12 Ways to Spark Your Creativity

By Perry Hua

Photo: img.scoop.it

The Creative You

Everyone is born creative. The boxes of crayons in kindergarten were not limited to those who possessed potential; because the truth is, everybody has potential. People appear to have the delusion that only a few are capable of creative genius. This is one of life's biggest myths. The truth is, creativity is very much like a muscle; everyone has the ability, but some people don't practice it because they don't believe they are capable.

You know this isn't true. By now you should realize that nothing is impossible, the thought of you creating something amazing and inspirational is only a matter of steps away. If you've tried to create something in the past and it didn't work out, maybe it's because you were trying too hard. Creativity is a matter of doing, not a process of thinking. Learn to be spontaneous to be able to bring ideas to fruition, and don't be afraid to make mistakes.

Below are some ways you can unleash the creativity within yourself.

Explore the Possibilities

Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.
~Scott Adams

#1. Exercise. Take a walk. Run a mile or two. Send all those endorphins coursing through your veins. Exercising certainly clears and relaxes your mind and allows for anything to pop up.

#2. Record your dreams. Those dreams may just create a creative spark in you.

#3. Discover your own style. People will welcome your originality more because it is uniquely yours. Being unique will allow people to see how important an asset you are.

#4. Don't hide behind fancy gadgets or tools. The true artist in fact reduces the number of tools he has, as he gets better at his craft: he knows what works and what don't and only uses the few perfect tools. Technology has negative effects so use it sparingly.

#5. Nothing will work without passion. What wakes you up in the mornings? What keeps the flame burning? What is the one thing that you'll die if you don't do? Sometimes you just want something so bad you become a virtual unstoppable. And that is passion. Passion will keep you going.

#6. You can't force inspiration. It hits when you least expect it to. For those unpredictable yet inevitable moments, you should prepare.

#7. Read everything you can -- good and bad, and keep your mind open to the never-ending potential of the universe. The more you know, the more you will desire to know, and the more your sense of wonder will be exercised.

#8. Focus on a creative activity everyday. Even doodling is a creative activity. Constantly write, it will help you get your ideas out.

#9. Think outside the box -- or don't. Sometimes, constraints are in reality a good thing. Boundaries discipline you to work within your means. They allow you to be more imaginative. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.

#10. Attempt something new on a daily basis and let your experiences extend your point of view. Open up to the people around you. As you push yourself out of your comfort zone further and further every day, your sense of adventure grows and so does your passion for life.

#11. Follow the beat of your own drum. Allowing for the suggestions of others will only bring disharmony to the music you are trying to create. If you have a unique idea, don't squander your time and effort trying to make people appreciate it. The help you will get in all probability comes in the form of negative feedback, which only means you're doing something right.

#12. Embrace insanity. The thing is, sanity or being ordinary limits people to think... well, normally. Creativity is for all intents and purposes breaking through barriers. It's important that your creativity doesn't get you detached from the real world completely.

Get To It!

I trust this article has encouraged you to start thinking further than your "limits." If you follow these steps soon you'll be living a fulfilling life out of the ordinary adventures. Unleashing your creative thinking will bring about a new passion for living life. As this new fervor begins to develop, so will your creativity - the two are dependent upon each other.

***Perry Hua is an aspiring writer in the field of personal development and is passionate about helping others improve themselves. Read more from Perry Hua at http://www.ithuit.com ***

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How To Successfully Change Your Thought Patterns

