Expert Advice That Pays Off
When it comes to making and keeping cash, the experts will tell you that the best advice isn't new or trendy. So take it from those who've seen what works and what doesn't:
Donald Trump, real estate mogul and star of "The Apprentice":
On debt "Review your budget regularly a�� see where your blind spots are. I know people who don't count entertainment or alcohol or whatever a�� everything must be accounted for. Even a tiny leak can sink a ship. The same with finances."
Jonathan Clements, senior special writer, The Wall Street Journal:
On investing "People bank their financial future on crazy strategies. They are betting the housing market will keep soaring, investing hefty sums in hedge funds or equity-indexed annuities. But there is no easy way to get rich quick. If folks want to retire in comfort, they've got to stick with the basics: Save regularly, diversify broadly. Favour low-cost mutual funds. And show some patience."
Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad:
On paying for university "Buy oil! As soon as the kids are born. Oil consumption is up, but supply is down. Get a mutual fund that sells oil stocks a�� Exxon, Mobil, but not Enron! A barrel of oil was $10 in 1998; now it's $60."
David Gardner, editor, The Motley Fool (fool.com) website:
On stocks "What do I invest in? An index fund a�� like those that track the Standard & Poor's 500 a�� because they are mostly managed by machines for a very low fee, not by humans trying to finance their vacations."
"When it comes to money, it's better to do nothing than to do something you don't understand."
Suze Orman, O Magazine
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life. Show all posts
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Learning Happiness: Everyday Activities to Increase Your Happiness
While cleaning my bookshelf the other day, I found a book, 14,000 things to be happy about. It looked brand new, but the date inside was from years ago. This book sat beside my collection of self-help books, which in contrast were dog-eared, highlighted and clearly used. Holding the happiness book, I wondered why I hadn't used it. Then I realized I always thought happiness was something fleeting and incapable of improving my life.
Recently, my beliefs have changes as a result of what I've learned. I've discovered that being happy, contented, and positive are skills, which can be learned with practice and determination. Therefore, I made the decision to start my own journey to learn happiness and have been happily rewarded. Here are a couple of things that I've learned on my journey as well activities that have helped teach me more about happiness:
Recognize the hidden happy moments in a day. When something wonderful happens to us, we usually know we're happy. It's the common, everyday moments of happiness that often elude us. One way to change this is by becoming deliberately aware of when we're feeling happy during the day. I found an activity that helped me and it might also help you. It's very simple: Get a notebook or a tape recorder and keep track of any happy moments you notice during your day. By writing them down or recording them, you become aware of these moments that might otherwise have passed by unnoticed. One such moment occurred for me when I was very late for an appointment and frustrated at getting every red light. As I sat fuming at the latest stop, I noticed a little boy in the school bus next me making silly faces at people. Watching him made me feel happy. I wrote this moment down in my notebook. It became one of many. Now, I look forward to finding happy moments in my day. I even challenge myself to see how many I can find. How many happy moments are you missing in your day? Try noticing them and see if you find your day is better for it.
Make a conscious shift from negative to positive.It's hard to feel happy when you're focused on the negative. Like a big pimple on our face, what we don't like can seem to be much more obvious than what we do like. Unfortunately, the more we focus on the negative, the more likely that's all we'll see. Changing this means we have to consciously bring more attention to the positive things that happen to us. For example, I used to talk about my day by reciting what went wrong in it. I'm changing this by learning how to shift my negative comments into positive ones. This can be done two ways. You can match the negative comment with an unrelated positive. Therefore, if I say I'm mad at myself because I forgot my dentist appointment today, a positive statement might be that I received a compliment about my latest newsletter. The other option is to make the negative comment into a related positive one. For example, I missed my doctor's appointment, but I called to apologize and made a new appointment. To be honest, this activity is challenging for me, but it has made me aware of the positive things I often missed. By regularly practicing shifting from the negative to the positive, I do feel happier about my day. Try this activity. See if you feel also feel happier when you pay attention to the positive.
