Tag Archive for self-improvement

Self Development And Your Success

November 4, 2024 John Uncategorized No comments

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Self Development And Your Success

Life experiences come and go. But, how do they impact your life’s success?

Some of us insist that every event serves a purpose. Negative events can challenge you to see the positive in them.

A “looking with new eyes” mindset might open you up to more positivity. And GenuLines has some practical tips on guiding you on this journey.

Feeling as if you’re a failure

There are no failures in life – only people moving through different experiences. How can others accept you if YOU can’t accept yourself?

Comparing yourself to media figures

Don’t compare yourself to them. The same holds true for the real people you meet.

There is no need to obsess about your looks, financial situation or anything else. Self acceptance does not depend on those things, nor does the approval of others.

Man prepares for success

Down and out

When you see that other people are feeling down about themselves, give them a helping hand. But if you find that they’re determined to stay in their negativity, leave them to it. Nobody benefits when you’re both in a tailspin.

There are no mistakes – only lessons learned

Don’t feel stupid or doomed because you failed some kind of test. See failure as a step on the road to success.

Take things one at a time

It’s fine to have big goals but split them down into realistic, simple steps. Self development means working on habits that you have built up over years or decades. You will not turn everything around overnight.

At YOUR best

Understand that self development will help you to be the best YOU that you can be. It will not turn you into somebody else. Look for your own strengths and build on them, instead of comparing yourself with others.

Little things matter

Sometimes, we don’t realize that the little things that we do are like a pat on the back. Saying “hi” or “hello”, or passing little compliments can mean a huge amount to other people.

Be sensitive to other people’s plight. Help them to see the positive in their lives. This will come back to you in a positive way.

You’re willing to accept change

But it doesn’t mean that everyone else is. It may not be the right time for them, or the method you are using may not be what they need. So do everything you can to be successful with your self development, but don’t bore others with it.

There’s a profound quote that says that “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” We’re all here to learn our lessons.

Your parents, children, friends, colleagues, neighbors, even strangers. They all have the potential to be your teachers.

Open the door to self development. You can learn from every person and every situation that you encounter.

JohnK 11-4-2024
chiforyourself.com

 

stick man hears about reaching successOverheard:  “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day-in and day-out”

~Robert Collier
 

Article image by Zen Chung: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-holding-pen-writing-on-a-notebook-5749155/

 

 

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The Importance Of Your Mindset In Anything You Do In Life

October 21, 2024 John Uncategorized No comments

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The Importance Of Your Mindset In Anything You Do In Life

There are two distinct approaches to this thing called mindset. And the outcome of each type of thought lies at opposite ends of the spectrum.

The first is a “fixed mindset,” while we call the second one a “growth mindset.” Read on as GenuLines shows you which brings more success in life.

Sign reads mindset

The “fixed mindset” tends to see skills, potential and abilities as pre-determined. So, you can’t improve on them.

The growth mindset is open to the idea that there’s always room for improvement by way of working at it.

The “fixed” category tends to make you feel powerless. In the growth category there’s more optimism about who’s calling the shots so to speak.

But there are a few other big differences in these two attitudes.

The main one is how you view mistakes or obstacles and your attitude toward them.

For example, if you have a fixed mindset, you’re quicker to get discouraged by your first setback. The growth mindset and its optimistic attitude help you “make the best of it.”

Any negativity can turn into a chance to learn and grow. Are you getting the idea that the fixed mindset doesn’t leave much room for growth?

But wait, there’s more!

For one, there’s knowing that your mindset can have a major impact on your health and well-being. A depressed and discouraged attitude can suppress your immune system.

You’re more prone to illnesses. And you might take longer to recover from what your defeated attitude brought you.

With a growth mindset you tend to be sick less often- and happier too.

Experts on the subject agree that you have control over your attitude. Their consensus is that it’s smart to switch out of a fixed mindset.

And you can do it in any phase of your life.

This is good news if you find yourself stuck in the pessimistic fixed mindset. Your fatalistic attitude toward accomplishments and success don’t have to be permanent.

You can always improve.

John K 10-21-2024
chiforyourself.com

Stick figure hears about mindsetOverheard: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

                                     ~ Earl Nightingale

 

Article image by Brian Jones from Pixabay

 

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Is Your Own Negativity Affecting Your Friendships?

July 29, 2024 John Uncategorized No comments

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Is Your Own Negativity Affecting Your Friendships?

You’ll find lots of information online about how to do away with negative friendships. But what if the source of negativity is coming from you?

