could become over $20,000. If funeral companies claim interest made from prepaid funerals offsets inflation, just think what you could be doing with that money yourself.

Buying a prepaid funeral package locks you into the exact funeral arrangements stipulated in the contract you sign up for. In the meantime, life happens and things change. What if you move? Why lock into your funeral arrangements with certainty when you embrace your live now with its unknowns? Perhaps now is the perfect time to review life on your terms. Consider your age, financial situation and your priorities.  If your estate is put in order in a written will, you can redefine what it means to be in the land of the living.  No need to rush prepaid funeral decisions.

Uncharted territory

We all develop a sense of success to the point where we understand whether we experience that or not and what we did to get there. You may desire to repeat what you’ve done already to achieve those positive feelings again, and to avoid choices that had undesirable results. Then again, some of your less than ideal outcomes may cause you to take new approaches in the same direction and become even more determined in your future quests. Rejecting everything about your past wouldn't permit you to improve on what you now know or make new progress. 

During different initiatives, I've experienced both a sense of success and a sense of failure. One of my most greatest lessons is that I have opportunities to gain insight from all experience and I realize what I initially understand as failure can also be seen as a blessing. Much depends on how I choose to see my circumstances and how much I desire to grow. I’ve come to realize why it’s useful not to take perceived failures too seriously or permit them to control my frame of mind. It’s wise not to permit ego to inflate about successes either. Remind yourself that nothing lasts forever and resting on your laurels doesn‘t get you very far. I enjoy a sense of success, and learn from that, too, and move on to apply my new knowledge to new and uncharted territory.

What's vital throughout our life experience is that we choose to keep improving from wherever we are and however we perceive our baseline. No matter where you are in your life, keep honing your skills. Keep striving to discover and develop your abilities. Don't let the low or slow times hold you down. Choose instead to seek meaning in everything, from your current conditions, hopes and fears to the difference between your expectations and the results of your efforts. How you perceive determines what you believe you can do.  Are you willing to examine and bring about change in your beliefs when you discover they hold you back?

Learn from your freedom of choice to change parts of yourself. You could alter your attitude toward and about the world around you.  How would this affect your understanding of success? Dare to develop the courage to reach new heights of self-awareness and a sense of self-worth. You’ll know when you’re ready to explore new paths and opportunities that you think could work.   At that point, you’ll trigger your own revelations and continue to weave your future.

Golden nuggets of encouragement

You may not realize it yet, but encouraging other people is also a way to encourage yourself.  Personal growth and self-improvement are worthwhile goals because the related confidence and self-esteem that ensues trickles over into other areas of your life and generates the energy you benefit from to move ahead. Consider these golden nuggets of encouragement. You're reminded that what goes around will bounce back and enrich you, if only you believe in the power of shared goals.

1) Highlight what people do well. Anyone can criticize or correct in ways that make people feel bad, but what does that really achieve? Everyone makes mistakes. That's human. The question is, what do we learn from it? Find ways to boost esteem that inspire people to sharpen goals to do better next time. How you choose to raise awareness can also motivate others while it also energizes or rejuvenates you. Sharing your own lessons learned also has potential to be mutually-benefical.

2) Identify ways to move ahead. It's common for people to shy away from or refuse change, but dismissing ideas without consideration could be foolhardy. Inviting comments from others can enable you to better yourself and whatever projects are on hand. The fact you appreciate outside views reveals you respect and value others which is likely one of your goals to experience. Each person has capacities to grow to become a better person. As you welcome constructive advice, you'll expand your potential and reveal how people could benefit from similar initiatives.

3) Compliment others. To recognize talents and skills in other people enables them to feel good about themselves. Praising accomplishments and sharing a sense of excitement will attract emotions and experiences in positive ways. Building friendships based on honesty and sincerity is another way to build inner strength you can apply to be productive throughout your life. This can be a refreshing experience that spreads in people, teams and vision. Sensing optimism will reflect back.

4) Take pride in all outcomes. Victory is a state of mind. As you express how and why individuals seem to progress in areas of interests, you discover you have power to build confidence. You can express gratitude for efforts exerted by others and draw attention to the experience they obtain, no matter what the end result. This shows people that they create and shape their own expectations.

5) Grasp that "feeling right"starts inside.When you demonstrate to people the big benefits of nurturing self-growth, they will gain new impetus to explore ways to learn themselves. As you choose to inject enthusiasm into everything you do, this attitude will prove contagious. The idea of overcoming experiences that seem threatening begins with the outlook that you can do it. Teach this and you'll believe in it too.

