Choose your path. Or it will be chosen for you.

What is my path? What is it, that I really want in my life.

This question occupies lots of our time. Many people dont know their path. They cant seem to put the finger on, what it is that they want. And many people do know what they want and know the path, but dont know how to walk it. This goes for both their professional and their private life.

Life is about being happy. But in this time of age, it can be difficult to do it all. What do we want from life, career, family etc. And how can we be career people, supporting our family and be great friends at the same time.

Lots of important roles, and it can be difficult to decide what to do and when.

And since the answer to the question is individual from person to person, I cant give you one answer here and now.

But what I can do, is to post different articles on the subject. And browsing through the blog, might just give you the answer you need.

The emphasis of this blog lies in the spiritual way of being. Finding the inner energy, courage and peace, to pursue what we really want. Not letting doubts and expectations stand in our way.

Only one can walk your path, and that is you. And you owe it to your self to walk the path in the best way possible.

Much of my working material is based on some of the worlds greatest life coaches.

What I have found after studying their material for years is, that all these peoples knowledge, is build on Buddhism. For that reason, I have chosen to go deeper into Buddhism as well, to get the underlying basics.

Buddhism takes a very straightforward look at our human condition. Nothing is based on wishful thinking, but is based on the laws of the universe, and everything can be verified by our own observation of the way things are.

In every subject, I will give you a link to some quotes. These quotes have been made into wallpapers, that you can use on your computer as small reminders on how to reach your inner peace and your hopes for life.

I hope you will find my blog interesting and perhaps even get inspired to go for your dreams.

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Path to Enlightenment | Choose your happiness.

How successful we are at selling ourselves, our products and our services depends on our ability to stand up and be heard. What often prevents us from telling our story successfully is not our inability to articulate what we do, or how strongly we believe in the value of what we offer. Instead, it is simply the fear of speaking in front of an audience. Being nervous while presenting can put a dint in your credibility and have an adverse effect on achieving your business goals.

To manage the fear of speaking in public, you need to first understand the root cause of the fear. One of the best explanations comes from Scott Berkun, in Confessions of a Public Speaker. "The design of the brain's wiringgiven its long operational history, hundreds of thousands years older than the history of public speaking ... makes it impossible to stop fearing what it knows is the worst tactical position for a person to be in," Berkun says. That "worst tactical position" is standing alone, in an open place, with no place to hide, without a weapon, facing a large group of creatures staring at you. As Berkun puts it, being in this situation "meant the odds were high that you would soon be attacked and eaten alive ... Our ancestors, the ones who survived, developed a fear response to these situations."

Understanding that our brain can't tell the difference between a real threat (a pack of wolves about to attack you) and an imagined threat (a group of your peers watching you present) is the first step to overcoming the fear. This awareness can help you manage the "false alarm" that happens in the absence of real danger. How so? As you feel your heart racing when you first start your presentation, you can consciously and deliberately interrupt the fear response with a quick deep breath and a rational thought, "This is just a false alarm." The more you get into the habit of interrupting the fear response as soon as you feel it happening, the quicker you'll prevent it from being your default response every time you present in front of a group. You must ingrain in your mind the thought that the fear of public speaking is simply a misfiring of the caveman "fight or flight" fear response, and that you can overcome this.

Here are 11 practical tips to help you manage performance anxiety so you can focus on your key messages:

When you worry before a high-stakes presentation, you may have a tendency to ask yourself negative questions, such as "What will happen if I forget my material?" or "What if I mess up?" This form of self-talk is like throwing gasoline in a room on fire. All it does is heighten your anxiety. Replace these negative questions with positive ones. Take an inspiration from Seymour Signet, a specialist in helping people overcome public speaking anxiety. He advises to ask yourself: "What will happen if I knock it out of the park?" You can view more of Seymour's tips in his video "Ask Yourself Good Questions." Give this a try; it will calm the noise in your head.

When you know your material well, there's a tendency to get sloppy when practicing a speech: You might flip through the slides, mentally thinking about what you are going to say, without actually rehearsing out loud exactly what you plan to say. This results in a presentation that's not as sharp as it could be and might cause you to be nervous once you have 100 pairs of eyes staring at you. You can also forget some important sub-points and key soundbites.

