Goal Setting and Prioritising Your Life

With Kris Robertson

Goal setting and prioritising your life is the perfect place to start your journey of personal development. Goals can only be reached through clarity, the vehicle of a plan, the ability to keep your mind focussed and action.

With Pam Lidford

Negative thinking and the negative thoughts that present themselves into external situations in your life will limit your personal potential. Subconscious negative mind chatter will keep you from achieving your goals and doing things differently to achieve more.

With Bev James

My question to you is - so many of us are offered the opportunity to upgrade our apps, our computer programs, our phones, our TV viewing packages - but if you were to upgrade yourself, what skills, abilities or behaviours would you like to upgrade?

With Ann Skidmore

Consider the image and impact you want to have in your personal and professional lives. What is your brand and identity?

With Dawn Breslin

By creating a strong vision for what you would love to have, be or do in life you are broadening your idea of what is possible for you. A vision board outwardly creates a compelling image of your inner desires and keeps your goals constant in your mind.

With Sarah Urquhart

Understanding more about yourself and others is the key to mastering communication. NLP is easy to implement in everyday life and will help you understand exactly how powerful your thoughts affect your feelings and behaviours.

With John Perry

Resilience is such a key life skill to have. It is your ability to adapt to any situation and recover quickly from stress or adversity. This module will show you how to build your resilience so you can combat challenges with ease and break through any stress barriers you may be experiencing.

With Kris Robertson

Goal setting is the one activity that sets apart those who just get by in life and those who are successful. Weve already touched on the importance of goal setting in previous modules; this module will take your goal setting to the next level. By working through this module you will continue to pave the process and actions required to create your future success.

With Susan Grandfield

Mindfulness is a form of self-awareness training that can easily be used to help bring positive changes to your life. Recognised by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence in the UK, Mindfulness will help you become more focused, engaged and attentive. It will also bring a greater sense of clarity and calm to your everyday life.

With Ben Hunt-Davis

Everyone experiences up and downs in their life, and sometimes we have little or no control of when these happen. Ben teaches us about how to bounce back when things don't go your way!

With Ann Carver

Ann is a wealth coach who will empower you to recognise and address any emotional and impulse spending habits you may have to enable you to live a more fulfilling life. Even if you are a shrewd spender, you will still be able to apply Anns techniques so you can have more money, more contentment and more freedom and confidence to reach any of your goals that are impacted by money.

With Pam Lidford

Having self-confidence and being confident is a fundamental skill for your personal success. Confidence has the ability to make a huge difference, it can create trust, it helps you communicate more effectively and most of all, it allows you to achieve your goals.

With Bev James

Procrastination is the grave in which opportunity is buried so if you are serious about achievement and your personal success then you need to learn how to blitz your procrastination habits.

With Kris Robertson

Over the course of this module you will learn not only what motivation is but also how motivation works, how it changes and what you can start to do to best ensure that YOU are motivated and stay motivated throughout your personal goal achievement.

With Bev James

During this module Bev James will share with you some tools and techniques that can help you to build positive relationships. Unless you live alone on a Desert Island, life is all about relationships. It's about having the ability to build rapport with someone quickly and easily to feel comfortable in group situations.

With Evie Serventi

Defined in physics as the capacity to work, energy comes from four components of the human being: the body (physical), emotions (emotional), the mind (mental) and the spirit (spiritual). Understanding and maintaining healthy energy levels is critical to being able to fully engage with yourself and those around you.

With Sonia Beldom

Creating Personal Impact is all about how to captivate your audience using the most powerful presentation equipment in the world; you, your body, your face, your voice and your personality.

With Bev James

Your life is the sum total of the decisions you have made so far. Each of us will make hundreds of decisions and choices everyday and cumulatively they will have a powerful impact on our success and the direction that life takes.

With Joe Wicks - The Body Coach

If you have a busy schedule and struggle to find time to exercise its time to take control.

With Fiona Campbell

Discover how to strengthen and boost your immune system simply by eating the right food. Learn techniques to further support your immune system and leave you fighting fit.

With Sarah Urquhart

More:
Home / The Personal Success Academy

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent. ~Eleanor Roosevelt

For years I lived an uneventful existence. I wasnt happy. I wasnt unhappy either. I was just sort of stuck.

I had a good career, earned lots of money, and I had great friends and a loving family. You would think that this doesnt sound too bad, but I felt unfulfilled and unmotivated. I repeatedly lived each day like the one before.

I looked around me and saw that everybody within my own circle of friends, relatives, and immediate family were no different. They too seemed stuck. They seemed unmotivatedlike they were living their lives on automatic pilot.

I began to question why this was. Why do so many people just accept this pattern as normal, as if this is the way it is supposed to be?

I read hundreds of books on philosophy, psychology, and spirituality. I continued with this for a couple of years until I gradually I began to see things with greater clarity. I began to wake up. Then one day, out of the blue it just hit me, like a ton of bricks.

The key to unlocking my prison door was not contained in any books I read (although they did help me somewhat). It was in my ability to accept what is in this moment. So I now I make that choice.

Here are 8 tips to help you make that choice:

Most of the time we have no idea what we are supposed to be doing, or who we are supposed to be imitating. I say imitating because this is what we do: We conform to the external environment.

We play roles and cover up our true selves by identifying with things that end up defining who we think we are. Im a doctor, a salesperson, a secretary, a lawyer; Im sad, happy, lonely, or miserable. Im angry, jealous, afraid, and I cant help itits who I am.

The truth is, though, we are none of those things. They are symptoms of the sleepwalking disease. You are more important than any label. We are not our professions. We are not our feelings. We are not our circumstances. We are not even our mind.

What we are is far greater, far superior, far more important, and far more mysterious than our conceptual mind tries to define. This is why we are far more powerful than we think we are.

Let go and embrace the moment, whether it contains an obstacle or an opportunity. Stop fussing over trivial matters and start focusing on whats really important to you.

Dont go through life expecting things to change. Life becomes hard and unfair when we decide to complain about things rather than trying to change them ourselves. Wake up to the truth that life is not a practice-run.

Be bold and courageous, and make decisions that benefit your growth. Put yourself on your imaginary death-bed and realize that time stands still for no one. Start as soon as possible to make any necessary changes you may need to.