By Kirstin Lee Odonovan  

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It has also been scientifically proven that our thoughts directly influence our lives and there is a wealth of information that can be found warning every one of the dangers of thinking negatively, and rightly so! Your thoughts affect your current health, your successes in life, your relationships, your finances, they influence everything. Your current reality is a mirror of the beliefs and thoughts you hold. Just by changing the way you think, you can change your life.
You have infinite power within you to influence your results and you would be naïve not to harness this power. Researchers have shown us that we have on average between 50 000 to 70000 thoughts a day! How many of those thoughts are empowering you and how many of those thoughts are limiting you? It becomes clearer every day that positive thinking is not a sheer luxury but a must if you want to feel fulfilled and happier in life.
The results you have in your life now are come from your past thoughts. Very often, past thoughts become a vicious cycle in undermining current and future results. For example, imagine you are struggling in your business, you are not aware but every second thought you have is something like `I will never be successful` or `my business is going to collapse in a few months´ or ´I am a failure, I knew it´. What really plays out now is that your thoughts connect to emotions, bad thoughts leads to bad feelings and you act on your feelings. In this example, the business owner would make very different business decisions and take very different actions depending if he felt positive or not.
Unfortunately, because he believes he will fail, he will most likely fail and he will mostly think that he was right too to be negative, which then reinforces this false belief and the cycle continues.
Because our thoughts are on automatic, most of the time we are not even aware we are having them. The first step is to become aware of the types of limiting thoughts you often have. Once you are aware of how many negative thoughts you have, you want to start to change the neurological patterns that have been formed. The more of the same thought you have, the more energy you are giving it and the more you are reinforcing that thought pattern. The neurons group and come together and are then more prominent in your awareness.
Simple Steps To Successfully Change Your Thought Patterns
• Identify - First you want to identify and acknowledge what types of thoughts you regularly have
• Awareness - The next steps is to create awareness around the thought. You want to understand where this thought/belief originates from. For all your negative thoughts, ask yourself if this is a belief or is it a fact, if it is a belief, how will you change it to empower you now?
• Replace - Now you want to replace this thought to one that is positive and will empower you.
• Repetition - You want to repeat the new thought in your mind so that now you are redirecting your energy to a positive thought and you are creating a new pattern.
Every time you think that thought, you are reinforcing it.
You need to repeatedly re-direct your thoughts to the positive one every time. The substance that keeps the associated thoughts together doesn't have unlimited supply so the good news is that after a lot of repetition, the old neurons start to disconnect and the new positive thought patterns replace it.
Change does not happen overnight and unfortunately, there is no magic pill you can take to see results instantaneously. It takes effort, time, commitment and perseverance, but with anything in life, these are the key ingredients to successfully make the changes and achieve what we desire.
You can also try:
• Distancing - this is when you just let your thoughts slip past you without giving too much attention to them at all.
• When you are aware that you are thinking negatively, tell the voice in your head ¨to shut up¨ or ¨sshh¨
• Do something active - If you feel like you are in a negative thinking rut and you can´t refocus, starting moving and do something active, this will help you to be distracted and change your focus for awhile.

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LASIK Surgery

by jaida

Photo: drsondheimer.com

Are you tired of wearing contact lenses and eyeglasses just to correct your vision? Why not try having the LASIK surgery. It's the most advance procedure for eye problems like nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism.

Normally the method will take 8 to 20 minutes.

Most patients were happy about the result. To avoid dryness, they are advised to have a lubricant permanently placed. That's one of the post surgery side effects. Their vision feels 20/20. It will only change a bit when you turn 40.

The consultation most of the time is free. A patient undergoes a thorough screening if he is qualified or not.

The method is safe and it does not hurt. It is stitch free. It does not need any anesthetic.

It is recommended that one must choose the most sought after doctors who have the most expertise on this field.

We want to have the excellent patient care prior and after the surgery.

LASIK has a permanent improvement. It will help you save a lot of money from prescription updates and fashion of wearing eyeglasses in the future.

It will be a lot of comfort for you without the need to clean any contact lenses. You can now enjoy life again.

for more info. about the procedure just visit: http://www.drsondheimer.com

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5 Tips On How To Be Successful In Your Chosen Career