For a high-stakes presentation, do this at least five times, at spaced intervals, to encode your material in long-term memory. It's also crucial that you practice your transitionsthe words that link one idea in your presentation to the next. These are easy to forget if you don't practice them and you end up with a staccato presentation. Transitions are the silken thread that guides your listeners through your story. Some examples: "Now that we have established ..."; "This leads us to ..."; "My next item is particularly crucial ..."

Knowing the sequence of your slides so you can anticipate and announce a slide makes you look in control. Nothing erodes your credibility faster than having to look at a slide to know what you have to say next. Being perceived as credible boosts your confidence and reduces your anxiety and the fear of failing.

One reason people often experience anxiety before a presentation is the fear that they'll be asked questions that might be difficult to answer. Don't get caught off guard. Think carefully of what potential questions might arise and rehearse your best answers. Go one step further by creating slides for some potential questions about complex issues. You can include in your slide important information, numbers, stats or even a pertinent graph or pie chart that would be helpful to the audience. If such a question arises, it's quite okay to say, "I anticipated that you might be asking this question. Let me display a slide that will clearly show ..."

A study at Harvard University showed the value of visualization in developing a skill: Two groups of volunteers were presented with a piece of unfamiliar piano music. One group was given a keyboard and told to practice. The other group was instructed to just read the music and imagine playing it. When their brain activity was examined, both groups showed expansion in the motor cortex, even though the second group had never touched a keyboard. Visualization is a powerful mental rehearsal tool that peak sports performers use regularly. Einstein, who's credited with saying that imagination is more important than knowledge, used visualization throughout his entire life. Take advantage of this tool and visualize yourself successfully delivering your presentation. Concentrate on all the positives of your presentation, and visualize the talk, in detail, from your introduction to your conclusion.

Instead, as Jerry Weissman puts it, "treat every presentation as a series of person-to-person conversations." The more you remind yourself of this, the more you can shift your focus away from the fear-inducing thought that you are required to perform.

This simple advice cannot be emphasized enough. When you're nervous, you breathe rapidly and shallowly. This is telegraphing to the audience that you're not confident. Slow and measured breathing is a sign that you're in control. Before you go to the front of the room, concentrate on taking a few, slow breaths. Repeat this a few times. When you start to speak, remember to pause and breathe after you make a point. Psychiatrist Fritz Perls said it powerfully: "Fear is excitement without the breath."

Harvard Business School Professor Amy Cuddy discovered that simply holding our body in an expansive pose for as little as two minutes results in a higher level of testosterone in our body. Testosterone is the hormone linked to power in both animals and humans. At the same time, the expansive pose lowers our level of cortisol, the stress hormone. In her TED video presentation, Cuddy shows a number of expansive poses, such as spreading your legs, placing your hands on your hips, or striking the CEO pose: legs resting on desk, and arms behind your head. You can apply this advice before a presentation to lower your stress level and give yourself a boost. Instead of hunching over your notes or BlackBerry, find a spot where you can have some privacy and adopt an expansive pose: Make yourself as big as you can by stretching your arms out and spreading your legs, or stand on your tiptoes with your hands in the air.

In "The Kings Speech," a movie about the true story of King George VI, one of the successful strategies the speech therapist uses to help the king overcome his stuttering is the use of pauses. Pausing helped the king regain his composure whenever he was gripped by anxiety. When you feel anxious while presenting, consider pausing more frequently. A few strategic pauses between points have a calming effect.

Your anxiety level is increased when you misinterpret the audience's facial expression. In normal conversation, we're accustomed to getting feedback from the listenera nod or a smile here and there that signal approval. But when we present, audiences listen differently. They're more likely to give the speaker a blank stare, which doesn't mean they don't like what they hear; more often than not, it simply means they're concentrating on the message. This is especially true of audience members who are introverted.

You can get more tips for managing presentation anxiety in my book, Presenting with Credibility: Practical Tools and Techniques For Effective Presentations. There's a Japanese proverb that says, "Fear is only as deep as the mind allows." Put your mind on developing your key company messages and crafting your story. Replace time expended on worrying with time spent on preparing thoroughly for your presentation, by knowing your material cold, and practicing it beyond the point of pain. Then go out there and win them over.

