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Self esteem is often defined as an individual’s enduring perception of how much he or she is worth as a person. However, despite this seemingly permanent nature of how one esteems his or her worth, there are ways in order to make a less than desirable level of self esteem improve over time. True, there are a huge number of stories that point in the direction of failure, but there are in fact ways to find success in building self esteem.

To begin, it is important to understand that if your loved one—be it family or friend, suffers from low self esteem—trying to convince him or her that they are worth so much more than they think they are is not the way to go. In fact, trying to build their self esteem does not involve any sort of radical shift in perception. Self love and self respect is something that you continually work on and build over time.

Trying to convince people of their self worth by constant affirmation may even backfire, as you are in effect shattering their worldview about how badly they see themselves. When these individuals see themselves so negatively, this disturbance of their worldview in such sudden and aggressive means may backlash, causing them to violently retaliate or to withdraw from other people almost immediately.

As such, helping build self esteem involves a more supportive than active role on your part. As your loved one continues to discover his or her self worth, all you have to do is affirm them appropriately as they progress in the process of building the self esteem they so delicately try to improve.

This is because unlike injuries, or even assistance in homework and the like, the development of a healthy level of self esteem is more a personal journey than anything. People with low self esteem must begin this journey by slowly accepting themselves, with equal appreciation for their flaws and their gifts. They may then begin to please themselves before seeking to please other people. Once that happens, they begin setting realistic goals for themselves and all the while recognizing the credit they are due in all the things that they do.

The process of self acceptance to greater self love may be aided by trained professionals in order that this process becomes successful. In many instances, therapy with trained psychologists is known to work very well. In sessions with these psychologists, individuals are given the opportunity to review their negative perceptions, and begin to re-evaluate whatever negative perceptions they may have had about themselves since their childhood.

Participation in activities that help them to discover their gifts and talents have been proven to help a lot. As such, even as they are undergoing therapy, you can help your loved one pick out an activity or class that they can participate in. It will help if you choose an activity that you’ve always felt they could further develop. Music, art, sports, dancing, and the like are good areas to begin.

Not only will they discover whatever talents they have that have gone uncultivated, but they are also able to find an avenue through which they can constructively express themselves and their feelings. Once they gain some feeling of ownership over a particular activity and talent, it can become one of the things they can appreciate more about who they are as people.

At the end of the day, being successful in helping a loved one in the process of building self esteem involves not only being there for them, but helping them get the help they need from professionals. Act as support in these tough moments, affirming the improvements they are making over time. Help them discover their talents and gifts, and recognize whatever achievements they gain in the process.

If you want to live your life to the fullest potential, start setting life goals.

Buried dreams, forgotten goals, and underdeveloped potentials will be things of the past if you begin to set your life goals.

Goal setting is a powerful process that allows you to have greater control over your future. Goal setting skills can be applied to everything you do.

Setting life goals is like having a map to show you where you want to go and avoid getting lost in the process. With you goals in tact, you can drive straight to your preferred destination without any wasted time or wrong turns.

The process of setting life goals

Start your goal setting with what you want to be, achieve and have in your lifetime. Then work your way through a series of lower level plans up to the things you will have to do on an everyday basis. By making this structure of your plans, you can be able to break the biggest plan you have into a number of smaller daily tasks to reach it.

If it is hard for you to set life goals, books, programs, seminars and trainings and coaches are available to help you achieve your desired plans. But it is normally easy to set life goals. It can be compared to dreaming and basically, putting it into paper. Setting life goals is easy - making them real is the challenging part.

After setting your life goals, make a serious pact to follow it. Keep the process going with the same fervor when you started it. You must refer to your life goals periodically so you can modify your short term goals according to your changing priorities and experience, and yet continue on towards your larger plans.

In setting life goals, here's a guideline on how to make effective goals:

- write it down. Putting your ideas into paper will help you remember them. These ideas are helpful in reaching your goals.

- not too high, not too low. It is important that you set life goals that are realistic because you shouldn't be shooting for the moon. Just as important is not to set them too low. Set goals that will not make you lazy but motivate you.

- be positive. Express your goals in a positive statement. Even with this small detail help yourself to think positively about the future.

- be specific. Set a precise plan, including dates, times, and amounts so that you will know everything needed to achieve the goal and take pride from having achieved it.

- prioritize. Give each of your objectives priority. You will have many goals to achieve but prioritizing will help you from feeling overwhelmed by the things you must do in a period of time.

In the process of following your life goals, create a support system. This is a critical step. You will need to support yourself to keep your focus on your goals. If you fail to get support, it may probably be the single reason why goals fail.

Final pointers on setting life goals

Make sure to select goals that are really of great importance to you; those that are in agreement to your values; and give them a plan and a support system to make them reality. You must be the one to decide what to pursue and what direction you want to aim in life.

Goal setting techniques are commonly used by people who want to achieve success in their chosen world, may it be in trade and commerce, sports, entertainment, and so on. If you want to be a success story in yours, start setting life goals now.

