Results in life don’t come from being motivated only, results in life come because of action. We always need to remember that activity without a purpose is a drain to our lives. Stop for a second and ask yourself: What is the decision that will shift you? – In other words, what are you going to do so that this ruling is not mere than a story but is real?
Do you want to change your life? Plan, Commit, and Act – Success requires no apologies.
Tag Archives: Self-improvement
Becoming the Very Best Version of Yourself – Critical Thinking
I am continuing with the series about how to become a better YOU. This time, I am touching upon critical thinking.
Thinking critically is a matter of attention. It is a way to be able to utilize your mental awareness and realize that a thinking process is in progress.
Begin by practicing awareness every time you choose to think about a particular topic.
Realizing that your mind is thinking is the first step.
Basic critical thinking is composed of these six basic skills:
- Interpretation: “Do you know what I mean?” asked Ruben, one of the participants who attended the Leadership through Safety Awareness Workshop I presented at my company last week. As I was looking into his eyes, I could see he was still confused about his new role.After talking for a few minutes, we were able to dissipate his concerns and doubts. I realized that the information I presented triggered some self-doubts in him that distracted him and made him too uncomfortable to communicate the true meaning of the information he had learned to others.We worked together for about five minutes and at the end, he was able to tune into his interpretation skills beyond self-judgment and focus only on mental awareness.To think critically means to directly analyze and or evaluate information beyond any sense of self-judgment. It enables you to have the ability to think outside the box and to drop any sense of judgment towards oneself. Always try to be present when you are thinking.
- Analysis: This refers to the ability to “read between the lines.” It is to possess the capacity to connect the pieces of information given and determine their true meaning.
- Inference: The ability to understand and recognize the elements needed to determine an accurate conclusion. Interpretation and inference work hand in hand, and you can use this simple skill to become more precise in your interaction with others.
- Evaluation: Ask yourself this question: How credible are my expressions of my experience? How factual are my opinions? Do I exaggerate to make my inputs more impressive?Evaluate your interactions with others with impartiality. You are not looking for deficiencies to bring yourself down; it is quite the opposite, you are looking for clues for where to make corrections that will help you become a more interesting person, the type of person whose sense of self-evaluation is based on growth and well-being.
- Explanation: It is important to know that not everyone has or needs the level of information you have. To become a better communicator requires attention. It requires patience and self-awareness.On our journey to become the very best version of ourselves, we want to have the courage to face ourselves and ask: Do I communicate well? Am I correctly and frequently saying what I mean?Learn through practice to identify your level of communication with others. Ultimately, remember that one of the best tools to communicate is to become a better listener.
- Self-Regulation: Thinking critically is a matter of attention and self-regulation is an ally. Self-regulation is the skill that allows you to have an awareness of your thinking process.It is the skill that helps you develop greater abilities to connect the proper elements of information to obtain the desired results. Sometimes we allow our self-interest to play a factor in what we decide to understand.It is very dangerous because it can make our progress more difficult. Critical thinking is an extension of communication and to self-regulate our personal biases is crucial for a successful interaction with others.
Getting unstuck is a life process, therefore make life simple again. Allow for the opportunity to free yourself from self-limiting beliefs through the practice of critical thinking when it comes to interaction with yourself and others.
What can we do to make life simple again? Think about it.
Becoming the Very Best Version of Yourself
Seven Easy Keys
Leaders must understand their goals and resolve to enter a state of discipline based on their desire to lead consciously.
Years ago, as I entered the world of self-improvement, I never knew how to handle the amount of new information. It was a huge source of incoming energy in the form of eye-opening discovery. It was as if all of a sudden I was given a huge bundle of information that I needed to absorb and digest in just a few weeks. I used to drive my car while listening to the wisdom of people such as Seneca the Stoic, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Tony Robbins and even lectures by Paramahansa Yogananda.
My radio stations became centers of lectures and interviews. I had CDs with absolutely no music other than the music at the beginning of their material presentation. I used to read many books, all kinds, (I still do) and I dedicated my time to assimilating all this new information. Those were indeed pretty exciting times for me.
Technology has changed and the way we receive information is tremendously different these days. More than ever we possess the freedom to do the most exhaustive research on our smartphones. It is a whole new world, a new world of infinite possibilities and opportunities to do, say and act in any way possible.