Read more articles on presenting to a group of people.

Photo: iStockphoto

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11 Easy Ways to Finally Overcome Your Fear of Public ...

This section of the website contains the Darshan message cards distributed at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. You can view the card distributed for a particular occasion and for those wanting to have a printed copy of the cards, a downloadable version is also provided. Each message card can be printed and folded to resemble the actual card distributed at the Ashram. Separate monochrome and colour PDF files are included.

"Darshan" in Sanskrit means "seeing". It refers here to seeing Sri Aurobindo and the Mother and to receive their blessings. After Sri Aurobindo retired from daily contact with his disciples, he saw them only a few times a year on what came to be known as the Darshan days.

During Sri Aurobindo's lifetime, messages were given out only occasionally on the Darshan days; afterwards, they were issued regularly. Some of these were written expressly for the occasion, others were passages chosen from the works of the Mother and Sri Aurobindo.

That tradition still continues today. The day starts with a meditation around the samadhi. During the day, sadhaks and devotees are allowed to visit either Sri Aurobindo's or the Mother's room, depending on the occasion. Message cards containing passages from their works are distributed to all who attend the Darshan.

The rest is here:

Sri Aurobindo Ashram - Darshan Messages

Vegan Sandals: The Unexpected Choice

Shoes that utilize no animal-based materials during the manufacturing process make up the BIRKENSTOCK vegan category. The vegan ideology incorporates the intentional use of synthetic and natural products to create an entirely animal-friendly line that delivers the reliability and style combination thats come to be expected of the BIRKENSTOCK shoe.

Why choose vegan?

Whether its a conscientious choice or a fashion-led one, the vegan sandal collection is a feel-good line to shop. Some of the most popular styles available in the larger BIRKENSTOCK collection can be found among the vegan selection.

The same attention has been paid to maintain the standards of the inimitable BIRKENSTOCK footbed in the vegan collection. Without compromising any of the design integrity and functionality of the contoured footbed thats long promoted health and wellness, the vegan sandal makes use of synthetic and natural products- microfiber, jute, cork, EVA- to recreate each highly functional layer.

The vegan components of a BIRKENSTOCK shoe

Only quality materials, both man-made and naturally occurring, are sourced to create the sandals in the BIRKENSTOCK vegan collection.

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Vegan | shop online at BIRKENSTOCK

By: Chris Thomson

It is not too much of a simplification to say that COTF is mainly about preparing individuals and communities for a very different kind of future indeed for any future. One thing is clear we live in times of unprecedented change.

To be able to survive and thrive in a very different/any future, people will need to have the necessary skills, qualities, knowledge and attitudes (mindsets). That much seems clear. The question, of course, is: what skills, qualities, knowledge and attitudes? Some spring to mind for instance, adaptability, openness, tolerance, ethics and courage. Others are, perhaps, less clear and more open to debate.

The point I want to make in this note is that unprecedented change is happening at a moment when human evolution itself seems to be accelerating. The qualities I have just mentioned are part of this. I also believe that we have more control over our own evolution than ever before. Therefore, and this may seem an odd thing to say in todays chaotic, runaway world, we have more control over our future (i.e. the future) than ever before. This is why I have been focusing of late on conscious evolution. What follows is what I mean by this, and why I think it is important.

Human evolution has not stopped. There is no a priori reason for believing that it has. In any event, if it did stop, when did it stop, and how would we know?

Although we are still evolving physically, we also seem to be evolving in four other important respects

First, we are evolving in consciousness. This is not the same as improving our consciousness, which is what usually happens during a lifetime, as we naturally become more aware of ourselves and the world around us. What I mean by evolving is that the nature and spectrum of our consciousness are changing. We seem to be able to penetrate deeper and higher than before. Of course, there have been people able to do this down the ages initiates and mystics but it does seem that forms of consciousness previously available to the few are now becoming available to the many. The esoteric is becoming exoteric!

