Your Mindset Determines Your Life
by Sopan Greene, M.A.
http://www.InspiredEnoughToChange.com

To keep at the top of your game you have to keep a clear head. You can’t afford to fill up on news and negativity. The world’s overflowin’ with it and the only way to be a winner is to be in control of your thoughts.

Your thoughts become words, your words become actions and your actions become your destiny. Someone else came up with that, but I’ve always remembered it because it’s true. Our actions show who we truly are and how shallow or deep our character is.

Where you are today is a direct reflection of the words, thoughts and actions you took days, months and years ago. No matter how much some people blame their parents,teachers, where they grew up, television, the government or anything else, the truth is that nobody got them where they are today but themselves. The longer we choose to not take responsibility for our lives, the longer we’ll living uninspired lives that we don’t love.

I’ve heard 40 year old adults who complain about their lives and take no responsiblility for what they’ve created. Give me a break. If you think you’re on the recieving end of life you’re mistaken and too lazy to do anything about it.

Simply think about the pictures you’ve seen on TV of people in third world countries. When I start to get mad about having to stand behind two people in a line at the grocery store I remind myself that a lot of people don’t even know where their food will come from tonight. This shifts me from anger to gratitude.

The next time you notice yourself getting frustrated or angry about something in your life I invite you to shift your focus onto what’s great in your life. It doesn’t matter if you think you don’t have enough money or you’re mad at your dog for chewing up a shoe. Remember how much love you get from having your dog in the first place and how your weekly earnings are more than some people make in a month or year.

Keep your focus on what is working - for you and for others. We are bombarded with negative input all day long. We need to watch what goes in because our livlihoods depend on what we creatively crank out. Our heads need to be full of positive inspiration or free space where we can dream.

A recent study revealed that the people who watch the most television news are the most fearful in our society. Crime has been going down in America for over a decade, but since the news focuses on it and repeats it over and over, a lot of people are receiving multiple messages that the world isn’t safe. These people end up being less confident and less successful as a result of being emotinally paralyzed to a degree by their fears.

Remember the old phrase “garbage in, garbage out”? If you Were asked to be on television based on the person you are today would be on Jerry Springer or Oprah?

Yeah, I know. You’re probably laughing or snickering right now. I can practically see that questioning look of disbelief on your face.

You may even think that you wouldn’t be on either one. Just imagine that there’s a guy at your door and he’s going to put you in a limo right now and you have to pick one show or the other to be a guest on or you’ll be locked in your house for a month. (It’s silly, but you get the point, I want you to get into it).

There’s a definite difference between Oprah guests and Jerry’s guests. Oprah’s guests radiate confidence and have taken responsibility for their lives and have created lemonade out of lemons. Jerry’s guests radiate low self esteem and think they’re victims of life. Even worse, they think they have a right to inflict their negative self-defeating attitude on others.

Oprah people know that they’re on the creative end of life. Jerry people choose to think they’re on the receiving end of life. And the truth is that if that’s what they beleive then thats what they get. It’s an easy cop out to settle in life and a lot of folks do it.

It’s important to keep a positive mental attitude nomatter what your life is like because nothing is more important than your thoughts. They determine how you’ll experience the next minute, hour, day, week, year, decade and century. Rid your life of people and circumstances that don’t inspire and enliven you. Life’s simply too short to put up distracting drama and complainers who never change anything.

We all throw around phrases about how life is too short, but we don’t live that way. Take at least one action today to reaffirm that you’re creating a life you love.

Fire a friend who drains your energy. Read from an autobiography of a person who inspires you. Turn off the TV and write your goals and values. Take a walk in nature or with a friend who supports the best in you. Write a note to someone who has impacted your life in a positive way to let them know you’re grateful for having them in your life. Rub your dog’s belly and watch a doggy smile of ecstasy come out to greet you.

