STARTING A NEW LIFE

When we say it is new, we always want it. Why? because it’s unused. You’re the first person who will use it. We commonly refer it to material things. But when we say it is a new life, we stop for a while and think about it. It is a very personal and serious matter.

New life may have so many connotations or impressions. Some may say new life is having a new home or property; new car and new friends. And that’s nearing to a new lifestyle. What can we see with our own two eyes may mean new life because of the externality. We cannot see vividly what is inside of it.

A new life should start from our heart and mind.  It’s about mindset, willingness to change and decision making.

Mind Setting

What is your heart telling you? Are you bored when you wake up in the morning and remember that nothing has changed in your life?   Did you dream one day in your life you may go back to your past, correct all your mistakes and start a new plan in your life?  I believe everyone pondered on this once in a while.

Hear what your heart desires are the first step to mindset.  Be ready with your journey.  Mind-setting is to gather the pros and cons of your plan.  The following are some questions that may guide you in your planning:

·         What will be the consequence if I do this (state your plan)?

·         How may it affect others if do this (state your plan)?

·         How does it affect mine?

·         What could be the possible things do to if I (state your plan)?

·         Could this plan give me a peace of mind?

The last question is powerful after you gather all the pros and cons of your plans.  If you’re in doubt and you think this can’t give you peace of mind.  Trash it.

Willingness to Change

A person who doesn’t have the guts or willingness to change is like an old pot that was covered with mud.  You could not use the pot because the dirt was filled inside out.  The pot must be cleaned first before it can be usable.  As long as the pot can’t be touch, it will remain as a dirty old pot forever.  The same thing as a person who doesn’t have the willingness to change.  He is like the old dirty pot.  He couldn’t be touch and change because he is unwilling to be cleaned.

“Nothing is worse than missing an opportunity that could have changed your Life” Life Quotes

Decision Making

This is the crucial moment of your stepping stone to start a new life.  Will you proceed or not? Are you ready or not? Do you want to be cleaned like the pot?

You already set your mind by preparing all the pros and cons, you think about changes and now you need to decide.  If you don’t decide now to get started, you’ll not know how the opportunity awaits you.  Why I quoted the word “opportunity”?  It is because time is connected to change.  Our world is fast-changing, we don’t see a majority of people would like to live in stone age.  Look how our smartphones, computers and internet industry evolved from technology.  They’re amazing!

Decide now to start a new life because if you have a new life, you ‘ll have a new heart to change for the better.

“Everyone has to make their own decisions. I still believe in that. You just have to be able to accept the consequences without complaining.” Grace Jones

” If we don’t make tough decisions today our children are going to have to make much, much tougher decisions tomorrow.” Paul Ryan

To stop smoking, gambling, drinking, learning to love and forgive others may be well considered as having a new life. Behind this achievement, it all started with a will and decision, and the willingness to change that comes from our heart. It’s a new heart.

A new heart is a change of life. People have their own way of transforming their lives for a change. If we want something that is new and fresh, it could be a new way of life because it’s worth it.

“There is no man living that can not do more than he thinks he can.”Henry Ford

THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SELF-IMPROVEMENT

We all know the improving ourselves is not an instinct thing that we can cope with.  We have this self-preservation or self-instinct so we cannot be driven by others changing us in one shot.   However, sometimes when all our doubts, fears and insecurities wrap ourselves up, we always have the tendency to be somebody else.  More often than not, we used to think and believe that some or most people are better than us—when in reality, most people are more fearful than us.

If one time you spotted a totally eye-catching girl sitting by herself at a party, sipping on a glass of cold drinks.  You start thinking to yourself, “she looks so perfectly sexy, gorgeous and confident.” But if you could read her mind, you would see a bunch of clouds of thoughts.  You might just be amazed that she’s thinking “are people talking about why I am seated here alone?… Why don’t guys find me attractive? …I don’t like my legs, they look too skinny… I wish I was as smart as my best friend.”

We looked at a young businessman and say “Wow… what else could he ask for?” He stares at himself in the mirror and murmured, “I hate my big nose… I wonder why my friends won’t talk to me… I hope my mom and dad would still work things out.”

Isn’t it funny? we glance at people, envy them for atrociously excellent and desires to trade places with them, without knowing that they also look at us and thinking almost the same thing.  We have a lot of insecurities but other people are insecure of us. We may suffer from low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence and have a tendency to lose hope in self-improvement because we are already covered with self-desperation.  Then, you’ll notice that you are always irritated and fearful.  You started to bite your fingernails, insecure with your own self-image and imagining what others might think about you.

I have a friend in my office who never gets tired of talking. And in most conversations, she is the only one who seems to be interested in the things she has to say. So all of our other friends tend to avoid the circles whenever she is around, and she doesn’t notice how badly she became socially handicapped – gradually affecting the people in her environment.  People around her find it hard to give advice to her because she’s not a teachable person.

Now, what do you think is the key to self-improvement?

LISTEN & CONSULT TO A TRUSTED FRIEND

Find someone who you find comforts in opening up your concern with even the most serious topics you want to discuss.  Ask yourself these questions like “do you think I am ill-mannered?”,  “Do I always sound argumentative?”,  “Do I talk too loud?”,  “Does my breath smell?”,  “Do I ever bore you when were together?”.  In this way, the other person will obviously know that you are interested in the process of self-improvement. Lend her your ears for comments and criticisms and don’t give her answers like “Don’t exaggerate! That’s just the way I am!”  “Don’t teach me what I’m going to do!” Open up your mind and heart as well. And in return, you may want to help your friend with constructive criticism that will also help her to improve.

