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Getting more joy out of life by focussing on the present May 6, 2018

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in personal development ideas.
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Because human nature seems to have a built-in bias towards looking to the future, rather than fully enjoying or dealing with what is presented to us right now, psychology experts constantly remind us of the importance of living in “The Now.”

So, in the tradition of offering a light reminder of the importance of living in the present, there is a poem (attributed to Robert H. Smith in the version I found) which sums up why we should focus more on the present. No doubt some readers will already be familiar with it.

Here are the two key verses:

The clock of life is wound but once
And no-one has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.

The present only is our own
So live, love, and toil with a will
Place no faith in “Tomorrow”
For the clock may then be still.

Paying attention to the future and being optimistic about its potential is important, but putting too much energy towards the path ahead may mean missing important opportunities on the path we are walking today.

How you can be your own personal growth advisor May 5, 2018

Posted by Dennis Mellersh in personal development ideas.
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One of the reasons that we turn to “experts” for help in our personal growth challenges is because our own thoughts are often colored by anxiety and other emotional baggage, so we seek objectivity in the words of others; but what if there were a way we could remove our encumbering anxiety and emotionalism.

What if we were able, at least some of the time, to provide our own custom personal growth and self-actualization advice?

Actually, we each have this capability but usually don’t consciously realize it.

Even though we all have our own troubles and challenges, I am sure most of us have, at one time or another, given suggestions  to help a friend or relative who came to us for advice on dealing with a problem.

And we gave that advice without being weighed down by personal anxiety or emotionalism.
We were able to deal with their problem(s) objectively.

Although it will take some practice and work, the next time a problem comes up, or you are fretting about a current problem, try pretending (so to speak) that you are giving advice on the problem to your friend or relative.

Write your advice down as a number of points, complete with action steps directed towards a solution.

It may be harder to do than it sounds, but this is one way we can begin to examine at least some of the difficulties we face as solvable challenges.

Solvable through our own personal resources.

— Dennis Mellersh