You’re building a powerful future. Study successful people and you’ll notice they all surround themselves with other inspired and successful people. Your life is your show, choose to be an Oprah person and aviod the Jerry people who show up in your life. Or better yet, treat the Jerry people you meet like they are the Oprah person buried inside them so we can all shine together.

Let your positive mental attitude infect everyone you meet and we’ll all enjoy better lives.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

How to become a Dental Assistant

 by: Max Stein

Becoming a dental assistant offers one of the fastest educational paths to entering the rapidly expanding healthcare field.

Dental Assistant Job Description

Dental assistants provide support functions for dentists including assisting with dental procedures, lab work and office functions.

When helping with patient’s dental procedures, a dental assistant may be involved with:

• Preparing dental instruments
• Gathering patient’s dental records
• Handing instruments to dentist during patient procedures Keeping the patient’s mouth dry during procedures Instructing patients on proper oral healthcare
• Taking and preparing x-rays
• Applying anesthetics

Lab duties of dental assistants include making casts of teeth, creating temporary crowns and cleaning dental prosthetics.

Office support includes scheduling appointments, receiving patients in the office, billing, ordering supplies and keeping patient records.

Most dental assistants work in dentist’s offices. A small portion may work in hospitals or doctor’s offices. Similar to dental hygienists, up to one third of dental assistants work part-time.

Salary Ranges / Job Outlook for Dental Assistants

Like many healthcare fields, the demand for dental assistants is expected to grow faster than average over the next decade.

The median hourly pay rate for dental assistants is $13.10 and the high and low range of the scale is $8.45 at the low end and $19.41 at the high end.

Advancement in this career is limited due to the low education requirements. Some dental assistants advance to office management or product sales representatives. Others go to school for an additional year to become a dental hygienist. Dental assisting is very much an entry level position, but experience in the field and additional education can be very lucrative.

Education / Getting Started

Several educational paths exist to become a dental assistant. Most dental assistants learn on the job, however more and more dentists hire assistants with formal training. The American Dental Association accredits one and two year dental assistant programs leading to certificates or associate’s degrees. Some schools offer four to six month dental assisting programs, but these are not accredited. A clinical rotation is part of the training.

Most States require dental assistants to be registered or licensed. Dental assistants who perform x-rays may be regulated by their State as well. The Dental Assisting National Board offers certification that meets the registration requirements in over 30 states. CPR training and continuing education may be a requirement of a dental assistant.

Dental Assistant Summary

Training to be a dental assistant is a great way to get into the healthcare field. It offers a great employment outlook, but additional education is needed to get into more lucrative jobs.

www.top-colleges.com

About The Author

Max Stein is a freelance writer who writes about business, education and marketing. Contact him at maxstein_9@hotmail.com

What do you think? http://degreesource.blogspot.com

Source: High Quality Article Database - 365Articles.com

Study the best seller lists of the past few years and you’ll notice titles that range from Peter Lynch’s “Beating the Street” to Thomas Moore’s “Care of the Soul: How to Find Depth and Sacredness in Everyday Life.” This juxtaposition captures the dilemma facing all of us in the business world. How does one swim with the sharks, squeeze the margins of an angst-filled financial world, and still lead a life of wholeness in spirit, mind and body?

Nor is this a new question. Marsilio Ficino’s 15th Century treatise, “The Book of Life,” sought to help the Medicis and their merchant counterparts create a renaissance of spirit amid the draining demands of commerce and a new creature called capitalism.

Whether a Renaissance banker or the CEO of a high tech conglomerate, whether a guild master of stonework or a manager of information services, the issue is still one of balance.

But balance is not an equal measure of work, love, prayer and play. Nor is it a state that can be achieved and frozen in form for all time. Rather, this amorphous thing called “balance” is an on-going, deliberate set of decisions that make the journey of life much like the metaphor of sailing.

Consider the single person sailboat. When there is much wind, the little boat appears off balance, moving forward at an angle, sails filled to bursting and the sailor leaning back over the craft, with one hand on the sheet and toes hooked under the railing. What allows the sailor to stay in the boat is that he is connected to all the important parts of that craft. When the wind shifts, so too must the sailor.