It isn’t always easy to recognize when you’re being negative. Some people have no idea how their negativity is impacting others.

man loses friendships

 

 

Today GenuLines looks at how your negativity could be affecting your friendships. We’ll also look at what you can do about it.

 

 

 

Are You a Negative Friend?

It isn’t always easy to see the negativity in ourselves. You can be unaware that you’re projecting negativity onto others.

So, how can you identify if you’re a negative friend?

Here’s a few signs to look out for:

You find it hard to maintain friendships.

You make plans knowing you’ll cancel them.

You don’t check in first or see how your friends are doing

Most conversations are about you

They don’t come to you for advice or support

Now, some of these signs may not be down to your own negativity. For example, you may not check in first with your friends.

This is because it always used to be you initiating contact. That alone would not make you a negative friend.

Many people find it hard to keep friends. Yet, if you generally find it easy to make friends and not keep them, there may be a problem.

Assess your friendships, including those from the past.

Is there a pattern, and could it be due to your negativity? Life gets busy and it isn’t always easy to keep in touch with friends.

But if you never contact anyone first, this is a sign you may be a negative friend.

Remember, friendships are a two-way street. Your friends need to know you care about them too.

The Impact Negativity Has on Friendships

So, why is it important to be a more positive friend? For starters, negativity can kill friendships.

Nobody wants to be around someone who always spouts negativity.

It brings down their mood, leading them to feel more depressed or drained after being around you. Another way negativity impacts friendships, is that it’s bad for the heart.

Studies have shown that negative friendships affect heart health. So, you could be impacting your friends’ health issues with your constant negativity.

These are only some of the problems you can cause if you are a negative friend.

When you bring negativity into your friendships, you won’t have strong relationships. Healthy friendships are important for our health and wellbeing.

So, if you do identify as a negative friend, now’s the time to start working on adjusting your mindset. It might not be easy; but, doing this will help you have much healthier and happier friendships.

JohnK 7-29-2024
www.chiforyourself.com

stick man hears about negativityOverheard: “Positive anything is better than negative nothing.”

                                                          – Elbert Hubbard

 

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Why Communication Is Such An Important Life Skill

July 15, 2024 John Uncategorized No comments

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Why Communication Is Such An Important Life Skill

Communication skills have always been a most important life skill. And there’s no sign of that changing anytime soon.

Communication tower

Excellent communication skills can help take you far in your career. And your personal life.

It’s easy to think that this skill isn’t important due to advancements in technology. But it’s even more important since we use so much tech to communicate and learn.

Speaking in a clear way that’s easy to understand is a valuable tool. You can work at and perfect this like any other skill, but you have to put in the work.

In this article, GenuLines explains why communication is such an important life skill.

 

Good Communication Skills Improve Your Social Life

It should be obvious that being a good communicator would help to improve your social life. It can help you with all sorts of loved ones, from friends to significant others to family members.

When you have good communication skills, you often also have good listening skills. You might find that you’ll have fewer disagreements, dramas, and fights, too.

Effective communication helps you express your feelings in a clear and concise way. People are less likely to take offense at what you say.

You’ll be more able to get to the source of your problems instead of letting them linger or spiral out of control.

Good Communication Skills Improve Your Professional Life

This is a key trait of successful people. It’s a feature of good leaders.

When you lead you’re responsible for getting across what needs to get done.

Good Communication Skills Can Make You a Better Person

You reach conflict resolution in an easier way.

This goes a long way toward improving your friendships and relationships.

More and more electronic communication brings disregard and neglect of our communication skills. There’s a sort of irony in that you need those same skills to succeed in electronic communication.

There are challenges to working on your communication skills. But they’re worth it.

The payoff is that you’ll improve your relationships, your career, and your life on the whole.

JohnK 7-15-2024
chiforyourself.com

stick man hears about communicationOverheard: “The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place”

                                                            ~George Bernard Shaw

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Do You Believe You Deserve Success?

February 26, 2024 John Uncategorized No comments

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Do You Believe You Deserve Success?

Many people in this world have a very low opinion of themselves. Often they have low opinions and beliefs about the rest of humanity.

man questions success

 
They’re trapped in self-destructive, self-limiting views. And like a disease these views can affect people the holder encounters.

So, what can we do about this? As far as a large-scale approach, there’s not much we can do for the rest of the world.

But as individuals there are a lot of of things we can do.

Today GenuLines looks at the possibilities.
 
 

Know Thyself

The fundamental approach that we have to take is to know ourselves at the deepest possible level. What does this mean?

This doesn’t mean knowing the kind of person that we are, or knowing the things we like and the things we don’t like.

