I was reading a book, "Your Kids Are Your Own Fault: A Guide For Raising Responsible, Productive Adults" by Larry Winget. He is a different sort of Guru who doesnt mince his words to tell you the hard truth.
This is a challenge faced by many parents who have to deal with "fiercely independent kids". Well, it could be a blessing with kids you can be proud of but when things dont turn out satisfactory, you often wonder where you could have done better for the child.
We know how important it is to nuture the child with the right values & giving the child room to grow in a positive environment. However, much of this effort is made so much easier when the parents start this path even before birth.
This means getting good supplements in addition to eating balanced nutritious meals. Prenatal vitamins and the all important folic acid will help the mother to be see through a healthy pregnancy. A good omega3 fish oil supplement at least from the third trimester all the way through lactation is also essential for the child's health and developing brain.
New mothers who have high omega3 stores who also breastfeed their infants have been found to have healthier babies. The child's brain continues to grow and parents who continue to supplement their toddlers with good fish oil supplements after weaning also found to be smarter too.
Help your child to help you. For more information and research studies, please visit: www.smarterkid.info
Showing posts with label success. Show all posts
Showing posts with label success. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
The Importance of being Goal-Oriented
More than half of 2010 has gone by. If you are on track with your goals, well good for you! For the others who are still wavering, unsure and feeling somewhat lost, there is still time. Sometimes the very best of us do slip & fall by the wayside but it is important to get up, dust off & get going again. Never despair, work on a shorter term, more manageable target. Once you get into the flow, the momentum might just catch on!
Brett Steenbarger, Author of The Psychology of Trading, writes:
Discipline problems typically begin with experiences of frustration.
Frustration is a function of not meeting goals and expectations. ...
If we do not set challenging, but feasible goals, we cannot experience ourselves as effective, successful people. Goals that are perfectionistic cannot be met and thus generate frustration.
The failure to set goals robs us of opportunities for cultivating a sense of purpose and well-being.
Goal-setting is not just essential to mastering markets; it's essential as a tool of psychological management. We shape our experience of ourselves by controlling what we pursue and how we evaluate the pursuit.
http://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2010/03/goal-setting-discipline-and-emotions-of.html
These are lessons in life when applied successfully allows us to expand & grow to become better & effective people. With these successful traits, we can be good models & guide those who can benefit from our help.
Brett Steenbarger, Author of The Psychology of Trading, writes:
Discipline problems typically begin with experiences of frustration.
Frustration is a function of not meeting goals and expectations. ...
If we do not set challenging, but feasible goals, we cannot experience ourselves as effective, successful people. Goals that are perfectionistic cannot be met and thus generate frustration.
The failure to set goals robs us of opportunities for cultivating a sense of purpose and well-being.
Goal-setting is not just essential to mastering markets; it's essential as a tool of psychological management. We shape our experience of ourselves by controlling what we pursue and how we evaluate the pursuit.
http://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2010/03/goal-setting-discipline-and-emotions-of.html
These are lessons in life when applied successfully allows us to expand & grow to become better & effective people. With these successful traits, we can be good models & guide those who can benefit from our help.
Friday, April 2, 2010
How should we live our life?
How do we define our life?
How do we walk the good & right path & lead a ulilled lie?
Can this journey be summed in one word?
One of my most admired thinkers, Alexander Green writes:
"...an existentialist... recognize the dangers of living an inauthentic life.
"Who, exactly, are the existentialists and what do they know?
"Existentialism is a philosophical movement that came about in the late-19th century. It is not some abstract set of theoretical truths. Rather it is a no-nonsense philosophy that encourages you to take a hard look at your life and ask two essential questions: Who am I and how shall I live?
"Its goal is to awaken us from our slumber, have us grab life by the lapels and start living authentically.
"Unfortunately, there is no particular school that offers a systematic account of existentialism. Its founders were fierce individualists who avoided labels, detested "-isms," and refused to be lumped into any group.
"So there is no grand philosophical system here. Essentially, existentialism exists at the intersection of the essays of Friedrich Nitzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre, the novels of Albert Camus and Fyodor Dostoevsky, the religious writings of Soren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich, and the plays of Harold Pinter and even William Shakespeare (particularly Hamlet and King Lear.) Clearly, existentialism is older than the term itself.
"The philosophy is based on six general themes:
1. Acceptance of the Absurd. Each of us drops unexpectedly into this world, in a universe where time - at least as we know it - has no beginning, space no end, and life no pre-set meaning. It is an inexplicable mystery. This realization is hardly new, of course. Ecclesiastes kicks off with the words "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. What does man gain from all his labor and toil here under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3). Existentialists believe that it's only when you confront the fundamental absurdity of life that you begin to live honestly.
