What do you do when you’re facing an obstacle?

Most people don’t like obstacles. That makes a certain sort of sense. After all, when you’ve got a goal that you’re trying to accomplish, the last thing you want or need is something standing in your way.  Obstacles seem to make us stand still; they keep us from getting where we want to go. They cause us to lose whatever momentum we’ve built up. In worst-case scenarios, they become the roadblocks standing in the way of allowing us ever to get there at all.

With all this in mind, it’s no wonder obstacles look so daunting. 

What if obstacles weren’t as bad as you thought? What if the one thing you’re facing right now might hold the solution to the very problem you’re trying to solve? Consider this for a moment: What if what you’re looking at is not so much an obstacle, as an opportunity? That it’s your emotions holding you back, making you think an obstacle is a...

One of the most impactful feelings you’ll ever experience is hope. Hope occurs when we center our expectations on something. Your hope is like a wish for something to happen. And there’s power in those wishes!

Consider these points to increase your power with hope:

1. Hope plants a seed. Whenever you yearn for something, having hope is an implication that it could actually occur. Hope can germinate into a whole new existence. Your life’s journey can be enhanced simply by having hope.
2. In order to feel hopeful, honesty is required. We’ve all experienced times when we were fooling ourselves about something, such as a relationship or work situation. But to have hope, we’re forced to be honest about what we’ve done to create the challenge. 
   • Only if you tell yourself the truth about a trying situation can you proceed ahead and experience hope.
3. Hope produces a “can do” spirit. For example, if you want your relationship to be better, you...

You probably can’t find anyone over the age of 10 that hasn’t felt overwhelmed at some point. It takes more to overwhelm some people than others, but the feeling and the impact are the same. 

It can be very challenging to focus on solutions and take the necessary steps to resolve the situation. However, focus and action can ultimately solve most negative situations in your life.

Many of us are prone to worrying and then doing silly things to make ourselves feel better. This doesn’t solve the issue. It just avoids it temporarily. 

Take these steps to create a plan and go from feeling overwhelmed to feeling peaceful again: 

1. Identify what is under your control. There’s little point to worrying about those things outside your locus of control. Determine what you can control and place your attention there.
   
   
2. Focus on solutions. Now that you know what you can and can’t change, keep your attention on finding a solution. Obsessing over the problem...

There’s just no way around it: betrayals hurt. Whether you’ve been betrayed by a partner or a friend, it’s difficult to recover. 

There is good news however, there are things you can do to help speed up your recovery so you can move on with your life and even start looking forward to a brighter future. 

So how can you heal your heart, body, and spirit after a betrayal? 

These strategies will help: 

1. Recognize the betrayal. You might try to block out the betrayal so you don’t have to think about it. However, it’s healthier to accept the betrayal and deal with it.

    Trying to ignore a betrayal traps everything inside you and can stop you from healing.

    It’s important to address the issues and learn to manage them. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. You’ll learn to move past the betrayal, especially if you take action to help heal yourself.

2. Forgive yourself and others. Forgiveness is...

Shame is similar to guilt, but more personal. You might feel guilty for stealing a TV last month, whereas you might feel shame for being a thief. When you feel guilty, you feel bad about a particular event. Shame is more pervasive and personal. You might feel shame for being a poor parent or even being the victim of abuse. 

Think of guilt as “I did something bad” and shame as, “I am bad.” 

People that never feel shame are usually psychopaths. So, that is one less worry you now have.  

Use these ideas to deal directly with any feelings of shame: 

1. Explore why you feel shame. What happened? What does that event or series of events say about you? Is that a reasonable interpretation on your part? Are you being too hard on yourself? Is it possible that you didn’t do anything wrong at all?

• Be honest with yourself and someone else you trust. The truth might be that you don’t love your spouse anymore, or you prefer when your...

When someone has wronged you, forgiveness may be the last thing on your mind. You’re convinced they deserve all the anger and hostility you can muster. However, forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. Does your anger harm the other person? In most cases, the other person just stays away. 

Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.

Forgiveness is the healthy and logical choice for several reasons: 

1.     Living in the past steals your present and taints your future. A great future requires an attentive present. That’s not possible if you’re living in the past. Life is happening right now in this moment. Every moment spent in the past is lost forever. Reclaim your life by forgiving and moving on.
2.     Failing to forgive creates misery. Creating and maintaining negative thoughts doesn’t feel good. Pleasant thoughts support a pleasant mood. By refusing to forgive the person that wronged you,...

Why is self-respect so important? 

When you have self-respect, you actually fully love yourself. You love yourself for who you are on the inside and not just because of what you do, what you look like, or what you're capable of. When you have self-respect, you take pride in who you are and you know that you’re valuable. 

On the flipside, without self-respect, it’s difficult to have honesty, confidence, and integrity. Instead, a person without self-respect may feel the emotions of anger, guilt, blame, shame, or regret, and they sport secretive behavior because deep down they feel unworthy. Beyond that, if you can’t respect yourself, how can you respect others and how can others respect you? 

Putting Your Needs First 

Too many people put the needs of others before their own. Although this is admirable, in order to respect and serve others, you need to meet your own physical and emotional needs first. Meeting your own needs first is an important...

Many people feel that when they take time for themselves that they are being selfish, but it’s just not true. Self care is vital for us to continue to care for others and all our responsibilities.

How to know if you are being selfish or not?  You would think we would not need to ask this question, however in this day and age it is even more important. Our culture (especially for women) is to do for others. We are expected to do it all and do it with a smile on our face. But this would be why we have so much overwhelm, anxiety and depression, because it is just not possible to do everything without also doing for ourselves.

So how do you know if you are being selfish or not?

Selfishness never brings joy, peace, or love, it creates an inner and outer experience of isolation and loneliness. It does not create an opportunity to share, nurture, or serve. Selfishness is a choice to always think only of your needs and desires. 

Self-care chooses to respect your inner...

The ‘shadow’ is the side of your personality that contains all the parts of yourself that you don’t want to admit to having.

It is often an unconscious side. It is only through our personal efforts to become self-aware that we can begin to recognise our shadow.

Although many believe the shadow is ‘negative’, this is not really true. The Shadow is what you yourself perceive as dark and weak in yourself, and therefore needing to be hidden and denied. But this depends on your own perspective on life, and your levels of self awareness and self value.

For some their shadow might just contain such classic elements as sadness, rage, laziness, and cruelty, but you might also hide your personal power, your independence, or your emotional sensitivity.

Everyone has a shadow side no matter how nice someone may seem, they have a shadow side like anyone else.

You also cannot  ‘get rid of’ or ‘heal’ your shadow. It’s an essential and...

It's very difficult to achieve your goals if you lack focus. You'll find yourself meandering through life without anything significant to show at the end. And it happens to the best of us. When you allow yourself to "go with the flow," you'll likely come out as an underachiever.

What are you going to do about it? What changes do you need to make so you have more to show for your waking hours? Are you ready to make them? There's no better time than the present to get started.

Take these steps to develop a focused outlook and be on your way to living the life of your dreams:

1. Know that you're the best. There isn't anyone better at what you do than you. The minute you start believing that, you'll start to pay keen attention to achieving your goals. Just the thought of being the best at something can drive you to give everything your all.

• Self-belief is one of life's greatest gifts! It can help you to see mountains as mere bumps in the road. And once you have that attitude, very few...