One of Whitney Houston’s songs says “Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.” True enough that in order to love others, you must love yourself too. But that is not what is happening right now.  We don’t see the love for others as we love ourselves.  People are born with self-love.  No one is kind enough to love others since we are born in this world.  We should learn to love God first before we can love others.  If we could make it to the last our self-love then we may truly know how to love others.  Loving is not an easy task but it’s a big effort that we must strive.

Before telling others some ways on how to improve themselves, let them see that you yourself is a representation and an example of self-improvement. Self-improvement makes us better people, we then inspire others, then the rest of the world will follow.

DECISION FOR A CHANGE

You want to improve yourself but have you decided for a real change.  Our mind and heart are sometimes playful.  It’s so easy to claim for a change in mind but not in our hearts.  Let’s take an example with a person who’s always uttered for losing weight.  He may keep saying that he desires for a fit body but nothing has not been prepared for himself.  Did you know exactly what is the problem surrounds to people who have been like that?  One thing surely that I know, it is the “drive” that is not exercised within the mind and heart of a person. “If you have the drive for a change in your life, you have to make a real decision.  The drive is the key factor for a change.”

ACT ON IT

Have you heard the statement that action speaks louder than words? This is true because people tend to be good in speaking with full of promises but without acting upon it.  Even if you choose for a change but without stepping a step to do the preparation—it is futile.  This is why some people fail to fulfill their dreams for a change.  Action for a change needs a tremendous effort in physical, emotional and spiritual mind.  The same as a religious person who always keeps praying, but without faith and action—it is still worthless.  You don’t have that faith in your action would lead to immediate failure.

AVOID NEGATIVITY

Stop thinking of yourselves as second-rate human beings. Forget the thought of “If only I was richer… if only I was thinner” and so on.  Accepting your true self is the first step to self-improvement. We need to stop comparing ourselves to others only to find out at the end that we’ve got 10 more reasons to envy them.  This is actually true.  Why think what others might say to you while they actually have no time to think about you.  Isn’t it?  If there is a proposal to change yourself, don’t invite the statement to your system “I can’t do it” instead “I will do it”.

We all have our insecurities and fears. Nobody is perfect and no one is an island. We always wish we had better things, better futures, better body parts, etc. But life need not be perfect for people to be happy about themselves.  Self-improvement and loving yourself is not a matter of shouting to the whole world that you are perfect and you are the best. It’s the virtue of acceptance and contentment. When we begin to improve ourselves, we then begin to feel contented and happy forever.

“Most experts and great leaders agree that leaders are made, not born, and that they are made through their own drive for learning and self-improvement.” Carol S. Dweck

Note: Picture credited to Gary Barnes of Pexels

DOES INNER PEACE REAL TO YOU

Inner Peace can be translated as” Holiness”, sounds true, isn’t it?  If you are a holy man, there is a sense of inner peace in your life.  In 1 Peter 1:15-16, it says,

15 “but just as he who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all of your behavior; 16 because it is written, You shall be holy; for I am holy.” WEB

There’s no one who is holy except God. One of the best definition of the term “Holy” came from Merriam Webster is defined as “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness.”  It clearly says “perfect in goodness and righteousness.”  Anybody who hears this term would surely say it is impossible.  Truly, man cannot be perfect in righteousness, and to be righteous should be pointed to the source of righteousness which is God.

In our practical life, if inner peace seems hard to achieve and unattainable, you are not alone. Most of us feel that way at one time or another. Part of your self-improvement plan can be learned on how to achieve inner peace. It could become like a skill that will help your life forever. You will be calm during times of stress and situations that need your immediate attention. One thing you need to remember is that when to achieve inner peace is to recognize what it is defined by outer circumstances. Let’s look at the steps you can take.

Life is Simple

Keeping your life simple will contribute to your inner peace because it directs your energy to a single point and it could not be complicated.  Toss out everything that holds you back. That includes friends and acquaintances who drain you and in return give you nothing. Choose the right friend and the right company. Remember quality cannot be a guarantee over quantity. Keep it simple stay focused because a double-minded man is unstable (James 1:8).

Proverbs 13:20

“Go with wise men and be wise: but he who keeps company with the foolish will be broken.” BBE

Proverbs 22:24-25

24 “Don’t befriend a hot-tempered man, and don’t associate with one who harbors anger: 25 Lest you learn his ways, and ensnare your soul.” WEB

Focus Now

The only time that really matters is the present because it’s the only time that really exists. That past is the past, the present is now and the future will be the present. You have no control over the future, nor can you predict it. Therefore, focus on what you can control – the present. Give it your best and live for what you can do for now.

Focusing Now is to avoid procrastinating habits.  It is a discipline to exert an effort to achieve your goal in life.  If you want to live with an inner peace then you need to start now or never.

Proverbs 3:28

“Say not to your neighbor, Go, and come again, and tomorrow I will give; when you have it by you at the time.” BBE

Proverbs 27:1

“Don’t boast about tomorrow; For you don’t know what a day may bring forth.” WEB

Live Positively

A positive mindset is to live positively.  Think good things and the blessings that you had right now.  Are you still breathing? Then you should know how fortunate you are. Your mind may have a tendency to wander and desire something different. But consider this, others don’t have the chance to eat thrice a day and unhealthy.  Where do you fit into this? Chances are in comparison your life is your best treasure and your mind is your worst enemy. Remember, should you get what you desire, you’ll only be desiring something else soon in a positive way.  So be grateful for what you have.

