Everyone needs to feel loved. It’s vital to know how you enjoy being loved, but also how to properly love others. A doctor by the name of Gary Chapman became famous when he came out with a book called The Five Love Languages.
There is a basic breakdown of five different love languages to make it easier for us to identify how to express ourselves to our loved ones. Once you’ve figured out what your partner’s love language is you’ll be able to show them how you feel in a way that is fulfilling to them.
For example, let’s say that your partner likes to hear the words “I love you” often. Even though they know that you love them, just hearing the phrase can brighten their day. But perhaps you thought that you should express your love by buying little gifts. Your loved one likely appreciates the gesture whenever you show your love, but at the same time it’s not their personal preference of how they like to receive love.
The Love Languages Explained
- 1. Verbal Lovers. Like the example above, some people just like to hear gestures of love such as “I love you” and “I appreciate everything that you do.” For this type of person, you’ll want to provide constant encouragement, never letting things go unsaid.
- · Try verbalizing your appreciations in some way each day.
- · Don’t assume your partner knows what you’re thinking and feeling - speak up!
- 2. Time Well Spent. One of the love languages has to do with spending quality time with your partner. This doesn’t mean just casual conversation; it means the times where your partner is your main focus. If your partner enjoys quality time, here are some things to consider:
- · Choose a certain time each day or week where you’re completely dedicated to your partner. This means that you need to shut off the TV, put down the paper, and take some away from the kids.
- · Think of activities you can do together to really connect.
- · Make sure you have a good relationship with yourself; it’s the only way you can truly connect with your partner.
- 3. The Gift Giver. Another love language is one where your partner may enjoy giving and receiving gifts. This isn’t because they’re greedy; it means they’re visual people who enjoy seeing proof of your deepening relationship. If you’re with this type of partner, try these tips:
- · Even if you’re a big saver, make the effort to spend at least a little money or make some homemade or handmade gifts.
- · Leave loving cards and notes for them.
- · Don’t give gifts everyday, but give gifts that are meaningful.
- 4. The Chores. We can’t forget the chores when it comes to a language of communication between partners. Since there are many things that need to get done around the house, it often causes problems when you try to figure out who’s doing what. Keep these tips in mind:
- · Everyone has different chores that they deem important.
- · Figure out which ones your partner doesn’t enjoy and do them.
- · Chores involve thinking ahead, which your partner will certainly appreciate.
- 5. Physical Affection. The physical affection love language can get complicated. Expressing your love physically doesn’t only mean lovemaking. It involves simple touches too. Each partner will usually have some kind of opinion when it comes to this language:
- · Figure out which kinds of touches your partner enjoys, it may be a gentle rub of their shoulders or some cuddling while watching television.
- · This is equally important, figure out which touches irritate your partner.
- · Get to know your partner’s moods so you know when to express physical affection.
The Combination
Your partner will likely speak a certain combination of these love languages. As your relationship deepens, you’ll get to know your partner better and better. It may even help to outright discuss the topic of love languages with your partner to better understand each other.
You’ll never know what you’re truly good at until you give different things a try. When you take action to find your strengths, you just might surprise yourself. Perhaps there’s something you’ve always wanted to try, but you think that you wouldn’t be any good at it. You simply won’t know until you try!
When you discover your talents, it can be an eye opening and fulfilling experience for you. The things you’re good at are often things you enjoy doing the most. Your talents could even stem into a full-blown career where you wouldn’t only be helping yourself, you’d be helping others too.
Finding your talents may be tricky, that’s why we came up with 6 simple tips:
- 1. Follow Your Current Interests. A great place to start is to reflect on your current interests. This will guarantee that you’ll enjoy what you’re doing when you discover your hidden talents. An example would be if you love music, consider pursuing an active role in the creation of music instead of just remaining a fan. You could take up an instrument or learn more about the technical aspects such as sound mixing.
- 2. Step Outside of the Comfort Zone. Of course, stepping outside of your comfort zone may be difficult at first. No one likes to feel vulnerable, but you’ll also hear people saying that they’re glad that they stepped outside of their comfort zone. The fact is you won’t be able to discover new talents if you’re not open to new things and experiences.
- 3. Travel. Traveling around the world or your home country can open you up to new experiences. It’s a great way to step outside of your comfort zone and take in other cultures. When you travel, you’ll get new ideas and make new discoveries, but if you stay at home, your thinking may be limited by routine. Some things you might discover are artistic or athletic talents, or you may even be inspired to pursue new career goals.