2. Personal Freedom. Life itself may be meaningless, but you give it meaning when you begin making important choices. These, in turn, reveal who you are. With freedom of choice, however, comes responsibility. Taking ownership of your decisions means not blaming your parents, your spouse, your teachers or anyone else for the shape of your life. More responsibility brings greater freedom. And with it: hope.
3. Individualism. Existentialists are keenly aware that society continually pulls you toward conformity. There are immense social pressures to go along, get along and live pretty much like everyone else. Existentialists challenge you to buck conventional wisdom, express your true nature, and follow your dream, whatever that may be.
4. Authenticity. Most people are so consumed by desire, guilt, fear or anxiety about what other people think that they find it almost impossible to follow their true calling. However, it's only when you begin to do what you want - and not what others expect - that you begin to live authentically. But expect resistance. Institutions want to mold you. Other people want you to go on their trip. It's far easier to live unthinkingly as part of the crowd. Yet authentic individuals are in control of their own lives.
5. Passion. Being passionate and engaged is crucial. This doesn't mean acting crazy or hysterical. Quite the opposite, in fact. Existentialists believe you should devote yourself to a cause, one that you're willing to organize your life around, perhaps even die for. For Kierkegaard, that passion was the pursuit of truth. For others it may be artistic expression, healing the sick, or building a business that employs hundreds and serves thousands. In all walks of life, you'll find that passionate men and women are more purposeful.
6. Acceptance of Death. Life is finite. Yet existentialists don't see this as a reason for pessimism. Facing death is what forces you to take life seriously, use your time wisely and make meaningful choices. It should invigorate your life. As the character Andy puts it in The Shawshank Redemption: "Get busy living or get busy dying."
"Nietzsche, the philosopher most closely associated with existentialism, refers to it as the noble ideal.
"Your life, he argues, is an unwritten book that only you can write. Or, he says, visualize your life as a kind of artistic project, except that you are both the sculptor and the clay.
"This concept runs throughout existentialist works. Martin Heidegger counsels that we should learn to "dwell poetically." Kierkegaard offers that, "to exist is an art."
"All existentialists agree that life has the meaning you choose to give it. Sartre even declared that man is "nothing else but what he makes of himself."
"This view is fairly widespread in the West today. But it was once considered revolutionary. The Catholic Church, for instance, decided that Sartre's ideas were so dangerous that it placed his entire works on the Vatican Index of Prohibited Books - including those he hadn't yet written!
"Ideas can be dynamite. And the proclamation that you should live your life on your own terms rather than according to the dictates of an institution was explosive.
"Perhaps that's why existentialism is called the philosophy of freedom. No matter how things stand in your life, you choose how to interpret your situation. You choose how to respond to it. Even if you do nothing, you still have made a choice. There is no escaping the consequences of your actions - or your inaction.
"This makes some people profoundly uncomfortable, of course. They don't like facing up to the world as it is. They don't want responsibility. It's easier to blame others, circumstances or "the breaks."
"Existentialism, however, is known as "the no-excuses philosophy." You may be old. You may be broke. You may be sick. But existentialists say you start from where you are and move forward. How? By accepting responsibility and making choices.
"This isn't always easy. Pursuing authenticity requires relentless self-examination. It exposes you to things about yourself that you may not want to know. It may cause discomfort or friction with others.
"But inauthentic lives, by comparison, are shallow, trivial and unsatisfying. They are often marked by the dogged pursuit of material goods, social status or the approval of others.
"In many ways existentialism is a return to the roots of philosophy, a return to the ancients' concern with truth, virtue and the art of living well.
"Existentialism offers a guide to the perplexed. It shows us not just how to live, but how to flourish, how to create meaning in a senseless world. Those who reject this philosophy often do so not because they don't understand it but because they can't face it.
"And that's unfortunate. Existentialism provides a practical way of thinking about the world. It offers personal freedom and empowerment. It is a path to dignity and nobility.
"An existentialist doesn't live as though he has forever, frittering away his time and putting off until "someday" the things he really wants to do. He or she recognizes that each day, each moment, is precious and irreplaceable.
"Are you an existentialist? Only you can say, of course.
"But perhaps you should be.
Carpe Diem,
Alex
How do we walk the good & right path & lead a ulilled lie?
Can this journey be summed in one word?
One of my most admired thinkers, Alexander Green writes:
"...an existentialist... recognize the dangers of living an inauthentic life.
"Who, exactly, are the existentialists and what do they know?
"Existentialism is a philosophical movement that came about in the late-19th century. It is not some abstract set of theoretical truths. Rather it is a no-nonsense philosophy that encourages you to take a hard look at your life and ask two essential questions: Who am I and how shall I live?
"Its goal is to awaken us from our slumber, have us grab life by the lapels and start living authentically.
"Unfortunately, there is no particular school that offers a systematic account of existentialism. Its founders were fierce individualists who avoided labels, detested "-isms," and refused to be lumped into any group.
