Your Need To Know

Every successful business has a mission statement. That mission statement tells the world what they will and will not do. Usually, their mission statement promises that “We will be helpful. We will stand behind our word. We will not knowingly harm any one. We will do this and we will do that. Our customers are the most important people, and if it doesn’t help people, we won’t do it.” The successful businesses live by their mission statement. Doesn’t that sound like the way you would like to live your life?

What is your mission statement? Do you really need one?

Yes! It is one of the most powerful things you can do. A personal mission statement will help you identify your core values and beliefs. How about visualizing your 80th birthday? Who would show up to celebrate with you? What would they say about you? How about your own funeral? Would friends and aquaintances fill the service giving praise to your life and being thankful you were a part of theirs?

Ask your self these questions:
1. Do I speak the truth?
2. Do I live my life consistent with my core values?
3. Do I operate with integrity?
4. Do I believe that my motives are good?
5. Is it my goal to be a positive influence in the lives of others?
7. Do I really like myself?

‘Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:
I shall not fear anyone on earth.
I shall fear only God.
I shall not bear ill toward anyone.
I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.
I shall conquer untruth by truth.
And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering’
Mahatma Gandhi.

Mahatma Gandhi’s brief mission statement clearly highlights his beliefs and who he was as an individual. It had a specified time frame and undoubtedly states actions that he was willing to take to change the course of his life and the lives of others.

What are you most proud of? What have you accomplished in your life? Are you making any significant contribution? Are you the “you” you want to be?

Our personal mission statements can be very effective in all areas of our lives. Develop your own mission statement according to what you feel will result in an exciting and fulfilling life. Keep it in the front of your mind to provide you with motivation and inspiration.

Use this Personal Mission Statement Worksheet to get you started.

Because…It’s never too late to be who you might have been.

Gina

Technorati Tags: Personal Mission Statement, Personal development

I did not intend to write articles on parenting, as I would rather leave that chore to the child psychologists and other experts. But, I was reading an interesting story in last months Reader’s Digest titled Inspire Your Children. This story is about parenting and what you should and should not say to your children.

The story focused on communicating effectively with your children and how it is possible to cause emotional and psychological harm through the words you choose.

The reason I chose to write “Parental Guidance Suggested” was to show the relationship between the subconscious mind and how we are taught and conditioned from birth. It has little to do with demographics or socioeconomics whether a child is a success in life or is not.

It is true, we must be careful of everything we say to our children. Whether we know it or not, we are continually molding their lives. Their futures will reflect all that we do for them or to them while they are small children.

When children are very young, they accept every word of their fathers and mothers as fact.
If a parent continually tells a child “You’re bad!” the child believes it, and of course he proves this statement true.

If a mother consistently says to her son, every time he had done something wrong “You’ll spend your life in prison, or end up in the gas chamber”. Would it be any wonder if this boy became a criminal? He was given a reputation to live up to, and the chances are very good that he will live up to it.

We should never refer to a child as being anything except what we want him or her to be. To call a child bad, stupid, lazy, timid — or any of the things you don’t want your child to be — is actually planting seeds in his or her subconscious mind, which will grow and mature.

There are ways of correcting children without calling them bad. “Good boys don’t do that,” you might say. This compares the child with the good instead of the bad. Being conscious of what we say and choosing the right words does require some effort. But keep in mind, the effort required to keep our children on the right track is nothing compared to the heartaches which can result as our children grow to adulthood.

No instructions are provided to us when our children are born. No license is required. No proficiency tests. So we must do our best in raising our children with care and positive reinforcement.

Having children is God’s greatest blessing, and it’s also our greatest responsibility. When we bring a child into this world, he or she is like a piece of clay placed in our hands to mold as we wish. What our children will be in twenty years depends entirely on what we put into them while they are a child.

Gina

We all want good results from life. We all want good results in our work, in our home, and in all of our contacts with other people. The single most important factor guaranteeing good results, day in and day out for every day of our lives, is a healthy attitude.

Attitude is defined as “the mental position with regard to a fact or state; the feeling or emotion toward a fact or state”. And it is our mental position, feelings and emotions (our mood) toward others that determines the mood of others toward us. Our attitude tells the world what we expect in return. If we project a cheerful attitude, it says to everyone we come in contact with that we expect good cheer.

We all tend to live up to our expectations, and others give to us what we expect. It’s our attitude towards life that determines life’s attitude toward us. This is an example of the “Law of Cause and Effect“. We produce causes all day long, every day of our lives. Everything we say or do will cause a corresponding effect. If we are cheerful and happy, others will reflect that good cheer back to us. We are the ones other people enjoy being around. We get back what we put out. That’s why each of us determines the quality of our own live’s.

What is the quality of your attitude? Do people tend to react to you in a smiling, positive manner?

Our attitude is something we can control. We can establish our attitude each morning when we start our day. (Actually, we all do that anyway, whether we realize it or not). The attitude that we present to the world today will be reflected back to us by all the people in our world. A great attitude will produce great results; fair attitude, fair results; poor attitude, poor results. Our surroundings are a mirror and will always reflect us. So if a person will control their habitual attitude, they will control the quality of their life.

Sounds simple, doesn’t it? Yes, but it’s not quite that easy. Learning a new habit takes time and most people never think about their attitudes at all. Most people begin each day in neutral, with neither a good or bad attitude. They just react to whatever they encounter and they will reflect that. If it’s good, they will reflect that. If it’s bad, they will reflect that too. If we could make a habit of establishing a good attitude every day, our world would change dramatically.

To help you get started, here is a simple and easy habit to establish - Every time someone asks you “How are you today?” always respond with a very positive “Wonderful!” Regardless of how you feel, or what’s going on in your life, or what ever challenges you are facing at the time, make your reply the same. “I am wonderful”. Make this your standard response to family, friends, co-workers, neighbors or perfect strangers. I guarantee you a dramatic improvement in your overall attitude, your well being, and your life.

Gina