“The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have.”
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Tag: self-growth
You might sometimes feel like life is getting too complicated, like there are too many elements at play and things are getting out of hand. But are they really? Or are we just making things harder than they should be?
The feeling of overwhelm that sometimes floods over us can be very hard to manage and lead to anxiety, stress, or even depression.
The thing is, you can do something about it. You can choose how you respond to situations and process information. You can essentially rewire the way your brain functions in response to external stimuli.
In this video, The School of Life gives us some insights on how we can simplify our lives.
Are you breathing?
When was the last time you got up from your chair to take a break?
Is your mind feeling clouded and cluttered?
Chances are you might be moving too fast. Not physically I mean, but in your thoughts. We are bombarded with so many stimuli in the modern-world, we often don’t even have time to process them.
Which is why today, I invite you to take a rest. It can take whatever form you wish. Just make sure to leave space for your thoughts to settle and for your self to recover. You will gain so much value from it.
Read more about the importance of rest: Slow is not Static
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Do you consider yourself to be a confident person? Do you trust your abilities? Do you even know what those abilities are? Having self confidence is probably one of the most important aspects of your personality you can develop on your journey of self development.
Lack of self confidence is often the origin of anxiety and preoccupations when we are faced with everyday challenges, whether they may be big or small.
It stops us from building meaningful relationships, from truly pursuing our dreams, from speaking our mind, from taking risks, in essence from being ourselves. That is why it is so important, not only for our professional life, but also for our private life, to find those tools and strategies that might help us in building self confidence and finding our place in this world.
Marcus Aurelius offers us 10 tips to build our self confidence:
- Focus on building your character
- Practice Self-Acceptance
- Focus on your thoughts
- Make a plan and stop thinking
- Keep your word
- Take ownership of your actions
- Don’t speak too much about yourself
- Remind yourself of death
- Ignore the naysayers
- Have an evening confidence ritual
Be sure to watch the full video from Philosophies for Life for an in-depth explanation of each of these points and to be inspired by this great man!
Finding the right balance between success and self-improvement is a game we all play in our lives to a certain extent. Some of us tend to veer more towards one or the other, but they are both goals we strive for.
What habits can help us be more successful?
What habits can help us work on self-improvement?
Many times, they won’t be compatible. Author Niklas Göke suggests that instead of looking for those habits that fulfill both goals, we should first focus on those habits that are hindering us.
- Give Up Reducing Your Dimensions
- Give Up The Imitation Game
- Give Up Looking in Favour or Seeing
- Give Up Living in Outcomes
- Give Up All Happiness Outside Yourself
- Give Up Waiting
- Give Up the Make Pretend
- Give Up Anything But Loving Yourself
Here is the full article: What Habits Does Your Best Self Not Have?
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Oftentimes what makes our life really hard is criticism. Or rather, fear of criticism.
Pursuing our goals becomes a daunting task when we think people will be judging us; the fact that we are often our worst critics makes it even more daunting.
We’re told that we should just ignore those voices, just ignore those criticisms. But how can you do that when it’s your own inner voice telling you that everything you do is wrong?
Well, Brené Brown suggests we shouldn’t try to quieten those voices: we should rather tell them “Tell them, I see you, I hear you, but I’m going to do this anyway”.
Here is her wonderful TED Talk on Criticism:
Piggybacking on our last post, here is Dr. Carol Dweck’s TEDx talk about the power of adopting a growth mindset and believing that you can improve your skills in just about anything!