Philippians 4:8

“Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are honorable, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report; if there is any virtue, and if there is any praise, think about these things.” WEB

Proverbs 17:22

“A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” WEB

No Man is an Island

We cannot live on our own selves.  This is the reason why God sent a helper, a partner in life – our wife.   Your point of view isn’t the only one and the best so don’t treat it like it’s a law. Don’t go to battle over your point of view and attempt thinking that there’s no one who is capable of good solutions and ideas. Have you heard the phrase “jack of all trades, master of nothing”?   You can be the best of all things but you don’t have a focus on what’s capable of you.  Even God also said something through King Solomon in the book of Proverbs regarding wisdom, it is God doesn’t like us to depend on our own understanding but to lean on Him alone.

Ecclesiastes 4:9

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their labor.” WEB

Prov 3:5-6 5

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”  NIV

Philippians 2:3

“Doing nothing through envy or through pride, but with low thoughts of self, let everyone take others to be better than himself” BBE

Everything will Come to Pass

We lived in a time-bound planet.  Time is generous and indifferent. What is dark today may be glorious tomorrow. Everything perishes – everyone perishes. Our lives have an expiration whether you like it or not.  Nothing is forever. It’s only God who is forever.  Time will heal your deepest wounds. Since whatever is going on today will pass, sometimes the best solution is simply to let it go. Tomorrow is another day and it is a fresh start.  Inner Peace can be achieved if you know what is a reality and not.  You’ll not have inner peace if you don’t accept that things will change and will come to pass.  This is the reason why people compete with each other to build their future; if you don’t build your future well then you lost a huge opportunity and legacy in life.

2 Cor. 4:17-18

“For our present trouble, which is only for a short time, is working out for us a much greater weight of glory;18 While our minds are not on the things which are seen, but on the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are for a time; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”BBE

Smile

When we smile, we are showing more of the external.  We can also do a fake smile.  Not all people who smile are happy inside.  We are talking about inner peace, isn’t it? Then smile should be coming inside our hearts and mind.  Then how can we smile if we don’t have a positive change in our lives?  If we live in hatred, then surely your smile could be a fake one.   If you know how to forgive others and be humble to accept your fault in front of the one whom you offended, then that’s a true and best smile.   A smile can do wonders for your spirit and for the spirit of others. It can soften hearts and change moods. Smiling is connected to love and it’s contagious. You can’t smile and be angry or jealous at the same time. Smiling makes you feel calm, happy and loved.

Proverbs 15:13

“A glad heart makes a cheerful face; But an aching heart breaks the spirit.”WEB

Proverbs 17:22

“A glad heart makes a healthy body, but a crushed spirit makes the bones dry.”BBE

Psalms 16:99

“Because of this my heart is glad, and my glory is full of joy: while my flesh takes its rest in hope.”BBE

Wise Way to get an Income while Browsing the Web

Do you use a web browser on the internet?  How sure are you that your browser is fast and safe?  What if I tell you that while you are browsing, you can earn an income 1,000$ and up per month.  Then why waste your time day and night using your favorite browser and knows nothing in return to your time and effort that you spent?  I wish I knew this good news before since I started to use the commonly used browser on the internet. 

We all know what is happening in the world of the internet.  Your data and web activity is sold to the highest bidder.  The internet giants grow rich, while publishers go out of business.  Therefore, the fraud is widespread in the system.   There are data-grabbing ads and trackers on the web.  They want to identify you and track your activity on the web.  

Security and safety is the utmost priority of internet users plus the fast browser that you can get.  Well, that is worth the time and effort that you spent on the web.  This is the best browser that benefits internet users in the whole world.  Allow me to introduce to you this excellent browser that passes to your ear before, and you may not aware of its features that will benefit you in the future.  

This is the Brave Browser, a safe and fast browser.   The following are the features of the browser:

• Brave load pages 3 to six times faster with nothing to install, learn, or manage.  
• Easy switching by importing bookmarks and your settings from the old browser.  All of your old browser profiles will appear in a list.   
• This browser supports your favorite sites with Brave Rewards.  You can earn tokens (BAT) for viewing private ads.  You can support the Content Creators you love at the amount that works for you.  
• You can earn 1,000$ up per month while using this browser, and the user who installed and downloaded your browser's referral links. 
• Experience unparalleled privacy and security by browser's capability to fight malware, and prevents tracking.  It keeps your information safe and secure.   
• Blocks harmful ads and cross-site trackers.  Browser "Shields" protect your privacy as you browse making you harder to track.  
• Braves "Tor" hides your history and masks your location form the sites that you visited by routing your browsing through several servers before it reaches your destination.
• Brave ads don't collect information about you.  
• You are in control of the ads you see.
• Brave Ads don't replace current web page ads.  Brave blocks privacy-invading web ads and trackers that are embedded in the page content.  

I've been using this web browser, and I'm very satisfied with Braves browser's wonderful features.  You may try to check it out this Brave browser link to further see how good is Brave browser especially at this time of COVID 19 crisis where everybody is inside their home browsing on the web.

Photo credited to Kropekk-pl

Deep Things You Need To Know About Forgiveness

In the journey to peace and healing in our lives, both guilt and self-forgiveness created a tremendous impact on the process. Guilt is defined as a feeling of responsibility for a fault that compromised their own standards of conduct or violated a universal moral standard.   Guilt and lack of self-forgiveness burdens many people with a weight of shame and the destruction of deep-seated resentments. Much has been written about the destructiveness of repressed emotions and particularly anger and resentment in contributing to life-threatening illnesses.  Therefore, anger and resentment are not a good contributing factor to one’s health and well-being. 