Use your subliminal learning skills with thinking positive to find your true feelings to be successful for making constructive changes in your life. Stop and think about how you feel about yourself at this minute. Are you happy with the way your career has turned out? Do you personally like the way you look in the mirror?

If you are not happy with your career, ask yourself why not. When you look in the mirror, do you like what you see? If you are not happy with yourself, how can you make good decisions on your career or looks? We need to like ourselves before we can like what we see or how we can be in control.

Write how you feel on paper and how you plan to make constructive changes to turn them around. When we are thinking negative you cannot succeed, use positive thinking to make changes.

By thinking positive, you will be using your self-reliance skills, or other words; you will be depending on your feelings for making good decisions in making constructive changes.

When making good construction changes at the workplace you need to decide first is this, is the career you will be happy with? How can you change your feelings at the workplace to be successful?

If you are not happy with your career either try to find the cause or do you need to change you field entirely. Is your job to stressful; if so ask yourself why and what can you do about it. You and only you can answer these questions to solve the problem. Maybe learning to meditate at work will help relieve the stress to become successful.

If you are stressing your job, think, because you make money at your job, which is your lifeline this is important to you. When you choose other duties at home over your job first, likely you will be fired. You will need to make serious changes, since their job is lost and they will need to find other work. So think wisely, at what time you consider changing jobs.

When you meditate on the situation and focus on what needs to be done first, you will be relieving stress by getting one done then the second. Use meditation as for enhancing your self-reliance skills to help you become more constructive in success.

Look in the mirror, since only you can make the necessary changes to make your life better.

Using goals to plan, your diet along with exercise will build up your self-reliance to be constructive.

Goals are helpful aid that guides you along the right pathway in life. In order to build your self-reliance to grow on; think positive in making constructive changes for a better and healthier life. You can use the goals you made to come alive and stand out to stare at you while you express; you can make these changes.

Learning to rely on yourself is going to bring success in the future. You are the only one you can depend on to make constructive changes to be happier.

Use guides, such as meditation and goals to build your self-reliance for making the constructive changes you desire to make. Positive directions in self-reliance guides will help you make constructive changes.

Most of us have skills and answers within us that will guide us to success. Success however confuses people, since all of us have something different to offer that prompts us to go in different directions. Therefore, some people find it harder than others to find success, simply because they are in someone else’s shoes.

All it takes to find your success is to get out of someone else’s shoes and fill in your own. Very few people will agree that it is easy to achieve success. Most people sit around saying, success only happens to the lucky ones. This is true for them, simply because they keep this negative thinking, which hinders them from their own success.

Honestly, success is harder because most people fail to see how to get their success. They often rely on others to take them to the highway to success. The truth is finding your success takes you. If you look inside you and explore your mind, you will feel amazed at the answers you will find that you can use as to self-reliance and to make constructive changes.

Take time to explore you. Learn now how to get on the highway that guides you to success by exploring your inner strengths, mind, et cetera.

When you take time to explore your mind, it not only builds your awareness it also guides you to discovery. You start to learn from your experiences, learning, past, and other aspects of your life. You begin to put those influences that misguide you behind you and start to rely on you to find answers and get on your road to success.

The key is taking it slow. Rather than expect too much from you, or expect a miracle overnight you learn to pace it and discover inner truths and answers.

The fact is we were created with innate abilities and even knowledge. We learn by observing our nature, which helps us to see what we must do to live happier, and to achieve our own success. By exploring nature and its entirety, you will find that what you must do is learn to accept that you were created with an innate spirit that directs you straight to your creator. Once you start to see this, you will eat healthier. Rather than relying on fabricated foodstuff made by man, you start to grow your own food to live healthier. We all know that fabricated produces made by man are now contaminated, and is causing major harm to millions of people. Therefore, we have to take action now to rely on us to take hold of what our body and mind needs to survive.

What does this have to do with self-reliance, constructive changes and success? It has everything to do with it, since if your body is eating unhealthy, your mind will be affected. When your mind is affected, you cannot think straight. In addition, the world is heading to food shortages, epidemic diseases, and so on. So you see by exploring your natural resources you can get on the highway to your success.

Get on your road now by exploring your future, history and your mind. By exploring your mind alone you will build awareness, skills, and clear up clutter, such as fear, doubts, etc, which helps you, find your guide that leads you to success. Address reinforcements to make constructive changes.

If you knew that you could achieve anything you wanted to, maybe get that job that you always thought was slightly out of your reach or find and build that wonderful new relationship which has remained somehow elusive, that would be amazing wouldn't it?

Keep the thought positive. Don't get annoyed with yourself for not using the resources before. Focusing on a negative energy will probably prevent you from moving forwards. Focus on what it is that you actually want, the outcome you desire.

All you need is motivation and goal setting.

