I quite like this video about The Meaning of Life.

(if you don’t see the video, click here to watch it)

The Meaning of Life:

• Be happy
• Show up
• Follow your heart
• Find a new perspective
• Have a sense of wonder
• Find people you love
• Set goals
• Help others
• Dance
• Pamper yourself
• Face your fears
• Go to a museum
• Exercise
• Limit television
• Get in touch with nature
• Lighten up
• Get a good night’s sleep
• Read books
• Buy yourself flowers
• Don’t compare yourself with others
• Don’t beat yourself up
• Be open to new ideas
• Don’t focus on negative thoughts
• Focus on creating what you desire
• Make time just to have fun
• Keep the romance in your life
• Make a gratitude list
• Love your Mother Earth
• Want what you have
• Be true to yourself

What do you think is missing from the list?

Related Posts:

1. Top 5 Reasons To Leave Your Job
2. My Top 5 Secret Success Factors
3. Invest In Your Most Important Asset – Yourself
4. Seven Friends You Need In Your LIfe
5. The Only Words You’ll Need To Overcome Your Fears

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As you probably have noticed, I’ve been MIA for a while. I’ve been dealing with some personal and family issues lately. Things have calmed down a little on this end so you should be seeing me post more often (knock on wood).

Even though I haven’t been in the right mindset to post positive articles doesn’t mean that I haven’t been reading some great stuff on my RSS Reader.

Here are some fantastic articles that have inspired me and made me think (or in some cases, re-think some of my beliefs). Enjoy!

Have made me think (or re-think):

Computer Effort Is Not Enough from Mind Adventure

And:

How to Recognize an Idea Worth Pursuing from Prolific Living

And (a two-fer from Seth Godin):

Are You Making Something? from Seth Godin’s Blog

Reject the Tyranny of Being Picked: Pick Yourself from Seth Godin’s Blog

And:

When Pride Gets in the Way of Success from The Simple Dollar

Have inspired me:

New Series: How to Stay Serene When Faced With…Life from Insanely Serene

And:

How to Deal with Your ‘Get a REAl Job’ Devil from Powered By Intuition

And:

12 Steps to Make a Dream a Reality from Marc and Angel Hack Life

And:

The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Effortlessly Overcoming Unworthiness from Wake Up Cloud

What awesome, inspiring, thoughtful, entertaining, enlightening and wonderful articles have you read lately? Share with us!

Related Posts:

1. Warning: These Emotions May Be Affecting You More Than You Think
2. Stop Lying To Yourself
3. Invest In Your Most Important Asset – Yourself
4. 10 Things You Can Do Right Now To Improve Your Life
5. What Are You Waiting For?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

Because I needed to hear/read this tonight and thought that maybe you needed to read this, too:

Challenges come in the form of questions. In this case, you know the questions. They aren’t new. You’ve thought of them during some dark night, when you just couldn’t sleep.

Why are you here on earth?

What’s different about you, from anybody else?

Why are your fingerprints unlike anyone else’s on the face of the earth, or in the total course of history?

You know the questions.

And you know the answers.

Actually, it’s just one answer, and it all comes down to this: the world has never seen anyone quite like you before, and it will never see another You again.

And there is something you have to contribute to this world that the world needs from You, no matter how small or unimportant you may think you are, in the grand scheme of things.

You were born, you are breathing, you are here, because there is something you have to contribute to the world that world really really needs. At least in that place, at least in this time, at least with your style, at least with your character and stamp upon it.

Someone needs you.

Someone’s life has been, and will be, better because of you. Maybe many many “somebody”s.

Be you a health care professional, or a scientist, or engineer, or techie, or digger of ditches, it doesn’t matter. The world needs all these things, but animated specifically by your spirit, your brains, your personality, beneath and in it all.

Your purpose in life isn’t just a mattter of what kind of work you do.

It’s a matter of who you are, what kind of person you are, and whether you choose to be the best You that you can possibly be, or not.

- Richard N. Bolles, What Color Is Your Parachute?

Just Something To Think About.

Related Posts:

1. Something To Think About – Sacrifice
2. Something To Think About – Self-Reliance
3. Book Review: Crush It: Why Now Is The Time to Cash In On Your Passion
4. Are You Being Your True Authentic Self
5. Book Review: The Alchemist

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

“The best things in life must come by effort from within, not by gifts from the outside.” – Fred Corson

Self-reliance : the capacity to rely on one’s own capabilities, and to manage one’s own affairs; independence

Do you have what it takes to be self-reliant?

Or are you waiting for someone to take care of you?

It’s easy to give up control to someone else – someone who we can blame when things don’t work out the way we want them to.

How self-reliant are you? If you aren’t capable of taking care of yourself, then what are you going to do about it?

Just Something To Think About.