Humanity is evolving and changing very fast, and it is time to commit to work on ourselves, to understand that we must be greater than our fears, limiting beliefs, false ideas, and self-imposed barriers. It is time to become the very best version of ourselves.
I will divide this into seven different posts so we can make it more digestible while respecting everyone’s time. I will be posting on a weekly basis and providing other interesting material for your reading pleasure.
- Become a Better Listener
- Improve Your Critical Thinking Techniques
- Sharpen Your Communication Skills
- Practice Patience
- Control of Mind and Emotions
- Develop Healthier Sleeping Patterns
- (SPA )Study, Plan, and Act Everyday
Key Number One: Better Listener
Next time you spend time with a friend or with someone you love or even with the stranger on the train who tries to start up a conversation with you by mentioning the weather. Pay attention! Be present by creating a direct contact. Develop sensitivity and understand that every person needs attention when it comes to communicating.
Better listeners are considered to have a gift, the gift of patience (the fourth step). If you are an individual who thinks you don’t have a lot of patience or much time to waste, you can still practice good listening. Set aside time and communicate to the other person that you will be paying undivided attention to them for five minutes or so and that you are willing to discuss their issue within the allotted time.
The idea is to be completely present and to listen carefully Many people are just looking to be heard. One of the greatest gifts you can give someone is your undivided attention through a period of uninterrupted time. Abstain from giving advice right away and instead, discuss the issue in a collaborative way where the person wanting to communicate can listen to himself or herself and perhaps obtain their own answer.
Listening consciously is challenging but not impossible if you start practicing one minute at a time. Ultimately, it is better, to be honest, and tell the other person you can’t listen to them right now than to listen half- heartedly. This way you will show them more consideration and respect.
In an article published in the LA Times, author Robert Lee Hotz reported – “Understanding whether differences in mental capacity or intellectual ability can be attributed to gender has long confounded scientists, parents, equal rights activists and educators.”
To be sure, men’s and women’s brains are more alike than not, but they are not the same–in size, sense or sensibilities – disregard gender, don’t justify your sense of attention because of that. Be human, that is it.
Ultimately, leaders must listen actively; listening goes well beyond being quiet and giving someone your full attention. Listening requires you to be aware of body language, facial expressions, mood, and natural behavioral tendencies.
In the science of yoga, care is critical for the development of meditation, also known as Dharana. According to Eastern psychology, it is possible to attain a further state of attention wherein all other mental movement stops. At this point, the mind ‘becomes one’ with the essential nature of the object of concentration, (listening).
When Doubts Pretend To Keep You Safe
“What do you want? What do you want?” he repeated to himself. “What do I want? To live and not to suffer,” he answered. And again he listened with such concentrated attention that even his pain did not distract him. “To live? How?” asked his inner voice. “Why, to live as I used to—well and pleasantly.” “As you lived before, well and pleasantly?” the voice repeated. And in imagination, he began to recall the best moments of his pleasant life.”
― Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich
What do you want? It is an original question. It carries a significant level of responsibility and requires an intrinsical state of clarity when it comes to responding to its daring power.
We all have our dreams and goals, some of us dream of writing a book, of moving to Hawaii, some of us dream of hiking the Himalayas, or even living by the ocean while enjoying the success of our foreign profitable business.
These are all very motivating dreams, and in fact, they can all be attainable.
What is that powerful force that stops you from accomplishing them? DOUBT.
When Leonardo DaVinci past away, his last words were: “I have offended mankind because my work did not reach the quality that it should have” – Unbelievable! Don’t you think?
Mr. DaVinci himself had doubts as well. The difference between DaVinci’s mind and the minds of the ones who doubt is that he never stopped creating. He probably enjoyed his work immensely and cultivated passion in it.
There is a difference between finding your passion and cultivating one. A lot of people have difficulties finding their “true” calling, and sadly most of them never find it and continue living a life of frustrated dreams.
The main reason for this is because passion can never be found, it can only be created and cultivated based on individual qualities. Qualities that every single one of us possesses.
The only distance that separates our passion from our dreams and goals is the distance of doubt. Unfortunately, for most of the people, doubt is easier to be brought up to the surface of their minds than their dreams and goals.