By Lesley A Knowles  

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Being successful in your career is a significant part of personal development. It can make you feel happy and fulfilled which can affect how you perceive the world with you in it. Your happiness at work could also positively affect your overall happiness in life and even the people around you.
But what does it mean to be successful in a job or career? For some, it is about being able to do their jobs well. For others, it is getting the highest salary and position their jobs could offer. Whatever success means, one thing is for sure. It takes a lot of hard work to get it.
Although, it is natural that you would want to take the easiest, smoothest and fastest road towards a successful career, the path that you are heading towards may not always be as smooth as you want it to be. There are times when the road will be bumpy and rough. Here are some tips to help you achieve your career ambition.
1. Grab every opportunity to stand out. Like in many aspects of life, a successful career is not very easy to attain. However, this could actually work to your advantage. If being successful is just an easy thing to do, then everyone would surely be doing it, living you with no room to show your skills and stand out. As mentioned earlier success at work requires hard work and because many people aren't hard workers, you have all the opportunity to be noticed and excel.
Don't just perform your job, but really strive hard to do it well. Always put your best foot forward and make sure all of your efforts count to ensure the quality of your work. This is one of the best ways to stand out and become indispensable in your company.
2. Love your work. Don't be one of those employees that constantly complain about their work, boss or co-workers. It's not like you don't have the right to complain. But if you think your complaint is legitimate, then follow proper company protocols. If what you are griping about doesn't really matter, then might as well drop it. Or better yet, you could always quit if you don't like your job.
In order to be successful in whatever you do, you must make sure that you're passionate about what you're doing. Otherwise, any efforts to be successful in your career is likely to be a waste of your time.
3. Believe in yourself. If you believe that you can be successful, then you will become motivated to make your ambitions come true. But self-confidence is not enough. What you need to do is set your goals and come up with an action plan. You've got to take action to see the realization of your dreams.
4. Don't stop learning. Once you've mastered how to do your job well, start taking some time to understand and learn the position that you are aiming for. So that when your boss needs to fill that position with someone who already knows the job, your name will be on top of the list.
5. Always seek for feedback. If your boss or supervisor fails to give you feedback on your work, then ask for it. This will give you a clearer picture of what you need to keep up and improve about your work.

There are other ways to achieve success in your career. One of these is to learn how to increase productivity. Visit the Dynamic Productivity website to know more about it. While you're there, please feel free to sign up for our 7-day Dynamic Productivity eCourse for free.

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How to Win When You Lose

By Terrie Schauer  

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Things were going pretty well: I was up by 8 points (I think) in a no gi Ju Jitsu match. I checked the clock a couple of times during the match, when I could steal a look. The girl I was fighting was squirmy, but everything was going according to plan. I transitioned from mount to side control and then back to mount again.
"This no gi thing takes energy," I can remember thinking. "Let me just run down the clock."
No luck there. With less than a minute left, the squirmy girl swept me, got mount, and was fiddling around for my arm. OK - she just scored 4 points, I thought. No problem: only 20 seconds left. Easy stuff to resist for such a short time in a bad position.
I can remember thinking: "Good thing I scored early. She can only win by submission now. And that won't happen. I can just sit here."
And sit there I did, under her, as she worked to free my arm, as I felt her leg go over my face, and then as my grip on my own hand start to slip. Thirteen seconds is too long to resist an arm-bar when you've lost your grip on your other hand. Just in case you didn't know. I know that now. I tapped as I felt my elbow pop.
I was tempted to be angry afterwards: no one likes to lose, and especially not when you snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But in my mind, I was reminded of a lesson I learned a few years ago in kickboxing. Sam Sheridan (writer of the book Fighter's Mind) describes two kinds of fighters: entity and incremental.
I'll tell you now, you want to be on the incremental side.
Entity fighters have a very hard time with defeat. They believe their talent stems from innate ability. They see themselves as superior fighters by nature. For entity fighters, a loss is a threat to the ego. Instead of bouncing back from a defeat, this type of fighter sees losing as sign that they have been beaten once and for all; that they're not good enough. Losing discourages them.
Incremental fighters see skill as a question of hard work. When faced with a defeat, this type of person simply goes back to the gym and continues training. Sheridan describes boxer Manny Pacquiao as the quintessential incremental fighter. He quotes Pacquiao: "[Every] fight has a winner and a loser, and sometimes it's just not [your] night".
Ultimately, you don't want a particular success or failure to determine how you feel about yourself, or about whether or not you continue to enjoy your sport. Entity thinking is bad for your training. It can lead you to pass up learning experiences because you don't want to feel inferior.
Instead of worrying about winning and losing, worry instead on incremental bench-marks: were you able to execute a specific move you've been trying, or did you manage to last longer than last time. Winning or losing, and success or failure aren't the measures of warriorship, they are polar ways of categorizing results.
Warriors train to learn. Consistently.
Winning - sometimes - is just the occasional product of this learning.