- 4. Reading. Travelling may not always be an option. It can be pricey and time consuming, but reading is a great way to open up the creative juices while staying home. You can read books on any subject that piques your interest. Also, don’t forget about the power of the internet and all of the reading materials that are available only a search away.
- 5. Take Community Classes. Community classes are an excellent way to discover talents for quite a few reasons. One is the fact that they’re so close and accessible to you. Also, they’re usually offered at affordable prices. Once you’ve chosen a class to attend, you’ll get a good idea about the subject over the span of the course. At the end, you can decide whether or not it’s right for you. If not, you can move on and try a different course until you find one that meshes well with your needs and desires.
- 6. Talk With Friends. Keep open dialogues going with your friends and colleagues. Talk about how they discovered their passion and what they did to sharpen their skills. Perhaps you’ll find that you have similar interests among your friends, and if so, you can then pursue theses interests together.
Don’t Give Up
In the end, the only thing you need to discover your talents is the will to keep trying. Once you’ve found your true talents, you’ll enjoy fulfillment, success, fun, and happiness. Who wouldn’t want a life filled with that?
Tags: career goals, hidden talents, new experiences, new talents
Achieving your goals is hardly ever an easy journey. If it were easy, we’d all already be there. One of the keys to success is, without a doubt, perseverance. With improved perseverance you’ll have that extra push from within to try, try again.
Humans have the tendency to want to control everything. Since there are always situations that can’t be controlled, suffering occurs. Unfortunately, this suffering can’t be escaped. Your goal should never be to avoid mistakes at all costs and seek control. Your goal should be to strengthen your perseverance by effectively dealing with the situation when things go awry.
Keep these tips in mind as you strengthen your perseverance:
- 1. Never Give Up. When you have an ultimate goal, you owe it to yourself to completely follow through. There are going to be plenty of bumps in the road. Don’t let any of these bumps bring you down. Always be seeking new ways of approaching problems.
- 2. Seek Out the Positive. When things have become overwhelmingly negative for you, seek out positive things in your life. You might want to surround yourself with loved ones or watch positive movies. You definitely want to seek out situations that’ll promote your optimism and enthusiasm.
- 3. Take Action and Responsibility. Do whatever you can to inspire yourself to take bold actions toward your goal. Fight the urge to procrastinate or settle for less. Thinking about your goals is simply not enough; you need to start somewhere in order to get yourself there. You can’t wait for some sign or higher power to get you to where you want to go, you must be willing to take action!
- 4. Get Help When Needed. Be wise enough to know when a situation warrants help from others. You don’t need to take every single thing into your own hands. Instead, choose to follow advice from the people you trust or the experts in your chosen field. Flat out ask them how they’ve maintained the drive to keep going.
- 5. Know Your True Self. Knowing yourself and having organized thoughts can improve your perseverance. When you know where you’re going and the steps you need to take to get there, that’s half the battle. That’s why you need to take the proper amount of time for self-reflection. Know the true ins and outs of what you want and exactly why you want it.
- 6. Stop Bad Habits. Do everything in your power to put a stop to bad habits. If there are certain behaviors you’ve identified that are keeping you from achieving your goals, you need to get rid of them. This could be simply negative thinking or you might be fighting procrastination. When you concentrate on each bad habit individually, you’ll be better able to deal with the problems that might exist.
7. Concentrate on Stress Management. Stress management and your level of perseverance are definitely related. When stress overwhelms you, it clouds your current thinking and brings on negativity. Your perseverance can’t flourish in a negative environment. You must first conquer any problems you have with stress so you’ll be better able to reach your goals.
Tags: Achieving Your Goals, bold actions, Journey, keys to success, perseverance
We all have things we want to accomplish in life and, for the most part, we do our best to achieve those goals. Sometimes, however, we manage to set goals that aren’t effective or achievable and this can cause us a great deal of strife.
How do you know if your goals are effective and achievable?
The first thing to do is jot down the resources you’ll need to attain your goal, both physical resources and mental ones. If there’s something you need to complete before you can make your goal a reality, prioritize the steps you must take to complete that task first.
Once your resources are in place, you’ve opened up the highway for achievement.
Here are some strategies you can use to create effective goals you can achieve:
- 1. Make sure your goal is specific. Set a measurable goal so you can reach it and succeed. Determine exact numbers and dates of whatever it is you want to accomplish.
- · Saying your goal is to be a faster runner or a better cook doesn’t work since there is no specific end target. You won’t be able to judge if you’ve ever reached that goal because, no matter what, there’s always room to be better at something.