Second, we are evolving as knowers. Both the quantity and quality of our knowing and understanding are changing. We know vastly more. A minute spent browsing the internet will quickly confirm this. But the quality and nature of our knowing and understanding is also changing. We are becoming better knowers! It is as if, as we grow inside, the world outside reveals more of itself. It may be helpful to think of knowing as a process of resonance between ourselves and the world. This aspect of our evolution is closely related to the evolution of our consciousness.

Third, we are evolving in character and maturity. This means many things. For example, it means that, in general, we are becoming more intelligent, more ethical, and stronger in some ways. Yes, I accept that the state of the world today seems to contradict this, but I believe that this is the direction we are taking. Of course, there are many exceptions, but it is the exceptions that prove the rule! It is very important that we evolve in character because, as Martin Luther King pointed out: Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles, but misguided men.

Fourth, and not least, we are evolving in capacity/ability. Just to be clear, I am speaking here about things we can do without the aid of technology. This aspect of human evolution means two things. It means we can do current things better (e.g. run faster, climb impossible mountains, and so on), but it also means that we can do completely new things. The part of this that most interests me is paranormal abilities, such as telepathy, precognition, distant healing, and supernatural manifestation. In fact, there are quite a few of these abilities. Contrary to widespread belief, these are not gifts, limited by chance to a few people. They are natural human abilities, potentially available to all of us. The fact that they are considered to be paranormal, or even impossible, is simply a reflection of the very materialistic times in which we live, dominated as they are by the very outdated worldview of classical science. There is an abundance of evidence (Dean Radin is a good source) that these abilities are all on the rise. Significantly, they can be learned and developed, when we work on them, just like learning to read or write or ski or play the piano.

I said at the beginning that I think we can control our own evolution. We can decide in what ways we want to evolve, and we can decide how quickly we want to evolve. Millions of people are already doing this, by engaging in the myriad forms of personal development, therapy, or spiritual practice. Although they may not think of this as human evolution, if it helps them to evolve their consciousness, or their knowing, or their character, or their abilities, then it surely counts as conscious evolution.

The relevance of all this to COTF? I believe that it is highly relevant. Although we tend to think of the future as something out there coming towards us, whether we like it or not, the fact is that it is our future. We are the species that is largely responsible for what the future on the planet will be. While it is evidently true that, as individuals, we seem to have little influence on the collective future, it is equally true that there is a lot we can do to shape our own personal future, as well as the future of those with whom we relate. This is very significant, because it confers on each of us the serious responsibility to make ourselves competent enablers of the future. This, I believe, is where conscious evolution comes into its own, so far as COTF is concerned. Let me be clear about this. The more we work on all aspects of our own evolution, the more competent we are to help others create the future they wish to have.

Chris is the author of Full Spectrum Intelligence: Changemakers Books: 2014

Continued here:
COTF and Conscious Evolution : Communities of the Future

I got you covered! As much as I love writing about this subject, I cant take credit for everything I write. Much of my knowledge on self-development came from reading these great writers and thinkers.

Unfortunately theres no way for me to rank these bloggers objectively and accurately. The ranking here is based on their Twitter followers, but those numbers wont tell you much about the quality of their content. So dont take it as absolute in terms of quality. That being said, many of those at the top are there for good reason.

What this list lacks in ranking, however, it makes up for in quality. Ive read all these blogs, and Im a long term subscriber to a few of them. Ive bought some of their books and courses, too.

Follow these Personal Development Bloggers for Your Daily Dose of Wisdom, Inspiration, and Step-by-StepInstructions for World Domination

Ive been a fan since I read the 4-Hour Workweek and I now have his other books, 4-Hour Body and 4-Hour Chef. He thinks and sees the world differently, and that shows in his writing.

From Tim, I learned that having many options isnt always better. Sometimes, its better to eliminate them altogether so you dont waste time on petty choices like what to eat for breakfast.

Favorite posts:

Maria Popova. Photograph by Elizabeth Lippman for The New York Times

Maria Popova isnt your usual self-development blogger. She calls herself aninterestingness hunter-gatherer, and curious mind at large and thats a very fitting description considering the amount of research she does for a single post.

Brain Pickings is a collection of the lessons shes learned on creativity, intellectuality/growth, anxiety, spirituality and more. If you want to be a better note-taker, look-up her interview with Tim Ferriss.