http://www.wayofthewarriorqueen.com

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Good Memories and Bad Memories

 By Narendra Goidani 

Photo: infoniac.com
 
Every one of us has a personal scream. Maybe, more!!!
I am about to share mine. Maybe, your scream will get company. Maybe, peace will descend. Maybe, strength will develop. Maybe, you will smile all the way from your heart. Maybe, ghosts will be exorcised.
Psychic calamity! Shattered nerves! Limited means as the default position! Having to repay too much with too little resources! Setting priorities. Failing miserably. Resetting priorities. Failing again. This was a daily chore.
While nights were an escape, the mornings were haunted for people will come to the door step again. Every time the door bell rung, something inside me disintegrated a little. There was swirling chaos in the mind and vacant expressions in the eyes. No one heard my silent screams that begged attention but I was too proud to ask.
Everyone looking at me with sympathy or a snarl was the touchstone of troubled times. I used to look in the mirror searching for a powerful image. What stared back was an unforgettable dense brooding face. Its power to shock me remained undiminished for a long time. The heart released a personal scream that never abated in its disorientation. There used to be a negative emotional response to about everything.
The ultimate embodiment of fear, alienation, became a fact of life. My life was fraught and anxiety driven.
My case study could have launched a thousand therapists...
Me and my family was going through the toughest times of our life.
We were cheated, ridiculed, insulted, mocked, ignored, brushed away, given up on, disrespected, taken for granted. While burial was awaited, eulogies were written and discussed. The smiles were fake. It hurt us deep.
'Why me god?' was my relentless self sympathizing question to no one is particular. Had put on a face of grace that hid as much as a see through bikini. When they knew I was looking at them, they pretended not to look. Otherwise, they pointed it out to all and ensured no one missed the fun. No one gave a towel or suggested an alternative. Self sympathy makes everything worse and I played right into it.
It was just another ordinary morning. There was no particularly unnerving event. I have no idea what was the trigger. Lying lazily alone in bed, around 8 am in the morning, I just told myself, 'Enough is enough'. I was fed up of myself. I was ashamed of my life. I took a simple decision. Let me turn it around. I promised myself. Whatever happens, 'no self sympathy'! I decided to fight it out. Instead of 'Why me god?' I said to HIM, 'Try me god! I am your product. I am meant to succeed and not to fail. Ha!!!'
I stopped staring and judging. I started smiling. Enough smiled back. I started laughing. Found humour in everyone and everything. Started believing future will be better. Opportunities emerged. I grabbed them. Failed sometimes. Succeeded some times. Learnt a lot. Overall, progressed well. Got a life. Told myself KEEP MOVING...
I thought I was a piece of coal. I realised, I am a diamond. I thanked the creator up there and all the other creators down here. The hammer and the chisel have nothing against the diamond. They are doing their job. Why did the diamond take so much time to realise it?
The irony of life is, diamonds do take time for both these things - One, they are a diamond. Two, the hammer and the chisel have nothing against it.
Till this realisation, I was filled with many bad memories and a few isolated good ones. When alone, the bad ones would rush and crush the other memories. Life looked a struggle. The diamond was very angry with the hammer and the chisel.
Sitting in the seat of silence, a realisation dawned one day. Fill the heart with gratitude. Never put anyone away from 'that' heart. While I must do everything to protect myself and others, while I might put someone away from my home, from my office, even from my life, let me never put anyone out from my heart. Pain, fear, anger creates more pain, fear and anger. To dissolve them, I must let go of them and not to keep them. When I keep people who gave me pain and confusions in my heart, I let go of the pains. Only then, I am free.
I reflected on feelings of judgements and self righteousness. They were unpleasant. They made me feel isolated, lost and a little bit frightened. I reflected on forgiving people. It always made me feel light, peaceful and very very spiritual. It made me feel strong.
After that, there were only good memories left. The diamond realised the value of the hammer and chisel. It looked at them with gratitude and kept them in its heart.
Li Po wrote a thousand years ago,
We sat together
The forest and I
Until only the forest remained
Judgement was dropped. Awareness was developed. Wisdom prevailed. The screams stopped. Only the good in the memories remained.
May your screams stop soon. Why not right now? Take a few moments and reflect. Can you see the sparkle of the diamond within? What are you waiting for?