Take the first step before more time gradually passes by while you stand still stagnating. Your choice. Your life. Your responsibility. Your power.

We create our outside reality by the thoughts and beliefs we maintain about life in general. What we believe in our inner world, we see in our outer worldnot the other way around.

We all have problems, and were often tested by circumstances outside of our control. Even though you may not be in control of whats going on outside of you, you most definitely can control your reaction to those situations.

We have the power because our inner world (cause) affects the influence we allow the outer world (effect) to have on us. So next time you hear somebody mention that you have great personal power, know they are 100% correct. You have more control than you think.

We place far too much emphasis on other peoples opinions about us, often to the exclusion of our own. This takes away from our own personal power. No matter what anybody says about you, it doesnt hold any significance to who you truly are unless you identify or agree with them.

Stop identifying with other peoples opinions and become aware of how you see yourself. Nobody knows you better than you do. Never accept another persons reality as your own. Always believe that you can achieve anything you put your mind to. And, most importantly, never let another persons opinion of you affect what you believe about yourself.

If you have to compare yourself to someone else, let it be a person who is less fortunate, and let it be a lesson to learn just how abundant your life truly is. Its just a matter of perspective.

You may find that you are not entirely grateful for what you possess. You may believe that you need more than you have right now to be happy. If this is the case, then you are absolutely rightyou will need more, and you will continue to need more.

This cycle will perpetuate as long as your mind believes it to be true. If you focus on what you have, and not on what you lack, you will always have enough, because you will always be enough.

You have arrived. Everything you need is right here. Cut out the distractions, open your eyes, and see that you already have everything in your possession to be happy, loved, and fulfilled.

Its not out there. It never was out there. Its in the same place it was since the day you were born. Its just been covered up by all the external things you have identified with over the years.

Be yourself. Love yourself completely and accept everything that you are. You are beautiful. Believe it, and most importantly, remind yourself often.

If someone cuts us off in traffic or skips the queue at our local cinema, we may feel our blood pressure begin to rise and feel the need to react in a negative manner. We get uptight with other peoples actions, and in the end we punish ourselves for their bad behavior.

We end up losing control over our own actions because of the way other people act. But we are responsible for our own action, regardless of how rude other people may act. If its hard to stay cool, remember: you are the one who loses in the end, if you lose the lesson.

We know life is about the journey and not the arrival. We dont need to arrive if we accept that we are already here.

Be content with where you are today and dont make the mistake of putting off being happy because you are waiting for the right moment to shine. Sometimes it takes a conscious effort to enjoy the journey.

Not everyone woke up this morning and not everyone will go to bed tonight. Life has no guarantees. Every minute you are living is a blessing that has to be experienced in the moment. Its not always easy, but its always an optiona choice. Your choice.

Photo by h.koppdelaney

Declan lives in Dublin, Ireland. He is a plasterer, printer, and inventor but most importantly, a thinker. His passion is to constantly work on himself through meditations, mental exercises, visualizations, and affirmations.

Original post:
8 Tips to Help Create a Positive Mental Attitude

In psychology, motivation refers to the initiation, direction, intensity, and persistence of behavior. Motivation is a temporal and dynamic state that should not be confused with personality or emotion. It involves having the desire and willingness to do something. A motivated person can be reaching for a long-term goal such as becoming a professional writer or a more short-term goal like learning how to spell a particular word. Personality invariably refers to more or less permanent characteristics of an individual's state of being (such as shy, extrovert, conscientious). As opposed to motivation, emotion refers to temporal states that do not immediately link to behavior (such as anger, grief, or happiness).

Motivation can be categorized according to whether it is a basic, instinctive drive, unlearned and common to all people and also animals, or a learned motivation that can be unique. The former type of motivation involves satisfying the needs of the physical body, and include hunger, thirst, shelter or safety, sexual activity, and so forth. The latter type includes achievement of goals, whether they be in terms of gaining knowledge, power, self-development, or a loving relationship. This latter type can be seen as satisfying the desires of the mind and spirit. Motivation is complex since human nature is complex. Yet, to understand what motivates people to act in certain ways enables people to live and work peaceably with one another.

Motivation can be anything that arouses an organism toward action for a desired goal. Motivation can be the reason for the action or that which gives direction to an action.[1]

The word motivation most likely comes from the word "motive," which stems from either the French motiver or the German motivieren. The word first appeared in English in 1904.[2]

Motivation is considered an essential element not only in learning, but also in the performance of learned responses. In other words, even when an organism (including a human being) has learned the appropriate response to a particular situation they will not necessarily produce this behavior. The incentive to produce the behavior is motivation.

Sources of motivation can be broken into two main categories: intrinsic and extrinsic. Intrinsic sources include physical, mental, and spiritual. Extrinsic sources include operant and social conditioning. Some examples of needs within these categories are listed below:

Theories of motivation are based on different criteria, and emphasize various needs as key drivers in our actions. Like needs, these theories are both internal and external.

Behaviorists believe that everything performed by organisms, including thinking, feeling, and acting, are behaviors. For Behaviorists there is no philosophical difference in describing externally visible things such as actions and internal things such as thoughts. Though there are nuanced theories of behaviorism, they generally state that behaviors can be traced to factors within a person's life such as their past and present environments, the actions of others, and their present feelings. These forces act on one another and result in an action, effectively making them the motivation for action.

Cognitive theories center on the effects of the different ways people process information with motivation. Some key theories are listed below.

The cognitive dissonance theory, first proposed by Leon Festinger, states that people need to maintain consistency among their beliefs, attitudes, and behavior. Contradicting cognitions serve as a driving force that compels the mind to acquire or invent new beliefs, or to modify existing beliefs, in order to reduce the amount of dissonance (conflict) between cognitions and bring them back into a consistent relationship.

This theory posits that people explain success or failure with attributions. These attributions can be grouped as within or outside of a person's control and then internal or external. People will say that an event that occurs that is both external and out of their control is unstoppable, but will pride themselves on events that occur because of an internal characteristic that is within their control.