Favorite posts:

Lori Deschene is the author ofTiny Buddhas Guide to Loving Yourself, co-founder of the Recreate Your Life Story eCourse, andcreator of Tiny Buddha, a site on simple wisdom, inspiration, relationships, and mindfulness. While many of the posts are based on Buddhisms teachings, its not exclusively about Buddhismor religion for that matter.

Favorite posts:

Hyatt is the author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, and his personal blog is full of insightful and actionable posts on intentional leadership, productivity, publishing and more.

Favorite posts:

Leo Babuta writes about habits and living a minimalist lifestyle. Zen Habits chronicles his journey in changing bad habits like smoking and adding better ones like waking early, plus the lessons he learned along the way.

Favorite posts:

I found Penelope Trunk on Google while I was researching for an article. I forgot what it was about, but her article came up on the search results and the headline stopped me in my tracks.

I was intrigued. What would you learn about time management by hating someone? Since then, Ive loved her style of storytelling and candor in writing.

Trunks blog is full of stories and advice about life, work and starting a business.

Favorite posts:

Photo by: Stephanie Zito.

Chris Guillebeau is a travel hacker. So whats he doing here in a list of personal development bloggers? Aside from traveling the world using frequent flyer miles, hes also the author of the unconventional guide series, which are awesome guides for travelling, publishing and getting rich.

From him, I learned how to dream dreams worth chasing. He also showedme how to conduct annual reviews without going crazy.

Favorite posts:

Photo by: Eric Michael Pearson Photography

Marie Forleo is the host of Marie TV and author of Make Every Man Want You: How To Be So Irresistible Youll Barely Keep from Dating Yourself.

Her website is full of sassy and actionable advice for anyone wanting to build a business, focus, and overcome their limiting beliefs.

Favorite posts:

Danielle LaPorte is the author of The Fire Starter Sessions and co-creator of Your Big Beautiful Book Plan.

Yes, the site is probably geared for people who love inspirational quotes and soul-searching, but LaPortes website is much more than that. The posts are relatable, memorable and inspirational but not to the point that its too cheesy for my liking.

Favorite posts:

Me, Ramit, and a photobomber at his IWT event in Manila

Ramit Sethis writing is very direct and practical. No woo-woo inspirational but vague advice! Hes not afraid to call people out on their BS, and as a result he practically has a cult following. In email, he sounds like a scary guy (youll know what I mean if youre subscribed to his newsletter), but hes cool and approachable in person.

From Ramit, I learned that everything is negotiable. I also learned how to test (and break) my assumptions, like Who will pay me this much if other freelancers charge half of that?

Favorite posts:

On the surface, it looks like a health and fitness blog but once you read through it, youll realize that everything here is focused on physical and mental mastery.

If youre always trying to exceed your limits, physically and mentally, this site is for you.

Favorite posts:

Photo from Amazon Author Profile

Roman Fitness Systems is a fitness and lifestyle website, but they also have write-ups on personal development. The site is a good resource for people looking to improve their physical appearance, that isto look thinner or put on some muscle.

Quick side note: Roman doesnt like getting included in lists like this. But Im including him here anyway because his site is a great resource forgetting results in your diet and exercise, which then leads to a better life.

Favorite posts:

Steven Handel is the man behind The Emotion Machine, an in-depth blog on psychology and self-improvement. The sites tagline is The psychology blog thats better than your local therapist, based on the posts Ive read, I think hes right. I definitely learned more from him than from my Psych 101 class.

Favorite posts:

Pick the Brain has been around for a while now. Its coverage extends to many facets of personal development, but the general themes are productivity, motivation, self-improvement/education and health.

The sites community writers are creative and often come up with a fresh angle on things, so although they talk about pretty much the same thing, the posts dont read like the rehashed stuff littering the web.

Favorite posts:

Beckers site is all about living a simple, yet rewarding, life. He emphasizes the importance of focusing onmore important pursuits and throwing away the stuff that clutter your life.

If you believe in less is more, youll probably like this site. But its not just for organization-freaks. Dig around and youll also find great articles on success, parenting, work, finances and more.