The belief that emotion is a weakness becomes a dreadful legacy.  True enough, emotion hinders a person to focus his mind in a normal state.   The result of her action affects people in their peaceful workplaces, and even inside the religious institution.  The teachings that strength means not feeling or denying our feelings are tantamount to creating illness.  The beliefs such as “boys don't cry” and “good girls don't get angry” are unable to get in touch with what they actually feel.  Depression is thought to be caused by anger turned inward and is only one of the symptoms to protect ourselves from the scorn associated with expressing feelings.  Many other illnesses particularly addictions are theorized to be expressions of a deep level of emotional pain.

Why people won’t forgive?  I think it starts from our hearts unforgiving ourselves. We believe that we have a tendency to believe that we are unworthy of love, respect, acceptance, appreciation, and the right to live a life of peace, joy, harmony, and abundance.  The lack of love for others is also the reason behind the unforgiving heart. How can you forgive without love? Isn’t it?  This is why Jesus said this in Matt 22:37, "And he said to him, Have love for the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind." BBE

If we don’t know how to love God first, we’ll surely not love others too.  Loving God and loving a person is totally different from each other.  God’s love transcends by means of His word—the Bible.  By knowing God, faith will increase and God’s power is the one who will work in our lives.  There will be a life change and transformation if we truly seek Him and accepted Him by heart.  This can be done by following His teachings and commandments—it is total obedience to His word.  A person should know how to submit himself to God before he can show love to others.  Learning to love others is a heart that is softened by God and not a heart of stone.  

As well as forgiveness is a heart that is already molded and shaped its figure to a wonderful image.  In Col. 3:13,  “Being gentle to one another and having forgiveness for one another, if anyone has done wrong to his brother, even as the Lord had forgiveness for you.” BBE

The Lord first forgives us and therefore, we also forgive others.  God has the authority to forgive and that authority transcends to us that we should also learn to forgive others because an unforgiving heart is an unrepentant heart.  You cannot have real success in life if without forgiveness.  Wealth cannot buy forgiveness—it’s priceless.
Somewhere along the line, we have this belief that each one of the principles and laws of society molds us and defined who we are supposed to be.   We stopped trusting and believing self-worth.  We always think that we are not good enough and unable to contribute to the society that we lived in.  This kind of thinking traced back to where and how we are groomed and raised by our parents—our upbringing.
 Statements such as “you failed” became our usual utterance to blame and abuse ourselves with guilt.  It’s an abuse due to the fact it is simply as painful when we do it to ourselves as when others do it to us. We became our own judge and jury who do the verdict as guilty of our perceived offenses. When our parents, teachers, and other societal influences are unable to love themselves unconditionally, this learned attitude is being passed on to the next generation as a disgrace in an effort to control behavior. 

The shame that is inside ours is totally different from guilt.  Some say shame is deeper and prevalent but the truth is shame sometimes was ignored.  There is a numbness that runs through their veins which they commonly didn’t feel anything and eventually they can face the people who they should be shameful of.   Children grow up believing they are “not good enough” and became an example of having inferiority, inadequacy, being a dangerous and hateful person.  Could their parents be blamed? There is a big factor that parents are the ones who’s responsible for their child’s upbringing.  What the child is acting right now has a big influence sourced from their parents or caregivers. 
This sense of shame differs from guilt therein guilt is regarding behavior. Shame is deeper and a lot of pervasive. It's regarding your being and feelings of inferiority, inadequacy, being dangerous and hateful become the conviction underlying your life. But what we fail to teach them is relevant to failing.  No one got a good grade instantly because we are born imperfect.  Great men do fail a lot before they reach the pinnacle of success in their field.  Lack of encouragement from our parents turned us to become inferior to ourselves. 

Learning to forgive others and learning to forgive ourselves does not bring shame to others and shame to ourselves.  Humbling ourselves before God and others is a true treasure of life.  It leads to the path of success in life whether you like it or not.
 
1 Peter 5:6-7
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time; casting all your worries on him because he cares for you." WEB
 
The Lord said this in Matthew 18:21-22, “Then Peter came and said to him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Until seven times? Jesus said to him, "I don't tell you until seven times, but, until seventy times seven. WEB
 
Does Jesus meant to say that to forgive others is at a maximum of 490 times?  Absolutely not! Jesus is trying to say that the seven times will multiply into 490 times.  Wow! That’s too much.  That would mean forgiveness is eternal.  We don’t hesitate to give forgiveness to others.  Our hearts should be opened to receive forgiveness as well as giving to forgive others.  Those are the deep things that we should know about forgiveness.  

Photo credited to Adrijana from Pexels

The Secret of How Exercise Can Motivate You

Exercise is always a do-it-yourself mentality. No other person and no machine can do it for you. Hence, it is important to have those motivating factors so that a person who does exercising may achieve the best result of his goal in health and fitness.

This is what overweight and health-conscious people should learn and understand. However, even if it so easy to set instructions and easy to follow exercise programs, this is not the same case for almost 35% of Americans who are unable to prevent being overweight.

Of course, once we become overweight, we usually want to trim down for a lot of reasons, some related to physical condition and fitness, while others would want to enhance their physique and appearance. And it is never too late to be fit.

In the past years, physical activity has become the exception rather than the rule, both at home and on the job. People tend to drive while others were walking. People tend to flick a switch and machines do the hauling, lifting, and pushing.

People who try to lose weight tend to believe that weight gain is likely to happen if they will not take forward-looking steps to stop it.  So, exercising is not an easy task to do.  It should be started with a power of will to achieve the goal that he has set.

The point here is that health experts believe that people lose their way, especially when it comes to dieting. They tend to go back to their old eating habits even after they learn to enjoy low-fat eating. They tend to return to sedentary ways even though they enjoy exercising. 