Life is also like that. We give ourselves tremendous mental stress when we think that life must balance. Having a different image allows us to see where we might be out of control.

Briefly, there will always be competing and unequal demands upon our time … much like the tug of the tiller or the push of the wind. Depending upon the course we have chosen for ourselves, we respond to these demands. We might decide to change direction, seek harbor, or give full rein to the beating waves and blustery wind. The quality of these decisions depends upon the direction of our sailboat, the prevailing winds, the depth of the water, and the need for overhaul and repair.

Direction refers to the goals, created by our values, which we have established. The wind and the depth of the water represent those people and events, outside our control, which make demands upon our time. Lastly, overhaul and repair stands for the need to cease and desist, to nurture and renew our physical and spiritual self, and to re-examine the course we are sailing.

If we consider sailing as a metaphor for the “balance” we all seek along life’s journey, then what is needed are navigational aids. What could help all of us on such a journey is a process, a formula, whereby we might take stock of our decisions, weighing them against our personal values, goals, and physical requirements. Since we are all bound by the same relentless 24-hour day, we would be best served by looking at not how much we can cram into the blocks called “time”, but how wisely do we choose what we put into our finite day.

Step 1: Answer these questions to help you determine what is of value to you. Value has more to do with who you are and how you live your life, not what you have achieved. For example, you might value life-long learning, financial security, service to others, loving relationships, and spiritual growth. Once you have identified what is of value, you have a screen with which to filter through goals and activities.

One of the best ways to identify values is to create an imaginary sounding board composed of 4-5 people whom you value and admire and who, in turn, sincerely respect and like you. If each one were to give eulogy, what type of person would they say you were and why. What values arose? What goals or activities supported those values? Isolate those values and write them down. You might even be able to rank order the values.

Step 2: For the period of one week, keep a pad of paper handy and make a note of every task you perform and what role you play. For example, my roles are professional speaker, writer, wife, mother, friend, office worker, manager, daughter, sister, student, volunteer, and just plain ME. The latter refers to a role that nurtures and cares for me, not necessarily anyone else. Amazingly, I’ve discovered that every task is related to a role and that almost all tasks come in 15 minute increments.

Step 3: On a scale from minus 5 to plus 5, rate these roles and accompanying tasks according to enjoyment and personal value. In looking at the tasks of a week, interesting discoveries arise.

Are the various tasks and roles you’ve played congruent with the values you’ve identified? Are you putting more time than is reasonable into some tasks and roles? The operative word here is “reasonable.” For example, a special friend lost her husband and had no one to help her with grief and anger, not to mention funeral arrangements and lawyers. My value of service and loving relationships and the role as “friend” and also surrogate “daughter” created many tasks and demands. For me, it would have been unreasonable not to spend considerable time with Jeanne. The sailboat headed in her direction.

Another example. I discovered that I was putting far too much time in the role of “office worker” rather than in the role of “manager”. Instead of assigning tasks and growing others, I was taking work on that did NOT need to be done by me. Time to alter course and allow my associates to hold the tiller.

Finally, by putting so much emphasis on the role of professional speaker and its tasks, I had let drop ME. Time to make decisions for overhaul and repair, saying “yes” to a day off, to a day of contemplative silence. I realized that without the silence, all I bring to the platform and my audiences are echoes of words rather than insights.

Step 4: Now that you have identified what is, make a list of questions to ask yourself when you begin to take on a role and task. My list looks like this:

• Does it support my value for life-long learning and make a difference? Will it stop another person from growing?

• Will it stretch my abilities?

I recently accepted an assignment that will cost time, money and effort as well as time away from home. I accepted it because it will move me into trying something that I have never done before … an activity directly related to my role of profe ssional speaking and service.

• Does it allow me to be with people whom I care about?