Favorite posts:

Manson writes unconventional life advice, the kind you wont like reading if youre used to getting things easy or if youre a fan of The Secret.

His blog is a realistic self-help site based on psychology and evidence through experience. Topics covered include life choices, culture, relationships and self-improvement.

Favorite posts:

Whats your risk appetite? Find out by taking Riskologys quiz.

Tervoorens blog offers strategies on life, career and adventure with a focus on increasing your risk tolerance via science-backed methods.

Honestly, I was a bit skeptical when I first heard about this blog. Increasing my risk appetite? What is this a scammy investment? But no, Riskologys content is great for people allergic to change, or stuck in their comfort zone, as it teaches you to tame your brain (and improve your life) in tiny increments.

Favorite posts:

Paid to Exist can help you the day job you hate and find freedom in working on your own terms. Mead has written tons of realistic and actionable content to help you quit your day job, grow, and build a business that can support your lifestyle.

Favorite post:

The blogs name translates to I am an idiot and also to I am Barker because Japanese people pronounce it as Baka

Dont let the name fool you. This site is anything but. My Getpocket account is filled with articles from Bakadesuyo!

I love his posts on productivity and goal setting, but he also writes cool stuff about negotiation and persuasion. Everything he writes is based on Science, or at least a good book he has read.

Favorite posts:

Live Your Legend is dedicated to helping people find work that excites them. Its an active community of inspiring and action-oriented people helping each other find meaningful work.

Dinsmore also continuously travels the world to host local Live Your Legend meetups. So if youre tired of the glass ceiling, this blog is for you.

Favorite posts:

Blake writes about leadership, entrepreneurship and more. The sites content is geared towards fresh graduates and millennials. Its a great source of strategies for excelling in life outside academia.

Favorite post: Have You Become a Half-Dead Adult?

Saviucs writing focuses on the hidden truths, the things we ignore yet hugely affect our lives. Read Purpose Fairy to learn more about human behavior from great thinkers like Einstein, Lao Tzu, Socrates and Victor Frankl, just a short list of Saviucs inspiration for her posts.

Favorite posts:

Think Simple Now is a collection of real life stories from different people. Whatever youre going through, youre not alonethats their message.

With over a thousand stories from people all over the world, chances are youll find someone who went through the same troubles youre currently experiencing. You can read their stories to learn from their experience or just find solace knowing that others have walked the same path as you.

Favorite post: How to Quiet Your Mind

Its a great site for freelancers, travelers, and location independent entrepreneurs. Ogle initially put it up to keep himself accountable, but he now helps others accomplish their goals of being a location rebelwhat he calls anyone who can work or earn a living from anywhere.

If traveling while working isnt your thing, he also has posts about setting priorities, creating habits and building a business.

Favorite posts:

With a background in Psychology, addiction and management, Atchinson set up this blog to chronicle the lessons he learned in his different jobs. He writes about waking up early, changing habits through changing your thoughts, and other aspects of personal development.

Favorite posts:

Moodley blogs about creating change for women leaders and entrepreneurs. She believes sisterhood (community) is essential to a womans freedom, and creates communities of women supporting each others lives and businesses.

She also writes about doing more while having more fun, finding clarity and more.

Favorite post: Does your lover validate your life?

If you want to stretch your limits, go to Impossiblehq.com. Let Runyon show you how to shatter your limiting beliefs about diet, exercise and more.

Be prepared to work hard, though. Runyons method, especially Impossible Fitness, is not for sissies. If youre scared, hesitant or have serious self-doubts, thats okay because hell help you get over that, too.

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50 Must-Read Personal Development Bloggers Thatll Change ...

Self-improvement is a journey. A pleasant, exciting and rewarding journey; and its taking you from the acorn to the oak tree, from the brook to the river, from a blank canvas to a masterpiece: the best YOU.

Because you are here, I guess, you already started your self-improvement journey, or you have a strong desire to do so.

Either way, you have made the first step, and that counts the most because this first step is the moment when you realize how amazing you can be, how beautiful and fulfilled your life can be, how great, rewarding and inspiring can be your contribution to a better world.

When your boss, your friends or whoever else is changing around you, your life is pretty much the same. When you are changing, then, your life is changing.