___________________
I’ve closed the comments on the Something To Think About series because I want people to interpret the questions and answers themselves without being influenced by another person’s interpretation of the topic.

Related Posts:

1. Something To Think About – Sacrifice
2. Something To Think About – Self-Reliance
3. Do You Need To Let Go And Forgive?
4. Are You Being Your True Authentic Self
5. What Are You Waiting For?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

Even though I have been super-busy with changes happening in my life, I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you some of the great articles that I’ve been reading lately.

These articles have made me think, have entertained me, have made me go: Hmmm, have taught me something new, have inspired me, and have exposed me to new wonderful sites.

Have made me think:

11 Ways To Make Big Change With Small Steps from Passive Panda
 

Have entertained me:

How To Survive a Zombie Apocalypse from Nerd Fitness

Have made me go Hmmm:

The Key to Your Psychological Jail Cell from Mind Adventure

Have inspired me:

An Unconventional Guide to Kickin’ Ass in 2011 from Murlu

And:

101 Inspirational Quotes to Light Up Your Life from Always Well Within

Have taught me something new:

25 Ways to Jack-Up Your Success Using Intuition from Powered By Intuition

And:

10 Ways to Never Stop Learning from Jimi Jones

Have exposed me to new wonderful sites:

24 Blogs To Watch In 2011 from The Big Red Tomato Company

What awesome, inspiring, thoughtful, entertaining, enlightening and wonderful articles have you read lately? Share with us!

Related Posts:

1. 50 Inspirational Quotes
2. Stop Lying To Yourself
3. Do You Need To Let Go And Forgive?
4. Are You Being Your True Authentic Self
5. What Are You Waiting For?

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

This is a guest-post from M.Farouk Radwan of http://www.2knowmyself.com

It’s a brand new year and we all have goals and resolutions that we which to make true but do you know that most people forget about their new year resolutions mere days or even weeks after the beginning of the new year?

In order to to help you be successful, here are 5 surefire methods to help you stick to your New Year Resolutions:

1. Are you trying to change a symptom instead of a root cause?

Some people incorrectly decide to change a bad habit without knowing that this bad habit is just a symptom. For example many people smoke when they feel stressed and so learning how to control stress can be the solution to their smoking problem and not deciding to quit smoking without understanding the problem. Ensure that the change you want to see in yourself isn’t a bandaid for a deeper, underlying issue. Take time to self-reflect on what is really driving you to change.

2. You must write your resolutions down.

Writing allows the subconscious mind to absorb the information and turns a mere wish into a strong desire. Research has shown that people who write down their goals become most likely to stick to them than those who don’t. Have you written down your goals for the year, yet? If not, why not? Now’s the time to write down what you want to change for this brand new year.

3. Don’t set goals because everything is doing it.

It’s very common that people write resolutions just because everyone else is writing them too at the beginning of the New Year. It’s the thing to do. In order to make sure that you stick to your resolutions you must write ones that help you fulfill your most important desires else you won’t be motivated to pursue them. Do you know what your most important goals are? If not, spend time figuring out what you really want to accomplish this year.

4. Program your subconscious mind.

Studies have shown that continuous repetition programs the subconscious mind and makes the beliefs stronger. If you want to believe more in your goals then you must read them each morning or even better hang them above your desk so that you can read them daily.

5. Increase your desire to reach your goals.

Each few days you must visualize how your life will be like after reaching your goals. That would increase your desire to reach those goals and so make you much more committed to your New Year Resolutions.

How are you going to stick to your New Years Resolutions? Share with us by leaving a comment below. Thanks!

Written by M.Farouk Radwan. the Founder of http://www.2knowmyself.com

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

Related Posts:

1. 4 Best And Worst Things About Being An Entrepreneur – Guest Post
2. The Secret Stress Buster No One Dares Tell You About – Guest Post
3. From Homeless To The Infopreneur – Guest Post
4. Succeeding Means Loving Yourself – Guest Post
5. How To Stop Thinking And Start Doing – Guest Post

It’s hard to believe that another year is upon us. Didn’t we just go through this 364 days ago?

Not only is it time for a new year, but it’s also the start of a new decade, too. 2010 is no more. When I think back over the last decade of my life, I am pretty happy overall with what I’ve done with my life. What I’m most happy with is my sense of wanting more out of life and being able to go after it.

I’ve made some pretty massive personal changes in the last few years and I know that 2011 will be another year for change. I don’t like staying with the status quo for long – there’s too much to experience and do with life to be stuck in one place.

This site is over a year and a half old and there has been some great highs that I’ve felt writing this year, as well as some low periods. Let’s concentrate on the highlights – my new message of optimism for 2011.

Most Commented Article:

Why You Need To Write In Your Goals Book Daily

Most Viewed Article:

Seven Friends That You Need In Your Life

Most Popular Article:

100 Things That Make Me Happy

Other Popular Articles:

The Five Keys To Happiness

Know These Five Causes Of Conflict

How Healthy Is Your Relationship?

