Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Motivation
Motivation Tips by experts
|
| |
|
| |
|
|
Tips for Stress free life > Expert Zone > Motivation Motivation Tips by experts |
|
|
|
|
Five Great Ideas From Aristotle
It was Socrates who said that the purpose of philosophy is to help each of us become "an excellent human". That seems like a respectable and reasonable big-picture goal for every person on the planet. But what about the specifics? How do we become excellent humans? How can we use philosophy in our everyday lives to help us succeed in this most important goal as homo sapiens? The surprising thing about philosophy is that it is incredibly user-friendly if you take it in small doses. For thousands of years, thoughtful individuals have contemplated the meaning of life. Many of the greatest philosophers spoke eloquently about the challenges we all face today in words that are easily understood and truly inspiring. Don't believe it? Let's start with a few thoughts from Aristotle. The student of Plato, who was the student of Socrates, Aristotle lived in the third century B.C. But don't hold that against him! Aristotle was full of interesting ideas, and he had quite a sense of humor as well. He's a guy you could imagine sitting in your kitchen, engaging in a memorable conversation over a shared bottle of wine. Think of him as a really wise friend, and use his ideas to help you TODAY to become a more excellent human. Aristotle believed that everything had a purpose. He stated that our purpose as humans is to think in order to live a good life. That's it. As long as we continue to contemplate the universe and our role in it, we are fulfilling our purpose. So, to help you contemplate the universe today, here are five inspiring thoughts from our friend, Aristotle: Thought #1: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." What is it that you repeatedly do? Greet people on the street, let another car into a busy street in front of you, leave nice tips for frazzled waitpersons, read to your children, phone your elderly aunt? What do your habits say about you? Is that the message you want to send? How can you change your habits or adopt new ones to reflect your desire to become more excellent? What excellent acts can you do repeatedly so that they become a habit? What can you do TODAY to intentionally start a habit that will lead to excellence? Pick something simple and just get started. Thought #2: "Education is the best provision for old age."What are you learning these days? How are you spending your free time? Take a look at how you are including learning in your daily life. Do you read? If so, are you learning from it? Do you watch television? Yes, it can be educational, but seriously analyze your viewing habits and see if you can't incorporate more learning and less vegetating. Don't pick something boring. Choose ways to learn that excite and inspire you. A cooking class through your local community college? A new sport? A stack of library books on a country you're hoping to visit someday? Pursue your interests with a passion, and you will always continue learning. Promise yourself you'll always have interesting things to talk about when you are old-and this doesn't mean ailments and treatments! Learn now how to ignite your own curiosity and pursue learning as a lifelong adventure. Thought #3: "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." We all do it--we hear an idea, and we immediately attach ourselves to an opinion about it without really giving it the time it takes to form a reasoned conclusion. The problem with smart people is that we tend to use our intelligence to argue in defense of our chosen opinions. We'd be a whole lot wiser if we did less arguing and more thinking! The next time someone makes a suggestion you don't like or states an opinion you disagree with, try this: Wait three minutes before denouncing it. Now, this doesn't that you should just sit there, fuming or smug or disinterested. Instead, "entertain" the thought. Ask questions. Show interest. Be open, engaged and nonconfrontational. When your three minutes are up, you can feel free to express your original opinion. More often than not, your original opinion will have changed a bit because you have spent some time holding a thought without attacking it. The trick here is to separate the thought from the thinker. Are you sure you don't dislike the thought because you dislike the thinker? We all have people in our lives who push our buttons. Take the high road. Entertain the thought. Your eventual rebuttal will be more easily accepted after you've shown that you have carefully considered the concept. Try this at work, try it with your friends, try it with your family. This is a surefire path to excellence. Thought #4: "What lies in our power to do, also lies in our power not to do." Ah, yes. Those bad habits? You can change them. If you had the initiative at some point to do something, you can choose to stop doing it. This goes for overeating, smoking, drinking too much, and all the usual bad habits. It also hold true for things we don't even think of as habits anymore-watching too much television, driving instead of walking, reading nothing but celebrity magazines, gossiping, spending too much time shopping, etc. If you haven't always done it, you don't have to continue doing it. You do have the power to make changes. Thought #5: "Well begun is half done." We all understand that setting a goal, doing the research, and making a plan will increase the likelihood that our chosen task will be successfully completed. Whether it's a home improvement project, a vacation schedule, or a tricky new recipe, proper preparation will save us a lot of time and effort. Start using Aristotle's ideas today to help you become an excellent human. Make your best acts your best habits. Learn something new each day. Entertain contrary thoughts. Begin to undo bad habits. Prepare yourself for excellence. Aristotle would be so proud. About The Author Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse. Her course, Massage Your Mind!: Defining Your Life Philosophy, has inspired thinkers in over 70 countries around the world. She is the publisher of the Friday Mind Massage, a free weekly ezine serving up a satisfying blend of clarity, comfort and comic relief. To learn more, visit http://www.massageyourmind.com or http://www.mindmasseuse.com.
