22 THINGS TO KEEP

You are what you eat -and what you don't eat. Similarly, life depends on what you keep and what you don't keep. There are many things in life that people may keep, but only a few are truly worth keeping. Here is a list of what to keep (and how) for a brighter, happier and more fulfilling life.

1) Keep calm. Life can be unnerving and if you don't make an effort to keep collected and focused, you could easily lose your cool. Take regular, conscious deep breaths to calm and center yourself.

2) Keep your chin up. Not only is it good for your posture and diminishes your double chin, it also helps you maintain an "I can handle it" attitude. By keeping your chin up, you can keep your head above water.

3) Keep your spirits high. Always maintain a positive and joyful attitude. Remember that no one can perk you up like yourself. Keep your spirits high when the going gets rough by focusing on your dreams and counting your blessings.

4) Keep your word. The true measure of a man is if he keeps his word. Honorable and trustworthy is the man who stands by what he says and promises. It is important to think well before speaking because once a word is uttered and released into the universe, its vibrations could no longer be erased.

5) Keep in time with your inner drummer. Don't be swayed by others into following the confusing beat of their drums. Although it is sometimes necessary to adjust to the pace of others, it is best to keep in step with your personal rhythm and to dance to your own music.

6) Keep in touch with the child in you. The source of creativity in your life is that little child within you. He questions, he marvels, he imagines and invents. Stay in touch with him, and be young and creative for life!

7) Keep abreast of the times. The world is moving so fast. Know what's happening, what's in style, what's au courant, what's relevant, what's important. Learn the hottest trends and the latest in technology. Don't be caught in a time warp or you'll be left behind.

8) Keep in shape. Your shape shows your state of health. Your body is the vessel that you journey through life in. Keep it healthy and strong. Don't be one of those people who say, "I'm in shape; round is a shape!"

9) Keep your mouth shut. People talk too much. We language ourselves to our own destruction and defeat. Know when to talk and when to shut up. Avoid being too verbose. Oftentimes, silence speaks more eloquently than words.

10) Keep good friends. Good friends are hard to find. Nurture friendships that make your plight through life easier, more wonderful and meaningful. Truly poor is the man who has no good friends.

11) Keep great memories, not heavy objects. In the very end, good memories of life are what we will be left with, not jewels and riches that we can't bring when we finally go. Live each moment beautifully. Linked together, these magical moments create a magnificent life.

12) Keep a diary. Writing a journal is therapeutic. Record the important events in your life, your dreams and aspirations, even your failures and disappointments. When you trace back events in your life, you are bound to learn lessons from them as well as find great inspiration and strength.

13) Keep saying grace and thanks. Blessed is he who says grace before he eats and gives thanks for all the gifts he receives daily. Maintain a thankful attitude and focus on your blessings instead of disappointments.

14) Keep on moving forward. The universe moves forward in time. Don't get stuck in yesterday; make an effort to move ahead to a better life. Drop those unnecessary pieces of material and emotional baggage that weigh you down and keep you from flying to your loftiest dreams.

15) Keep out of danger. He who exposes himself to danger finds it. Don't court danger; avoid it. As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Look out for number one (that's you!), and always stay safe and sound.

16) Keep up the good work. Success is built upon success. The more you do, the more you achieve; the more you achieve, the better you get at doing it. Make success a habit by keeping up the good work.

17) Keep young. Do everything in your power to stay strong, supple and youthful. Think young; feel young. A wise man once said "It is never too late to be what you might have been." Remember that age is a number and that youth is an attitude.

18) Keep on dancing. Life is a dance through space and time. Embellish whatever music life plays for you with your own fresh orchestration and creative choreography. Be excited in your heart and keep your feet light with happiness.

19) Keep on loving. Love is the reason we were created. Love diminishes when hoarded but multiplies when shared. Give it and feel it overflow in your heart. Love cures all sadness, pain and sorrow. Lonely is he who does not give love away and therefore gets none in return.

20) Keep on dreaming. Most men, even if they are young, are dead - that is, if they can no longer dream. Our dreams are what keep us young and alive; they give us that sparkle in our eyes. Our dreams keep us going even while everything around us says, "Stop."

21) Keep on hoping. Never lose hope. Tomorrow will be another day that will bring new hope and greater blessings. Keep faith in the abundance of the universe and the mystery and perfection of life. Hope for nothing but the best and that's what you will be granted.

22) Keep on believing. Belief is the mother of reality. What you believe becomes your truth. Believe in yourself, believe in the magic of the universe, believe in the power of your dreams. And most of all, believe you can do it, so you can have all your heart's desires!


