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How to Achieve New Heights of Success Using Self Discipline

One of the most important skills we can develop as human beings is self discipline. No matter what our goals are, we will achieve them sooner with highly developed self discipline.

So what exactly do I mean by self discipline?

It is the ability to follow a schedule. It is also the ability to do things we need to do, when we do not want to.

The hard part is sticking to being self disciplined.

I always found that it works very well once you established a habit. When you establish a pattern of accomplishing one thing after another, it creates a sort of a flow. This momentum makes it extremely easy to be self disciplined. In my experience it is very important not to break that momentum. If we do, it becomes extremely hard getting back into the groove.

So how do we establish that habit of being self disciplined?

There are several ways of achieving great self discipline. Sports in general and martial arts specifically are a great way to develop this ability. I have done various forms of martial arts for many years and can tell you, from personal experience, how effective this method is. Self discipline within martial arts is achieved through following traditions that emphasize the reverence the disciple feels towards his master. That kind of relationship forces the disciple to follow his master without question, based solely on the respect for the teacher. This kind of relationship puts immediate personal desires of the student in the background, while the master guides him to achieve his goal. Essentially what that does is distract us from the inherit laziness we all have, and provides us with motivation to achieve our goals. When it develops into a habit, it carries over to other areas of our life, and can greatly enhance other experiences.

It is probably not healthy to be too strict when it comes to discipline. Some discipline is a must, but in all aspects of our personality we require a balance. If we are too strict it could eventually result in abandoning of the self discipline all together, as we would develop a negative association with whatever we are trying to be disciplined about. Let’s take jogging in the mornings as an example. Most people do not enjoy this activity. They have to force them selves to do it, because they know that it is good for them. They have to do it until they develop a habit of jogging, and then it becomes easy. Just think about it. What would be easier to get used to? Jogging in the morning in a snow storm or jogging while enjoying a beautiful sunrise. Our mind develops habits by repetition. So the more negativity it associates with an activity, the harder it will be to develop the self discipline to perform it.

Another very important area where it is imperative to be self disciplined is financial management. This part of our life can become devastating to us if we do not bring it under control.

The best part of any form of discipline training is that it is fairly easy to accomplish if you put your mind to it. It can be compared to training a muscle. When you exercise it on a regular basis, it becomes strong and healthy. Inversely if it is left unused, it will atrophy.

To sum up, self discipline is a must in our lives. We must practice it on a regular basis, but we shouldn’t forget that balance in everything we do is very important, so being over disciplined can be as bad as not having any discipline at all.

Success Secrets Explained

How do you define success? Is it having a lot of money? May be it is defined as being fulfilled in a relationship or family life. Everybody defines success differently, and there is nothing wrong with our own personal definition. Every one of us feels like we succeed in different ways.

We can however put some broad definitions to the term success that would apply to most people.

One of such definitions would be financial success. I define it as the ability to live a financially worry free life. For some people this might mean that they would be happy to make enough money to survive and others might want to have an extravagant life style. There isn’t really a right or wrong answer. It all depends on what is important to us.

I think that even a better definition of success would be living as close to your true destiny as possible. Here are a few tips for discovering what your true destiny is.

1. Know your dreams.
It isn’t enough to just have goals in life. We often know the direction we want to go to, but do not know where exactly that direction will bring us. Knowing exactly what you want is a key component in designing our destiny.

2. Live your dreams.
Living your dreams is a must. All our happiness depends on how close we come to living our true desires. Think about it. Do you think you would be happier if you were to experience what you truly desire in your day to day life?

3. Take responsibility for your life.

Part of being truly successful is being responsible for the way we act. We all know that things do not always workout the way we want them to. Sometimes we make mistakes. Admitting when we did make a mistake can do great things for us. This ability is crucial when learning anything. When we admit to a mistake we learn from it and are able to move on without hindering our progress. It is being stubborn that prevents us from learning the lessons we need to learn.

4. Let go of any hurt you might have experienced in the past.

If there is one thing that holds us back in life, it is when we hold on to the past. We all experience terrible injustices at one time or another. There are times when we get hurt and go through what seems like incredible difficulties. The sooner we will develop the ability to let go of anything that happened in the past, the more our life will seem successful to us. The easier it will become.
5. Make a plan and stick with it.