"So there is no grand philosophical system here. Essentially, existentialism exists at the intersection of the essays of Friedrich Nitzsche and Jean-Paul Sartre, the novels of Albert Camus and Fyodor Dostoevsky, the religious writings of Soren Kierkegaard and Paul Tillich, and the plays of Harold Pinter and even William Shakespeare (particularly Hamlet and King Lear.) Clearly, existentialism is older than the term itself.
"The philosophy is based on six general themes:
1. Acceptance of the Absurd. Each of us drops unexpectedly into this world, in a universe where time - at least as we know it - has no beginning, space no end, and life no pre-set meaning. It is an inexplicable mystery. This realization is hardly new, of course. Ecclesiastes kicks off with the words "Vanity, vanity, all is vanity. What does man gain from all his labor and toil here under the sun?" (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3). Existentialists believe that it's only when you confront the fundamental absurdity of life that you begin to live honestly.
2. Personal Freedom. Life itself may be meaningless, but you give it meaning when you begin making important choices. These, in turn, reveal who you are. With freedom of choice, however, comes responsibility. Taking ownership of your decisions means not blaming your parents, your spouse, your teachers or anyone else for the shape of your life. More responsibility brings greater freedom. And with it: hope.
3. Individualism. Existentialists are keenly aware that society continually pulls you toward conformity. There are immense social pressures to go along, get along and live pretty much like everyone else. Existentialists challenge you to buck conventional wisdom, express your true nature, and follow your dream, whatever that may be.
4. Authenticity. Most people are so consumed by desire, guilt, fear or anxiety about what other people think that they find it almost impossible to follow their true calling. However, it's only when you begin to do what you want - and not what others expect - that you begin to live authentically. But expect resistance. Institutions want to mold you. Other people want you to go on their trip. It's far easier to live unthinkingly as part of the crowd. Yet authentic individuals are in control of their own lives.
5. Passion. Being passionate and engaged is crucial. This doesn't mean acting crazy or hysterical. Quite the opposite, in fact. Existentialists believe you should devote yourself to a cause, one that you're willing to organize your life around, perhaps even die for. For Kierkegaard, that passion was the pursuit of truth. For others it may be artistic expression, healing the sick, or building a business that employs hundreds and serves thousands. In all walks of life, you'll find that passionate men and women are more purposeful.
6. Acceptance of Death. Life is finite. Yet existentialists don't see this as a reason for pessimism. Facing death is what forces you to take life seriously, use your time wisely and make meaningful choices. It should invigorate your life. As the character Andy puts it in The Shawshank Redemption: "Get busy living or get busy dying."
"Nietzsche, the philosopher most closely associated with existentialism, refers to it as the noble ideal.
"Your life, he argues, is an unwritten book that only you can write. Or, he says, visualize your life as a kind of artistic project, except that you are both the sculptor and the clay.
"This concept runs throughout existentialist works. Martin Heidegger counsels that we should learn to "dwell poetically." Kierkegaard offers that, "to exist is an art."
"All existentialists agree that life has the meaning you choose to give it. Sartre even declared that man is "nothing else but what he makes of himself."
"This view is fairly widespread in the West today. But it was once considered revolutionary. The Catholic Church, for instance, decided that Sartre's ideas were so dangerous that it placed his entire works on the Vatican Index of Prohibited Books - including those he hadn't yet written!
"Ideas can be dynamite. And the proclamation that you should live your life on your own terms rather than according to the dictates of an institution was explosive.
"Perhaps that's why existentialism is called the philosophy of freedom. No matter how things stand in your life, you choose how to interpret your situation. You choose how to respond to it. Even if you do nothing, you still have made a choice. There is no escaping the consequences of your actions - or your inaction.
"This makes some people profoundly uncomfortable, of course. They don't like facing up to the world as it is. They don't want responsibility. It's easier to blame others, circumstances or "the breaks."
"Existentialism, however, is known as "the no-excuses philosophy." You may be old. You may be broke. You may be sick. But existentialists say you start from where you are and move forward. How? By accepting responsibility and making choices.
"This isn't always easy. Pursuing authenticity requires relentless self-examination. It exposes you to things about yourself that you may not want to know. It may cause discomfort or friction with others.
"But inauthentic lives, by comparison, are shallow, trivial and unsatisfying. They are often marked by the dogged pursuit of material goods, social status or the approval of others.
"In many ways existentialism is a return to the roots of philosophy, a return to the ancients' concern with truth, virtue and the art of living well.
"Existentialism offers a guide to the perplexed. It shows us not just how to live, but how to flourish, how to create meaning in a senseless world. Those who reject this philosophy often do so not because they don't understand it but because they can't face it.