These You Must Not Keep

1) Don't keep up with the Joneses. Just because your neighbor bought a red Ferrari, you, too, must get one. Don't join the bandwagon and keep away from the "herd mentality." Too much unhappiness in this world is caused by comparisons - comparing yourself and trying to measure up to other people. There is really no need to live up to others' expectations if it would just bring you inconvenience and misery.

2) Don't keep issues and grudges. The reason most of us stay miserable is because we keep issues, grudges, and problems. Detox yourself of complaints and issues that keep you from being the best that you could be. Try to solve all problems that beset you; never leave anything unresolved. The questions and puzzles of life are what make it challenging and exciting.

3) Don't keep resentments and memories of painful experiences. Life is not a bed of roses so you must learn to let go of negative feelings and memories of painful experiences. It's hard to go on living with a heavy heart. Pardon, forgive, forget if you can, and move on.

PS: I don't know the origins of this e-mail, but it's definitely worth the "forward".....

Techniques to develop Empathic Skills

Empathy is the skill to understand the emotions of people and to treat them according to their emotional reaction. This skill is closely linked with the emotional intelligence which is basically analyzing, assessing and managing the emotion of oneself and others. So by developing and practicing this skill not only you resolve someone’s problems but also win their hearts.

Before you take the deep dive of empathic and Emotional Intelligence concepts, you must understand that human psychology is complex in its nature. Every soul on earth is unique; its uniqueness is dependent on several social, personal, financial and familial and circumstantial factors. Hence in order to understand the emotions of someone the above mentioned baselines have to be remembered all the times because this will prevent you imposing your personal thoughts and conclusion on someone for any given situation and hence helps you understand their unique perspective.

Now that you have concrete understanding on above concept, learn below techniques to build and enhance your empathic skills:

1. Put yourself in their shoes. Involve yourself deeply in the situation in which the person is trapped. Try to evaluate/quantify the level of stress the person is in. Ask questions to understand more but remember not to bombard the person with so many questions as you might cause more stress adding fuel to the fire.

2. Develop Stong Observatory Skills: Observing behaviors is the most important expertise while developing empathic skills. During the conversations try to read the person’s mind however avoid instant judgment and conclusion. Be fair and slow in judging people. Avoid being reactive or explosive. Constantly observe the person during your conversation and try to find the most important ‘point of concern’ which matters the most to the person. This will help understand the problem deeply and might also help you reaching the root of the issue.

3. Develop Analytical Skills: Analysis means to consider the situation from different angles and reaching to the root of the problem. This involves considering financial, technical, emotional, professional, logical and mental aspects of the situation. Also sometimes analytical skills require you to breakdown the given problem into smaller problems and then focus on the solution to each problem separately.

4. Handling the situation: Think what would you and how would you do if trapped in such tragic situation. Think if the person can follow the same methodology to fix the problem? Remember, every soul is unique so you must examine it according to the nature of the person and the circumstance the person is in. For example, you would handle a rich person trapped in the debt differently as compared to a poor person and differently for educated and less educated persons.

5. Effective Communication: Nearly all other skills are dependent on your Effective Communication skills. No matter how genius you are, you won’t add value if you fail to express yourself properly and effectively. You can read my article on how to improve your Communication skills.

6. Follow up: Don’t leave the person alone once you have helped by either giving advice or by fixing the problem. Follow up after adequate amount of time as the situation may have arisen again.

The Young Man and the Bad Habits

A wealthy man requested an old scholar to wean his son away from his bad habits. The scholar took the boy for a stroll through a garden.

Stopping suddenly he asked the boy to pull out a tiny plant growing there.

The boy held the plant between his thumb and forefinger and pulled it out. The old man then asked him to pull out a slightly bigger plant.

The youth pulled hard and the plant came out.
Roots and all.

Now pull out that one, said the old man pointing to a bush. The boy had to use all his strength to pull it out.

Now take this one out, said the old man, indicating a guava tree.

The youth grasped the trunk and tried to pull it out. But it would not budge. It's impossible, said the boy, panting with the effort.

So it is with bad habits, said the sage.

When they are young it is easy to pull them out, but when they take hold they cannot be uprooted.


Don't wait for Bad Habits to grow in you,

drop them while you have control over them,

else they will get control you!.
 

Attitude and Emotions - Powerful Lesson

When someone is doing something or is about to do something, in a way we don't want it to be done and when we are not able to accept it, we become angry.

However, when someone is doing something or is about to do something, in a way we don't want it to be done – and we are able to accept it – We remain tolerant.