With loads of love, prayers and best wishes,
Narendra Goidani
As I Live... I Learn
http://www.lifeschool.co.in

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Why Do I Suffer So Much by the Behaviors of Others?

 By Scott Farmer 

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Carl Yung, one of the pioneers of psychoanalytical therapy, stated "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves." How we react to an external person or situation is based on a word called transference. Transference is a natural process of how we all make sense of our world. We are constantly sensing and judging our environment based on all our previous experiences.
Even before we are born, our brain is already making distinctions of external cues, laying the foundations of what is considered safe and what in not. Once we are born, we are exposed to many experiences that our brain interprets and stores in memory. The amount of variation in experiences is virtually infinite; however, too simplify we can look at some basic differences that all humans encounter. Dr. Pamela Hays using the ADDRESSING model to help describe cultural influences as a multidimensional combination of Age, Developmental and acquired Disabilities, Religion, Ethnicity, Socioeconomic status, Sexual orientation, Indigenous heritage, National origin, and Gender.
When we react very positively to another person or situation or react very negatively, the reason has nothing to do with the object or situation outside of us and everything to do with what is going on inside of us. In the United States, our general cultural belief is a need to make sense out of everything we encounter as soon as possible - this makes us feel safe. Moreover, whether we have all the information or very little, most of us will come to a definite conclusion. Unfortunately, when little information is known we have an almost instinctive response to fill in the missing information with our transference. In essence, we complete someone's or something's story based on our experiences. The use of past experiences to explain current situations is the most basic definition of transference.
Much of the time we focus our attention on negative transference, "I am pissed off because my boss talks to me like I am his/her teenage child!" However, transference can be completely positive, "Wow I find that man/woman extremely sexy." When working with my clients, having them recognize the source of his or her reactions is difficult. I explain that this journey of discovery is not meant to condemn or codon others behavior. Simply, understanding why he or she is reacting to the external person or event can cause dramatic shifts in brain functioning and relief from suffering. For example, if a client is in an anxious or depressed state because of the way his or her boss is talking to them, we can begin to look at what it mean to the client if in fact the boss is being an asshole.
I will often ask "if your boss is talking to you this way, then what does that mean to you?" More times than not the client will respond by saying, "it means my boss has no respect for me and that pisses me off!" When looking deeper I will ask "if your boss has no respect for you, then what would that mean?" This goes on for a few moments, while the client really processes what it means to them to not have the respect of his or her boss. At some point, everyone comes to the conclusion that others treating them poorly led to a triggered response that indicates his or her self-worth is being challenged. "If he does not respect me, then he must not think I am worth anything... it means that maybe I am not worthy of respect... or he thinks I am lazy... I am not smart enough... I am not good enough... or I have to have everyone respect and appreciation for me to be OK with myself."
Most of us have come to rely heavily on the opinions of others to support our self-esteem. I often ask clients to respond to the following question. "When I am at peace, I thing... I feel... and I want? After years of asking this question the most commonly report answers are "When I am at peace I think clearly, I feel content, and I want nothing." Explaining the "why" of other's behavior and language is impossible, because of the multiple influences of the ADDRESSING model, I encourage my clients to rely on the simple three questions to discover the one simple answer. If we can safely assume that a person at peace is a clear thinker, feels content, and wants nothing, then a person that is negative, aggressive, mean, rude, crude, obnoxious, is most liking "suffering" and not at peace.
By understanding our own transference we can quickly see how others are doing the same thing. Soon the need to react or defend ourselves can be replaced with empathy, compassion, and curiosity to what is going on with the other person (the nasty boss... who is obviously suffering on some level).
To your mental health my friends!
Peace

Scott is a mental health practitioner in Central Minnesota working with clients in the areas of depression, anxiety, panic, OCD, PSTD, sexual health and relationships, health and sport Psychology, weight loss, chronic disease management, and runs support groups for sexual health, trauma, depression, and anxiety.
Scott Farmer MA, MS, CSCS, CES
Mental Health Practitioner CT
Exercise Physiologist
http://www.elementmentalhealth.vpweb.com
sfarmer@elementmentalhealth.vpweb.com
320.257.6020

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