But despite the momentum toward weight gain, you can stop it from happening, experts say. And there are plenty of good reasons to avoid excess pounds, reasons that go beyond vanity or social appearance. There are many reasons in order to keep you motivated to exercise and stay healthy for the rest of your life.

1. Have an Explicit Goal

 A simple statement like, “I want to lose some weight,” is an ambiguous and an indefinite statement. It cannot guarantee that will motivate you to start doing exercises right away.

What is important is to be precise on your goals. It would be better if you will set some detailed amount of pounds that you really want to lose. Imagine yourself what you will look like after reaching your desired weight. Doing this will inspire you to lose weight. In fact, maybe even more than what you have planned in mind. The idea is to use that figure to assist you to remain resilient and dedicated.

2. Develop a Strategy

Strength of will does not work alone! To lose weight and stay with it, your strategy must comprise of both exercise and diet, and not either of the two.

Try to start motivating yourself by throwing away your clothes that have bigger sizes. This will put you in a situation where you only have your sexy clothes and that you have to make a choice by staying motivated to exercise or not wear any clothes at all. Which do you prefer?

3. Make out Little, Calculable Measures

Put into practice actions that will suit your lifestyle. This means you have to implement moves that you and you alone will benefit from it and not somebody else.

The idea here is to opt for a more positive and attainable goal and not just to shun away from being plump and chubby.

4. Power of Drive

When I say “drive”, it doesn’t mean driving like a car driving.  It is more than that.  It should be coming deep inside our heart and mind.  You may picture what you’ll be like in the future that people will turn around looking at your body every time you wore tight-fitting shirts and pants.  Men will approach you and eager to talk to you because your well-shaped fit body is showing. Those were the consequences of the word “drive”.  You’ll not stop until you get the result that you want.   You must strive to work hard to achieve your dreams.  Drive is very powerful so make use of it for your success.

THE VALUE OF LIFE

I have my own laptop which I value very much.  It’s a unique tool for me that allows me to write beautiful insights and thoughts.  How about you? What are the things that you value most? Smartphones, cars, money, properties, studies, careers, family, etc.  How about the value of life?  It’s quite a practical question indeed.  Without life, there is no value at all, all is nothing without life. 

Did you know before we are born, a tiny heartbeat was heard in the womb of our mother—that’s life.  Children are born with curiosity in this world. Challenges are waiting. They always want to enjoy the life that was gifted to them. See how an infant craves for milk to live? They want to live. That’s the value of life, it’s precious. Therefore, if there are times that you looked at life as miserable and hopeless, take the time to ponder on how those babies strived to live.  They loved to live and love to face the world.  Life has value because we have only one life.  Therefore, we will not be given a second life to live; we should value it with our heart. 

There’s a saying “Life is just a breath”, “Life is short”.  Indeed, our lives are really short because we are living on this earth temporarily.  There is an afterlife, a life that never ends.  One movie that inspired me is the film “Hacksaw Ridge”, a film directed by great actor Mel Gibson.  Before I watch this film, I knew that this could be a wonderful true to life movie.  The film is the true story of Pfc. Desmond T. Doss who won the Congressional Medal of Honor despite refusing to bear arms during WWII on religious grounds. Doss was an Adventist war medic who courageously saved 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa.  He used a rope tied to the body of wounded soldiers belaying them down one by one from the top of the cliff down to the ground.  He never stopped asking the Lord by saying “give me one more.”  Without knowing, he saved 75 men already all in all.  It is unimaginable to think if Doss doesn’t have the heart to stay on the cliff for the wounded soldiers, they’re all be dead, then life is wasted. 

 

 “Don’t be afraid of death.  Be afraid of a life you didn’t live.  You don’t have to live forever, you just have to live.”

Life is a gift from God.  It is not about the color of the skin, life is precious for each and every one.   It should be valued.  Without life, we don’t exist.  Life colored the world if we put value in it. 

 “Life is simple.  It’s about what do you want people to remember.”

The Secret of Success: TIME

Have you experienced to work 8 hours in a day then feel that is just like an hour for you?  Then you’ll realize that time is running so fast.  Well, that’s true for the busy person.  But when you stay awake and doing nothing, you will feel that time seems running so slow.  Honestly, it’s so difficult to experience that you’re doing nothing and waiting the time to run.  This is the reason why God gave us a work.  Man is designed to work and not to be idle.

The pace of life is as fast as you flip the pages of a book.  It says, “Time is gold.”  Absolutely true.  Time is so important as gold is so valuable.  All we need is time to accomplish something.  Healing needs time; growing needs time; relationship needs time; achievement needs time as well as success needs time.  We should do what we must do to fulfill the desire of our hearts.  We should treat time as valuable as ourselves. 

Therefore, invest your time wisely—day by day.  Here’s how to use your time wisely:

Keep planting joy and peace in our hearts

You may wonder why time is connected with joy and peace.  This is what most people did not know, they thought that time is always related to work.  The time that we spent in our lives is the most valuable achievement that we can contribute to the society (people), our family and to God.  These three are connected to each other.  If you don’t value your time with your family, you also lose the value of God-given gift and resources to you—same as with the society, people whom you trusted and friends.  If you destroy your relationship with God, your relationship with your family is very much affected.