You grow and become extraordinary in life by accomplishing the most ordinary things.

Be like a river that starts its journey from a shallow brook and ends it into the deep ocean, or an acorn that becomes a majestic oak tree.

Allow yourself to become whoever you want to become.

If there is destiny, know that it has more than one version, and it is up to you which version of your destiny you get to live. Your desire to improve yourself is setting the course and the pathway of your destiny.

Your life belongs to you.

Are you living up to your potential?

Are you living the best version of your destiny?

Are you putting forward the best you?

Life is a gift. A gift that only a small minority of seeds receive.

Self-improvement is about honoring that gift; making the most out of it, building a happy, prosperous life and contributing to the well-being of others along the way.

We are living amazing times; your personal growth can make a change not only in your life but also can be powerful motivation for others.

Join us, so you dont have to walk alone in your journey.

On UpJourney you can find in-depth information and self improvement tips.

For example, well talk about:

Allow us to walk with you on your journey to self-improvement, success and become the best version of yourself.

Originally posted here:
What is Self Improvement?

Assignment Help >> Macroeconomics

Human service interactions in terms of macro systems-communities and organizations.

Describe the concept of personal, interpersonal, and political empowerment.

Empowerment is basically a process to assist people groups, families and communities, individuals, to use their strengths to overcome their challenges by using the tools and resources around them.

Personal empowerment refers to a person's ability of competence, strength and ability to affect change. It indicates a subjective state of mind, experiencing a sense of control and feeling competent within themselves. It is focused on ways to develop personal power and self efficacy.

Interpersonal empowerment refers to person's ability to influence others. It comes from two sources, first based on social status- race, class, gender, sex. Second power comes from learning new skills and securing new positions. It includes successful interactions with others and regards other people hold for us.

Political empowerment refers to person's relationship with political structures. It refers to the process of transferring resources, capabilities and positions to people who do not possess them. It stresses the goals of social action and social change and intends to transfer power to the society while maintaining the individuality.

Explain an individual's involvement in multiple social systems-micro, mezzo, and macro-at work in the environment.

Social work is divided into three categories: micro, mezzo, macro.

Macro level system is a large scale system that affects communities and systems. Individual's involvement at macro level may involve creating policy changes, planning, and implementation of social programs. Macro social work addresses issues involved in mezzo and micro systems.

Mezzo level includes an intermediary system like neighborhoods, institutions and smaller groups. It entails to bring people together who aren't as intimate as family members but benefit mutually from this social network. It deals with small to medium sized groups such as neighborhoods and schools like institutional and culture changes, managing social work organization, group therapies, self -help groups, neighborhood community associations.

Micro level means individual or his family and focuses on personal interaction either with an individual, coupe or family like clinical social interaction: interacting with a person at mental hospital, interacting with school teacher or student on drug addict issues or misbehavior, or case working one on one with a client with a homeless shelter. (Understanding Human Behavior in the Social Environment, Charles H. Zastrow, Karen Kay Kirst-Ashman, 2012, pg 33)

Discuss the macro system response to child maltreatment, sexual abuse, crime, and delinquency.

There are four types of child maltreatment like physical , emotional, sexual and child neglect done by parent, care giver or any other person who harms child's development. Child abuse can come in poor families because parent has low intelligence, insecurity, low self esteem, low maturity.

If anyone knows about child abuse, macro system has created ways to ensure child is protected like youth services, calling the school, allowing the child to spend time away from parent, calling the prevent hotline locally, calling help national child abuse hotline, calling RAIN(Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network), taking the child to local NGOs.

Macro system responses can be divided into three risks: mild, moderate, severe. If the case is mild, responses that are suggested are early intervention, family support, formal/informal services, parent education, housing assistance. If the case is moderate, suggested responses are appropriate formal services, coordinated family support, safety plans, and community support services. For severe cases, suggested responses are Intensive family preservation or reunification services, child removal, court-ordered services, foster care, adoption, criminal prosecution.

Compare and contrast the application of functionalism and interactionist theory to poverty.

In general both functionalism theory to poverty explains why social stratification (rankings of people based on wealth and social values); exists and endures. Interactionist theory on the other hand symbolizes the differences this stratification produces for interactions.