How often have we all said “yes” to an engagement because we feel “guilty”? The reality is that we find the people tedious, demanding, and downright boring. I have finally determined that if I have limited time with my family and friends, it is perfectly fine to periodically decline such invitations.

• Is it irresistible?

That’s right– “Irresistible”. Does what you are about to say “yes” to come without a significant doubt. Does the request come without compromise or force from either the offeror or me. There is no emotional blackmail, no “should”, no social obligation. Irresistible requests are gifts to be gratefully accepted. If our time is filled only with “resistible” demands, how we will ever be able to accept the irresistible?

• Is it fun and will it allow for creativity and a change of pace?

• Will it create organization and structure in my life? Am I the only one who can do this?

• Will it nurture my physical well-being and respect my natural pace?

I have discovered that unlike many of my colleagues, non-stop travel is exhausting and not fun. My body requires seven hours of sleep, regular exercise and down time. I can take only so many back-on-back engagements before I must say “no”. Trusting that I can say “no” is a lesson I struggle to learn.

• Is it authentic to me and of service to others?

I was asked if I would run for the Board of a non-profit. Knowing I have strong organizational and leadership abilities not to mention an ego- saying “yes” to serve the membership SEEMED appropriate. However, when I tested the request against the other questions listed above, more negative responses appeared.

The art of balancing an unequal life means that we seek answers to all these questions before choosing the next activity to put in our life. Yes there will be days, even months, when the pressure of every day pushes us into knee-jerk reactions and work seems to be working us. External forces and folks seem to be pushing us for more, for faster, for further. Once realized, stop. Lower the sails. Breathe. Ask yourself these questions. Remember, there is a big difference between the leading edge and the bleeding edge. Alienation from our authentic, deepest self and each other draws blood. Connection to our core and the humanity around us draws life.

Sail on!

© 2000 by Eileen McDargh. All rights reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

You have permission to publish this article electronically
free of charge, providing the entire byline at the end of
the article is included and the content is left unchanged.
If you use it, please notify me with a copy of your
publication or a url to where it can be found. For print
publications, please contact me to discuss and to obtain US
mailing address to send a courtesy copy.
cynthiap@frognet.net

“Living in Spite of Your Symptoms”
by Cynthia Perkins © 2002

When living with chronic illness or chronic pain it is very
easy to become completely focused on avoiding symptoms,
consumed with symptoms or consumed with the daily challenges
of survival and thus forget to focus on “Living.” It is
also very easy to allow your symptoms or fear of symptoms to
control your life completely.

This is very understandable. Illness and pain can be all
consuming and very frightening, but continuing to live is
exactly what you need to do. Finding a healthy balance
between your limits and living is essential for your mental,
physical and spiritual well-being.

You don’t want to let your illness/pain become your complete
identity and control your life completely. This is very
important so that you don’t lose other important parts of
who you are that enhance your life and so you don’t drown in
the negativity of illness. Yes, being ill is an important
aspect of your identity and worthy of respect and
recognition, but it is not all of who you are. It is a
piece of who you are and your other pieces need to be
respected and recognized as well. You are still a parent, a
partner, an individual, a friend, etc.

Yes, in many cases illness/pain does often dictate our lives
to sometimes an extreme degree, but there are areas where
you can take control for a period of time. You can choose to
participate in life and enjoy life in spite of your
illness/pain. Do not cut yourself off from all life
affirming activities or your life will be lacking in
meaning, purpose and enjoyment. Find alternatives to your
limits.

This does not mean you want to throw caution to the wind and
be wreckless with your health care, but rather you want to
find some balance. You of course don’t’ want to do anything
that will cause severe distress or exacerbate symptoms too
much, but you can pick some activities that are life
affirming that will have a minimal impact on your symptoms.

For example if eating out at a restaurant gives you a
migraine or breathing difficulties, then having a nice
dinner at home with loved ones or a picnic outside is a
great alternative. If riding an exercise bike is too
strenuous and causes symptoms then a nice stroll around the
block or the park will be just as beneficial. If being in
public places is problematic for you then maintaining
relationships by phone or computer will sustain you.