Therefore, spending the time by planting joy and peace in our hearts is so valuable.  Joy and peace are not related to money because it can’t be bought.  Only God can give us joy and peace in our hearts before we can have joy and peace with our family and friends.  A wonderful Scripture was quoted in Galatians 5:22-23,

”But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.” WEB

The word “Spirit” is the spirit of God.  Only through Him, we can find the real joy and peace.  We don’t wait time to pass without planting joy and peace in our hearts.  When we get older, the more joy and peace should be in our hearts.  Don’t wait for the time that you’ll reach old age with anger and hatred still in your heart.  I tell you, I saw a lot of old people who still lack self-control.  Sadly, they discovered and realized that it’s too difficult to change if you’re old already.  Here’s what the Scripture says,

Prov 22:6 “If a child is trained up in the right way, even when he is old he will not be turned away from it.” BBE

Do things that are right and not corrupted

Many are confused when we ask people this question, “what is the meaning of  doing the right thing?”  They may have different ways of interpreting what is right for him.  Some will say it could wrong for you but it could be right for me.  To solve this problem, we should know what is your standard.  If your standard of doing the right thing sometimes you should cheat while others would interpret it cheating is bad.  Well, there should be a focal point on what will be the basis of your standard.  If morality standard was based on God’s standard, then you set your standard as God’s moral standard. 

Use your quality time

When we say “quality time,” it is the time that has a great relevance in our lives. 

1.)  Spending your time with your kids instead of hanging around with your peers or colleague all the time. 

2.)  Gain knowledge by reading books or watching educational videos instead of watching movies all the time. 

3.)  Communicating with your parents or your kids instead of playing games using your smartphone all the time. 

4.)  Finding ways to be successful instead of finding ways to buy things for your vices. 

5.)  Spending time with your parents instead of keeping busy with your business. 

So, anything that robs the quality time is unworthy.  If you keep on saying that you love your kids and your parents but haven’t started to do some action—is futile.  Words can easily be said but action still speaks louder.

If we plant a good seed, it will bear a good fruit.  Be reminded of this verse:

2 Cor 9:6, “Remember this: he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. He who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully (WEB).”

Photo credited to Skitterphoto

What You Should Know About Multivitamins & Supplements

The world’s population is currently eager and curious about taking care of their health by keeping in- tune with their well-being. It is necessary to notice that this awareness is progressively contributing to the creation of many natural & organic health supplements to benefit the adults and also the young ones. Dietary and natural supplements have continually proved their importance to health-conscious people.   

A powerful and potent daily multivitamin pill supplement doesn't only develop your general bodily functions but it also improves your mental alertness, physical condition, and well-being.  Proper and detailed specification is required to meet the needs.  On example would be a person with cardiovascular disease, they should have to take CoQ10 to prevent with such condition.  Alzheimer’s disease is effectively prevented by a daily combination of Vitamin C and E.

Multivitamin supplements should include all the vitamins and nutrients essential for a suggested daily dose. Multivitamin supplements may effectively be formulated to fill the requirements needed of an individual especially the pregnant and specific age brackets. It's an incontrovertible fact that multivitamins in liquid form are much more efficient than the usual pill forms. This is because of the fact that the body can easily absorb liquid five times rather than the normal multivitamins in pill or capsule form.  But due to the fast pace of people who are busy with their workload and career, no person would love to bought supplements in liquid form.  Still, the supplements in capsule form are among the widely consumed by people all around the world.  Even the Pro-biotics supplements were also conveniently packed and distributed in capsule form.

Our body needs thirteen essential vitamins to function properly. In regulating the crucial performance of the body, our body should have Vitamin A, B, C, D, E, K, B12, and also the seven B-complex vitamins. Most of those vitamins are obtained by our body through the food that we partake.  This is the reason why some who don’t take supplements have better health and immune system than the individual who religiously taking supplements.  The danger of diseases or even mortality is due to the deficiency of the essential vitamins and supplements. This is where supplements come into play.  Our body cannot live by itself by dependence on our body immune defense system.  Although some healthy people proudly confessed that they don’t need supplements.  It is accepted that our body deteriorates, and that includes our bones, skin, organs, mental power, and physical body.  Some can still be healthy due to the environment and food that they are partaking.  Food is the top concern when it comes to nutrition and physical quality.  How sure that the food that you eat is purely non-chemical and organic?  How can you religiously follow all the dietary discipline if you’re in a busy environment especially in your life career? Isn’t it?

Let’s take a look with pregnant women as an example.  In their first trimester, they are recommended by the doctor to take multivitamins. This is taken not only because for the mother’s benefit but it’s also for the benefit of the child inside the womb.  The child should be provided with sufficient vitamins to avoid abnormality in development as increase the defenses of the child inside the mother’s womb.  Taking multivitamins every day reduces the risk of malnutrition of the unborn baby.   Other conditions like alcoholism, smoking, and exposure to excessive pollution have long-run harmful effects to the body system which can be counteracted by multivitamins. 

Stress is one of the risk issues that need serious supplementation of multivitamins. This is in particular with people who have a hard time maintaining their health needs.  Multivitamins are a must to stay healthy and active without any complications in the long run.  There are already stress supplements in the market right now.  One of the ingredients for the stress supplement that I know is the "Valerian Root" which helps protect receptors in the brain that promote sedation, tranquility, and sleep. To maximize its effectiveness and potency, health and wellness company add an ingredient that will connect with the primary ingredient like vitamin B6 to fill your deficiency so the main ingredients will work well.

Multivitamins also, act as anti-oxidant.  It’s anti-oxidant properties minimize the risk of cancer or any cardiovascular disease.  One of the wonders of the anti-oxidant is—if it’s combined well with another anti-oxidant.  Thus, it is synergistically formulated to fight deadly cancer cells and eventually destroy the cancer cells from spreading into our system. Green tea leaf, Grapeseed, Pine bark, vitamins C, E, and Selenium are among the well-known anti-oxidants.