MORE RESOURCES: See the complete list of Articles on Motivation here Have a look at Best Selling Books on Motivation
See also : Other articles on
Depression,
Grief-loss,
Elder Care
Relationships
Motivation - Google News
Why not be an expert yourself ? If you can write on
any of the above topic, you are welcome to submit your Submit
your article here |
 |
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Are You a Self-Saboteur? Take this questionnaire to get clear on what you may be doing to undermine your own success and happiness in life. An explanation of your score awaits at the end. The P Word... Procrastination A problem many of us are familiar with. Its showing up in your work environment interfering with your daily life?. A Perfect World ... Imbalance Creates Motivation I am a big proponent of balance. Everything has to be just so. Courage and Fear Mark Twain once said, "Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear not absence of fear."Feeling fear is normal but so many are afraid to admit it. Why Do Flowers Inspire Me So Much? I grew up in a very cold climate where winter seemed go on for 6 months and ice, snow and barren trees is what you saw on a daily basis. Plus the bone chilling cold and cloudy skies all made for a long dreary winter. Decide Where do you want to be in a year? In five years? In ten years? Is what you're doing now -- the way you're living, your friends, your habits, your focus -- Are all of these things moving you in the direction of your goals? How does it look?Are your habits the kinds of habits that the person you're going to be in two years would have? Are your friends or associates, or whatever you call the people you hang out with the types of people the you you're going to be in five years will want to know and be with?What about the things your mind gets hung up on? Your focus. Do you even know what your focus is?If you and I were sitting together right now (and pretend we are) What would your answer be if I asked you where you're going? What are you focused on accomplishing or achieving? You are certainly focused on something. Mastering Emotions: Taking Your Life To The Next Level Hello,How is your day coming along? Better, I am sure, than that particular day the crew of the Apollo 13 had as they were on their way home to planet earth.The return flight of Apollo 13 will forever be one of the most momentous flights ever recorded in history. 5 Motivation Killers and How To Avoid Them Motivation is an oft-discussed subject, particularly with regards to whether or not it is something that can be "taught." Some people believe that motivation is something that can be "caught" like a virus, whilst others (myself included) believe that motivation is something that has to have start from within, and for personal reasons. Comment on Extra Ordinary Men of Our Time Remember during the missions of Apollo. And others we knew every astronaut by name, we made them heroes. The Top 10 Ways to Overcome Procrastination When a person is bored or uninterested, certain tasks and projects can seem like torture! This feeling usually leads to procrastination, and procrastination often leads to guilt. Here are some practical ways to avoid these situations and overcome procrastination:1. Finding A Cure for I Disease The 21-year-old rookie cop had his big chance to brag on himself at his big news conference. "How do you feel about being the one to capture Eric Rudolph, FBI's Most Wanted?" the reporter asked. 4 Powerful Ways To Fire Up Your Motivation It's so difficult to go on when everything seems to fail, isn't it? Are there times in your life when you really want to callit "quits" because you just can't see any good results from allthe hard work you've done? Hold your horses! Never ever think of giving up. Winners never quit and quittersnever win. Curing the Blues - 14 Feel-Good Ways to Get Out of the Dumps Everyone goes through that "in the blues" feeling once in awhile. The best cure is to be around people that you care about; family, friends; and keeping yourself busy enough to change your mind. You Can! "There are only two ways of bringing brightness into your world; either change your attitude or open the closed doors of your brain"This holds true in all our lives; we all deserve a good & peaceful life, full of happiness. Our struggle to lead a better life and to grow everyday, both professionally and personally is highly appreciable; time and again we face situations which are highly abstruse, stress building and killer of our enthusiasm and high morale. Three Simple Ways to Stay Focused While I was trying to find a subject to write about this month that would be of interest to my readers, I did many things with my computer.I stared at a blank computer screen. Just Do It! If you run a business like I do, you probably have limited time to do all the things you need to do each day. In order to make sure I get to exercise each day, I have to get up BEFORE the chickens do - between 4:30 AM and 5AM. What Do You Truly Value Most? Believe it or not, values are in the core of all of us. Theseunderrated rankings tell more about us than we could everimagine. Tony Robbins - 10 Lessons I Learned From Anthony Robbins Tony Robbins has been an inspiration for millions. Love him and his philosophy or not, it is undeniable that he has had a positive impact on millions of people. The Power Of Purpose The manifestations of motiveA man is captive within himself. He dwells in a freedom which is confirmed to bounds, he breathes in an ambience ensnared to limits, he nurtures a shriveled valiance with the quaint promises of trepidation, and he is infinite to his content and eternal only to his perception. How to Make the Most of Being Let Go Being let go; suffering redundancy; experiencing downsizing are all very different ways of saying the same thing. Your employer doesn't want you any more.
|
|
You are here |
|
| Motivation Tips Home | Motivation Tips - Complete list | |
|
| Main Home | | Meditation Corner | |
|
|
| Recommend us | |
|
[About
us] [Contact] [Privacy
Policy]
Copyright 2006, Meditation
is Easy.com, All
rights reserved