Functionalist perspective views society as an organism, as a system where all different parts of society need to be present and should be working together or else society will fail. Hence it says that poverty is needed to balance the society. Poverty is needed so that we can have rich people, it is a necessary part. It says poverty exists because it fulfills certain functions that are important to society like, poor people do the work that other people don't want to, the programs that help poor people provide jobs, poor purchase goods like old clothes, expired breads, that other people do not wish to purchase, poor provide jobs for people like doctors, teachers, who may not be competent enough to give services to wealthier people. Hence all these pose positive functions of poverty.

Interactionist perspective on the other hand says that society is possible because people interact with each other which gives a meaning to things based on these interactions and understanding of their daily lives. Unlike functionalist view, it doesn't explain why we have stratification but examines the difference that stratification makes in people's lifestyles and interactions. This theory says that poor people exist because they were never able to make sense of their world and might have not been able to see opportunity or were not with people who had a better life. Poverty exists because people who are in it saw other people struggle and never tried for more options since they didn't have the infrastructure to expand and get recognized.

Describe the role and responsibility of the human service worker in the macro environment.

Human service worker is a profession where people have strong desire and focus to improve people's lives. These people help poor and disturbed people with their issues, relationships and help them solve their personal and family problems. Some social workers help people with their disabilities or diseases, or unemployment, inadequate housing, domestic conflicts, family quarrels, child or women abuse. Or some social workers who run NGOs, or design system processes or policy development.

Child, family and school social workers proves assistance to improve their social and psychological functioning of children and families and academic functioning of children.

Some specialize in services for senior citizens by running support groups for the children of senior people, arranging housing long term care etc.

They also run employee assistance programs that helps employees to cope up with their jobs, job related pressures, or personal and professional problems that affects the quality of their work.

In schools, social workers help children to cope up with their studies, act as a link between parents, teachers and school so as to ensure right education is passed on to the children and address problems like misbehavior, early pregnancy, drug addicts etc.

Medical and public health social workers help people get right treatments at right time, and to cope up with people and families with terminal illnesses.

Social workers also give assistance in mental health and substance abuse like tobacco, alcohol, drugs etc, services include group therapy, social rehabilitation, crisis intervention etc.Other types are social work administrators, policymakers, activists, planners who develop policies, implement the plans to address various issues, raise money for the same and suggest legislative solutions.

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Solution-Human service interactions in terms of macro

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Theological Reflections on Technology and Human Enhancement

Technology has changed our world dramatically over the past century and promises to change it more rapidly in coming years. Emerging computer and biomedical technologies have the potential to revolutionize our bodies and perhaps our understanding of human nature. Transhumanism is the name for the movement that enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to transcend bodily limits with new technology, especially the possibility of extending the human lifespan and increasing mental and physical abilities. Its most optimistic advocates predict a future where death has been defeated through the power to reverse biological processes or offload mental states onto computers. What should be the response of the church to Transhumanism and the technological possibilities for human enhancement that are on the horizon?

In September 2015, the Samford Center for Science and Religion held a conference on Transhumanism and the Church as a way to promote critical reflection and public understanding on an issue that will become increasingly important in future decades. The keynote lectures for the conference can be found in the video player and playlist at the top of this page.

Pittsburgh Theological SeminaryEditor of Transhumanism and Transcendence: Christian Hope in an Age of Technological Enhancement

The College of New JerseyAuthor of Cyborg Selves: A Theological Anthropology of the Posthuman

Arizona State UniversityAuthor of Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodiesand What It Means to be Human

Samford UniversityAuthor of Dimensions of Faith: Understanding Faith Through the Lens of Science and Religion (forthcoming)

Oxford UniversityAuthor of Eschatology and the Technological Future

St. Louis UniversityCo-Author of Chasing After Virtue: Neuroscience, Economics, and the Biopolitics of Morality (forthcoming)

Emory UniversityAuthor of Biblical Theology: Problems and Prospects

Wheaton College

Author of Prophets of the Posthuman: American Literature, Biotechnology, and the Ethics of Personhood

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Transhumanism Conference at Samford University