10 Things You Can Do Right Now To Improve Your Life

Seven Ways You Can Relax Right Now

Most Controversial Posts:

The Victim Myth and The Victim Myth Part II: My Personal Story

I have to give a great big Thank You to the following exceptional guest writers who wrote some amazingly helpful and thoughtful articles this year:

James from TheInfoPreneur who wrote From Homeless to the InfoPreneur

Jen from Reach Our Dreams who wrote How To Stop Thinking And Start Doing

Jennifer from Girls Asylum who wrote Succeeding Means Loving Yourself

John from Real Simple People who wrote The Secret Stress Buster No One Dares Tell You About

Justin from Ignite Your Essence who wrote 4 Best And Worst Things About Being An Entrepeneur

Thu from Blogging For dot Info who wrote Understanding Your Chances In Life

Steve from SteveScottSite who wrote How To Get Your Own Personal Freedom…Starting Today

Mitch from Exploring Infinity who wrote Why We Sabotage Ourselves And How To Stop

I want to mention that I had the most fun participating in this free ebook, Small Ways To Make A Big Difference, with 40 other bloggers who provided their wisdom about how to make small changes in your life that will have a huge impact.

Whew, a lot of great writing this year. With lots more to come in 2011

Thank you so much for being part of the wonderful community here at A Meaningful Existence. I truly appreciate your support.

You know that if it wasn’t for you, this site wouldn’t exist. So, Thank You!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

Wouldn’t it be just lovely to be lying in a hammock, with the warm breeze of the ocean drifting over your body. Nothing to do except sway and relax. I can almost feel it.

I’m stressed out. There, I admit it. I’m sure that you are, too. I can’t afford to take time off and just lie on the beach somewhere, no matter how lovely that idea would be.

It’s been crazy at work and with the holidays and Christmas shopping and family obligations, writing articles for this site, and everything else.

I just have too much to do and the days are going by too fast for me to do everything that I need to do before the year is over.

I need some relaxation tips and I’m sure that you can use these reminders, too.

Here are 7 ways to relax right now.

1. Go for a short walk

Take a 5 or 10-minute break and just go outside for a walk.

Taking a break from the task in front of you can refresh not only your mind but your body.

Moving around will increase your blood flow and a change of scenery will help relax you.

Yes, it might be -10 degrees outside with tons of snow on the ground, but a short walk – especially when you are feeling stressed really helps.

Sometimes you have to walk away from what’s causing you stress so that your mind can concentrate on something else.

2. Breathe deeply

There are definitely physical symptoms when you are stressed, including a tightening of the body and the tendency to take shallow breaths.

To relax right now, take a few moments to breathe deeply. You can also close your eyes if that helps you.

Make sure that you are breathing through you nose and from the abdomen to get as much oxygen as possible into your lungs.

When you take a few deep breaths from the abdomen you are inhaling more oxygen into your body.

The more oxygen you breathe, the less tense and anxious you will feel.

You will also decrease your blood pressure by getting more oxygen into your body the more deeply you breathe.

3. Pamper yourself

It feels like the more stressed out I become, the less time I take to treat myself properly. Everything else becomes more important and takes time away from me.

You can relax right now by pampering yourself and treating yourself with priority.

Taking a nice, long, luxurious bath with bubbles always relaxes me. I have been too busy lately and have been making do with quick showers, but I’m going to take a nice bath today and let my problems soak away.

Maybe relaxing in a bath isn’t for you. You can pamper yourself in other ways.

Buy yourself some nice perfume or cologne and let aromatherapy relax you. Smell is the strongest sense and just the smell of a certain perfume will remind you of less stressing times.

Why not treat yourself to some yummy chocolate for the endorphins (good feelings).

Or, you can pamper yourself with a pedicure or manicure and let someone else massage you.

It’s so relaxing when someone massages you. Even if you don’t have time for a full-body massage, there are places that will give you a 10, 20 or 30-minute mini-massage fully-clothed.

4. Go with the flow and let things go

Who says that you have to buy into the crazy Christmas shopping frenzy? Where was it written that you had to send out Christmas cards to everyone you know and/or buy them expensive presents?

Will you really be banned from the office or your extended family if you decline a holiday invite? You don’t have to go to every thing that you are invited to, especially if it is causing you stress. Really. You can say no.

Don’t be such a control freak and perfectionist. Perfection is an illusion anyway.

You can relax right now by letting things go.

So what if your place is a somewhat of a mess and the laundry isn’t done. Will the world collapse if you have to wear the same sweater twice in a week? Or eat off paper plates for a couple of days?

Stop worrying about everything. Life is too short to worry about every little thing.

Change your mindset from whatever is causing you stress right now – to just letting it go. Things will get done in their own time.

