Got a compliment?
How do you react to compliments and people saying thank you? Do you brush them off, telling people: “No biggie.”? Does it make you feel good to resist the draw of compliments?
That’s too bad.
Because you’re not only denying yourself some pleasure. In fact, you are pushing away good things in your life. You’re refusing to receive. Continue reading
Forgiveness
You’re reading it everywhere, especially if you’re interested in personal growth: Forgiveness. Forgive everyone, everything, and most of all, yourself. That’s the fashion. That’s the order of the day.
The real truth is: It’s not that easy.
Yes, we can take a deep breath and call forgiveness, and try to feel good. However, every time you need to forgive someone, something bad and unpleasant has happened. And this experience causes anger, sadness and long standing grudges. That’s natural. These feelings are a sign someone didn’t treat you right. Continue reading
Mistake!
Everyone makes mistakes. And some are trivial. Some we can laugh away, and some are simply forgotten over the years. However, some feel like a millstone around your neck – and those cost precious energy every day.
We have reasons to hang on to the shame of making a big mistake. Most of all, we hope that if we keep that feeling alive, we’ll never make that mistake again. Remembering this one or these couple of failures with deep pain and shame, will protect us. As long as we replay those minutes in our mind, we should be safe from a repetition. Continue reading
Anger
Do you have this strange inner fury? Are there times when you just want to scream at your kids, and can barely hold it in? Are your cursing your life regularly?
I know that feeling.
There is an underlying anger inside you, all day long. A sense of deep dissatisfaction. An urgency you can’t explain. Continue reading
Shock
Let’s just imagine you’ve talked about a project of yours, a great idea, maybe even your business. Let’s also imagine that you’re full of passion, delight and happiness about your plans. And then the person you talked to stares at you and says: “That’ll never work. Not here. Not for you.”
(This actually happened to me.)
You feel like someone pulled the rug out from under your feet. Your heart aches, and you might even have a physical reaction: Maybe your hands shake, maybe you feel sick to your stomach. And you sense doubt rearing its ugly head in a big way. The joy and passion you felt just moments earlier are blown away. And you are devastated. Continue reading
Family
Why do you fold clothes in a certain way? Why do you cook potatoes the way you do? And why do you feel comfortable with a certain amount of money in your pocket? Why is there a certain way you do business?
Because you learned these things when you grew up. They are mini-examples of what family rules are. As kids, we learn how the world turns from our parents, grandparents and the rest of the family. Only school will teach us different views. But as school starts fairly late in a child’s development, family rules get first dibs. And they tend to stay with us. Continue reading
Focus
Now, this is a little different from all the practical stuff I’ve been teaching you here. Today, however, we’re going to look at a certain power that you have. All of us have that power. It’s the power of shaping our mind.
Duh, I hear you say. Not that again. It got old long ago.
Hang in there. Continue reading
Doubt
Let’s say you started something new. It feels good to get out of the old routine. It might even help you change your life, make you rich or get you to that place where you always wanted to be. You even got your first small successes.
And then … BAMM! Continue reading
Celebrate!
What? What now? What have I done to celebrate?
Well, possibly you actually reached a goal, after getting prodded along by me. Or prodding yourself. Chances are, you did. And that deserves a celebration!
Actually, there is a reason behind this. It is important that you get that feeling of accomplishment. Continue reading
Anger *
Have you played around with some teeny, tiny goals? I hope you had some success. And I really hope you experienced that wonderful feeling of accomplishment.
Yet I’m also fairly sure there will have been a goal that you missed. And most likely, you’re chewing yourself up because of it. Continue reading
