These Personal Traits Are More Valuable Than A Nike Endorsement Deal

I am not mentioning any names but in light of the current events surrounding us, we should all take time to examine ourselves to see if we are being all that we should be. Don't get me wrong, I am not telling you how to lead your life, what to eat or when to work out. Am telling you to be sure that your eyes are open and not to forget the things your kindergaten teacher and hopefully your parents taught you.
As we go through our days, hundreds of motivations jump in and then jump off our radars. How we react to these motivations defines us. In fact, it determines how you feel inside every morning as you take your first glance in the mirror.

There is no eraser or delete key in life. If you haven't already begun, consider incorporating the following into your life. Not whimsically, but make a real effort. In fact, do it for all of 2010 and see if you notice a difference in your life and happiness levels.

1. Being Truthful Never lie. Your words should reflect all that you say and do. If you think and do one thing, but say the opposite of those thoughts and actions, that's a lie. We've all heard the saying, "A man's word is his bond." If only that was so. Sometimes we lie to cover up an indiscretion. Sometimes we lie to make ourselves appear to be better than we are. Sometimes we lie to keep from hurting someone's feelings. I firmly believe, because it has been my experience, that eventually all lies will be exposed. Ultimately, there is no benefit to telling a lie.

2. Being Faithful Since when has it become okay to cheat on our spouses? Unfaithfulness is becoming so commonplace that many people accept it and thus do nothing about it. We turn our heads. We hide behind statements like "It's none of my business," and we do nothing.
Have you ever attended a wedding? Even if you aren't married, there is a pretty good chance that you've actually witnessed one. Maybe it was held at a church; maybe it wasn't. It doesn't matter. A man and a woman stand up in front of a crowd of people (as few as a crowd of 2; as many as hundreds -- maybe thousands), and proclaim their undying love and faithfulness to each other. Why do you think there are witnesses? It is for accountability.
When we cheat, those who witnessed our proclamation of eternal faith to our spouse should say, "Hey, what's the deal? We saw you with our own eyes -- we heard you with our own ears -- you promised to love, honor, and cherish your spouse as long as you both shall live!"If you cheat, you should have to stand up in front all those people who witnessed your wedding and explain your actions. You should have to explain why you couldn't communicate with your spouse and resolve things in a reasonable fashion.

3. Being Honorable In both your professional and personal lives, be honorable. What does that mean, exactly? To be honorable means to be highly respected or esteemed. In order for you to be highly respected or esteemed, you must be unselfish; integrity must be your middle name (if not your first). Be an honorable husband/wife. Following these guidelines, we must always put our wife's/husband's needs ahead of our own, and we must have strong moral principles. I don't feel that "strong moral principles" is a topic that is open to interpretation. To many, their God sets those standards. To others, it's common sense, or learned from books or parents. Honor is not up for discussion; it's meaning is set in stone. You have it or you don't.

4. Being Trustworthy Can you be relied upon to say and do what is right all the time? If so, then you are worthy of the trust of your peers. Others believe that you won't do wrong; nor will you tell a lie. Being trustworthy is a very big deal. You don't get to decide whether you are trustworthy, though. Others will decide that for themselves. You can have some input into their decision, though -- by actually being trustworthy.


5. Being Respectful In all that you do, be respectful of others. This could be read as another form of the "Do unto others..." saying. For the sake of this discussion, though, let's disregard any physical connotation that this may bring to mind, such as punching or slapping. Often when we are disrespectful, we hurt others far worse than if we actually had punched them. Cheating on your spouse is the ultimate form of disrespect. Our spouses always deserve our respect. No matter what! Remember the end of "Do unto others..."? It isn't "as you have had done to you" -- no, it's "as you would have them do unto you." You can't make the world a better place by reciprocating bad with bad.

Today we so often hear a phrase like "raising the bar," to indicate that a new minimum standard has been established. When it comes to these 5 traits listed above, the minimum standard should be a wall over which we must climb or leap. People can, and so often do, walk right under the bar.

What other character traits would you deem as defining? Do you feel that you have all of those traits? Does that question make you cringe?

9 Things You Can Do Today to Bring Peace and Calmness into Your Life

“May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart!” Eskimo proverb

“The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one’s life.” Peace Pilgrim

I believe a lot of people want more inner peace and calmness in their lives. But how can we find it in the busy daily life?

Here are 9 of my own favorite tips.

1. Set limits. If your life is overfilled with stuff you may need to set some limits. You may need to stop doing some of the least important things, the things that if you are honest really don’t matter that much. Don’t hold yourself to “perfect” standards. And set a limit for how many times you will check inboxes etc. per day. Checking on stuff all the time creates a lot of stress. And say no if you really don’t have the time.
2. Find a relaxation technique that works for you. I like belly breathing and working out to release tensions and recharge during the day. What works for you? Long walks, music, yoga, meditation or going for a swim? Find out and do that.
3. Don’t make mountains out of molehills. This can create a lot of unnecessary stress. When facing what looks like a mountain then ask yourself questions like: Does someone on the planet have it worse than me? Will this matter in 5 years? These questions help you zoom out and realize that in most cases things aren’t really that bad and you can handle them.
4. Slow down. Your emotions work backwards too. If you slow down then while walking, moving your body or talking you can often start to feel less stressed (compared to if you move/talk fast).Slowing down to decrease stress goes for many other things you do in everyday life too like riding your bicycle, driving the car, working at your desk and eating.
5. Declutter your world, declutter your mind. Just take 5 minutes to declutter your workspace or the room you are in. A decluttered, simplified and ordered space around you brings clarity and order to the mind. So don’t stop at the workspace. Declutter, simplify and organize your home and life too to live in a more relaxing environment.
6. Accept and let go. Now is now. But if something negative from the past – something someone said, something someone did – is still in your mind then accept and let that feeling and thought in instead of trying to push it away. When it is there, when you accept that it is then it starts to lose power. And while the facts may still be there in your head the negative feelings are much less powerful or gone. At this point, let that thing go like you are throwing out a bag of old clothes. And direct your focus to the present moment and something better instead.
7. Escape for a while. Read a novel (I like twisty thrillers), watch your favorite TV-show or a movie. It’s simple but it works well to just release pressure and relax.
8. Do one thing at a time. Multitasking splits your focus and leaves you with mediocre results and less enjoyment while sucking the energy out of you. When you do a thing do just that. Be there. Don’t try to do something else physically or in your mind. I have found that doing this always helps me to find inner calmness again.
9. Solve a problem that is weighing down on you. Don’t procrastinate anymore. Solve your problem and release it and all the underlying stress and tension that it is creating in your life. You probably already know what to do, you are just not doing it yet. But the longer you wait the worse the tension inside becomes. So get up from your chair and get started on doing it now.