A fat-soluble anti-oxidant like the Vitamin E works to neutralize probable harmful free agents in the body.  It also maintains healthy skin through the protection of cell membranes, blood circulation, heart, nerves, red blood cells, and muscles.  Another powerful anti-oxidant is the Vitamin C which fights blood cell infection and is vital in collagen formation, wound healing, and formation of bone structures, capillaries, and teeth. Vitamin is also helpful in the iron absorption from plant sources.  Vitamins A, D, K and different supplemental nutrients found in multivitamins have specific functions that benefit the bodily functions.

While daily intake of multivitamins could have proved useful, but it's not a 100% guarantee to be free from serious sicknesses attributed from different factors.  It is often a misconception that vitamins and supplements become a cure for serious illnesses.  We should keep in mind that multivitamins are a supplement to add up our body defenses from the free radicals.  It could energize your body to stay active and live well.  The proper approach to supplements is to seek medical attention if necessary while the multivitamins acting as the back-up—to boosts and maintain your energy in your body system.

One of the high-quality multivitamins and supplements that I’ve tried and tested are on this link.  This is just to show you the overview of the multivitamins and different kinds of supplements that caters the body’s needs.  You can see the different ingredients combined to make the supplements maximize synergistically plus the specification of each supplement and the dosage.  Hope you’ll benefit a lot from understanding the importance of taking multivitamins and supplements.

Photo credited to Bru-No

 

Things That You Should Know About Self-Confidence

Have you ever dreamed you had the boldness that somebody else has? Have you ever baffled what was their secret? Why do some individuals build confidence with ease whereas others have a tough time? It’s the common question that we heard from a person who is searching for self-improvement. What if you can also have that self-confidence? the good news is you have a big possibility that you can do it.   Do you want to learn the secrets?

 

Learn and Improve

If you want to build self-confidence, be good into something that you know well.  If you are not sure what is your expertise then you need to put your energy into it and start working it out step by step.  Know your talent, and discover your skills.   

 

How many times have you ever said, “I’m good-for-nothing,” or “I’m useless,” to yourself? Well, my friend, that's not the reality. Each individual is born with a purpose, and you only have to do some searching so you’ll discover what it is.  It all starts with the things you loved to do.  Is it painting, cooking,  serving people, writing, teaching, craft, and DIY or finding advanced mathematical equations? No matter where your interests may lie, you may become an expert. All you've got to do is to persevere and move on.

The more you do your passion, the more you’ll be good at it.  It is a practice with experience.  This could not be an easy journey for you but you should keep the faith in you and have that courage to carry it on until you achieve it every step of the way.   The road is not always smooth for you to pass along; there will be a rocky road that may seem to force you to stop and give up.  This is what we called as “challenges” to success.  With this, you set your goals, focus on it, and your self-confidence will keep increasing

 

The World is not Perfect

We don’t live in a perfect world so don’t attempt to make it perfect.  We are all in the state of imperfection, this is why we commit mistakes.  Don’t think that we are always right or self-righteous.  But don’t be afraid to make mistakes because every mistake that you’ve done would mean a step for self-improvement to the goal that you want to achieve in your life career.   Use the mistakes as the learning opportunities instead of a failure on your part.  Remember, no great and successful people didn’t learn from their failures. 

 

Believe in Yourself

Know and understand yourself.   It’s the most important boost you'll offer to yourself to gain self-esteem.  Don’t be driven and disturbed by what others think about you.  Doubting in yourself is the greatest stumbling block of self-confidence.  Filtered what you hear and do some assessment to yourself if what others are telling you is justifiable or not.  Absorb what is useful and discard what is not useful. Know your strength and weaknesses.

No Negativity

People fail because they have a negative mindset before they start to work on their goals.  Always be with positive people because they are the one who will lead your goals into success.  Avoid negative thinking, focus on the things that may improve ourselves. 

 

Learn from the Experts

Success can be duplicated but there is no guarantee that others technique to success will be the same as your technique to success.  The principles of success may serve as our guidelines but the steps on how you’ll carry it are totally different from others.  People have their own expertise and niche.  The reason why people are created different is because no two same persons are equal—even the twins.  Remember that every person that God created is unique—no same fingerprints and DNA.  We learn from the experts so we may not commit a lot of mistakes before we walk on the path of our journey.  There’s a saying, it says  ”If we learned a lot from the experts, then we become greater than the experts because what we’ve learned from them and our learnings is a tremendous experience”.

Photo credited to Nina Uhlikova

 

 

What Teamwork is All About

We often misinterpreted the value of the word “teamwork” by failing to apply it properly.  We easily point and blame someone when we are mistaken.  What could be the possible reason behind this?  It is about mind-setting.  A person should understand what “teamwork” is. 

In an office setting, staff may get pressured knowing that the connecting department didn’t accomplish yet their duties and responsibilities for the project.  She couldn’t move a step forward to accomplish her own duties and responsibilities because of the delays from the other department.  This is where “teamwork” comes in.

Teamwork is a two-word connected with each other.  One is the word “team” and the other is “work.”  If you’re working by yourself from start to finish—it is “work”.  If you’re working with somebody—it is “teamwork”.  A team is a group who perform a job that was entrusted.  They have the same goal and mission to accomplish.  They have the same mindset; shared responsibilities, and had a common goal to achieved.  The failure of a department could not be the fault of the other department.  If a project fails, the team fails.  Pointing others to blame is not the practice inside the arena of teamwork.

Team Leader

If you’re called to be a team leader, you possessed what your team members had.  The team has the same goal, objective and mission to be accomplished.  As I have mentioned, they should have the same mindset.  A team leader often fails to value the “leadership” of a team.  A team leader is not always considered as an auto-leadership in a group or an organization.  There is no built-in leadership if you are a team leader.  It’s all started in the heart of a chosen team leader.  If a team leader does not have the right leadership traits towards his members, the relationship will fail abruptly whether you like it or not.  A team leader should possess the following traits: Unselfishness, Responsible, Accountable and a Supportive heart to his team. 