Rather it’s understanding the aspects of our lives. Like our capabilities, our strengths, and our weaknesses. And it means our capacity to improve.

The question is whether you believe you deserve success or not. Take the time to go deep into yourself.

You’re here, and you have something to bring to us. But it can be tough to self-reflect.

If you work through the hesitation you’ll be off to a good start.

So, my final question to you is this:

Do You Want To Believe That You Deserve Success?

If you said no, then there’s no sense reading the rest of this post. If your answer is yes, we can move on to today’s key point.

UNLIMIT YOURSELF!

How do you do that? Careful and continuous self-exploration and honest, sincere, and dedicated hard work.

Couple that with effort in the application of self-awareness and self-discovery.

A path of “breadcrumbs” is in front of you. All you have to do is pick them up and follow the trail.

JohnK 2-26-2024

chiforyourself.com

stick man hears about successOverheard: “Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve”

                                         – Wilfred Peterson

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5 Signs You Need to Improve Your Resilience

October 2, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

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Need a little more resilience in your life? It could come in handy during tough times. Today we’re offering you some “tough love.” from GenuLines. 

5 Signs You Need to Improve Your Resilience
sculpture lacks resilience

 

Successful people are resilient in some shape or form. If not they would never overcome failure.

You might see yourself as resilient, and in many ways, you could be right.

But if the following descriptions fit you, then your resilience may be falling short . Here are five signs that mean you need to improve your resilience.

 

 

1. You’re afraid of failure
Failure is a natural part of success. You may fail several times before you succeed in something.

In fact it may even be necessary before you see that success.

Being able to face your failures is a part of being resilient. If you let all your unsuccessful attempts keep you down you may never try again.

Being afraid of failure may be a sign that your resilience is not as strong as you think

2. You let negative thoughts keep you down
Resilience is a sign of mental fortitude. You can survive challenges without pervasive thoughts discouraging you from trying.

Negative thoughts also impact your mental health. And they can lower your perception of self-worth.

If you’re prone to constant negativity you need to work on your positivity. Positive thinking is a tenet of resilience and can help you find success.

3. You don’t learn from your mistakes
Growth is an important factor in resilience. Improving your skills and abilities will lead you to success.

How can you ever grow as a person if you keep making the same mistakes over and over?

Take a clear look at your mistakes. Don’t place blame.

You’ll improve yourself. And, you’ll grow.

Don’t pretend your mistakes never happened or you’ll be unable to avoid them the next time.

4. You lack confidence
Resilient people are confident in their abilities. even without success on the first try. Confidence gives you the willpower to try new and intimidating things.

If you’re too afraid to try, you’ll never succeed.

5. You don’t take responsibility for your failure
It’s easy to place blame on outside factors that you have no control over. You won’t always have power over everything, so you have to take every situation for what it is.

By acknowledging what you can control and change, you take agency in your life. Admit it if something didn’t go right because of something you did.

Don’t always blame others for your mistakes.

Resilience gives you the power to overcome challenges. Without it, you’ll be more prone to give up.

If you find that some of these signs describe you, then you may need to take steps to improve your resilience.

JohnK 10-2-2023
chiforyourself.com

stick man hears about resilienceOverheard: “Fall seven times, stand up eight”

~Japanese Proverb
 

 

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How Changing Your Mindset Can Improve Your Life

January 2, 2023 John Uncategorized No comments

Is it time to re-consider your mindset? The beginning of the year is a good time to give it some thought. 

While you think it over keep these GenuLines tips close at hand.

How Changing Your Mindset Can Improve Your Life

“See yourself living in abundance and you will attract it. It always works, it works every time, with every person.” – Bob Proctor
 
I’m guessing that you don’t often think about how your mindset affects your life. You’ve always thought this way.
 
Either because of your upbringing or other circumstances.
 
This in fact does affect your life. By changing how you think you can improve your life.
 
boy changes his mindset
 
 
Abundance mindset, scarcity mindset, fear mindset, fixed mindset, growth mindset, and confident mindset. These of some of the different types of mindsets we have.
 
Each unconscious and conscious belief affects our lives every moment.

Self Improvement

Here are some ways changing your mindset to an abundance or growth mindset can improve your life.
 
You aren’t afraid to step out of your comfort zone. Changing to a growth mindset allows you to see the many paths available to you in whatever you’re seeking.
 
These can include job advancement, creative outlets or something more personal. This allows you to move forward rather than being stuck in the same place.
 
When you make these changes, you see there are plenty of resources to go around. Now, there will be competition, but you’ll see the opportunities in every aspect of your life.
 