A very disturbing fact of doubt is that it pretends to keep you safe. Although psychologically feeling safe is a good thing, it might not be productive in the creation of a better reality for yourself.
It is a fact that man is the only animal that “knows that he knows” and that is what makes him human and also vulnerable to adverse influence which is typically picked up during childhood.
Doubts don’t keep you safe; instead, they keep you fooled and steal your potential of becoming a much better and successful human being.
Awareness is the perfect weapon to catch your mind when it is telling you lies about what and who you are and to stop the inherent potential to succeed that you already possess in your brain and mind.
Be alert and next time you are listening to the thoughts in your mind and feeling that they are not in cooperation with your desired state, act immediately and do the very best to move towards a better mental space .
A very simple way to counteract the effect of negative thinking is by asking yourself where is this thought coming from? Where did I learn that this is true? Did I experience the memory of this view?
Most likely, all these thoughts and views will be a bunch of self-defeating beliefs that somehow got deep into your subconscious and made you believe that they are valid even if you never experienced them.
What are your goals and dreams? Can you make them happen?
Freedom to know what you want – The Power of Incremental Change
“Those who depart from this world without knowing who they are or what they truly desire have no freedom here or hereafter. But those who leave here knowing who they are and what they truly desire have freedom everywhere, both in this world and in the next.
The Chandogya Upanishad VIII.1.6”
The massive weight of all the circumstances and experiences running wild in our days can make our goals cloudy, cumbersome, confusing and even unattainable. At the same time, the power of liberty that carries our inner desires cannot only be forgotten but also destroyed in the mix.
Our goals and ambitions suffer because they are so entangled in premature failure due to erroneous beliefs. These will not be affected if we are determined to tap into our inner power to receive freedom to choose what we want.
Have you ever stop and wondered what do you want? And if so, have you ever figured out the ways to achieve your goals? If yes, God bless!
If the answer is no, then you need to establish your values and begin to resolve your inner conflicts.
Our inner conflicts are obstacles for fulfillment. One must have the ability to focus on them mindfully and be able to correct them or adjust them, so we can make the path to our goals smoother and ideally free of emotional baggage.
There is a practical way to overcome any obstacle in your path to freedom. It is called Incremental Change.
Freedom to know what you want is the result of personal assessments based on experiences, emotions, and states of mind. It is perhaps the most accurate way to stay focused on your life goals without any distractor.
This freedom can successfully be achieved with well-defined patience and with a systematic process of little bits of progress, including small incremental changes.
Entrepreneur Jim Rohn used to say: “Success is a few simple disciplines, practiced every day; while failure is simply a few errors in judgment, repeated every day.”
Increment your changes so slowly that you won’t even notice them.
Whatever the change is that you want to do, remember that this process is not only the exchange of one thing for the another but also the creation of new positive habits in the process.
A Quick Example: Assuming you feel that you want and need to eat better. The first thing to do is to make sure you analyze your current status of your diet. The knowing of your situation will naturally guide you to make the necessary changes to attain your goals.
Small changes in your diet will make you get to your final goal of eating better. Although incremental changes can feel like is way too slow, they are incredibly powerful, and with time they will make you reach your goal in a safe and consistent matter.
As you continue with your incremental changes and as you begin to see those goals getting closer, you will feel as if you can do almost anything.
During these moments of progress, you will be able to clarify your commitments, and at the same time, you will be able to obtain the freedom to know what you want for your life.
What are your most basic inner conflicts and how would you solve them?
Add Value – Simplicty is the Key
In business, the creation of value is the primary aim. By creating value for customers; managers can help sell products and services, all while creating value for shareholders. This approach is pretty logical and clear.
In life, however; we sometimes don’t know how to contribute and add value to our lives for the simple fact that is a little complicated and confusing to determine what we want for ourselves. (sometimes)
I once noticed how a young child was coloring a drawing on a scrap paper and right after she finished it, she gave it to her father.
The father, looked at it and smiled back at the young girl and picked her up in his arms and kissed her.
The expression of the girl’s eyes was priceless. She added value to her father’s life by doing something so simple as drawing on a piece of scrap paper.
It is all about Inertia
In life, everything is determined by universal laws and one of them is the law of inertia.
The First Newton Law states that an object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
An object in motion continues in motion with the same speed and the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force.