- · On the other hand, saying your goal is to “increase your running speed by shaving 10 seconds off the time it takes you to run your course” is specific and you can tell when you’ve reached it.
- 2. Your goal must also be attainable and realistic. You wouldn’t set your goal to lose 30 pounds in the next 5 days, because it’s just not realistic. Setting a goal to lose 30 pounds over the next 10-12 weeks is a real and attainable goal.
- · Unattainable goals are counterproductive. Not only can you never complete an unattainable goal, but it can also prevent you from even trying. By setting a goal you cannot possibly meet, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
- 3. Give yourself a time limit for your goal. Setting a deadline makes the goal a priority, keeps it in your mind, and makes it easier to achieve. If you know you only have a specific time in which to achieve something, you tend to focus more time and energy on that task.
- · If you have a big goal, then divide it into smaller goals, or steps. Smaller goals keep you focused on attaining the bigger goal as long as they’re related to each other.
- · For example, if your goal is to be promoted in six months, then establishing six one-month goals designed to improve your work performance will contribute to the overall goal.
- 4. Write down your goals. Most people have more than one goal at a time. You can set goals in many different areas: family, work, health, education, hobbies, or any part of your life in which you’d like to make changes.
- The question is how to handle all these goals at the same time. Writing down each goal can help you organize them and better motivate you to work toward achieving them.
- · Once you have them written down, you may see ways they connect to each other and can devise ways to work on them at the same time.
- · For example, let’s say one goal you have is to get a job making more money and another is to continue your education. Once you complete your education you should be able to land a better job. See how one goal feeds another?
- · Perhaps one goal is to spend more time with your family and another one is to workout. Well, if you exercised as a family once or twice a week, you’d accomplish both goals at the same time.
Using these goal-setting tips will make your goals more effective and achievable. Once you’ve created your objectives, make a plan of action steps and stick with it. In time, you’ll achieve these goals and you will have a system in place for any endeavor!
Tags: Attainable Goal, Failure, Measurable Goal, Physical Resources, Priority, Target, Time Limit, Unattainable Goal, Unattainable Goals
What is self-worth, anyway? To find out, answer this question: How much would you say you’re worth? The answer is your self-worth, or the value you place on yourself. Just like anything of value, the self can fluctuate up and down in worth for any number of reasons!
Even though you have your ups and downs, there are ways you can increase your self-worth each and every day.
We all have value, whether we believe it or not. This value comes from our very existence, as well as our own set of skills, talents, ideas and strengths.
If we think of worth in terms of financial worth, we can get a good idea of how we can increase our own self-worth.
With money, the way to increase worth is to make more money. We make more money by taking specific actions in our workplace or within our businesses.
Sounds obvious, right? Well it is! Self-worth works the same way. We increase our self-worth by focusing on the things that make up our worth.
Here are some things you can begin doing right now to increase your self-worth:
1. Enjoy a new hobby. Your skill set is a big determination of your self-worth. The more you can do - and do well - the better you feel about yourself. That’s why you’ll want to consider adding to your list of hobbies or recreational activities.
· The more you enjoy what you do in your life, the more you’ll also enjoy who you are as a person.
2. Take a class. As with hobbies, learning something new is a great way to add to your self-worth. It’s like a deposit into your knowledge bank.
There are plenty of options for this choice:
· Take a class at a local community college.
· Register for an online seminar.
· Look in the local newspaper for free classes in your area.
· Call your local school district. They offer inexpensive continuing education classes in almost every subject imaginable, including hobbies!
3. Read more. Reading is a wonderful way to stimulate the mind. When you spark your imagination, new ideas emerge from the depths. Nothing builds self-worth like learning more about the world you live in!
4. Learn a language. There are a huge number of tools available that can assist you in mastering a new language. Learning new languages builds self-worth because it allows you to communicate on a completely different level with others.
5. Do something out of the ordinary. Take a chance, conquer a challenge, and step out of your comfort zone. These kinds of activities stretch you as an individual. Doing something you never imagined gives you a glimpse of your true potential.
Anything that boosts your self-confidence will also increase your self-worth, since they’re directly related. On the other hand, our self-worth becomes stagnant if we become arrogant and believe that we’ve accomplished all we can in life.
Start each day by making the commitment to your success. After all, you are worthy of great things! Even if you have a hard time believing this, take action anyway because where action is, emotions will follow.
Try something new, pick one of the topics from above, give it a shot and see for yourself how much of a difference it makes. Just remember the great words of Henry Ford: “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”
Tags: hobbies, Self Worth, skill set, talents