Although we want to be respectful of our limits and learn to
live within them, there may be times when we want to push
ourselves beyond our limits just a little.

If I never did anything because I was in pain or having
fear, then basically I would have no life at all. Much of
my living takes place during great pain and suffering and
fears. I don’t let it stop it me. Yes, there are days
when I say, “I need to lay down and rest today,” or “the
price to pay for this benefit is too high” but there are
also days when I push forward even though I don’t feel like
it and function within the discomfort.

For instance, a few weeks ago I had the makings of a minor
migraine and for some reason, my writing “muse” came alive
during the midst of this. All I wanted to do was lay down,
but instead I took a hot shower, massaged my trigger points
and then let my “muse’s” thoughts flow out on the paper and
thus I now have a new article for my site to edit and
upload. Sometimes I can do some of my best work in the
midst of great pain.

Once when visiting Arizona I was planning a trip to visit
friends in California I hadn’t seen in years, but I was
experiencing a lot of symptoms. I debated whether to go and
decided this was just not something I could pass on
regardless of how I felt. I developed half a migraine on
the trip and the trip was very hard on me, but in the midst
of this I visited my friends, ate Rice Dream ice cream and
took a walk. The next day the headache was gone and I went
to the ocean for the first time in my life and had a
spectacular time. I had another wonderful day visiting my
friends the following day and then went back to Arizona.

I was very happy I had pushed myself beyond my limits. If I
had allowed my pain to control me I would have missed this
incredible opportunity to spend time with friends, have a
wonderful visit to California and enjoy the magic of the
ocean.

Before going to Arizona I was full of fear of making this
trip. I worried about what would I do if my car broke down
on the way and I ended up in the middle of nowhere with no
car and no safe place to live. I worried about all the
millions of symptoms I would have on my way there. A friend
said to me “Cyn, no matter what happens, you will survive.”
I was not so sure that they were right, but I held onto that
and pushed myself beyond my fears and went anyway. Yes, I
had a million symptoms on my way there and endured a great
deal of suffering, but I survived and when I arrived I had
improvement in my health once I hit the dry air, made
several wonderful new MCS friends, enjoyed the most
beautiful landscape and wildlife I have ever seen and found
a lovely community I would like to live in hopefully some
day. If I had allowed my fears to control me I would have
never had this experience.

Sometimes you can be pleasantly surprised to find that the
endorphins released when you become absorbed in a fulfilling
experience can temporarily relieve your pain. If you can
become completely absorbed in the happiness of the moment
you can transcend your symptoms for a period of time.
Sometimes the benefit you will gain after the symptoms makes
the price worthwhile. But then there are other times when
the best thing you can do for yourself is to rest and
pamper. The key here is balance so that you can continue to
have a happy, enjoyable and fulfilling life.

Of course we want to be reasonable and not push ourselves
too much, too frequently. We certainly would not want to
push ourselves to attend a function in a building that has
recently been pesticided or newly remodeled, but we can
possibly attend an outdoor function where we may have some
slight itching or a mild headache. It can be very tricky
to find a healthy balance. Weigh out the benefits versus the
suffering and participate in those activities that have the
most benefit and the least amount of suffering and the least
amount of negative impact on your health.

My point here is that life is short. Don’t let your fear of
your symptoms prevent you from living. Don’t let your pain
control you life completely. Remember what’s most important
in life (love, family, friends and spiritual fulfillment)
Make love when you have a headache, read a book with your
child when you are in great pain. Write that book even
though you can barely stand up. Take a walk or go to the
ocean even though you are aching tremendously. Take risks
and allow yourself to live in spite of your limits while at
the same time honoring your limits.

Being healthy does not mean being free of illness. It means
being as complete as possible and living life as fully as
possible within the limits that you are faced with.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR