http://www.improvingmylife.com A collection of tips for a better life. Improve your life. en-us Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:40:50 CST Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:40:50 CST http://www.improvingmylife.com/ A collection of tips for a better life. Improve your life. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:40:50 CST http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/149743/The-Art-of-Public-Speaking---Effective-Public-Speaking-Tips---Overcome-Fear-&-Phobia... By James J ClarksonHelp! I have to speak in public! What should I do? With public speaking as the world's number one fear, it is not surprising that you should feel this way. The thing is, though, that with a bit of information, you can overcome this. You, too, can deliver high quality speeches, while entertaining the crowd. A good speech has... 2011-11-28 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/144989/Don't-Forget-to-Take-a-Break... You know how you juggle your life between priorities and to-do lists, until finally you get that one day off to do everything? Well, if you think not having time to do stuff was stressful, try doing it all on your day off... You must remember... The day off is there for two important reasons: 1. To get to do some of othe things you could... 2011-09-05 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/135020/Running-5-Miles... When I was in high school, the only thing standing between me and a good overall average grade was being able to run. So I went to the park and just started running. And it actually felt good.I went to the park every day until the final run. But then school ended and I stopped.And now I need to run again. Just because.Because it feels good, and ... 2011-03-30 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/130663/Improving-My-Life-By-Sticking-to-a-Budget... One of the goals I set for myself was to finally create a budget and stick to it. It took me a while to find a program that was easy enough. There's a lot out there, and most programs have too much... I don't know... bling?So I finally foundthis small Excel template(free, of course), and I started filling out the fields as a first sta... 2011-02-01 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/124285/That's-On-Them----What-people-think-about-me-is-none-of-my-business... What does this simple phrase mean? A woman was faced with a decision she had to make. No matter what her decision would be, she would definitely upset some people. So, not having the choice to offend no one, she was actually free to make a decision based on merits alone. As for other people's reactions, well, that was on them. It was up to... 2010-12-11 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/120185/Improving-My-Life-by-Changing-My-Toothbrush... We all know we're supposed to do that, let's say, 3-4 times a year, because an old toothbrush harbors bacteria and all that good stuff. But from another point, this is also an issue of renewal. Our ancestors had their own ways to make sure their lives were cyclical and always renewed, but we seem to have forgotten everything, using ancient ceremon... 2010-11-18 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/117223/A-Smile... A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.Every night, SOMEONE thinks about you before they go to sleep.When you think the world has turned its back on you, take a look... You most likely turned your back on the world. Saw this short list called Facts of Life, and had to do a little cut and paste. Click here to ... 2010-10-22 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/115248/What-does-it-mean-to-get-old?... What does it mean to get old? Well, what it doesn't mean is an end to your dreams. Here's a video of a 73-year-old man who has just joined the college's basketball team. ... 2010-09-26 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/113573/Find-the-Spark... One day, I looked at a friend of mine and realized what was wrong. She was bitter. She was constantly fighting with her husband. She was watching TV for hours, not even knowing what she was watching anymore.Now, I'm not saying depression isn't real. I'm just saying we can usually do something about it. When I looked at my friend, I didn't see ... 2010-09-05 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/110563/Is-Everything-For-the-Best?... I'm trying to figure out the idea that everything is for the best.Because, well, obviously not everything is for the best. You lose your job, for example. Then you don't have the money for the mortgage. You lose your house. You lose your dreams for a comfortable future. And then you meet someone who smiles and tells you it's all for the best.... 2010-08-03 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/102473/If-you-don't-have-anything-good-to-say,-don't-say-anything-at-all... That old If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything at all. If I can manage that... If I can manage to look at another person and tolerate, even love that imperfect human... unconditionally... A fault is just another human trait, after all. A person's fault (physical fault, bad taste in music, anything reall... 