Expectancy theory attempts to mathematize motivation. In this theory, expectancy (perceived probability of success), instrumentality (connection of success and reward), and value (value of obtaining goal) must all exist in order for a person to take action, according to the formula:

Sigmund Freud and his followers describe the unconscious mind as controlled by a person's instinctual desires and needs. These instincts, however, come into conflict with the social demands of the conscious mind. Freud later divided the mind into three sections: the conscious mind, or ego, and two parts of the unconscious mind: the id, or instincts, and superego, the result of social conditioning.

Many of Freud's students broke with his theories, emphasizing instead the importance of the social and spiritual on motivation.

Drive Reduction Theory grows out of the concept that we have certain biological needs, such as hunger. As time passes the strength of the drive increases as it is not satisfied. Then as we satisfy that drive by fulfilling its desire, such as eating, the drive's strength is reduced. It is based on the theories of Freud and the idea of feedback control systems, such as a thermostat.

There are several problems, however, that leave the validity of the Drive Reduction Theory open for debate. The first problem is that it does not explain how Secondary Reinforcers reduce drive. For example, money does not satisfy any biological or psychological need but reduces drive on a regular basis through a pay check second-order conditioning. Secondly, if the drive reduction theory held true we would not be able to explain how a hungry human being can prepare a meal without eating the food before they finished cooking it.

However, when comparing this to a real life situation such as preparing food, one does become hungrier as the food is being made (drive increases), and after the food has been consumed the drive decreases. The reason that generally the food is not eaten before preparation is complete is the human element of restraint. Knowing that the food will be nicer (or simply edible as opposed to inedible when raw) after it is cooked enables the preparer to delay drive reduction.

Abraham Maslow's "hierarchy of human needs" theory is the most widely discussed theory of motivation. The theory can be summarized thus:

The hierarchy arranges needs from basic physiological (lowest, earliest), through safety, social, and self esteem to the most complex (highest, latest) need for self actualization.

Created by Clayton Alderfer, Maslow's hierarchy of needs was expanded, leading to his ERG theory (existence, relatedness and growth). Physiological and safety, the lower order needs, are placed in the existence category, Love and self esteem needs in the relatedness category. The growth category contained the self actualization and self esteem needs.

Self-determination theory, developed by Edward Deci and Richard Ryan, focuses on the importance of intrinsic motivation in driving human behavior. Like Maslow's hierarchical theory and others that built on it, SDT posits a natural tendency toward growth and development. Unlike these other theories, however, SDT does not include any sort of "autopilot" for achievement, but instead requires active encouragement from the environment. The primary factors that encourage motivation and development are autonomy, competence feedback, and relatedness.[4]

Social learning theories state that watching the actions of other can prove the most influential on the actions we take.

Social cognition theories elaborate on the three way relationship between personal qualities, behavior, and society. Theorists in this school write that all three can affect the other for good or bad.

Spiritual theories attempt to find meaning in our lives and to develop the underlying spiritual goals towards which we act.

Goal-setting theory is based on the notion that individuals sometimes have a drive to reach a clearly defined end state. Often, this end state is a reward in itself. A goal's efficiency is affected by three features: proximity, difficulty and specificity. An ideal goal should present a situation where the time between the initiation of behavior and the end state is close in time. This explains why some children are more motivated to learn how to ride a bike than mastering algebra. A goal should be moderate, not too hard or too easy to complete. In both cases, most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal. The goal should be objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to reach that goal.

The control of motivation is only understood to a limited extent. There are many different approaches of motivation training, but many of these are considered pseudoscientific by critics. To understand how to control motivation it is first necessary to understand why many people lack motivation.

Modern imaging has provided solid empirical support for the psychological theory that emotional programming is largely defined in childhood. Harold Chugani, Medical Director of the PET Clinic at the Children's Hospital of Michigan and professor of pediatrics, neurology and radiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, has found that children's brains are much more capable of consuming new information (linked to emotions) than those of adults. Brain activity in cortical regions is about twice as high in children as in adults from the third to the ninth year of life. After that period, it declines constantly to the low levels of adulthood. Brain volume, on the other hand, is already at about 95 percent of adult levels in the ninth year of life.

Besides the very direct approaches to motivation, beginning in early life, there are solutions which are more abstract but perhaps nevertheless more practical for self-motivation. Virtually every motivation guidebook includes at least one chapter about the proper organization of one's tasks and goals. It is usually suggested that it is critical to maintain a list of tasks, with a distinction between those which are completed and those which are not, thereby moving some of the required motivation for their completion from the tasks themselves into a "meta-task," namely the processing of the tasks in the task list, which can become a routine. The viewing of the list of completed tasks may also be considered motivating, as it can create a satisfying sense of accomplishment.

Most electronic to-do lists have this basic functionality, although the distinction between completed and non-completed tasks is not always clear (completed tasks are sometimes simply deleted, instead of kept in a separate list).

Other forms of information organization may also be motivational, such as the use of mind maps to organize one's ideas, and thereby "train" the neural network that is the human brain to focus on the given task. Simpler forms of idea notation such as simple bullet-point style lists may also be sufficient, or even more useful to less visually oriented persons.

Neurobiological evidence supports the idea that addictive drugs such as cocaine, nicotine, alcohol, and heroin act on brain systems underlying motivation for natural rewards, such as the mesolimbic dopamine system. Normally, these brain systems serve to guide us toward fitness-enhancing rewards (food, water, sex, etc.), but they can be co-opted by repeated use of drugs of abuse, causing addicts to excessively pursue drug rewards. Therefore, drugs can hijack brain systems underlying other motivations, causing the almost singular pursuit of drugs characteristic of addiction.[5]

Motivation is of particular interest to Educational psychologists because of the crucial role it plays in student learning. However, the specific kind of motivation that is studied in the specialized setting of education differs qualitatively from the more general forms of motivation studied by psychologists in other fields.

Motivation in education can have several effects on how students learn and their behavior towards subject matter.[6] It can:

Because students are not always internally motivated, they sometimes need situated motivation, which is found in environmental conditions that the teacher creates.

The idea that money is a powerful motivator can be illustrated with numerous examples of theft or white-collar crime. However, Maslow and Herzberg both believed that money is not a very powerful motivator. At higher levels of the hierarchy, praise, respect, recognition, empowerment and a sense of belonging are far more powerful motivators than money, as both Abraham Maslow's theory of motivation and Douglas McGregor argue. McGregor says of motivation:

Elton Mayo described workplace motivation in his Hawthorne studies, which revealed what has become known as the Hawthorne effect. His studies showed that workers are motivated to work harder when they perceive they are being studied. Mayo was originally intending to study the effects of lighting on employee productivity, but eventually isolated all variables and determined that by having workers believe they were being watched by their managers or others, they would in fact work harder.