"And that's unfortunate. Existentialism provides a practical way of thinking about the world. It offers personal freedom and empowerment. It is a path to dignity and nobility.
"An existentialist doesn't live as though he has forever, frittering away his time and putting off until "someday" the things he really wants to do. He or she recognizes that each day, each moment, is precious and irreplaceable.
"Are you an existentialist? Only you can say, of course.
"But perhaps you should be.
Carpe Diem,
Alex
Monday, March 29, 2010
face the hard truth
pitbull of a getup&doit guru, Larry Winget says:
Your life is the result of the decisions you’ve made.
If your life sucks, you’ve made some sucky decisions.
Stop the cycle now.
Make new and better decisions.
Then take action on them.
And if you are clueless on what is happening, then take a step back,
and take a good hard look & assess where you are right now
compared to where you were1, 2 or 5 years ago;
otherwise how would you ever realize you're making sucky ideas?
Your life is the result of the decisions you’ve made.
If your life sucks, you’ve made some sucky decisions.
Stop the cycle now.
Make new and better decisions.
Then take action on them.
And if you are clueless on what is happening, then take a step back,
and take a good hard look & assess where you are right now
compared to where you were1, 2 or 5 years ago;
otherwise how would you ever realize you're making sucky ideas?
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Face the fear & do it
You might have seen this. I agree with much of it.
That there are many of us who sabotage ourselves, intentionally or unintentionally.
They either dont feel deserving or they are afraid of other people's opinion of them.
Whatever their reason, there are some people who Just couldnt Do It. They cant turn their head and be shocked by their own shadow. This is because they set themselves to fail with a fearful task.
If only, they could realise that each little job they complete is a step towards success, they can then begin to think that they can pat themselves on their back and say, I did it.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others"
- Marianne Williamson
That there are many of us who sabotage ourselves, intentionally or unintentionally.
They either dont feel deserving or they are afraid of other people's opinion of them.
Whatever their reason, there are some people who Just couldnt Do It. They cant turn their head and be shocked by their own shadow. This is because they set themselves to fail with a fearful task.
If only, they could realise that each little job they complete is a step towards success, they can then begin to think that they can pat themselves on their back and say, I did it.
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small doesn't serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so
that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.
It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other
people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear,
our presence automatically liberates others"
- Marianne Williamson
When you are down, press on.
Somewhere along the line, you changed.
You stopped being you.
You let people stick a finger in your face, and tell you you're no good.
And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame...like a big shadow.
Let me tell you something you already know; the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows.
It's a very mean and nasty place.
And I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
You, me, nobody...is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can Get hit, and keep moving forward;
how much you can take, and keep moving forward.
That's how winning is done.
Now if you know what you're worth, go out and get what you're worth.
But you got to be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody.
Cowards do that, and that ain't you!
You're better than that!
Until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life.
- Rocky, "Rocky Balboa"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfXw-E7HUq8
You stopped being you.
You let people stick a finger in your face, and tell you you're no good.
And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame...like a big shadow.
Let me tell you something you already know; the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows.
It's a very mean and nasty place.
And I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it.
You, me, nobody...is gonna hit as hard as life.
But it ain't about how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can Get hit, and keep moving forward;
how much you can take, and keep moving forward.
That's how winning is done.
Now if you know what you're worth, go out and get what you're worth.
But you got to be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody.
Cowards do that, and that ain't you!
You're better than that!
Until you start believing in yourself, you ain't gonna have a life.
- Rocky, "Rocky Balboa"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfXw-E7HUq8
Monday, January 18, 2010
Do your due diligence.
What happens to you life is your own responsibility.
Your health, your success, your finances, your outcome, your situation in life, your everything is your responsibility. Face it, anything that goes wrong is your fault. No one else can take the blame.
You have to take the first step to get anywhere and if you need help, look for it or even ask for it! However, never depend on others entirely to guide you hand and foot every step of the way. Even if you were to engage a specialist, there is no guarantee that you will get the best advice for the desired outcome.
We are living in a fortunate time when relevant information is easily & readily available but you have to work for it. You determine the direction in your life and and having useful knowledge can be critical to your success. Making informed decision and applying this knowledge at least ensures that you are moving along the correct path to your desired outcome.
Your health, your success, your finances, your outcome, your situation in life, your everything is your responsibility. Face it, anything that goes wrong is your fault. No one else can take the blame.
You have to take the first step to get anywhere and if you need help, look for it or even ask for it! However, never depend on others entirely to guide you hand and foot every step of the way. Even if you were to engage a specialist, there is no guarantee that you will get the best advice for the desired outcome.
We are living in a fortunate time when relevant information is easily & readily available but you have to work for it. You determine the direction in your life and and having useful knowledge can be critical to your success. Making informed decision and applying this knowledge at least ensures that you are moving along the correct path to your desired outcome.
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