Goal setting and performance

Goal setting improves performance when:

- Goals are specific - Goals are difficult - Goals are Challenging - Goals are Attainable - Goals are participatively set - Goals are most often for individuals, but may also be team/group based

In order to stay motivated, observe the following:

1. Identify your Values, Beliefs and Desires What is important to you motivates you. This simply means that if you assign a value to something important, you are more likely to do what action is required to reach the goal.

People's goals and desires grow from their values and beliefs.

Draft a list of your values, beliefs and desires. Take time to think about the interrelations of the items.

The list should be a source of motivation and must help you achieve goals you have set. The quality and depth of your motivation is directly related to your commitment. You must be sure that you can live up to reach the goal you have set.

Taking this for granted could lead to frustration that could diminish your motivation.

2. Do a Self-Assessment

Do an informal assessment of your existing abilities. Have a reflection on what you know about yourself. Accuracy and honesty is essential at this point. Underestimation or overestimation would result from inaccurate assessment of one’s abilities.

If you already have an assessment of your strengths and weaknesses and you know what you value and desire, it is now possible to establish personal goals.

All goals should incorporate these common attributes:

A. Realistic

Goal setting should be realistic. The goals set should be based on your existing abilities and circumstances.

B. Possible

Remember not to establish goals that would make the realistic, unrealistic.

C. Flexible

Always anticipate obstacles along the way and learn how to move around them.

D. Measurable

Have a time frame so you would know if you have reached your goal.

E. Under Control

Remember to set your goals based on your own values and beliefs. Target goals where it is possible for you to control the outcome.

3. Role of Personal Circumstance

You should be in a position to be able to act on the goals you have set. Failure to consider your personal circumstances would impair your motivation and goal setting.

Changing circumstances always influences goals. If your circumstances change but your goals doesn’t adapt it could undermine your motivation.

People are often unwilling to adapt and adjust to the situation. It is hard for them to adjust their self-expectations. There are times when people can get frustrated and lose their motivation.

Motivation and goal setting can be maintained if you would take into account your personal circumstance.

Redefining goals is very important to remain motivated and stay on the path to success.

4. Breeding Success

Personal circumstance, motivation and goal setting affect the outcome of success.

If you failed to reach any of these steps, your motivation will diminish, you would fail to work up to your abilities, and this would dampen your chances of success.

Nowadays we’re nearly all looking for some way to make ourselves better, whether by getting into habits that will make for a life that is more exciting, to learn how to be more sociable to garner more friends, to learn how to find the right occupation, or to simply be happier. Since the advent of the internet this is even easier with the plethora of self improvement articles that can be found –and most of them for free. The following highlight but a small sample of such self improvement articles to be discovered.

For those of you looking for the latest in self help books, there are listings that include not only books just released, but also other information. This includes classic self help tomes that have weathered the ages and are still proven in value. As well, there are critiques of such books, even as they come off the presses, and of course individual self improvement articles.

With the many great discoveries being made in science almost diurnally, anyone looking for great self improvement articles will wish to scan newsletters about the latest in neuroscience. Through neuroscience you will learn not only of new findings, but through hard science, may experience the techniques that will help you in what you wish to ameliorate in your life.

Prosperity –or beyond this, getting rich, is a dream for many people. The best way to begin a path towards riches is to learn what others before you have done, to see what works and what fails. There are numerous self improvement articles is this genre that are but a few clicks of the keypad away.

Have you ever wanted to fulfill a dream, but were told that the dream was too extravagant, that only “so-and-so types accomplish that”? Well, don’t give up your dream just yet! Learning to live your dreams is something many people seek and find the answers to, gaining the proper mindset for accomplishing these dreams with self improvement articles specifically for this type of problem. (In fact, just by reading this article is testament to the reality that you’re seeking to fulfill some part of your longing.) Keep pushing on.

One of the more exciting series of self improvement articles that are to be found on the internet entice “winning” and everything that goes with this idea. This can mean simply buying a house, raising a family, gaining prestige at work, starting your own business, or simply gaining the respect of a parent.

Something for the ladies. If you’re a woman who identifies specifically with other women, rather than people in general, there is a newsletter out there for you. Such newsletters cover everything from health and career to raising a family or staying an avowed bachelorette “and loving it,” as the saying goes.

Then there’s that truly ubiquitous quality that we’re all seeking and seemingly just barely missing: happiness. Again, this is a general term that means so many things to so many different people. Yet the self-help articles and newsletters exist to help you pin down what makes for happiness for you, and how to achieve it. May you achieve all that you seek.

The fear of low self esteem has fed a lot of well-meaning but completely misguided efforts in improving self esteem. After all, many people fear that some acts of violence, like bullying, result from low self esteem, or from an exploitation of other people’s low perception of their own worth.

This doesn’t mean, however, that all efforts to improve self esteem are worthless. With enough effort and support from other people, something as enduring as a person’s conception of their worth as people can be slowly changed and improved. It is important to recognize that the process of trying to improve self esteem is one that will take time and effort, and that any haphazard or half-hearted effort towards that effect can even worsen a person’s self perception.