Bring humor into your day.There's nothing like a good laugh or smile to trigger happiness. I like to start my day with a funny video clip. I have one saved on my computer about the silly things cats do. As I love cats, this clip always makes me laugh, even though I've seen it tons of times. By starting my day with a laugh, I've found I feel much happier. See if this works for you. Be creative. Use whatever makes you laugh, such as newspaper comics, a favorite joke, or a silly picture. Use humor again and again during the day, whenever you need a reminder to be happy.
Practice, practice and practice some more!Any new skill requires practice and learning happiness is no different. You have to work at it every day until it becomes part of your daily ritual. Therefore, try the activities I've suggested or create your own. Just keep practicing! The payoff is worth it. As you give more attention to feeling happy, you will also increase your overall well-being.As for me, I look for new ways to keep happiness a constant force in my life. Of course, there are still times I feel angry or sad, and that's okay. But now, I also pay attention to when I feel happy. I also practice happiness regularly. The book, 14,000 things to be happy about, I found on my bookshelf is now part of that practice. I'm confident it will soon look just as dog-eared, marked up and used as my old self-help books. It's another step on my journey to learning happiness
Tired of Worrying? Here are five Ways to Fight Your Worry Monster
I admit it. I am a worrier. I've decided that my worrying is due to an annoying little monster appropriately named, the Worry Monster. I have bought countless books and CDs, all of which promised to dispose of this devilish little thing. But it still pops up now and then.
Finally, I realized instead of trying to get rid of it, I needed to negotiate a compromise. I would agree to live with it, but it could NOT run my life! Learning to live with my Worry Monster was a conscious decision. I was tired of trying to prove it wrong.Worry monsters are very sneaky. There's always a kernel of truth to what they tell you.
Worry is about the possibility of something bad happening. Well, guess what? Something bad can happen and sometimes does! This is the power of Worry Monsters; the possibility that they just might be right.In dealing with my Worry Monster, I've found that the most effective strategy is to do things that keep me in control of it. If you also struggle with a persistent Worry Monster, here are some ideas for you to consider:
STOP TRYING TO KILL YOUR WORRY MONSTERI know it's so tempting. But like any monster, when you try to kill it, it will just fight back. Worry Monsters are not good for you, but you ended up with yours for a reason. It is important to figure out what it's trying to tell you.So, really listen for the messages behind your worry. Is it that you might fail, not live up to someone's expectations, or that you might not be able to cope with something? Whatever the message is, it's important to hear and acknowledge it. Once you do this, you are on your way to quieting your Worry Monster's annoying chatter.
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR WORRY MONSTERWorry Monsters hate it when you take control. It's like the alpha dog stuff. You better be sure your Worry Monster knows YOU are the alpha dog. Otherwise, it will take control and proceed to tell you everything that could go wrong in your life.You can stop it, however, if you develop strategies for handling what might go wrong. Write these strategies down and keep them. When your Worry Monster starts grumbling at you, just wave the strategies in its face to remind it who's in control!
LAUGH AT YOUR WORRY MONSTERWorry Monsters hate it when they hear you laughing. It just saps all their power. If one is hanging around your house, find ways to make yourself laugh.In addition, they tend to take themselves VERY seriously. Therefore, the best thing to do is make fun of your Worry Monster. Laugh in its face. This tactic usually annoys it so much it will slink off and hide.
TALK WITH A FRIEND TO CALM YOUR WORRY MONSTERFriends can give you a different perspective. There is a caveat here: Be sure you pick people who have control over their own Worry Monsters. The last thing you need to hear is, "Oh, that's terrible! I'd be worried too!" Find someone who can listen while offering positive and constructive support.Remember, Worry Monsters thrive on your fears; they need to keep you anxious. Good friends ease your anxiety by getting you to look at your worries in a different way. In addition, if something bad does happens, they're there to help you through it.