You become comfortable sharing ideas without feeling threatened or intimidated. This leads to better choices, environments and relationships.
 
You aren’t afraid of being a part of a team and participating in group situations.

Relationships

Setting your sights on growth helps you build better personal and romantic relationships. You realize people will always have differences.
 
You find that a relationship involves learning about and from each other. And you grow together and develop skills to work well together.
 
You’ll begin to judge yourself and others less. You won’t have time to waste on judging what others are saying or doing. Instead you’ll be focusing on making progress in your life.
 
The growth mindset has you accepting constructive criticism for what it is and using it for growth. It helps you be more confident because you won’t need validation to reassure you that you’re doing it right.

You Can Change 

And it will improve your life. You can cultivate, learn, practice and grow new skills.
 
You no longer worry about what will happen. Instead you’ll commit to the process of doing, finishing and learning along the way.
 
Your growth will help you become a better person. Your skills will grow and you’ll build relationships.
 
You’ll step out of your comfort zone to go after what you want and believe you’ll get it.
 
JohnK 1-2-2023
 
stick man hears about mindsetOverheard: “The best thing to hold onto in life is each other”
                                  ~Audrey Hepburn
 
 
 
 
 
 

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A Closed Mind Versus An Open Mind

December 19, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

We’re told to keep an open mind, but it this really necessary? I mean, there are plenty of closed minded people in society, and they seem to do okay.

Here’s a GenuLines look at both sides of the question.

A Closed Mind Versus An Open Mind

There are two different mindsets that pretty much determine how you look at life. They’re at the root of belief systems, opinions, and thought processes..
 
sign symbolizes open mind
We’re talking about open-minded and close-minded approaches.
 
People under almost the same circumstances can have differing attitudes about a situation. One person can feel devastated and sorry for themselves.
 
The other can see the problem as a learning opportunity. And they may use it to improve themselves in some way.
 
Or, something that seems positive can leave a person ungrateful or unsatisfied.
 
 
Living life with an open mind is the better way of navigating through life’s ups and downs. This mindset put you in a better position to enjoy the good times and to cope with the bad.
 
Today we look at common examples of how keeping an open mind is the better choice.
 
Conflict
We experience conflict in the workplace and at home. It touches our relationships with friends and family alike.
 
During their interactions people bring differing opinions and perspectives to the table. Let’s say a group wants to reach an agreement.
 
The closed-minded individual tends to see things from their own viewpoint only.
 
This way of thinking ends in a stalemate. Not only does progress stop, but there’s damage to relationships.
 
But, the individual with an open mind can empathize with others in a way that moves everyone to a middle ground. Having an open mind is an important approach when working through disagreements.

Struggle Sessions

How often do we see people struggling with the same issues over and over? Yet they never seem to resolve them.
 
There are plenty of examples of this.
 
The person who gets into and out of relationships on a regular basis. The coworker who fails to progress in a company after years of grinding it out at the same position.
 
Or the person who falls off the wagon despite the same new year’s resolution made every year. Usually this failure pattern results from approaching these situations with a closed mind.
 
Closed minders find it tough to change their tactics to deal with the issue. They make the same mistakes over and over again, failing to learn from them.

Taking Responsibility

Maintaining an open mind helps you to own up to your mistakes. This helps you adapt to similar situations moving forward. An open mind powers your progress in any situation.
 
These are far from all the examples that show the superiority of an open-mind. But the message is loud and clear.
 
The neutrality of your circumstances is open to your interpretation. Having an open mind enables you to find the silver lining that the closed mind doesn’t see.
 
JohnK 12-19-2022
chiforyourself.com
 
Stick figure hears about open mindsOverheard: The world is full of people who have never, since childhood, met an open doorway with an open mind.
                                   ~E.B. White
 
 
 
 
Article image by Steven Cordes on Unsplash
 
 
 
 
 
 
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What to Do When You Feel Stuck or Trapped in Life

September 26, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

You’ve heard the saying “life is tough, then you die.” It’s like you’ve been bound and gagged all your life.

Let GenuLines help you get un-stuck with this look at some countermeasures.

What to Do When You Feel Stuck or Trapped in Life

When you feel stuck or trapped in your life, it becomes almost impossible to be happy. You tend to feel depressed, frustrated and dissatisfied.
 
man trapped by life
 
 
The truth is life is full of ups and downs. There will be times of great change, and times where nothing changes at all.
 
Feeling stuck at some point in your life is normal, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay that way. Here, we’ll look at some of the best things you can do when you feel stuck or trapped in life.

 

 

 

 

Make That Tough Choice

There’s a reason why you feel stuck or trapped in life, and it’s often down to avoiding making a tough decision. For example, if you feel trapped in a job you hate, the tough choice would be to leave that job.
 
If you’re in a relationship that isn’t working, the hard choice would be to walk away.
 
What choice are you avoiding changing? Sometimes, the only way to move forward and be happy is to have the courage to make the difficult decisions.
 
You deserve to be happy, so never be afraid to do what’s right for you, no matter how hard it is.

Begin With Small Changes

Making changes in your life can be overwhelming. So if you want to get out of your current situation, start with small changes. Do this until you feel comfortable and confident that you’re making good decisions.
 
Think about the things you want to change and then figure out the steps you’ll need to get there. Working on change one step at a time prevents it from becoming overwhelming.
 
You’ll see steady progress as you make smaller changes. And you’ll gain the motivation to carry on making bigger ones.

Work On Self-Improvement

How you feel about yourself can hold you back. If you do feel stuck or trapped, could it be due to a lack of confidence or self-belief?
 
Working on self-improvement can help you to view your life in a more positive way. You’ll be able to recognize opportunities.
 
You’ll be more likely to work through any challenges keeping you from your dream life.
 
Think about your current flaws. What can you improve about yourself to be a better person?

Commit To Being Yourself

The problem could be that you aren’t being yourself in life. Many people find they struggle to be themselves around other people.
 
If you’re trying to present a fake version of yourself to others, you’ll never be happy. Only by being your true self will you be able to live a fulfilled and happy life.
 
Feeling stuck or trapped in life is common, but it doesn’t mean you need to stay stuck. The above tips and advice can help you to start moving forward and living the life you deserve.
 
You may feel trapped, but this is an illusion. You know what you need to do.
 
Now build up the courage to do it.
 
JohnK 9-26-2022
 
Stick figure hears about lifeOverheard: “Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments”
                                     ~Rose Kennedy
 
 
 
 
Article image by Zachary DeBottis: https://www.pexels.com/photo/silhuoette-of-a-person-2953863/
 
 
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7 Small Habits That Will Change Your Life

June 6, 2022 John Uncategorized No comments

You barely notice some of your habits. Yet one of more of them can lead to big results.

Go big with this GenuLines look at a life changing process. 

7 Small Habits That Will Change Your Life

It’s hard to imagine sometimes what deep impact small things can have. But if you’ve ever doubted the impact of tiny actions then think about how erosion created the Grand Canyon.
 
Over time, something as small as sand, water, and rock have created one of the most awesome of nature’s miracles.
 
So too will small habits affect your life in such a way that they create lasting and significant change. Read on and find some habits you can start immediately implementing.
 
These can reshape you into the person that you’re meant to be.
 
man keeping good habits

 

1. Get up on time

Starting the day with repeated hits of the snooze alarm sets a bad tone for the rest of the day. You set the alarm with the intention of rising at that hour – why are you breaking that promise to yourself?
 
By getting up on time, you’re putting a positive start on the day. Shouldn’t you give yourself the best odds of a good day as possible?

2. Make every meal healthy

It’s hard to feel energized when you’re slogging along on a diet filled with fats and sugars. When you put more healthy choices onto your plate, you will feel better.
 
Your mind will be sharper, and you’ll be better energized to get through the day.
 
Start small. Add a salad to your meal.
 
Or replace dessert with that piece of fruit instead.

3. Exercise

Fancy equipment or huge time investment isn’t necessary here. Start small.
 
Try taking the stairs at work instead of the elevator.

4. Read more

Dedicate a half hour of every day to your mind. It’ll stay sharp while you expose yourself to new ideas.
 
Pick books that inspire you or encourage you to think.

5. Be an ‘idea’ person

Make a goal of writing down a few ideas every day. Some researchers suggest ten.
 
But even one new idea a day gives you material to challenge yourself.

6. Become more mindful

Meditate. Even a brief meditation has a positive impact.
 
It can reduce stress and lower your heart rate. Plus it corrals your mind when it’s running in a million directions at once.

7. Think about your day

When you finish the day, reflect on your accomplishments. Focus on the things you’re proud of, on the things that made you smile.
 
These actions shouldn’t take long – even 15 or 30 minutes a day on some of these is enough to create lasting change. You’ll not only feel better, you’ll like the person you’re becoming.
 
This is building ‘you’ at your best. If a small change can do all that, then isn’t it time you got started?
 
JohnK 6-6-2022
 
Ostick man hears about habitsverheard: “A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit”
                                   ~Erasmus
 
 
 
 
Article Photo by Marc Najera on Unsplash
 
 
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