It is important to recognize that self esteem, to begin with, is not the same as self confidence. While self confidence is more forward-looking, like a consideration of a person’s ability to do well in a future activity, self esteem is a person’s long-term perception of their worth. Integral to good self esteem is self-love, self-appreciation, and recognition of both one’s flaws and gifts. Low self esteem can contribute to one’s low levels of confidence.

This means that someone who thinks he or she will be unable to fulfil a particular task does not necessarily have low self esteem. This is because low self esteem is a wholly-conceived personality and self-perception. There are a couple of symptoms of low self esteem, not limited to taking one’s self for granted, thinking one does not deserve the love and affection showered on them, having terrible self-image, and imposing impossible standards on one’s self and then punishing one’s self heavily for not meeting them.

In order to improve self esteem successfully, recognize that you may need help in the process, and that seeking help is not a sign of failure. In fact, psychiatrists are trained specifically to help move you away from your negative feelings and perceptions about yourself. With their help, you will be able to re-evaluate how you view yourself in the context of your daily activities and your social interactions.

Do not succumb to the temptation to eat too little or eat too much as a result of poor self-image. Recognize that by taking care of yourself, you’ll begin to appreciate better how you look, and that, at the end of the day, your opinion on how you look is the only one that matters. Eat healthier, work out more, and sleep in once in a while.

Work hard, and take credit for the good work that you do. You do not need other people to appreciate the hard work you’ve put in; realize that with or without the recognition of other people, you deserve a pat on the back for the work you know you’ve put in.

Put your needs before other people’s needs. This does not mean that you are thinking only of yourself as though you were selfish. Rather, by satisfying your own needs first, you are able to better help other people out. This is because you recognize that you are worth as much trouble as they are, too. This will also help prevent other people from taking advantage of you, because you know that you respect yourself as well.

At the end of the day, improving self esteem need not be a losing battle. It all begins by recognizing that you can improve your esteem, that you can get help, and that you can make conscious decisions daily to make you realize your own worth as a person.

Introduction

In 2004, September was regarded as self improvement month. This year it was November. Just missed it, didn’t you? Planning and settings goals for achievement are easy but strict adherence to it is a bit difficult. Setting a month as a self improvement month means time to improve on many things. As you know, self-improvement projects are difficult to start and maintaining them is not very easy.

The self-improvement projects could be difficult or easy. All efforts related to self-improvement do have goals. If that were not the case then how would you know whether you have improved or not? Keep your goals realistic, specific, time bound, accessible and simple. Missing any of these fundamentals can badly affect your ability to realize your goals.

You should plan for one month so that you will have 30 days to work towards your goals. Your goals could be one of these: joining an aerobics class, saving money or learning a new foreign language. For example, if you wish to join an aerobics class, visit a number of aerobics schools, observe the instructors, and students and choose the school that suits you.

You may need to improve your financial position. Doesn’t that meet the criteria for self improvement month? It sure does! Improving and developing the skills and mastering the behaviors essential to improve your financial position is an exact effort in the direction of self-improvement. During this self improvement month, make every attempt to reduce your debt. Celebrate the whole month as Self Improvement Month. Analyze your financial position, bring your financial goals up to date and set your sights on improving your financial future.

During the self improvement month make sure that you bring in some changes to your life. We would all like to change something - our social status, our work satisfaction, our health, academic growth, financial position and last, but not least, our relationships. You will agree that the most complex part concerning self-improvement is not what you want to change, but making the change permanent. Towards the end of the self improvement month most people fall short of reaching their coveted goals. This might be due to one of three reasons - the goal was impractical, the situation was not favorable to change, or the individual gave up too early. So, during your self improvement month, please try not to make too many changes at one go ad it will divert your mind from one goal to another and in the end you wont accomplish any of your goals.

To others, self improvement month may mean doing the following things:

- Working out in the gym. - Improving on appearance. - Improving dressing skills - Turning into more of an assertive person - Improving social skills

Whatever it may be, stay focused on your efforts towards success. Try to recap every day what you achieved and what needs your urgent attention.

Goal setting is an essential factor towards living your life yielding strong rewards in all aspects of your life.

Smart goal setting allows you to have a choice where and how far you want to go in life. It is by knowing exactly where to put your focus on and give those areas improvement. It also gives you the guide of which part of your life is merely a distraction to your long range plans. It concentrates your accumulated knowledge and helps you organize your available resources.

Benefits of smart goal setting

By smart goal setting you will be able to:

- achieve, sometimes even more than your initial goal

- improve the quality of your performance

- increase your self-motivation to achieve

- increase your satisfaction in the work you have done

- improve your self-confidence and self-esteem

- plan to eliminate attitudes that causes distractions (e.g. the ones that hold you back causing unhappiness)

How to start smart goal setting?