2010-07-14 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/90474/Financial-Stability-and-HBO... The idea of financial stability often reminds me of watching the news, when a victim of a crime or of some kind of natural tragedy says he's always thought things like that only happen to other people. At least part of the problem is with living beyond our means. The recession contributes to the problem, and necessities for the kids an... 2010-06-25 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/77811/Depression-Could-Mean-a-Potential-For-Life-Improving-Decisions... A few years ago, I found myself depressed for the first time. All of a sudden, it wasn't a myth--depression was real. The inability to get up in the morning was directed by my brain, but it was as real as any physical pain and hardship. I just couldn't do it. I couldn't take it. Then, I made a list of things I needed to do to ... 2010-06-03 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/70667/How-to-Repair-a-Zipper... So I have a crazy dog. Not my fault. Not his fault. It's just that he's never met a couch cushion he didn't want to destroy. This means two cushions with broken zippers are waiting for me to be able to afford to get them fixed. But isn't that what's it all about? The idea that I'm not a finished product? And after all, if the ... 2010-05-11 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/63424/Internet-Rumors:-Lights-Off-For-Gang-Initiation... One day, this guy at work put up a paper he had just proudly printed off the internet. It said we were all supposed to be very careful. Whatever we did, if we saw a car driving at night we had to avoid flashing our headlights at them to signal their lights were off, because that was apparently the way the would-be gang members chose ... 2010-04-24 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/60965/Improving-My-Life-by-Clearing-My-Desk... It's been too long. CDs can stay. Cup with scissors, two pens, and a sharpie can stay. Wallet, keys, phone charger. Even the stapler I never use can stay. Just in case. Now. Bag with Halloween chocolates that has only the Reese's left can go in the trash. They're still in the bag for a reason. And my old pho... 2010-04-16 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/59649/Improve-My-Life-by-Not-Hurting-Others... I'll tell you the truth, I don't know what is your purpose in the world. Maybe you'll be rich, maybe you'll end up making someone else rich. Maybe you'll find peace, maybe you'll bring peace. Maybe you'll be happy every single moment, maybe you'll just be content. But your purpose in the world today, and this I do know, is not to ma... 2010-04-06 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/57340/Improving-My-Life-by-Eating-a-Healthy-Breakfast... Living the easy life has been taking its toll on my health. Why, for example, should I bother making breakfast when I hardly have the energy to get out of bed? It took me a while to figure out this cycle. I was too tired to exercise because I didn't exercise. And I was too tired to put an egg in the pan because I didn't eat breakfast. ... 2010-03-22 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/56099/Read-a-Magazine.-Have-a-Cup-of-Coffee.... This is just my own personal journey, but I do hope things that have helped me could help others. Now, I don't think subscribing to Harper's magazine could help you get a great new job or help you find The One or understand humanity. But it could be a first small step in your quest to find that relaxing time of the day. For me, right now,... 2010-03-14 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/55321/Make-Someone-Happy... Now. Or when you finish reading this. If it's early and you just woke up, know this is your task for the day. If it's late and you don't have any more opportunities for interaction today, go make someone online happy. Make a new online friend. Look at all these new blogs coming out all the time. Most of them will not make it past the ... 2010-03-07 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/54775/Improving-My-Life-by-Rediscovering-Song-Lyrics... Remember your teenage years, sitting in class, writing the lyrics to your favorite song in your notebook? Why did we forget our love of song lyrics? For me, some of it might be just getting older and thinking young musicians can't know what I'm going through. As a teenager, musicians understood me and prepared me for a future of broken... 2010-03-01 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/53137/Improve-Your-Life-by-Knowing-Your-Limitations... A walk in Manhattan on Trash Day will reveal a sad image. On nearly every corner, a sad treadmill awaits pickup, bringing to mind the image of yet another broken promise for self-improvement. But what can someone do, when the prospect of running in one place just doesn't seem like fun anymore? Hundreds of deserted treadmills, just like ... 