This is the law of inertia, and it means that there is a natural tendency of objects to keep on doing what they’re doing.
All objects resist changes in their state of motion. In the absence of an unbalanced force, an object on the move will maintain this state of motion
Most of the time we remain static and desiring to have the strength to overcome our bad habits. These are the natural tendencies to keep doing what we are doing unless an opposite force pushes us to begin moving.
These forces are usually in the form of pain. When the emotional pain is greater than the negative habit, then we tend to move.
To continue moving, we don’t need any other forces; we are in the movement already.
According to the law of inertia, we will continue in motion until another force typically of opposite direction comes to stop us. However, if you want to continue with your personal progress, don’t allow any opposing forces to counteract your momentum – just keep moving. (doing)
Simplicity is the Key
Simple things are the secret. If you want to lose weight, walk a little more and eat a little less. If you want to excel in your job, do a bit more and stay 15 minutes later in your office.
If you want to accomplish any personal goal, understand that progress will never come by force, it has to be an organic process.
Personal growth comes from creating simple things, so simple that your current habits will not feel affected. You have to become a strategist and plan your progress intelligently.
Become a smarter individual, and secretly sabotage your bad behaviors and habits by introducing new and very simple new ones.
You will be adding value to your existence, and therefore you will contribute by inspiring others.
Be better not by chance but by change.
Why I Decided to Study the Science of Yoga
There are many ways to approach life, some of us take life as it comes, some take life way too serious and get obsessed with the intricacies of their daily routines.
Also; at the same time, we are all exposed to disciplines designed to create better results in many different levels in life.
Some of them are very ancient; some are very modern and exciting; others, like yoga; are very profound, sometimes even confusing and therefore misunderstood.
What is this yoga thing?
According to Sports Marketing Survey, established in 1984 by Ian Peacock; the latest statistics shows that the number of US yoga practitioners has increased to more than 36 million, up from 20.4 million in 2012.
The cost of yoga classes, clothing, equipment, and accessories is up to $16 billion, up from $10 billion over the past four years.
The statistics show that in the US yoga is a great business rather than a science of self-knowledge, discovery of human potential and mental evolution.
This number is alarming and will continue to grow, and perhaps it will take some years for the real message of yoga to raise.
Meanwhile, I choose to keep learning through experiential methods while studying the yogic information provided from reliable sources.
Yoga is life; it is your life, my life, and the life of every single sentient being. It is holy.
I decided to study this science because it helps me focus on the actual meaning of my spiritual world and that is enough for me to stay aware of my evolution as a human being, as a practitioner, as a student, and as a professional.
It helps me stay concentrated in what is important, which is the act of giving, creating and supporting. It keeps me searching inside me and not inside many yoga studios. I decided to dive in deep into the world of yogic scriptures to explore something different, more profound than 60-minute classes, which I have both attended and hosted in many occassions.
If you practice consciously, systematically and in a scientific way, one can obtain beautiful results in a short period.
Although it is always a good alternative to fix the body as a unit of energy, the combination of yoga with medicine will not provide the individual with the primary goal of yoga.
Medicine in conjunction with yoga will not make you realize your potential, it will make you feel physically good only, I am afraid this holistic practice will end up being corrupted by the western medical approach.
The real meaning of this practice resides in the full aspect of going beyond comfort and applications that only confuse the population.
Yoga is the science of consciousness, and it is the study of truth. It is the constant coming back to one self because there is nothing out there for us other than confusion.
There is a path known as the Eight Limbs of Yoga; it is beautiful but not practiced thoroughly and much less in the west.
Next time you take a yoga class, make sure you understand that what you are experiencing is only is just a tiny part of its complex world.
Meanwhile, I rather focus on yoga studies than yoga studios.
Learn to Live in your Power – Love Yourself [VIDEO]
Loving yourself is the basis of life and the basis of a balanced personality. Think about how you develop yourself in the presence of others and analyze the interaction of all your relationships.
It is important to be ok with yourself right now, however, do not take this is a way of accepting your present state and not doing anything to be better. You must always try to become nothing but the very best version of yourself for you and for others.
Learn to live in your power. You possess the extraordinary influence to become a real individual person. Be unique, authentic and add value to your life because you are in it.