The first step in setting your goals is to put into careful consideration what you want to achieve in your entire lifetime. Your lifetime goals will give all of your actions and decisions in the right direction. It shapes all other aspects your every decision making.

Since this is about your lifetime goals, you may well be looking at a broad horizon. Here are some important areas in your life that needs consideration:

- career and finances - education - family - art and sports - physical and attitude - entertainment and pleasure (travel, etc.) - social and public service

After carefully choosing what you want to achieve in every category, make a priority list that will number these categories from 1 to 7. You may even add more aspects into the list if needed. Remember that this is your smart goal setting list, it should fit your needs - not your parents, peers, family or people around you. It is for you - not anyone else's.

Check to see if all is in place. A careful review is important - this will ensure that all is in place the way you want them to be. Review your plans every now and then to make sure this is what you really want and that you are doing everything right. If modifications and reworking are necessary, then by all means do so.

From hereon, base your every decision on your goals. You can make a daily list of things you are going to do that will help you reach your goals. Simple things like reading a book and gathering of information on what you want to do in the future will help you get started and maintain this throughout the entire process.

The right attitude for smart goal setting One important thing in smart goal setting is self-discipline. This will help you carry through your dreams and vision in life despite the problems and hassles that may arise. If self-discipline is present, goal setting is also relatively easy because your positive attitude towards your effective guidelines will help you rather than hold you back.

Researches and surveys have shown that people who set their goals in life effectively suffer less from stress and have fewer tendencies to have anxiety attacks. They also learn to concentrate and performance better. Finally, they show more self-confidence and are more at peace with themselves making them happier and satisfied people.

Be one of them now, start your smart goat setting plan today.

If you are looking for a self improvement course, there are many to be chosen from. There is everything from learning how to ride a motorcycle, to better cooking secrets, to how to find that perfect relationship. It is the intention of this article to extrapolate a few of these.

One type of self improvement course is the “transformation” class. This is generally designed to “awaken” some aspect of your life that has dwindled, such as childhood imagination, the art of play, or simply seeing the world from the eyes of a child. In general be expected to share part of your life, some that may be rather personal, and to play act or simply get goofy. This type of self improvement course, at the very least, is worth the experience as it is oft quite fun.

A very popular self improvement course is how to make money. Many of these classes will be very specific, such as telling you how to get into the import-export business or how to simply start a thriving real estate business. However, many others of this theme are broader and encourage you to find your own groove. That is, to go into a business that will be both pleasurable for you personally, and that goes with your personality.

A popular self improvement course that never seems to have a small registration is the “how to make love to your husband / wife / etc.” classes. These can be quite stimulating and are often strewn with humor as well as serious, detailed information that you will usually find very interesting. As well, in the better classes the stress will not be only towards physical interaction, but the psycho-emotional aspects as well.

Procrastination is a problem that seems to plague so many of us in the modern world that it is very natural to find a self improvement course on this subject. You will learn not only how to think, and the special habits that “doers” participate in to accomplish so much, but you’ll also learn the psychology of the procrastinator, and even about “false procrastination.” If this sounds right for you, sign up –but don’t wait too long!

Do you know that little voice in your head that warns you of possible danger, or tells you to go ahead with certain activities? Some call this intuition, though for others, their intuition is silent, more of a mood or feeling than actual, verbalized words within your mind. There is now at least one self improvement course pretty much everywhere you look. Not only will you learn to identify your intuition, but to know when it’s correct, and even how to “amplify the voice.”

Yes, at the beginning of the article “how to find the perfect relationship” was mentioned. This is a class that is also rather ubiquitous, and while the title seems a little overly-positive, if you don’t learn how to find “Mr. Perfect,” at very least you’ll learn how to attract Mr. or Ms. Right. May you fare well in your quest.

Introduction

The universal truth prevails. “There is always room for improvement". And what’s better than improving yourself? Self improvement quotes have a bearing on our lives. Human beings need objectives so that we know where we are heading. We relentlessly seek out self-improvement and having objectives helps us realize our objectives. Every day when we get up, we know where we are heading and the craving to achieve something in life always pushes us further past any difficulty and obstruction that comes all along.

Self improvement quotes play an important part in our lives. They help us explore the different proportions of self-improvement - its trials and troubles, its booty and purpose. A good way to start the day is by reading a few self-improvement quotes. Like our body, we need to nourish our mind with a daily dose of these quotes so that they become stronger and stronger. Eventually this can help us maintain a positive attitude in problem solving at our work place and maintain healthy relationships with others. When we feel depressed or feel like giving up on our goals, reading some of the self improvement quotes helps us remain motivated to succeed and remain inspired. This helps us in staying focused, determined and committed to being ourselves.

It is the individual responsibility of every one of us to demand the very best from ourselves. There's no question that self improvement quotes can give what us that external flicker to retune our inner circuits. Everyone goes through ups and downs from time to time in life. It's only natural. Everybody is prone to come under stress and pressure of day-to-day living and none, not even one of us, is invulnerable. The self improvement quotes help us deal with the challenges and obstacles we face each day, giving us strength and strengthening our thinking in our own abilities.