Unselfishness

This is true, a team leader’s mind should always pronounce “We” instead of “I”.   He should see to it that as a leader, he is the one who will carry his group or members into success.  If successful, the whole team is successful and not the leader.  There is no isolation inside a team’s circle.  Both produce the same effort to achieve the goal that they are setting.  Based on my experience in a corporate setting, some team leaders are afraid to be tagged as the failure.  With this, they had the tendency to show to the management that she did her best while her group members were the one who did the mistake.  She used to clean her hands while her group members suffer from the shame of failure.  This is so sad to hear, and that is selfishness.  In other words, selfishness inside a team is a betrayal.   It is a harsh word to hear, isn’t it?

Responsible

A team leader is responsible for his group members.  Plans and goal setting should be shared within the group.  He is open to suggestions among his members and then incorporates the best plan that they have discussed.  A responsible team leader should be transparent at all time.  Unclear instructions may affect the plans and goals which will eventually lead to misunderstanding and failure of a plan.  He should see to it that the plan was properly executed with his supervision.  He should not leave it to his members and say “good luck” to the job.  This is how some of the team leaders often fail to handle his group well due to the laxity of his job responsibilities.  Responsibility is hard work with keen supervision.

Accountability

Have you heard someone uttered this statement? “I’m the one to blame for what happens with our group”.  It takes the courage to admit that you are accountable to your group.  A team leader is not only responsible but accountable to his group members.  If his group members did something wrong, he should not be quick to point the finger at his group members instead he should redirect the pointing to himself.  This is the true team leader. 

In my experience, the word “accountability” is a terrifying word among the team leaders.  If a team leader does not have the courage to be held accountable to his group, better not to become a team leader.  Accountability is a difficult task than responsibility.  Actions that were committed to the entire group fall on the team leader as the accountable person.  So, do you want to be a team leader? 

Supportive Heart

A team leader that doesn’t have the heart to support his team is a leader who is selfish.  He had the tendency to protect himself rather than protecting his team.  A team’s failure could be the cause of their team leader with a lack of support from his members.  He always wanted to elevate himself as the team leader and love the support of his team members just for himself rather than he should initially support his team members.  This situation could always happen in a team.  Moreover, he doesn’t care about his member’s suggestion and comments, he loved to be heard and followed.  This kind of leadership often started with jealousy and hatred among the members.  They take it personally rather than taking it professionally.  Personal often includes emotion and involvement of personal matters outside the job responsibilities while professionalism focuses on the work that should be done. This is why some team leaders failed to determine what should be done to accomplish the goal for the team. 

Teamwork is the best-organized group to achieve a great and better result.  There are three benefits of teamwork: Exchange of ideas, Flexibility, and Accuracy.  It is known as “synergy”.  A combined effort of talents and skills that contribute to a greater effect—to achieve a good result. 

Exchange of Ideas

In a team, the exchange of ideas is the contribution of ideas within a group to achieve the best result.  The suggestion of a team leader may not be enough.  There are times that a team leader may not foresee what is going to transpire though suffer the consequences in the end.  Since human is not perfect being, there should be one to assist.  In Christianity, God created a helper, a woman.  There is a purpose why man needs a helper. 

I firmly believe in the saying that “no man is an island.”  Try to think a rock music band as an example, there is the keyboard, electric bass guitar, electric guitar, and drums.  Now, if we remove one musical instrument from the band, the music sound is awful to hear.   The same thing applies with the vocals or choir male singers, we have tenors, baritone, and bass.  We don’t want to hear a full tenor choir without bass nor bass choir without a tenor.  Each of them is relevant to the group in creating a harmony of music. 

Flexibility

If the team has exchanges of ideas, then flexibility must follow.  This is interconnected to create a better result in a team.  The plan of the team could be paralyzed if they are not flexible.  Flexibility is the key to success in a team; this allows the group to stretch their efforts without sacrificing the plan of a team.  Try to think of a sport like basketball.  Did you see how a basketball player did some tactics to block the last ball from the opponent by stealing and throws the last ball in the ring to win the game?  This is how flexibility works, you became unbeatable.

Accuracy

Accuracy is next to flexibility whether you like it or not.  If you have the plan, your team did some exchanging of ideas that were incorporated into the plan so your team has the flexibility to work it out—against all odds.  Now, the plan will become smooth and accurate.  It is about knowing what you’re doing in the first place.  If we want things to happen at once, you need the right plan first. But how will you know if the plan was right? You’ll go back to the cycle, the exchange of ideas.  You assess the ideas, study and analyze the possibilities, pros, and cons, etc..  Then you’ll come up with a good plan for the team.  Some team leaders were so passionate about the accuracy but overlooked some of the details that haven’t studied nor considered.  They often felt disappointed with the result and tend to blame others if the plan doesn’t work. 

There’s a saying in the Bible and by C.S. Lewis. 

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their work. And if one has a fall, the other will give him a hand; but unhappy is the man who is by himself, because he has no helper.” Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 (BBE) 

“Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction” by C.S. Lewis

One physical example that I demonstrated with my kid about teamwork is a single stick.  I bend the stick with my two hands by putting the pressure in the center, and it broke.  Then I get 6 sticks holding it with my left and right hand trying to bend it.  Surprisingly, it can’t be bend.  A single stick has no helper.  It is very weak.  The five sticks that combined with the single stick become stronger and hard to break.  That’s the power of teamwork.

Photo featured credited to Rebrand Cities