2010-02-17 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/52319/Improving-My-Life-by-Avoiding-Distractions... It's everywhere, and you know you want it. Just once, just once before you do that one project. Just to get you in the mood. So what if you dream about it? So what if you close your eyes in the shower and relive it? But you have to be strong. No more Sudoku. No more Solitaire. No more Freecell. No more Minesweeper. And def... 2010-02-09 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/51258/Improving-My-Life-by-Meditating... Yes, the meditations on this site open in Real Player. And yes, the meditations that have New written beside them have had that button there for years And yes, the design seems archaic compared to all the Web2.0 and the sophisticated stuff out there. But I doubt you'll find a better place to relax for a few minutes, w... 2010-01-31 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/49479/Improve-Your-Life-by-Not-Biting-Your-Nails... So, how do you stop biting your nails?There are a few ideas about how to do this.You can put special polish on your nails. Hundreds of websites offer polish, each more disgusting than the other, guaranteed to turn you away from your nails. Problem is, you get used to the taste after a while. It's not like nails taste so good in the first place...... 2010-01-16 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/48920/Improve-Your-Life-by-Not-Hating-Anyone... It could be your boss, who continuously overlooks your accomplishments. It could be your best friend, who has finally reveled his true face. It could be your husband, who has been seeing someone else. Your hatred neither helps yourself nor hurts that other person. In other words, just as you have chosen hatred, you can choose lov... 2010-01-09 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/48427/Improving-My-Life-by-Spending-Time-With-a-Child... We're smarter than children, no doubt about that. We've been to places. We've experimented. We've pushed our boundaries and those of the world around us. So what does sitting with children do to us? How can an hour with a human being under the age of four help us in any way? Again, you might need to trust me on this one, but that's too ... 2010-01-03 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/47653/A-Moment-of-Peace... Don't try to meditate. Not now, anyway. No TV, no iPod, no telephone. Just sit there and relax for a while. I'm not promising enlightenment, and I'm not promising achieving a higher state of being. But you will be surprised by how refreshed you feel later and you'll be proud of your... 2009-12-28 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/46908/Improve-your-life-by-caring-about-what-YOU-think,-not-what-your-guests-think... I know this guy who has a very neat house. As you enter, you notice everything is neatly organized. Even the DVDs are alphabetized. You continue to the kitchen, and notice everything there is also neat, with pots hanging on the wall according to their size. The tables are empty. No clutter. Just don't go to the bathroom on the se... 2009-12-21 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/46081/A-Walk-to-Nowhere-Could-Be-the-Solution... You know how sometimes nothing makes sense? You know how the walls close in on you? You know how sometimes you wish you could just leave it all behind you? Just open the door and leave? And then just walk, finally free... Well, it sounds good in theory, but in reality we all have some great things that keep us connected to our cu... 2009-12-14 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/45489/Thoughts-about-Earth-Hour... Remember Earth Hour? Remember thinking how it would feel to cut off electricity for an hour? Remember how you felt when it was 8pm?I was scared at 8.I was shaking at 8:05.I was cursing at 8:10.I put some candles on the table and started reading a book. I rested my legs on one of my dogs (It's a win-win. As long as I move my foot every onc... 2009-12-07 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/44799/List-of-101-Goals... For now, a very partial list of modest goals, some shamelessly stolen from others. It will be updated.1. Bungee jump. Okay. I finally told my wife about it, which shocked her a bit, but that's okay. It's a step forward.2. Run 5 miles (in public). 4/9/09: 4.4 miles (looks like it's actually going to happen...) 7/21/09: ran 5 miles at home,... 2009-11-30 http://www.improvingmylife.com/articles/44062/Improving-My-Life-By-Being-Myself... First thing, be yourself. Happiness cannot be found if you play a role. Be yourself, and the rest will follow. Whether you believe your nature was given to you by God or by nature, you have to know it was given to you for a reason, and that you have within you the capacity and the tools to overcome anything that stands in your wa... 2009-11-23 http://www.improvingmylife.com/headlines/news/self improvement self improvement News Headline :A collection of tips for a better life. Improve your life. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:40:50 CST http://www.improvingmylife.com/resources/partners Other Resources :A collection of tips for a better life. Improve your life. 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