A regular reading of self improvement quotes can help raise our state of mind and reinstate our self-esteem. This all can happen just when we require it the most. Someone has rightly said “Persons of high self-esteem are not driven to make them superior to others; they do not seek to prove their value by measuring themselves against a comparative standard. Their joy is being who they are, not in being better than someone else."

Here is a small collection of selected self improvement quotes that would help in raising our confidence and could result in self-improvement:

Unless you try to do something beyond what you have mastered, you will never grow -C.R. Lawton

I'm going to get through this; I'm going to be fine. The power to do it is all in my mind - Cindy Wagner

No one knows everything, but everyone can learn something - Sean Gregory Derrick Perfection does not exist, you can always do better and you can always grow - Les Brown

The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen - Lee Iacocca

Improve your business, your life, your relationships, your finances and your health. When you do the whole world improves - Mark Victor Hansen

Let’s face it, except for maybe Jackie Chan, we could all do with a little personal betterment. For this reason, here are some self improvement tips that you may find helpful.

First, are you comfortable? I mean with yourself. This means being accepting of who you are when simply by yourself, because as self improvement tips go, this may just be a biggie. If you’re not comfortable by yourself, how do you quantify your discomfort? Do you nag yourself constantly about “I wish I had’s” and “I should have’s”? If so, it’s time to ease up on yourself. This is not to say that you shouldn’t be self-critical, as this is also one of the golden self improvement tips. However, if you’re so critical with yourself that you don’t get any sleep or any peace from the “chattering monkey” of your mind, it’s time to become kinder to yourself.

Next, are you content with life in a social context –and remember, this doesn’t necessarily mean in a bustling room of socialites; I mean are you okay if there’s merely one other person in the room, for starters, at least. This is especially true if that person is someone that you’re socially attracted to. I’d say “get over it,” but it’s really not that simple, is it? So as recourse, consider signing up for a dating seminar. Or if this is just too embarrassing a situation for you, sign up for a newsletter and get to know the basic ideas thereof.

Self improvement tips would be nothing without bringing up the existence of newsletters, helpful CD’s, and seminars, and they are in an abundance of categories that will help you to improve your situation, no matter what you wish to better in your life. Some of these include getting over shyness, losing weight, gaining weight (yes, this actually is a problem, especially for young men), and getting to know the opposite sex better and more confidently.

Do you feel undervalued amongst your friends or co-workers? Consider the people that you feel up to par with the amount of respect that they get. What about those who get more than their share of attention and respect? What do the people in these two groups do to get such respect and attention?

Watch how they walk, how they talk, how they hold their bodies, their chins, their eyes. Do you notice how much eye contact they make with others? How much they smile, or don’t smile? What do they say exactly? Are there any patterns to the things they do and say? Studying these people, the so-called “winners” is one of the best self improvement tips that exist. Do what these people do, because what they do works, and that’s key.

Read. Read everything that you can get your hands on that you think will help. If you can’t think of anything, start with Dale Carnegie. He is the undisputed master of all time of self improvement tips. There’s also Zig Ziegler, Deepak Chopra, and Anthony Robbins, to name but a few more.

Oh, just two more things. Number one, don’t read so much that you go blind and pale up like Casper from lack of sunlight. Get out into the day, experience life. The last of my self improvement tips is this: practice what you learn. Without practice, it’s like you’ve learned nothing at all, and you’re better than that. Go out and succeed!

Self esteem is something we all have. It can be developed and improved even further as we grow older so there is the chance that we can become better people. But how do we do that? Well by following some simple steps.

The first step is to accept yourself for who you are. We are only human and there are limitations to what we can do. While there are some limitations that can be changed, there are some that can’t. For instance, if you don’t do well in math, you can get help so you can have a better grade in the future. On the other hand, if you want to buy a car and you don’t have the funds right now, well you just have to accept the fact that at this moment, this is not possible.

Aside from knowing your limitations, you have to understand that people have their own limitations as well and you have to accept them for who they are.

The second step is to understand that you have self worth. You are important to your family, to your friends and to society. You may not be running a country or a business but your contribution as an employee, as a breadwinner to the family and a listener when your friends need someone to talk to has value.

If you know your limits and you have a certain purpose in life, it is time to set realistic goals. When you plan what you want to do, make sure that this can be done over a period of time and not overnight. For instance, if you want to lose weight, you have to do this gradually and once you achieve it after several months, you will be happy with what you have achieved.

Each one of us has experienced something different in our lives. This depends on the people we meet and the challenges that we have encountered. With that, you can take mistakes made as lessons for the future and achievements as things that could push you further. Since you don’t want to sit on your laurels, set your own standards and live by them.

