Improving Your Listening Skills

Listening skills are perhaps the most important communication skill one can acquire and master. By becoming a good listener, you open the door to good communication.
Before we delve into the subject of becoming a better listener, let’s answer a question that is usually asked. What's the difference between hearing and listening? To hear is to perceive with our ears the words that are being spoken. To listen is to pay attention with our other senses to help us understand the words being spoken.
We hear words with our auditory system and we listen to complete messages using our cognitive functions: attention, memory, thinking and reasoning. To become a better listener, the first step is to know what barriers stand in our way.
A person that knows how to listen is someone who enjoys the fruits of meaningful and close relationships with others. When you truly and actively listen to someone, you give that person a precious and sought after gift: attention. In turn, the speaker is more inclined to reciprocate with the gift of his /her attention.

What skills do you use?

Are you stockpiling your DREAMS?

Sam Grawe, Editor-in-Chief of Dwell Magazine says.

"Many of us stockpile dreams for years, cataloging and filing them away for later. Some of our heads are so full of them that it is hard to believe there is enough room for them all. If space does become a concern, one of the best places to store a dream is in reality. Once your dream has been realized, it is technically no longer your dream, but it may serve as inspiration for other peoples' dreams, in which case, it is still something of a dream. There is something of a dream in almost everything around us."

We ask: What dream are you tabling that you could be setting in motion? We have a responsibility not only to ourselves, but to the hopeful world of others, to set the example that a life of realized dreams is possible. What's holding you back from starting your journey? Start now. VC.

Building a Healthy Body Image

Weight concerns, body image issues, healthy eating patterns... all of these are common concerns for many of us. We want to be healthy and enjoy satisfying relationships and activities. Yet too often our self-perceptions about how we look or how we think others view us hold us back from feeling good. Feeling good means... eating a balanced diet... exercising regularly but not excessively ... engaging in positive self-care... remembering you are more than your appearance... developing supportive relationships.

Building a healthy body image and good self-esteem can be hard work because it takes time to become confident. As you work to improve your body image, you will experience self-acceptance and learn to recognize the qualities, skills, and talents that make you special.

"Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality" ~Ralph Marston~

Building a Healthy Body Image: At War With Our Bodies

The definition of body image is: the inner perception of physical appearance, or size and shape. When you've built a healthy body image you feel good about yourself no matter how you look.
A more well-rounded definition of healthy body image is: how we perceive our bodies to fit (or not fit) the expectations of our culture and ourselves. It's all about what we "should" look like and how slim we "should" be. We learn to be at war with our bodies, fighting them to be thin, flawless, smooth, unblemished, and perfect. This is where unhealthy or bad body image comes in, and why it's important to build a healthy body image.

To build a healthy body image, you need to know how a bad body image is formed. A bad body image is built in part by our experiences with other people. Parents, teachers, siblings, spouses, children, family, and friends can influence bad body image with a look – not to mention comments about our weight or various body parts. Bad body image is influenced by the pictures we see in magazines and on tv. We constantly compare ourselves to flawless models, and we come up short every time. Building a healthy body image is crucial to a healthy, happy life. A bad body image can develop into body dysmorphic disorder, which is a psychological condition. This is another reason to build a healthy body image.

Looking Beyond The Money

It’s important to look beyond the money and examine yourself from a scientific perspective. What are you really concerned about? If you are a spender, why do you need so many possessions? If you’re a miser, why are you so worried? And for money seekers, why are you constantly chasing money?

Pay close attention to yourself when you are answering these questions and you’ll slowly but surely realize some of your hidden insecurities and motivations. Why am I a money chaser? I seek money because I want enough money to buy whatever I want and to be able to provide for my family. I want to be wealthier than my friends and I want my kids to have a better lifestyle than I do when they grow up. I also want to have the opportunity to try new things that I would otherwise not be able to if I didn’t have the money.

Recognizing What Type of Money Person You Are

Establishing a good relationship with money starts with understanding what type of person you are and whether you fall into any of the following categories.
Spenders:
Do you frequently make purchases that are beyond your means? Do you purchase things to make yourself happy? Is there a connection between shopping and your mood? If so, then you can consider yourself a spender. Spenders have a tendency to accumulate credit card debt because shopping to them is an addiction. Spenders spend money in hopes that material items will bring happiness or provide pain relief.
Misers:
On the other end of the spectrum are the misers. Misers absolutely fear poverty and constantly worry about not having enough money to live. Misers need to feel in control and are generally uncomfortable with any sort of uncertainty. Ironically, misers fear poverty yet they practically live in it because they spend so little.
Haters:
Money haters absolutely detest money and what it does to people. They eschew wealth and will often live in deprived and desolate conditions. They will purposely avoid material possessions whenever possible.
Seekers:
Money seekers are the ones who obsess over becoming wealthy. These people put a premium on making a fortune with the belief that it will solve all of their problems. In reality, there are usually other inadequacies in their lives that they are trying to make up for with material wealth.

Overview of Healthy Lifestyle

So what does a healthy lifestyle entail? According to the dictionary, lifestyle is a way of life or style of living that reflects the attitudes and value of a person or group. A healthy lifestyle would be a way of living that would result in a healthy mind, body and spirit.

Living a healthy lifestyle takes discipline. You must make up your mind and choose things that are good for you and your loved ones. It comes down to being committed to do what is good for your body, mind and spirit.

Living a healthy lifestyle involves taking care of your physical, mental and spiritual health. You need to arm yourself with appropriate knowledge that will ensure that you get the result you want.
The physical, mental and spiritual aspects of your life are intertwine. For you to be happy and healthy, you need to keep all these aspects of your life balanced.

You should monitor what you do on a regular basis, to ensure that you are doing the right thing. If something is not right, you can make any necessary changes to help move you in the direction of your goal. With this in mind, working toward living a healthy lifestyle is achievable.