When someone has something which we don't have, or someone is able to produce the results which we are not able to produce – and we are not able to accept it – we become jealous.

When someone has something which we don't have or someone is able to produce the results which we are not able to produce and we are able to accept it we get inspired.

When Someone is present in our thoughts, but if not physically present and we are not able to accept it – We say 'I am missing you'.

When someone is present in our thoughts, but not physically present – and we are able to accept it – We say 'I am thinking of you'.

Then emotional equation is quite simple.

Something + Acceptance = Positive Emotion
Something + Non Acceptance = Negative Emotion

So, it is not 'Something' or 'someone' who is making us feel positive or negative, but it is our 'acceptance' or 'non acceptance' of something or someone, which is making us feel positive or negative.

It isn't the world but the quality of our response to the world (acceptance or non acceptance) that determines the quality of our emotions.

Next time we feel disturbed with a negative emotion, instead of asking who or what is disturbing us, we will examine who or what we are resisting (not accepting) that is causing this disturbance in us.
We will replace resistance (non acceptance) with acceptance, and the negative emotion will turn into a positive one.

Emotional management begins by stopping to blame that 'something' or 'someone' and starting
to take the responsibility to respond to life with 'acceptance'.

The Stone on the Road

One day a farmer, walking down the street in a small town came across a large stone in the middle of his path.
The farmer complained: "Who could be so careless as to leave such a big stone on the road?
Why does someone not remove it?" He went away complaining.

The next day, the same thing happened with a milkman. He too went away grumbling but left the stone as it was.

Then one day, a student came across the stone. Worried that some¬one may fall over it and hurt himself, he decided to push it aside.
He pushed long and hard all by himself and eventually managed to remove the stone from the path.
He came back and noticed a piece of paper where the stone was kept.
He picked the paper and opened it. Inside was written, "You are the true wealth of this nation."
There are two kinds of people - talkers and doers.
Talkers merely talk, while doers do.
The moral of this story is that if you don't want to get involved you have no right to criticise.
Become the change you wish to see in this world.
Service to society is the rent we pay for the space we occupy on this earth

10 Ways to Communicate Better at Work

Communication is arguably one of the most important business skills, no matter what your industry. Yet so many of us haven't been trained in how to communicate with co-workers and clients. Here are some tips to help you become a better communicator:

1. Listen.
Most of us are terrible listeners. Instead of truly listening to what the person is saying, we interrupt, prepare our response, or think we already know what the speaker is going to say next. It's impossible to understand what someone needs or wants if we don't give them our undivided attention.



2. Pay attention to body language.
Body language can tell you just as much as what a person says, if not more. Observe how they act when they talk. Is your co-worker saying she can meet a deadline, but wringing her hands while she says it? She might be afraid to tell you it will be hard to make the due date



3. Consider communication preference.
Not everyone likes to communicate the same way. Email works for some, but others would rather pick up the phone and talk, text, or even use social media or instant messaging to relay something. Respect the person you're trying to contact and use the method she seems to prefer. If you've called a client several times and always get her voicemail, but she's always quick to respond to email, switch to email instead


4. Consider your tone.
The problem with email and social media is that it can be difficult to determine the tone. You may mean something as a joke, but if it comes off pushy or angry, you could cause an unintended reaction from the recipient. Make sure your language is clear, and if you are angry, take a few minutes to cool down before you type. Better yet, meet in person so nothing is misconstrued.


5. Don't be too casual.
Getting along with your work colleagues can help you do your job better, but don't take it too far in your communication on the job. Keep the cursing for after hours, and make sure your emails, meetings, and phone calls are professional. Being too casual on the job may make others feel uncomfortable


6. Check your grammar
Spell check is your best friend on the job. Always proofread anything you type--be it an email, Tweet, or letter. If you're not great at catching errors, ask someone else to proof it for you.


7. Keep criticism constructive.
If you manage others, you want them to do their best. Work to ensure your comments aren't emotionally charged, and that the person you're speaking with grasps what you're trying to say when giving feedback. Provide positive reinforcement when a job is well-done, and find ways to add in tips for improvement without being "that boss."
8. Restate what you hear.
Rephrasing what your co-worker or boss says to you by repeating the important points shows you are listening and understand what you were told. It gives both parties a chance to clarify if there is any confusion, and by repeating it, you'll remember


9. Get a little personal.
People let their guards down when you talk about their lives outside of work. Ask about a co-worker's kid's soccer tournament. Find ways to interact on a personal level without going too far. You'll go a long way toward building trust


10. Never stop improving.
Effective communication is a skill you must practice. Observe how others respond to your communication to clue you in on areas for improvement.