End your confusion

Confusion is explained by the sources of your fear. In order to end confusion, you must take steps to explore your inner self and learn not to be afraid. Doing new things entails risk. Fear is the reason for all experiences you create or avoid, the risks you're afraid to take and the risks you're afraid not to take. What kinds of illusions do you devise to convince yourself taking a chance wouldn't be worth it? You may be the sort of person who would choose to isolate yourself to preserve and protect the person you think you are. Yet, part of you fears to remain that way or you wouldn't contemplate change.

What if I told you that the very things you devise in your mind are the kinds of experiences you'll get? That is, if you choose to fear the consequences of taking a risk, you will either take the risk and suffer the consequences you imagine, or avoid the risk altogether and suffer results of that. If you're convinced you'll experience uncomfortable or undesirable things, then you invite them in. At the same time, the opposite is also true. Envisage positive developments and they will materialize.

As you evolve to be willing to take risks, this reflects new self-awareness and desire to confront fear. It is also an indication of maturity and eagerness to learn. Each of us can act to gain a clearer sense of our perceived abilities, what we think we can do, and what we hope to do. This is itself a learning process. At different stages of your life, your thinking and perception may differ. Every tentative feeling is a mark of underlying fear that we can evolve to admit and confront in order to move forward. Do you feel really confused yet?

You have many options that encourage your personal growth and development of emotional intelligence. Some people attend school or participate in conferences and meetings. Other people choose to meditate. You may start by simply making new choices about how you'll view issues or obstacles in your life. If you're serious and commit to learn what it takes to understand risks and how you feel about them, you can reach out to people and resources to find assistance wherever you are.

To end your confusion, begin by acknowledging when and why you harbour fear inside. Fear doesn't have to be seen as a negative emotion. Why not choose instead to consider it as a stepping stone to healing and greater fulfillment? Fear is an outlet through which you can vent and release negative thoughts, self-doubt and destructive energy. That makes it a very positive thing. It enables you to rid yourself of negative energy and emotions, and better understand yourself. You have incentive to learn to deal with confusion and the fear that lies behind it. You'll evolve to live a more meaningful life and feel ready to take risks that enrich all you are.

Keeping promises

The ability to keep a promise is not only reason to feel good about yourself, but also reason for other people to develop trust in you. Promises come from inside yourself. They can be a source of motivation and energy. Your decision to keep or break them reflects part of your character.  Your behaviour also reveals things about your hopes and fears that you may not yet be aware. 

Life experience is meant to help you learn not to promise the impossible. Redefine your limits if you promise more than it turns out you can. This is a learning process. As we learn to promise less and surpass expectations, this will leave a better impression, and boost more confidence than if we're not following through. It's in your interest and in the interest of others, that you take your promises seriously. Consider the basis for business contracts, long-term relationships and spiritual growth are all intricately linked to learning how to make and keep promises.

Be considerate : If a friend promises to meet you in the park after school, and doesn't show up or offer any explanation why, then you may not see this friend in the same way as before. No matter what your age or circumstances, when you promise to be somewhere, imagine you're the person waiting and treat him or her with respect. Things may cause you to be late. Tell people.

Be realistic : If a boss gives you an assignment and you promise to submit it by an unrealistic deadline, you both benefit if you re-negotiate a new deadline you will meet. Your reputation will be built on your track record, on your ability to admit mis-judgments and how you rework them.

Be disciplined : If you promise to devote more time to your own relaxation and balance, and you don't, it's difficult to trust yourself to keep other promises, such as to exercise, rest well and eat right. Remind yourself your discipline (or disregard) also sets examples for friends, children, family and strangers. You wouldn't wish to be caught as a hypocrite saying, "do as I say, not as I do."

Be cautious : If you confide in your brother and he shares your intimate story with others, then this should indicate it wouldn't be prudent to trust him with other private details. Experience and intuition help to guide your views about with whom it's appropriate to share you inner self.

Be specific : If you promise to contact more sales prospects, this carries less of an impact than promising to come through with measurable financial results on a timeline. Effort is required for results, but promising only efforts will yield only efforts.

If you have been making promises to yourself and to others, but find you have been unable to keep them, identify whether what held you back was or wasn't within your control. Making a promise is a big commitment which itself deserves praise. How you evolve to respond to unforeseen obstacles and pressures reveals whether you'll focus on excuses and complaints or contributions that bring you closer to keeping promises. If you don't make valiant efforts, the biggest loser will be you; your conscience and how you're perceived by others in the future.