Feel the power of letting things go and living in the now moments.

5. Take a break and dream

Take a 5 or 10-minute break, grab some paper, and write down some dream that you are working towards. If you don’t have a dream that you are working towards right now, take the time to think of a dream that you’ve always wanted.

Remember all those dreams that you had when you were a child and didn’t have all the stress in your life?

Close your eyes, think of something that you are currently working so hard to accomplish. Why are you all stressed out? Is your dream worth it?

Remind yourself that what you are experiencing right now is momentarily. It will pass.

Let your mind wander from your troubles just for a few minutes and think about your dreams and what’s important to you.

This will put into perspective what you are feeling right now.

Don’t let your dreams stress you out. Relax knowing that you are working towards your achieving your dreams each day.

6. Read a good book

I admit that I’m an avid reader. When I need to relax there is nothing like picking up a great fiction book and getting lost in the story.

Fiction works for me, but if you prefer to read non-fiction and it relaxes you, then read that. Whatever works for you.

You can let go of momentary stress and frustrations by reading something that transports you to a different time or era.

I feel really badly for people who don’t read and who don’t know the power that books have. They have no idea how reading can transform their lives.

Reading a book for me is pure escapism. It allows my mind to let go of my current stresses and be absorbed into the story of  some writer’s imagination. Of course, they have to have happy endings though

Sure, your frustrations and problems don’t disappear while you’ve taken a few minutes to read something wonderful. It just feels like it.

A reading break can relax and re-energize you so that you can continue doing what needs to be done.

7. Have some fun and laugh

You can relax and have some fun right now. It doesn’t take much time, either.

Take a short break and call up a friend and ask them what’s the funniest thing that has ever happened to them. Then tell them the funniest thing that has ever happened to you. See who has the funniest story to tell.

Laughing and having fun releases the feel-good endorphins (just like chocolate, but with less calories).

Play an online word puzzle game.  Or if you have more time, my favourite game Starcraft II.

Grab your children  and just play with them. Or your pet, if you don’t have any children.

Put your favorite comedy DVD on or watch some funny videos on YouTube.

Just being with others having some fun can put our problems into perspective and can help us relax.

Life is too short to be stressed out all the time.

How do YOU relax? Let us know by leaving a comment. Thanks!

Related Posts:

1. How to Motivate Yourself in Times of Stress
2. The Secret Stress Buster No One Dares Tell You About – Guest Post
3. Seven Friends You Need In Your Life
4. Succeeding Means Loving Yourself – Guest Post
5. 10 Things You Can Do Right Now To Improve Your Life

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

“Jealousy lives upon doubts. It becomes madness or ceases entirely as soon as we pass from doubt to certainty.” – Francois de la Rochefoucauld

Are you a jealous person? Do you envy what others have?

A couple of definitions first:

Jealousy is an emotion and typically refers to the negative thoughts and feelings of insecurity, fear, and anxiety over an anticipated loss of something that the person values, such as a relationship, friendship, or love. Jealousy often consists of a combination of emotions such as anger, sadness, and disgust. It is not to be confused with envy.

The experience of jealousy involves:

• Fear of loss
• Suspicion or anger about betrayal
• Low self-esteem and sadness over loss
• Uncertainty and loneliness
• Fear of losing an important person to an attractive other
• Distrust

Envy is best defined as an emotion that occurs when a person lacks another’s (perceived) superior quality, achievement, or possession and either desires it or wishes that the other lacked it. Envy can also derive from a sense of low self-esteem that results from an upward social comparison threatening a person’s self image: another person has something that the envier considers to be important to have.

The experience of envy involves:

• Feelings of inferiority
• Longing
• Resentment of circumstances
• Ill will towards envied person often accompanied by guilt about these feelings
• Motivation to improve
• Desire to possess the attractive rival’s qualities
• Disapproval of feelings

It’s completely normal to be jealous and even envious of other people, and it’s also normal to have both feelings at the same time.

Feeling jealous and envious of others can seriously harm your own self-worth. What can you do when you are feeling these strong emotions?

You can learn from others who are more advanced that you are.

Everyone has something to teach you so recognize that you may be in a learning stage so be open to becoming better. Even the most skilled person has something to learn from other people. If you are only happy if you are the best at something, you are setting yourself up for a world of unhappiness. But, if you change your mindset to be open to learning and evolving, you can be happy knowing that you are improving.

Accept what you are feeling, but learn to separate your feelings from your actions.

It’s okay to feel jealous or envious of others, but it’s not okay to self-sabotage or act in ways that hurt others because what you’re feeling. If you act on these feelings it diminishes you and others.

Recognize that people have natural talents that you may not have.

There will always be people who are more accomplished and successful than you are. But, also recognize that you have unique abilities, too. I always remember this saying “While you’re looking at someone, someone else is looking at you“. It puts things into perspective. