How to Improve Your Self-esteem?

Do you feel good about yourself, about things you've done? Do you like what you see in the mirror every morning?

A good self-esteem takes time to develop. However, having a good self-esteem is achievable if you focus on developing and improving it on a daily basis.

If you have time to eat and sleep, you should have at least 10 minutes per day to develop your self-esteem.

Here are the ways:

1. Focus on the positive things that are happening in your life. Negative things will only give you misery and anxiety. Practice positive self-talk and concentrate on positive thoughts.

2. Love what you have and not what you don't have.

3. Don't blame yourself. Instead, identify and correct your weaknesses. Take responsibility.

4. Surround yourself with people who are encouraging and supportive. Stay away from people who are making you feel worse.

5. Know your strengths and futher strengthen them.

6. Weaken your weaknesses by improving yourself and asking for help.

7. Believe that you can. Say "I can" as often as you can.

8. Establish your own goals and set your own benchmark. Gradually, try to achieve them without comparing yourself to others. Use your own benchmark and not the opinion of others as your guide.

Develop the habit of improving your self-esteem. A good self-esteem is the precursor of all innovations, inventions, progress, and great relationships.

Start it now!

Learn emotional intelligence through the Oikos Game Series!

One Step at a Time

Gayzelle, me, and our four kids have something grand to celebrate today! Oct. 24th is our 13th wedding anniversary!

Sure, I'm elated. Gayzelle is ecstatic. With a bunch of colorful flowers, who wouldn't feel great? Kids are simply excited! They want to celebrate this special moment with a taste of KFC. Yes, that's how simple they are.

Thirteen years ago, we got married in a simple ceremony in NY. Just starting out in the Big Apple and away from the generosity of parents and relatives, we managed to save and spend $400.00 for that simple ceremony. It was big money back then.

I can't forget what the Pastor told me. "You know what Mike. If you informed me before hand, your wedding ceremony could have been better." His face showed signs that he pitied our "simple" ceremony, that in fact we deserved better.

We were poor then and yet we were full of dreams! Our priority then was to slowly fulfill our dreams. We had a vision that went beyond the ceremony. A vision that started way back when we were struggling medical trainees.

Unfortunately, nobody who attended that ceremony saw our vision.

Since then, Gayzelle and I are claiming our dreams -- one step at a time. Together, we've worked hard. Together, we've lost sleep doing the essential things -- chasing one dream after another.

So far, we've achieved a lot but we still have more dreams and visions to claim -- dreams and visions that are rightfully ours. Everyday, we take one step closer to our dreams.

As Philip Humbert has said, "Whatever you desire, take some step in that direction everyday. . . Of course, it may seem small. . . In terms of the total journey, each individual step is tiny. That's the way life is."

And our kids -- they're the wind beneath our wings.

Learn emotional intelligence through the Oikos Game Series!

Spiritual Success

What does it really mean to be considered spiritual success?

In this day and age of materialism, it seems difficult to merge spirituality with success. It is as if success and spirituality are two separate entities -- that they are not designed to co-exist, that material success is the be all and end all of everything.

In the article Spirituality and Success: Bridging the Gap, Dave Ferruolo shows that material success and spirituality can actually co-exist. He writes:

"Spirituality and success are both paths to travel and not definitive destinations. To achieve total life success, one must make living spiritual and being successful a lifestyle. Like water and clay, they should be molded together to create the masterpiece of your life. You cannot have one without the other."

This is a very interesting view especially that some people tend to consider these two concepts as two extremes that can never be reconciled.

I like that part in the article that shows how emotional intelligence (although Dave may not necessarily refer to it) can mold a person to success. Dave writes:

". . . By knowing who you are and what you are capable of, and realizing your connection to the earth, spirit and humanity, you can move past fears and begin to live the amazing adventure your life is meant to be!"

Indeed, these concepts of self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management -- all four components of emotional intelligence and all embodied in that single sentence -- are vital tools of success.

If you want to know more about Dave's article, visit his site and ask for it. This article is just awesome!

Learn emotional intelligence through the Oikos Game Series.

Self-Discipline

Recently, I read an article that in some schools in North America, administrators would like to change the adolescents' school schedule to accomodate their sleeping pattern.

This particular article states that adolescents, based on a study, usually sleep late and therefore, should go to school late. School schedule should then be changed, according to this premise.

I almost fell off my chair after I read it. In my opinion, this is political correctness stretched to the extreme although I must admit that I haven't read the original study on this.

Why would a school change its schedule just to accomodate its students' inability to wake up early? No idea.

Sleep pattern is set by our biological clock. If you sleep late because of partying, working, or dating, then obviously you'll wake up late.

Like adults (and children), adolescents need some motivation and self-discipline to move ahead in life. Sleep pattern should therefore be self-regulated to meet the demands of the outside world.

It's the adolescents' responsibility to adjust to the realities of life and not vice versa.

Adjusting the school schedule to fit the adolescent's sleep pattern is not only counterproductive, it is also withdrawing the individual from the rigors of living.

Learn emotional intelligence through the Oikos Game Series