Personal Development and Self-Improvement Articles - Techniques and Practical Tips |
| Willie Horton's highly acclaimed Personal Development Workshops have been running since 1996. He is a much sought after speaker, consultant and mentor and is regularly published both online and in magazines and newspapers. His articles always offer practical advice - tips that can be putting into practive (often with dramatic results) straight away. |
| In this section, you will find Willie's Personal Development Articles on: |
| - Mental Exercises |
| - Focus & Attention |
| - Meditation |
| How to Cope When Things Go Wrong |
| Life is full of ups and downs. Too often, the "downs" overwhelm us. We react and make things worse instead of calming down, seeing what is really happening and taking real action to sort things out. We must understand that, in fact, there's only one thing in life that we can control - our own state of mind. If we do, we can positively influence everything else that's going on around us and, when the wheels do come off, take real action... |
| The Dangers of Positive Thinking |
| Many self help 'gurus' recommend "Positive Thinking" and "Affirmation" as the best way to get yourself "in the zone". Not so - the most effective state of mind is a focused one. In other words, a clear state of mind, one in which you are alert to today's opportunities. Many years research has shown that abnormally successful people operate in this clear, focused, alert state of mind. |
| Don't Scratch That Itch! |
| I'm sure we all know people who are only itching for us to get involved in their little drama - making them feel more important. One of my clients calls these people "energy vampires" - if you let them, they'll suck you dry. Our daily lives are filled with potential irritations and annoyances - to the point that many people are now suffering from stress. But you're the master of your own mind - grab a hold of the controls... |
| How to Focus Your Mind to Change Your Life |
| Over seventy years of psychological research proves conclusively that we live automatic lives. “Automaticity” is what psychologists call our extremely efficient ability to perform routine tasks without paying attention to them. Stop for a moment to reflect on how much attention you paid, this morning, to brushing your teeth, showering, shaving, walking or driving. Do you drive today the way you drove the first time you ever sat behind a steering wheel? We learn our routine tasks in two ways... |
| How to Motivate Yourself (and others too!) |
| Even when things are going well, we need to make sure that we get and stay motivated. And now, when many are finding the going tough, self-motviation is even more important. Affirmation - often recommended as a way to "turn yourself on" - won't do it. Positive thinking won't do it. You need to start a dialogue with your inner self - because if you can get past your habitual behaviour into your subconscious mind - then, you're on a winner... |
| Staying Positive |
| With so much bad news around, with so many people talking negatively, with so much anxiety and worry around - it's not easy to stay positive. Positive thinking isn't up to the task - you need to dig deeper and explore what happiness and success mean to you and then use your innate ability to achieve your heart's desires to go about getting what you want and living the life that really turns you on. Here are a couple of quick and simple ideas... |
| Get Your Head in the Game |
| Your subconscious mind controls every aspect of your daily behaviour - so, you subconsciously create your version of "reality". Unfortunately, most people - "normal" poeple, don't know how to grab a hold of their subconscious power. You need to get your head in the game - make sure that you start each day totally switched on. If you do, you'll create a whole new experience - a whole new you - a whole new life. |
| Learning How to Control Yourself |
| Normal people are out of control. Instead of reflecting and considering what is the best approach to handle all the various challenges that life throws at us, we react automatically and mindlessly. As a result, we create an automatic life which is way short of the life we could otherwise have. We need to regain control. This is done by relearning how to pay attention. This is done by coming to our senses. You have five of them - use them! |
| A Clear and Present Mind - Meditation and Flow |
| Normal lives and repetitive and mundane. Normal people only rarely experience "peak performance" moments - when something so "out of the ordinary" happens them that it demands them to pay more than a normal amount of attention. Psychologists call that "flow". But we can choose to be in "flow". We can choose, ourselves, to pay an abnormal amount of attention to the present moment and, in doing so, begin to live and abnormally successful life... |
| How to Take Real Action to Improve Your Life |
| What's the point of telling people about the power of now, if they don't like now? Lots of people don't like their lives but the mistake they make is they feel victimized and do nothing about it. Normal people simply react to their perceived now and make matters worse. You need to take action, which can only happen if you look beyond your perceptions and experience the here and now. The result, a clear and present mind, will take real action... |
| Meditation and Sunny Summer Days |
| Remember those timeless long sunny summer holiday days when you were a child - and contrast that to your normal adult state of mind! Research suggests that your ability to be effortlessly happy and successful is directly linked to your ability to pay attention - that's exactly what you were doing when you were that child, experiencing those long sunny days. You've to become like a child again - it's the key to achieving all the success you want... |
| Getting Your Priorities Right |
| At present, people are anything but calm! Yet, a calm, focused mind works wonders. If you are calm, you stop reacting and start taking real action. Calm develops your peace of mind which, in turn, affects others - because state of mind is contagious. In fact calm affects people way beyond your own friends and family and can even reduce crime rates. We all need to calm down - to put our own peace of mind first. We all need to meditate... |
| How to Meditate to Change Your Life |
| Meditation is used by millions the world over. Many find some peace of mind as a result - but what good is meditation if it doesn't transform every aspect of your ordinary daily life? Here, you will find some insights into how you should approach "mental exercising" and what the results should feel like. Yes, meditation can be difficult - but the key to living your ordinary life extra-ordinarily is found in sticking with your meditation... |
| How to Get Your Own Way |
| People rarely take action - they react. Years of research prove that our reactive behaviour takes us away from getting what we want out of life - when all we have to do, instead, is take "right action". But to take right action, you need a clear and present mind. And to be mindful, you need to practice. Meditation is what's called for (in whatever form turns you on) enabling you take the right action to create the life you really really want... |
| Personal Success Comes from Mindfulness |