Goals are important, but so is action. We must have a plan and follow it to reach a desired destination. Action is of paramount importance. Without acting we will never be able to get anywhere. So make a plan, and follow it with abandon.

Success will come to those who are able to act fearlessly in the face of adversities life troughs at us every day.

Top 10 Myths About Creativity

We have a lot of misconceptions when it comes to creativity. Not only it is a valuable tool in our personal development but it also can improve our life tremendously if it is properly understood. Let’s clarify some of the myths out there about creativity.

1. Only special talented people are creative.

While it is true that it seems like people like Mozart or Picasso are more creative then others, if looked at closer, their creative genius will reveal a lot of very hard work, rather then innate talent. Usually people, who demonstrate higher then average creative abilities, also work much harder then the average person.

2. Being creative is hard.

Yes it is. Actually it isn’t being creative that is hard, it is working on developing that ability. Once we learn how to easily channel creativity, it becomes second nature to us, as easy as breathing.

3. Problems are in our life to make it more difficult.

Problems of any kind are the key to learning. No matter how unpleasant they might be, we learn from every problem we encounter in our life. By using creative problem solving, we not only find the solutions to the dilemma we are facing, but also develop our creativity in the process. Without problems in our life, we would not advance as a society. Problems force us to find solutions and improve our life as a result.

4. I am not creative.

There is no such thing as people who are not creative. If you feel that creativity comes to you with a lot of effort, it is more likely that your creative ability is in a dormant state. Creativity works similarly to muscles in our body. When we use them all the time, the muscles are toned and fit. As soon as we stop exercising, the muscles become flabby and our body accumulates fat around them for protection. To have creativity easily accessible to us, we should use it on a regular basis. The more we use it in our daily life the easier it will flow.

5. Innovation is the domain of geniuses.

It is true that many of people whom we call geniuses are highly creative as well. It seems that because it comes so easily to them, they are almost blessed with special abilities. Behind every great innovation however, are many years of hard work. We often do not see this, but if you talk to anybody who truly succeeded, you will find out that they did so after many hardships and struggles.

6. I have to have brand new ideas in order for me to be considered creative.

This is the greatest secret that no creative professional talks about. “There are no new ideas!” Most great ideas are a combination of old concepts presented in a fresh, new package that provides us with a sense of novelty. There are exceptions when an idea is truly unique. Those do happen, but majority of creative endeavors are improving upon concepts that already exist or putting several old concepts into a new combination.

7. Brainstorming is hard work.

Yes, brainstorming can be, but it also can be a lot of fun. If one brainstorming technique isn’t working, all we have to do is try another one. As a matter a fact there are as many techniques to spark creativity as there are people who use them. For some people structured techniques work better and others perform best in a free flow atmosphere. The trick is to find one that works for you.

8. Only artists need to be creative.

I am an artist by background, and I was trained to think in creative terms. But I use creativity in almost all aspects of my life. I use it in cooking. I use it when I can’t figure out how a new high tech gadget that I purchased works. I use it to try and keep the relationship with my significant other fresh and inventive. I use it to come up with new business ideas, dealing with people, exercising … Oh yeah I also use it when I do art.

9. Writers block is a greatest obstacle in the creative process.

It is one of the obstacles, but not the biggest one. The biggest obstacle is when we deny this part of us totally. When we pay no attention at all to our creative ability, we literarily put it to sleep. It becomes extremely difficult for us to be creative. Inaction is a far bigger obstacle in the creative process and a more difficult one to overcome. As soon as we kick start our creativity, the more we use it the easier it comes to us.

10. Using structured creative techniques will hinder my ability to be creative.

Some brainstorming techniques are pretty complex. If this isn’t what you are comfortable with, and it isn’t giving you the results that you are looking for, do not use it. Find some other technique that you respond better to. And if you do like using more structured techniques, go ahead and continue using them. Since everybody is different, you have to find what works for you. There is no difference in the quality of one technique over another, only in the personality of the person who is using it. All brainstorming techniques do the same thing - spark your creativity.