All links retrieved November 24, 2014.

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors rewrote and completed the Wikipedia article in accordance with New World Encyclopedia standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit is due under the terms of this license that can reference both the New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list of acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions by wikipedians is accessible to researchers here:

Note: Some restrictions may apply to use of individual images which are separately licensed.

Continued here:
Motivation - New World Encyclopedia

Welcome to the AVL

Learn more about the Alabama Virtual Library here.

1st Place

2nd Place

1st Place

2nd Place

Britannica E-Books (informational flyer, MARC Records)

Gale Virtual Reference Library (title list, MARC Records)

Oxford Digital Reference Shelf (via Oxford Reference) (title list, MARC Records)

How to Access E-Books

Click "E-Books" on the left sidebar from "Student Resources" or "Adult Resources"

-OR-

Click "E-Books" from the top menu to see complete list

Your location is inside the state of Alabama so you are automatically logged in to use the AVL

You are not IP authenticated. Please login using your AVL Card username and password.

If you do not have an AVL Card, please request one at your local public library or your local public school library if you are a student.

You are logged in with your AVL username and password.

You are located on the campus of an Alabama public school or library so you are automatically logged in to use the AVL.

Join AVL on Facebook!

@ALVirtualLib

Email the Helpdesk!

Subscribe to AVL Listserv!

(256) 971-7487 (800) 276-0370

See the original post:
The Alabama Virtual Library

A) Mahalaya Tarpan - Monday, October 12th from 7a.m.

B) Matri Bandana, Bhakti-Geeti and Chandi-Path: Saturday, October 10th at 4a.m. Followed by Morning Ma Durga Bhog-Prasadam.

B) Bodhan, Amantran, Adhibas and Maha-Sasthi Maha-Puja- Sunday, October 18th at 6.30pm. Followed by Arati, Puspanjali, Charanamrita dan, Cultural Program and Mahabhog.

C) Maha-Saptami Maha-Puja: Monday, October 19th. Puja: 8.30 a.m. - 12.30 p.m. Followed by Arati, Puspanjali, Private Puja, Charanamrita dan and Mahabhog.

Evening Puja - 6.30p.m. Followed by Sandhya Arati, Puspanjali, Private Puja, Charanamrita dan, Cultural Programs and Mahabhog.

D) Maha-Astami Maha-Puja: Tuesday, October 20th. Puja 8.30a.m.- 12.30p.m. Followed by Arati, Puspanjali, Private Puja, Charanamrita dan and Maha-bhog.

Evening Puja- 6.30 p.m. Followed by Arati, Puspanjali, Private Puja, Charanamrita dan, Cultural Programs and Mahabhog.

Sandhi-puja: Tuesday, October 20th at 10.41pm - 11.05p.m. Followed by Devi Chamunda Arati, Puspanjali and Charanamrita dan.

E) Maha-Navami MahaPuja: Wednesday, October, 21st Puja 8.30 a.m.- 12.30p.m. Followed by Arati, Puspanjali, Charanamrita dan, Private Puja and Maha-bhog.

Evening Puja and Vaidik Biswa-Shanti Yajna at 6.30pm. Followed by Arati, Puspanjali, Private Puja, Charanamrita dan, Cultural Program and Maha-bhog.

F) Dashami Vihit Puja & Visarjan: October 22end, Thursday. Puja 10.00 a.m. Followed by Arati, Puspanjali, Private Puja and Charanamrita dan. Visarjan: 12.30 P.m. Followed by Matri Pranam, Puspanjali, Ashirvad Grahan, Shanti Jal and Maha-bhog.

Sindur Khela: 1.00p.m.

Vijaya Misti Pradan: 6.30p.m.

We will highly appreciate if you sponsor one day puja or Maha-bhog.To sponsor one day Puja, Bhog etc. Please call Swamiji at the Ashram at 732 422 8880.

It is mentioned above that everyday after morning and evening Puja there will be Puspanjali Pradan and Maha-bhog.

Cultural Program everyday from 9p.m- 10p,m.

The rest is here:
Welcome to Bharat Sevashram Sangha, NJ

Nietzsches idea of an overman and life from his point of view

Nietzsche's idea of "the overman" (Ubermensch) is one of the most significant concept in his thinking. Even though it is mentioned very briefly only in the prologue of Thus Spoke Zarathustra, it might be sensible to conceive that Nietzsche had something in his mind about how a man should be more than just human-all-too-human, regardless if he was one or not. All these ideas had been pondered on and developed though all his works. The concept then seems to reveal much about the way Nietzsche saw life. This essay will attempt on seeing through, as much as possible, the idea of overman by Nietzsche and life from the point of view of an overman.

An overman as described by Zarathustra, the main character in Thus Spoke Zarathustra, is the one who is willing to risk all for the sake of enhancement of humanity. In contrary to the last man whose sole desire is his own comfort and is incapable of creating anything beyond oneself in any form. This should suggest that an overman is someone who can establish his own values as the world in which others live their lives, often unaware that they are not pregiven. This means an overman can affect and influence the lives of others. In other words, an overman has his own values, independent of others, which affects and dominates others lives that may not have predetermined values but only herd instinct. An overman is then someone who has a life which is not merely to live each day with no meanings when nothing in the past and future is more important than the present, or more precisely, the pleasure and happiness in the present, but with the purpose for humanity.

In Nietzsches view, an overman should be able to affect history indefinitely. He will keep reentering the world through other peoples minds and affect their thoughts and values. Napolean who is highly admired by Nietzsche may be seen as an example here since he changed and created orders in Europe. What he did effects greatly in how Europe is today. This idea agrees with another of his most significant idea, the idea of the will-to-power. He asserts that life is the will-to-power. Although it is hard to say exactly what he meant by that term, it can be described as something, which underlies how human thinks, behaves and acts in all circumstances. He views that a human being is always in a constant struggle to quench his own desire. This is shown in the context of power used to exclude desires of others that is in conflict to his, power that is used to achieve what they desire. A living thing always seeks to discharge its strength, not only to survive but to power and this sometimes results in violent behaviour which is, allegedly by Nietzshce, intrinsic to the nature of men. However, the way to will can be different, constructive or destructive. My interpretation would then be that an overman uses the will-to-power to influence and dominate the thoughts of others creatively from generation to generation. In this way, his existence and power live on even after he dies.

Nietzsche also has the answer to life that seems suffering. His answer, which is expressed in the same book of Zarathustra, is an attitude towards life that helps one overcome the feeling of its meaninglessness. It starts with the idea that life is an eternal recurrence with no beginning and no end but a repetition of the very same life over and over again. With all sufferings, unhappiness and misdeeds in life, one may feel cursed and despaired if he inevitably were to repeat the same life with the same pain and joy. However, the most important point may not be whether life is really an eternal recurrence. Rather, although not explicitly stated, the important point is that an overman should view it differently such that in the very same life, there has been a moment that it redeems everything else. It then makes him content with and happy to repeat that very same life again and again. He has got the feeling of unity of creation and destruction, good and bad taste of life and is able to say that life is good even it may seem terrible and questionable. He views all the past actions, silly or wise, accidental or achieving, as necessity of becoming himself. Therefore he can redeem himself and thus be willing to repeat the same life again. Some may even say that it was and thus I willed it even though he knows well that one cannot will backward and there are many other limitations in life. It implies that living a life of an overman is to live with the knowledge of what has already happened and constant reinterpretation according to it. Clearly, an overman is then someone who can, with appreciation, face life that may seem so suffering and absurd, knowing that the basic conditions of life will not change even when he is in the ideal state of an overman.

In a sense, overman is about self-overcoming. It involves an attitude towards life when one may feel despaired and feel life is meaningless. It is about the way to deal with truth not in direct manner with straightforward rules as in rationalism, but more like a sensitive mix of trickier indirect approaches. As he compared this with winning a womans heart, those who approach clumsily and directly will bound to failure and hence left dispirited. When compared to Kantian view of truth, it can be seen that going straight into finding an absolute naked truth may leave one unsastisfied with questions that remain unanswered. Instead, Nietzsche suggested the way to tackle this by going along with it and take it as it is. One will then feel content and happy with the life that may be so questionable.

Another characteristic used to describe an overman originated in his earlier work, The Birth of Tragedy. In this book, the notion of Apollonion and Dionysian principles is used with respect to his analysis of the Greek tragedy. They are used to describe two principles men use in thinking which consequently determine actions. Apollonion principle is the principle of light, rationality, order and clear boundaries whereas Dionysian is the principle of the dark, irratioanality, the collapse of order and boundaries. The Apollonion views an individual as separate from other reality and hence can be viewed dispassionately with rationality. On the other hand, the Dionysian views things as a living whole where one is a part of a larger reality. The Apollonion therefore involves no passion or emotion but pure reasons with order whereas the Dionysian is passionate, dynamic and unpredictable. Nietzsche believes that a balance of the two principles is essential in order to have some meanings in life. He seems to be very fond of art and viewed that artistic works, paintings, plays, literature or music exhibit a great deal of Dionysian principle in the form of creativity. In his later work, the importance of the Dionysian principle in living a life with values and meanings is expressed clearly. He views that the highest state attainable by a man can be achieved when life is conceived in terms of the realisation of the Dionysian ideal of the overman. That means one must realise and accept his own Dionysian nature and use it appropriately.

From my point of view, Nietzsche must have treated art as something higher than ordinary, mass-conventional logic and rationality such as that in science for he admired creativity and beauty in art above all things. A person who will be viewed by Nietzsche as an overman is then more likely to be an artist who uses his Dionysian principle and way of thinking and feeling to create works that carry particular individuals picture or interpretation of the world. His values may or may not be the same as any other but a good artist should be able to combine creativity with his perception of the world and life and express it well in his work. On comparison to Aristotle who views that the most desirable state of a person is a philosopher who contemplates, Nietzsche viewed traditional philosophers during his time as people who did not really affect the real world outside and usually their traditional philosophical works were merely self confession. It can then be seen that his value is highly placed upon the concept of Dionysus and therefore he praised the Greek civilisation where a lot of creativity took place even more than in present society. Nietzsche accepted that Socrates did affect the history greatly, which is the characteristic that Nietzsche valued. However, he blamed Socrates for the western society and culture that emphasised the Apollonion principle too much. Socrates was thought to have gone too far in defending rationality. He even viewed that we could use reasoning in everything so that the natures flaws can be corrected. It is then what the western dreams of and pursues up until now through science and technology. This is the view that does not accept human limitation, that men are powerless and have no control but always places men on the top of everything. In contrast, Nietzsche views that an overman must be able to accept these limitations and can face it in the eternal recurrence. Nietzsche must have felt that the western culture had put less and less significance on artistic creativity and passion that mental and spiritual power which create beauty in life have fewer and fewer places in the modern society.

Emotion is one of the attributes of Dionysus and is also one of the entities which Nietzsche defended. He views that emotion is natural. Its repression or suppression is psychologically disastrous. This also includes sexuality. He attacked Christianity for its traditional value that places bars on emotion and impulse and this is viewed by Nietzsche as self-denying. He disagrees on inhibiting and thwarting human own nature. Rather, an overman must accept his own nature and divert the energy of primitive impulses into a culturally, higher or socially more acceptable, activity. This is exactly what should happen to a good artist on creating his work of art. To him, the Dionysian is not completely dark and evil as opposite to the Apollonion which is associated with light and reason. The Dionysian is rather viewed as natural, both good and bad just like any ordinary human being. It is in every human nature. With a right balance with the Apollonion and with the right use, a burst of creativity is the result. However, it is usually the case that when the Apollonion principle mixes the Dionysian, it tends to suppress the Dionysian. As a result, the Dionysian principle is expressed in a destructive way. Basically, an overman must be able to control this and divert the Dionysian power into something creative. To Nietzsche, Dionysian is profoundly irrational rather than negatively or stubbornly irrational.

In the present age where science and rationality are highly valued, I realise that it is hard to accept the negative side of being rational since it seems to be the most reliable tool in treating others, living together and judging. Without it, society can be chaotic and too much disordered for no control is imposed on the irrational ones who do not use the Dionysian principle in a productive way. However, I agree with Nietzsche in the beauty of the product created out of Dionysian principle and feel that the right mix of Apollonion and Dionysian will make the world much nobler, not in the luxurious sense but aesthetic one. The world with no passion and emotion will be an unnatural one and this special property, among others, of human that differs from other animals will be lost.

Nietzsche might or might not consider himself an overman but he surely determined to be a means or bridge who brings closer to reality an emergence of an overman. In his view, men are not born equal. He always stresses on the difference of men and hence in contrast to Marx who includes everyone into his ideal society. For Nietzsche, there are only some capable and talented who qualifies to be an overman from his point of view. Therefore, he is usually perceived superficially as an elitist which might have brought down the value of his thinking. To me, it is a fact that is hard to swallow for all of us and quite sceptical on the ability of men. However, it is the case, at least throughout the history of mankind up to the present, for men are educated differently and experience different things. Nevertheless, Nietzsches thinking provides some space for this. He says that his ideal is not necessarily everyones universal ideal. Each of us values things differently and therefore his overman may not be the same as others overman. He consequently urges for revaluation of traditional values such as, the supression of emotion, the wholeheartedly devoted rationalism. An overman, in his view, should not be restricted by tradition nor bounded by convention but has independent values of his own.

From all that is shown above, we may say that Nietzsches overman must be able to affect history indefinitely, conceives life in terms of Dionysian realisation and is able to divert Dionysian principle into something creative. With this kind of attitude and the realisation of his own limitation in life, he would then be able to face life, look back with satisfaction, realising that all pasts make him what he is today, and hence feel happy if he were to repeat that very same life eternally. An overman should then be content with his own life and appreciate every bit of it even though some of them are painful and suffering. He spends each day of his life creating beauty, which affects the minds of others through out the time, knowing that his life has values and meanings since his existence of will-to-power will live on indefinitely.

References

1) The Cambridge Companion to Nietzsche, ed. B.Magnus and K.M.Higgins, Cambridge University Press, 1990.

2) Nietzsche, Life As Literature, Alexander Nehamas, Havard University Press,1994.

3) Nietzsche for Beginners, M.Sautet, Writers and readers, 1990.

4) Nietzsche:A Critical Reader.

5) Philosophy II lecture handouts.

Continue reading here:
Nietzsche's idea of "the overman" (Ubermensch) is one of the ...

The place to read the latest breaking news (well, press releases purporting to be that!)

653

36

The place to post bug reports and functionality suggestions for the DV Forums website. Please post one thread per issue rather than grouping things together as this makes it easier for the developers to see issues and respond to them.

68

Welcome to the Chatter forum - the place to discuss those non-video-editing-related things you're bursting to talk about. Here, you CAN go off-topic without getting flamed. Moderators will try to exert an especially light touch.

5924

Welcome to Classified, the place to buy, sell, barter (and give away) video-editing related hardware and software. The forum is for private sales, not for business. If you are unsure, email the moderator.

5449

The place to post about, well, bargains, actually! This is NOT, however, a place to sell stuff - that's Classified.

244

Welcome to HDTV, cameras and production - the place to discuss HD cameras of all sizes and formats. Not for discussion of last night's TV shows

1832

The place to report any kit that's been lost or stolen. Please include serial Nos and distinguishing marks.

9

This is the place for forum members to shout about the video-editing-related services that they provide. It's not the place for anything else. Spammers who think otherwise will be zapped!

48

The place to offer up you work for peer review

467

Welcome to Situations Vacant, the place to offer and to look for work to do with videography and desktop video editing.

180

Welcome to Streaming Video, the place to discuss creating, uploading, hosting and watching streaming video.

265

Welcome to System Configurations, the place to post the detailed configuration of your fully working editing system, so that others know what works with what.

449

Welcome to A/V Hardware, the place to discuss a range of kit, including camcorders, VCRs, mics, analogue/digital converters, colour correctors, the lot.

4950

Welcome to the AMD-based video editing systems forum - the place to discuss buying, building, setting up and using AMD-based PCs for video editing.

452

Welcome to Audio, the place to discuss the use of audio in videography and desktop video editing.

944

The place to discuss the contents, successes and failures of Computer Video magazine.

671

Welcome to DeskTop Video - General, the place to discuss non-linear editing hardware and software, including video capture cards and systems sold as complete editing solutions - Mac, Windows, Casablanca, Trinity, Avid, whatever.

17088

Welcome to Digital still photography - the forum to discuss that very subject

1006

PLEASE DO not POST QUESTIONS IN THIS FORUM -- Welcome to FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions), the place to search first if you think your question might already have been asked (and hopefully answered) by 101 other people. If it is not here, it is NOT a

149

Welcome to Hard Drives, the place to discuss, yes, hard disk drives, including not just hardware but also software such as drive controllers and programs for drive set-up and disk-imaging and back-up.

1509

Welcome to CV Mac video, the place to discuss, yes, video editing on Apple Mac computers. Covering hardware, software and anything else that Mac editors think is relevant.

2126

The place to discuss video film making techiques, including such things as, how to make video look like film, rather than video; blue/green screen techniques; producing expensive-looking results on a low budget; and camera, sound and lighting techniq

993

Welcome to Shiny discs, the place to discuss optical-disc production - mainly DVD and BD - and including editing and the coding of content

5190

Welcome to Wedding and Events Videography, the place to discuss well, actually, videoing weddings and events.

1801

Welcome to the support forum for FASTs AV Master family of high-quality hardware M-JPEG analogue video capture cards

202

Welcome to the support forum for the DV.now and DV.now Lite - FAST's ultra-affordable DV editing solutions

151

Welcome to the support forum for the FAST-Dazzle DV.now AV - the most affordable editing solution offering DV AND analogue in AND out!

653

Welcome to the Global DVCs forum for discussing methods for DV-in enabling nEUtered camcorders of all brands

364

Welcome to the Global DVCs forum for asking miscellaneous questions not covered in other forums

496

See the original post:
Forums | DVforums

featured article

By: We Mirin

Summer might be coming to a close, but that doesn't mean it's too late to flaunt your physique. Check out these 'mirin-worthy outside shots.

Date Added: Sep 25, 2015

By: Bodybuilding Contests

Join me for the True Strength Student Challenge. Register today! #StudentUpgrade @bodybuildingcom @optimumnutrition_uk

Date Added: Sep 20, 2015

By: Bodybuilding Contests

Join me for the Fit Squad 6-Week Challenge. $35,000 in prizes! Register today! #BBCOMFitSquad @bodybuildingcom @MuscleTech

Date Added: Sep 20, 2015

By: Stephanie Lee

Human compassion and technology come together in one the most inspiring transformation stories we've heard. This now-legendary Bodybuilding.com forum member has lost 350 pounds, and for the first time, his future looks bright.

Date Added: Sep 18, 2015

By: We Mirin

These 16 BodySpace members prove what dedication to a solid nutrition plan can achieve!

Date Added: Sep 17, 2015

By: We Mirin

Labor Day means fun, relaxation, and food. Let these 16 BodySpace members be your inspiration to stay on track this holiday weekend!

Date Added: Sep 4, 2015

By: Workout Music Playlists

From early classics about moving your feet and throwing pagers out the window to current hits about tik toks on clocks, we've got the pulse on pop. Work hard and bring all the boys to your yard with these upbeat hits.

Date Added: Sep 3, 2015

By: We Mirin

These 16 former twigs prove that a little hard work and a lot of food can produce amazing changes!

Date Added: Aug 28, 2015

By: We Mirin

Feast your eyes upon these 14 selfie masters and soak up some inspiration!

Date Added: Aug 21, 2015

By: Workout Music Playlists

Bust out your Aquanet and eyeliner! These 22 hair metal songs are just what you need for a perfect workout.

Date Added: Aug 17, 2015

By: We Mirin

These 15 BodySpace members are absolutely killing leg day! They're all the motivation you need to do the same.

Date Added: Aug 14, 2015

By: We Mirin

You may not be able to see your back in the mirror, but these 16 BodySpace members show just how amazing it can look. Never skip back day!

Date Added: Aug 7, 2015

By: Workout Music Playlists

We're taking you back to the golden era of hip hop. Bounce to the gym, plug in your buds, and let these club-worthy beats help you strive towards your next PR. Push those weights up?push 'em real good.

Date Added: Aug 7, 2015

By: We Mirin

A great workout begins and ends with a supportive partner. Check out these fit friends who push each other every day!

Date Added: Jul 31, 2015

By: Lara McGlashan

The time has come to put random workouts aside! Get serious about fitness and reap benefits that will improve your entire life, from crushing your favorite sports to building instant confidence.

Date Added: Jul 30, 2015

By: Lara McGlashan

Make that summer body a year-round staple with these tips to stay lean for the long term.

Date Added: Jul 27, 2015

By: We Mirin

These 19 individuals have built awe-inspiring physiques that forge a true bond between iron and ink.

Date Added: Jul 24, 2015

By: Shannon Clark

Summer may be well underway, but there's still time to lean out for the beach! Make the most of your summer shred with these athlete-approved tips.

Date Added: Jul 23, 2015

By: Fitstagram

Looking for a little extra dose of "wow" to get you through the day? Kick your motivation into high gear with these feats of strength you're sure to be 'mirin.

Date Added: Jul 20, 2015

By: We Mirin

These 10 inspiring individuals will make you want to jump out of our chair and run right to the gym!

Date Added: Jul 17, 2015

By: Workout Music Playlists

From memorable vocals to guitar riffs that amp you up, classic rock is all about celebrating the familiar. Just be sure to smash your workout as you sing along.

Date Added: Jul 14, 2015

By: Workout Music Playlists

With its base in dubstep and its lyrical bravery beating down the doors of hip-hop, trap music can carry any lifter through a workout! Check out this slick mix and let us know if you dig it, or want it scrapped.

Date Added: Jul 13, 2015

By: We Mirin

These 14 dudes take the word "lumbersexual" to a whole new level.

Date Added: Jul 10, 2015

By: Fitstagram

Looking for some extra motivation to earn your Tuesday pump? These 10 transformations are a reminder of what happens when you put in the work, lift heavy, and go hard.

Date Added: Jul 7, 2015

By: We Mirin

We're proud to call the United States home. Here, we can admire gorgeous bodies and beautiful scenery at one time. What could be better? Happy 4th of July!

Date Added: Jul 2, 2015

By: Workout Music Playlists

What do you get when you cross face-melting heavy metal tracks with an insane workout? This list of 18 PR-smashing songs!

Date Added: Jun 30, 2015

By: Fitstagram

Thanks to Instagram, we have another round up of motivating physiques for you to be inspired by! We love our #fitfam.

Date Added: Jun 26, 2015

By: We Mirin

These 16 BodySpace members are the epitome of dedication and discipline. Scroll through for your perfect dose of inspiration.

Date Added: Jun 26, 2015

By: We Mirin

Being a fit father is not always easy, but these 18 guys sure make it look like it is. Happy Father's Day, Bodybuilding.com family!

Date Added: Jun 19, 2015

By: Fitstagram

We're crushing on these ladies because they know how to crush their workouts. Scroll down and get inspired to do the same!

Date Added: Jun 17, 2015

By: Workout Music Playlists

You may have a lot of enemies, but this playlist isn't one of them. Fresh tracks from Drake, Kendrick Lamar, and T-Wayne help guide this mix. Meet some new beats and crush your goals.

Date Added: Jun 15, 2015

By: We Mirin

At Bodybuilding.com, Flag Day commemorates the raising of Old Glory and the incredible strength of our BodySpace members. Check out this collection of human flags!

Date Added: Jun 12, 2015

By: Fitstagram

Does the start of the week have you feeling sluggish? Ramp up your energy and get ample motivation to crush it in the gym by looking at these 10 transformations.

Date Added: Jun 9, 2015

Read the original post:
Motivation Articles! - Bodybuilding.com

The first real spiritual self-help book I ever read was The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. You may have heard of it (thanks to Oprah), read it yourself or seen the movie.

