Self Improvement and Success

Everything that happens to us happens on purpose. And most times, one thing leads to another. Instead of locking yourself up in your cage of fears and crying over past heartaches, embarrassment and failures treat them as your teachers and they will become your tools in both self improvement and success.

Say this to yourself ... better yet, print it out and post it in a place where you will see it throughout your daily routine:

I Never See Failure As Failure But Only As:

- A learning experience!
- The negative feedback I need to change the course of my direction!
- The opportunity to develop my sense of humor!
- The opportunity to practice my technique and improve my performance!
- THE GAME I MUST PLAY TO WIN!

I remember watching Patch Adams. It's a great film that will help you improve yourself. Hunter "Patch" Adams is a medical student who failed to make it through the board exams. After months of suffering in melancholy, depression and suicidal attempts - he decided to seek medical attention and voluntarily admitted himself in a psychiatric ward.

His months of stay in the hospital led him to meeting different kinds of people. He met a catatonic, a mentally retarded person, a schizophrenic and so on. Patch found ways of treating his own ailment and finally realizes he has to get back on track. He woke up one morning realizing that after all the failure and pains he has gone through, he still wants to become a doctor.

He carries with himself a positive attitude that brought him self improvement and success. He didn't only improved himself, but also the lives of the people around him and the quality of life in general. Did he succeed? Absolutely!

So, when does self improvement become synonymous with success? Where do we start?

*Stop thinking and feeling as if you're a failure, because you're not. How can others accept you if you can't accept yourself?

*When you see gorgeous models on TV, think more of self improvement, not self pity. That isn't reality anyway! Self acceptance is not just about having nice slender legs, or great abs. Concentrate on inner beauty.

*When people feel down and low about themselves, help them move up. Don't go down with them. They'll pull you down further and both of you will end up feeling inferior.

*Mistakes are a great way to learn lessons. Don't feel stupid and doomed forever just because you failed on your attempt to achieve something. There's always a next time. Make room for self improvement.

*Take things one at a time. Don't expect a black sheep to be renewed in the snap of a finger. Self improvement is a one day at a time process.

*Self improvement results in inner stability, personality development and SUCCESS. It comes from self confidence, self appreciation, self esteem and hard work.

* Set meaningful and achievable goals. If your goals are too far out of whack you will never reach them! Setting attainable goals is one of the keys to success.

*Little things to us may mean BIG things to other people. Sometimes, we don't realize that the little things that we do like a pat on the back, saying "hi" or "hello", greeting someone "good day" or telling Mr. Smith something like "hey, I love your tie!" are simple things that mean so much to other people. When we're being appreciative about beautiful things around us and other people, we also become beautiful to them.

*When you're willing to accept change and go through the process of self improvement, it doesn't mean that everyone else is doing the same thing. The world is filled with people of different values and attitudes. Sometimes, even if you think you and your best friend always like to do the same thing together at the same time, he/she may decline an invitation for self improvement.

You should always remember that there's no such thing as "over night success." If it was easy, wouldn't everyone be doing it? It's a wonderful feeling to hold on to the things that you already have in your possession, but realize that those are just some of the things you once wished for.

A very nice quote says that "When the student is ready, the teacher will appear." We are all here to learn our lessons. Our parents, school teachers, friends, colleagues, officemates, neighbors ... they are our teachers. When we open our doors for self improvement, we increase our chances on the road of success.