EXERCISE AND CHASE AWAY YOUR WORRY MONSTERWorry Monsters prefer slouching on top of your shoulders and playing with your mind. They are not fond of physical activity. Therefore, if you take a long walk with the dog, run on your treadmill, or just do jumping jacks for ten minutes, your Worry Monster will find someplace else to hang out.Worry requires a lot of mental energy. When you exercise, your mind has to focus on the energy your body needs. Consequently, there is not much left over to feed your Worry Monster. This is a good thing. Most Worry Monsters could stand to lose a bit of weight!I've listed five ideas that can help you manage your Worry Monster. You can use them or create your own. Have fun thinking of the ways you can stop your Worry Monster from being such a pest. You may not eliminate it from your life, but it is possible to coexist with it!
Finally, I realized instead of trying to get rid of it, I needed to negotiate a compromise. I would agree to live with it, but it could NOT run my life! Learning to live with my Worry Monster was a conscious decision. I was tired of trying to prove it wrong.Worry monsters are very sneaky. There's always a kernel of truth to what they tell you.
Worry is about the possibility of something bad happening. Well, guess what? Something bad can happen and sometimes does! This is the power of Worry Monsters; the possibility that they just might be right.In dealing with my Worry Monster, I've found that the most effective strategy is to do things that keep me in control of it. If you also struggle with a persistent Worry Monster, here are some ideas for you to consider:
STOP TRYING TO KILL YOUR WORRY MONSTERI know it's so tempting. But like any monster, when you try to kill it, it will just fight back. Worry Monsters are not good for you, but you ended up with yours for a reason. It is important to figure out what it's trying to tell you.So, really listen for the messages behind your worry. Is it that you might fail, not live up to someone's expectations, or that you might not be able to cope with something? Whatever the message is, it's important to hear and acknowledge it. Once you do this, you are on your way to quieting your Worry Monster's annoying chatter.
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR WORRY MONSTERWorry Monsters hate it when you take control. It's like the alpha dog stuff. You better be sure your Worry Monster knows YOU are the alpha dog. Otherwise, it will take control and proceed to tell you everything that could go wrong in your life.You can stop it, however, if you develop strategies for handling what might go wrong. Write these strategies down and keep them. When your Worry Monster starts grumbling at you, just wave the strategies in its face to remind it who's in control!
LAUGH AT YOUR WORRY MONSTERWorry Monsters hate it when they hear you laughing. It just saps all their power. If one is hanging around your house, find ways to make yourself laugh.In addition, they tend to take themselves VERY seriously. Therefore, the best thing to do is make fun of your Worry Monster. Laugh in its face. This tactic usually annoys it so much it will slink off and hide.
TALK WITH A FRIEND TO CALM YOUR WORRY MONSTERFriends can give you a different perspective. There is a caveat here: Be sure you pick people who have control over their own Worry Monsters. The last thing you need to hear is, "Oh, that's terrible! I'd be worried too!" Find someone who can listen while offering positive and constructive support.Remember, Worry Monsters thrive on your fears; they need to keep you anxious. Good friends ease your anxiety by getting you to look at your worries in a different way. In addition, if something bad does happens, they're there to help you through it.
EXERCISE AND CHASE AWAY YOUR WORRY MONSTERWorry Monsters prefer slouching on top of your shoulders and playing with your mind. They are not fond of physical activity. Therefore, if you take a long walk with the dog, run on your treadmill, or just do jumping jacks for ten minutes, your Worry Monster will find someplace else to hang out.Worry requires a lot of mental energy. When you exercise, your mind has to focus on the energy your body needs. Consequently, there is not much left over to feed your Worry Monster. This is a good thing. Most Worry Monsters could stand to lose a bit of weight!I've listed five ideas that can help you manage your Worry Monster. You can use them or create your own. Have fun thinking of the ways you can stop your Worry Monster from being such a pest. You may not eliminate it from your life, but it is possible to coexist with it!
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