As inspiring as I thought it was, it was far too mystical for my liking, and I couldnt buy into the whole law of attraction thing until I gained a much more practical understanding of it. But thats the thing about spiritual topics sometimes. For the science geeks, the rational thinkers, the non-religious, the skeptics and the existentially confused, like me, some of the books out there on spirituality just dont resonate with us in the typical way.

Fortunately for humans living in 2015 and beyond, the trend is shifting further toward bridging the gap between what we consider to be science and what we consider to be spiritual. All it takes is a little bit of digging around Amazon or your public library to see that nowadays, a goldmine of scientific spiritual books are available.

Here are just five you should consider checking out!

Waking Up: A Guide to Spirituality Without Religion, by Sam Harris

The title of this book really says it all, and you get the idea of who its really geared toward.

If you dont subscribe to any particular religious belief system, yet suspect there are fundamentaltruths that can be learned from thereligious prophets behind the biggest religions in the world, then this book is a must-read.

It also serves as a great beginners guide to meditation without any of the mystical stuff, instead presenting it from a very rational, scientific standpoint.

10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works A True Story, by Dan Harris

Ever notice how that little voice in your head just constantly yammers on and on, and never shuts up?

10% Happier is based on Harris personal journey towardtaming his monkey mind through meditation after years and years of being a spiritual skeptic. An anxiety attack on live TV waswhat sparked his motivation to start taking it seriously.

Harris takes what he learned fromthe biggest gurus in spirituality andputs it to the test using science. Hetakes thewoo woo out of spirituality and instead offers a fresh, practical perspectivethats both easy and enjoyable to understand.

Infinite Mind: Science of the Human Vibration of Consciousness, by Valerie V. Hunt

For people who want to really dive deep into how the human mind works, and arent afraid of reading into scientific terminology on a slightly more of an advanced level, then Infinite Mind is worth the read.

Throughout the book, Dr. Valerie Hunt takes a scientific approach to explaining mystical teachings, with experimental research results to back it all up.

Anyone who has ever wondered about the workings of the human mind, or how we experience consciousness, would find this book absolutely fascinating.

Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment, by Martin E. P. Seligman

Seligmans Authentic Happiness is a bestseller that helped introduce the new realm of positive psychology to the world. It seeks to focus on peoples strengths rather than their weaknesses for creating lifelong happiness.

While many of us tend to believe that certain people are just naturally happier than otherswhether out of luck or favorable genes and personality traitsSeligman challenges this idea. So if youve ever wondered why the things you thought would make you happy in life arent living up to your expectations, then this book could help you find clarity in what it takes to develop real lasting happiness.

The book even includes surveys and exercises you can do to apply the teachings to your own life.

The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe, by Lynne McTaggart

Investigative journalist Lynne McTaggart really challenges popular worldviews through this book and presents the idea that humans are not separate entities from their environment. Her findings are based on all the discussions shes had with some of the worlds bestscientists.

This truly is a book for the very open-minded (but then again, all five of these books on this list are). Reviewers have called The Fieldan excellent primer on the law of attraction, as well as agreatresource for real insight intothe true nature of life.

Youll be in for an exciting and very eye-opening ride with this bookthatsfor sure!

There are countless other great books out there, so this is obviously an incomplete list. Whats your favorite that youve read?

If you liked these book suggestions, come on over and check out my list of28 daily must-do rules for getting stuff done and becoming a better person.

RelatedThe Psychology of Poverty The One Health Myth That Will Not Die 10 Tips For Using Less Plastic

Read more:
5 Top Spirituality Books for Scientific-minded People ...

There are many things in life that are beyond our control. However, it is possible to take responsibility for our own states of mind and to change them for the better. According to Buddhism this is the most important thing we can do, and Buddhism teaches that it is the only real antidote to our own personal sorrows, and to the anxieties, fears, hatreds, and general confusions that beset the humancondition.

Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. Buddhist meditation practices are techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, and a calm seeing of the true nature of things. By engaging with a particular meditation practice you learn the patterns and habits of your mind, and the practice offers a means to cultivate new, more positive ways of being. With regular work and patience these nourishing, focused states of mind can deepen into profoundly peaceful and energised states of mind. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and can lead to a new understanding oflife.

Over the millennia countless meditation practices have been developed in the Buddhist tradition. All of them maybe

described as mind-trainings, but they take many different approaches. The foundation of all of them, however, is thecultivation of a calm and positive state ofmind.

Each year thousands of people learn meditation with the Triratna Buddhist Community. We teach two basic meditations that were originally taught by the historical Buddha. These help develop the qualities of calmness and emotional postivity: the Mindfulness of Breathing and Loving-Kindness (Metta Bhavana) meditations.

The techniques of meditation are very simple. However, reading about them is no substitute for learning from an experienced and reliable teacher. A teacher will be able to offer you guidance in how to apply the technique and how to deal with difficulties. Perhaps most importantly, a teacher can offer the encouragement and inspiration of their ownexample.

At Triratna Centres, meditation is taught by members of the Triratna Buddhist Order, who are experiencedmeditators. Classes and courses are open to everyone: you need not be interested in Buddhism. Motives for learning meditation vary. Some people want to improve their concentration for work, study, or even sports; others are looking for relief from stress and peace of mind. Then there are people trying to answer fundamental questions about life. With regular practice, meditation can help all of us to find what we are lookingfor.

Meditation Courses are excellent contexts for learning.Meditation Retreatsoffer ideal conditions to take thingsfurther.

When you sit down to meditate you need to set up your meditation posture in a way that is relaxed but upright, usually sitting on a cushion and probably cross-legged. If this is not easy you can sit kneeling or else in a chair. Then you close your eyes, relax, and tune in to how you are feeling. It is important to be sensitive to yourexperience

because this is what you work with in meditation. It is a good idea to take some time to sit quietly before starting a meditation, to slow down and relax. Some gentle stretching can alsohelp.

There are lots ofresources availableto help you learn meditation or to take your practice deeper. And in our Online Meditators Group youcan now sit with others too,wherever you are in theworld!

Read an excellentmeditation posture guideby Bodhipaksa, fromWildmind.

You can find answers to somecommon questions about Buddhist meditationwithClear Visionvideo.

For a comprehensive set of free audio and text resources on learning meditation, seefree buddhist audios meditation pages.

Read more here:
What is Meditation? | The Buddhist Centre