The last thing you have to do to build up your self-esteem is simply to learn to love yourself. If you want to do something, go ahead and try it even if there are some people who may discourage you from doing it.

If you did a great job, give yourself a pat on the back and reward yourself because how you see yourself will be seen by other people so if you learn to value who you are, it will be easier for you to be appreciative of others.

We all have self-esteem and we just have to maintain it or try to make it even better. If you need help in building it, try seeing a specialist or buying a recording and then play it at home. Remember that these things are just tools and in the end, what is important is how you see yourself. It is also your life and you are the one who sets the direction.

Not your friends, family or loved ones but it wouldn’t hurt to consult them from time to time because these people also care about you.

Perhaps the most popular proponents of the goal setting theory are philosophers E.A. Locke and G. Latham. Their theory suggests that goal setting is innate among human beings and that identifying and mapping out methods to reach them are some of the most natural factors of human behavior.

Related literature would tell you that goal setting theory is rooted on these four basic ideas:

1. People rationally set task-related goals.

2. People are the ones that determine how much time and effort are afforded into reaching these goals.

3. Goals, to be effective, must be specific, accepted and attainable.

4. It is important to be list feedback on performance.

The goal setting theory assumes all of the above four and makes the following general claims:

1. Goal setting affects behavior.

2. Difficult goals result in higher performance levels.

3. Motivation comes from lessons from a previous goal.

4. Goal clarity affects performance.

5. Goal difficulty is directly proportional to satisfaction.

Goal setting and behavior

Goal setting theory states that identifying goals allows people to make calculated decisions. Once these are realized, they naturally direct and provide motivations so that these goals are reached. It also helps people commite to something and arrange their activities so as not to deter them from the intended achievement.

Performance is correlated to difficulty

The more challenging and difficult it is to reach a goal, the higher the resulting performance level. Of course, if a task is a little daunting, the more effort a person will likely give to accomplish it. According to the goal setting theory, performance is influenced by four key factors.

First, goal setting centers on a person's attention to actions that would lead to a goal, thereby reducing the time and energy given to things unrelated. Second, as mentioned earlier, the higher the goal, the more effort is required. Third, when a person knows he has control over the time and effort to be set aside, the more persistent he becomes. And fourth, there are lessons to be learned.

Motivation is driven by past actions

People get motivated to work toward a goal if they had been exposed to or familiar with a similar situation that saw failure in the past. Goal setting theory notes that errors and dissatisfactions push people to do better the next time.

The clearer the goal, the better the performance

This needs no further explanation. If a person knows exactly what he wants to attain, it will be a lot easier to identify proceeding actions and faster to reach the goal. Performance works at its full potential this way.

Goal difficulty affects satisfaction

In relation to factor number two, people tend to derive a greater worth when they complete difficult tasks. According to Locke and Latham's goal setting theory, satisfaction levels are driven by the amount of effort and sacrifice put into a certain goal. Challenging goals give a stronger sense of achievement.

There is no defined method to setting and achieving your goal. But if you read related literature and ask around for advice, the answers may be summed up into one thing: Know exactly what you want.

When setting and working towards achieving your goal, you have to be specific. General statements like "I want to own a car" are not as clear cut and effective as "I want to own a Ford Lynx within two years." Realizing this difference will help you be able to map out your life strategy more efficiently.

Paul Meyer, the author of "Attitude is Everything", suggest a S-M-A-R-T way to setting and achieving your goals. SMART means:

S- Specific (Again, know what you want)

M- Measurable (How much do you want?)

A- Action oriented (Something you can achieve by working for it)

R- Realistic (within your resources and means)

T- Tangible (something that you can appreciate and remind yourself of your hard work)

It would be good to set goals that challenge you. Otherwise, there really wouldn't be any point and fun to the process. When setting and seeking to achieve your goal, choose something that would not only benefit you in the end, but also offer a lot of lessons while you're at it. In this way, if you, unfortunately, do not get to reach your goal, you will still be thankful that you learned a lot of new things along the way.

To more easily set and achieve goals, take a little time identifying first what these are, so they won't contradict each other and leave you frustrated. The six areas you can set your goals against may involve family and home, spiritual and moral, finances and career, social, physical and mental. Identify goals in each of these areas to work out a clearer life plan. You will be thankful for the absence of mind clutter after.

Setting and achieving goals requires more than simply recognizing and identifying what they are. You have to realize the difference between a goal and a dream. A dream is something you just aspire for, whereas a goal is something that involves work and some form of sacrifice.

Setting goals is easy. It's the achieving part that poses the challenge. That's why you have to stay SMART at all times. Self-discipline is key. You need to be passionate enough to reach your goal, otherwise, what you've done is just writing random things down and wasting precious time and paper. And that is not smart.

An example is cheating on the goals you have set. You can't say you want to lose four pounds every month and then irresponsibly lose just one pound by not sticking to your diet plan and exercise plan. More importantly, you cannot make up for your blunder by saying "Hey, I'll just lose seven pounds next month." Not only will you be fooling yourself, you might even subject yourself to possible health risks!

As mentioned earlier, there is no fun to a goal that does not involve a challenge. It is boring and will more likely cause you to stray and break what you have set. If you think you don't have the willpower to achieve them, get a goal setting buddy. This way, you will be monitoring each other's progress.

Sacrifice and discipline are needed to setting and achieving effective goals. Sure, they can be quite difficult, but nothing definitely beats the satisfaction you get when you finally start enjoying the fruits of your labor. Now get smart and start moving.

So you dream of owning an SUV in five years and want to make sure you get it within your set time? Then you've come to the right place. This article will help you start realizing your personal goals and set them in an achievable and realistic way.

Frankly, there is no clear-cut method to effective personal goal setting. It is all up to you if you want to reach your goals badly enough to be consistent to your plan and to make little sacrifices.

To help you start, here are some tips for personal goal setting that works.

1. Know what you want

If you have identified what you want to achieve in the short or long term, it will be easier for you to plan your next moves and work out a strategy. For example, don't just say "I want to learn to play a musical instrument". If you're more inclined to the piano, set your personal goal to "I want to learn to play the piano". This way, you can map out which piano school you want to go to and under what budget.

2. Write your goals down

Personal goal setting is more effective if you have a constant and conspicuous reminder of your plans. Place your list where you pass by all the time. Stick it to your bathroom mirror so you'll have a daily morning boost. With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, your personal goals might get thrown into oblivion if you just keep mental notes.

3. Your personal goals must be realistic.

Work within your means. There is nothing more dishearting than failing at a personal goal. Set goals you know you have the capacity to reach and don't overwork yourself. If you're currently earning $2000 a month, don't aspire to own a five bedroom Manhattan flat in one year unless you intend to get yourself in the hospital for working and stressing yourself out too much to meet payments. In this instance, set your personal goal lower or allot a much longer time frame.

4. Learn to prioritize.

Personal goal setting that works involves identifying which are more important or urgent than others. Sit down and study which among the items on your list are needed in the short term, say one, three or five years, and which may be postponed for a longer period. Separate wants from needs. This will help you become too overwhelmed with plans and ideas. Keep sane and do things one at a time.

Setting personal goals is not really difficult once you have given yourself the time to think about what you want out of life. The guidelines above work best if you have enough drive to see your dreams through to the very end. Remember, personal goal setting is useless without the person -- and that is you.

Many people go through life’s usual phases of ups and downs which are common and normal stages in life, but when your self- esteem is low, you may need to know how to boost your self –esteem, since it can lead to problems you may not have thought of.

Self –esteem is the measurement or the value of how a person knows his worth and it’s effects are life –changing and dramatic, since it makes up a person’s attitude and outlook towards life.

Simply put, self –esteem is the fuel that makes you feel important or loved by others, but when self –esteem is low, you can either sulk and be sad or be afraid to try out new things or take risks and chances with your love-life, career, relationships and self – improvement.

Self –esteem plays a key role in the maturity of a person, especially when trying to get away from a precarious situation, weathering a personal crisis or going through a series of trials in life – our normal responses to these circumstances and situations are governed by how we value ourselves and how our decisions are dictated by these conditions.

Faced with tough decisions in life, the more self- esteem one has- the better it is for that person to make sound decisions, even under the face of peer pressure or stress at work and at home. Let us try to look into some of the common and best practices which have been tried and tested to help boost self –esteem.

Always compliment yourself daily, especially by trying to look for specific tasks you did good for that day and congratulate yourself for it.

It will give you a regular motivation to work harder and better to improve yourself and develop your sense of maturity as a person. List down all things you are good at doing and achieving, be it a talent, skill, sport or building up other people.

You can add more focus to these good points and fuels our passion to do better and make you not only understand yourself more, but also give you the true meaning and measurement of self worth and this is how you see yourself as important.

Appreciation of one’s physical appearance and bearing can also be your source of self –esteem, be it the size and shape of your body, your overall physical structure or unique features.

Your body can be your source of pride and will help you understand how you would like others to see you, or work on your physical appearance to boost self –morale and satisfaction.

Although you may regard yourself as important or having a sound mind, there are just some things you cannot change.

Sometimes when you tend to see things in a different light or perspective from others, don’t focus too much on making sure that what you think will cause things to change- more oftentimes it will not, but don’t let that cloud your perception about yourself.

When you have good self –esteem you will realize that what you did was right and was made under your own good judgment, sound principles and concepts based on your personal outlook and attitude towards life.

Do not let negative feedback affect you. Of course, one cannot help but feel bad about negative comments or reactions, but you have to consider that these are tests against your character and personality. When your self –esteem is high, you are less likely to be affected by these situations.

So try to look at yourself and see, and if you feel less important or are not satisfied with how you see and look at things, then think about ways on how to boost your self –esteem- you’ll thank yourself for it.