| Mindfulness is your key to a life of effortless success. It is the exact opposite of how so-called "normal" people live their lives - they lead mindless automatic lives. Mindfulness is being present in the here and now - fully immersed in where you are and what you're doing. Mindfulness enables you be more present - have more presence, be more impressive. Above all, mindfulness will enable you go places that normal people can never venture... |
| How to Escape the Boring Routine |
| People lead routine, boring, mundane lives - or so they think. Yet, this apparent reality is a figment of the so-called normal mind's imagination - routine and boredom are nothing but useless thoughts. They seem real because the normal mind never pays attention to the here and now - it is lost in a version of the now created by out-dated mental programs. But you can effortlessly break away from boredom and routine... |
| Changing Inappropriate Behaviour |
| Normal people don't know how to behave themselves - inappropriate behaviour abounds. But don't confuse your inappropriate behaviour with who you truly are, because your behaviour is dictated by your programmed subconscious mind. It's time to take back control of your mind. Then, your inappropriate behaviour will simply fade away and you will be the better person for it. Take back control by re-learning how to pay attention to the here and now. |
| You Simply Need to Turn Yourself On! |
| The average person drifts through life in a mindless daze, so says many years research. They waste their mental energy on listening to the noise in their heads - noise that distracts, little voices that say "No you can't!". Yet the only thing that we can control in our lives is our state of mind. If we do, we unleash an inner potential that is capable of transforming our lives into the success we want. We need to stop listening to the noise... |
| How to Make a Great Impression |
| If you're worried about making a good impression, you're not! To make a great impression requires singlemindedness - something that the normal person knows precious litte about. You need to have presence which simple means being more present in the moment than everyone else. But your "normal" mind is working against you - you need to train it in the art of paying attention to the here and now... |
| Stop Negative Gossip |
| Gossip (and I've yet to come across positive gossip) is wasting the most precious resource you have - your energy. Your life is created by virtue of where and how you invest your energy - so negative gossip is literally killing you. As a responsible adult, you should take responsibility for where you direct your energy - point it towards the positive - not only will you stop feeding the negative that permeates modern living, you'll start creating the life that you really, really want. |
| The Importance of Being Calm |
| Bet you that you didn't know that if enough of us were calm, everybody would be calm. And in a world gone mad calm is of paramount importance - not only will it change your life, the knock-on ripple effect will produce results. So says the US Federal Government. So says modern quantum physics. Enough hot-headed people can mess up their own lives and others' too - it works exactly the same for calm. So, do you want to change your life for the better and help in a greater cause? |
| Start Your Day on the Right Foot |
| You wouldn't leave the house nude, would you? Then why would you leave home each morning with your head totally unprepared for the day ahead? By default, we're mindless people - doing everything on automatic pilot and then wondering why our lives are "not so bad" or why we're having "one of those days". It's our own doing, it's our own fault. We need to get our minds in gear to be able to rise to each day's challenges and, more importantly, embrace each day's opportunities. |
| How to Focus Your Mind: Real Self Help |
| It's strange that you wouldn't consider leaving home naked in the morning, but you'd have no problem leaving the house mentally unprepared for the day ahead - that's what most people do, it's normal. As a result, the normal life is mundane and often worse. But five minutes focusing your mind, first thing each morning, will completely change your life. This article discusses the type of focus required and how anyone (that includes you) can do it. |
| Desperate Times Call for... Simple Measures |
| There’s a shared belief that we live in desperate times. People have lost their jobs – those who have jobs are scared that they’ll lose them. Often, it’s only when people become desperate that they rise to the challenges of making the bold decisions that they should have made anyway. A lost job is an opportunity – possibly the greatest of your life. And, if you’re scared of losing your job, how does that fear effect your performance. It’s time to stop dwelling on the negative - come to your senses... |
| How to Build Self Confidence |
| Trying to build your self-confidence is like papering over the cracks in a building that doesn't exist. The voices in your head that tell you "know you can't" are neither real nor relevant to here and now. You need to stop giving them your attention by paying attention, instead, to the present moment. If you're more present, you develop your presence - the hallmark of all those successful people who know better than to focus of self-confidence. |
| Change Your Life – Starting Today |
If there are things about your life that you would like to change, you have to change them yourself. If you've tried and become frustrated, it's because you've taken on too big a task. You need to start small or, better again, start by tugging at the little habits that form the foundations of your present life. In breaking mindless routine you will dismantle the fabric that confines your life to its present form and change your life effortlessly. |
| How to Deal with Difficult People |
| We've all got difficult people or situations to deal with in our daily lives. The trick is to deal with them before they become difficult! However, to do this, you need to be more attentive to what is actually happening in the present moment than the normal person is. In doing so, you will notice inappropriate behaviour before it gets out of hand and be up to the task of saying what needs to be said in the nicest possible way. |
| Be Your Own Motivational Speaker! |
| We all need to be motivated. But there's no motivation like self-motivation! You don't need some pseudo-spiritual experience from some motivational speaker "guru", you need to know how to push your own buttons to switch yourself on in the ordinary course of your everyday life. The great news is that there's no one better placed to switch you on than you. It's the essence of self-help. You're the one who can take control and change your life. |
| Focus Your Mind - It Will Clear Your Path to Success |
| A clear and present state of mind is the only way to really live your life - otherwise you're just going through the motions. But mental focus requires mental training and, just like going to the gym, apathy too often overcomes our best intentions. So, why not build your mental fitness program into your ordinary everyday life and, in the process, make it extra-ordinary. Here are a few simple tips to enable you focus now and change your life. |
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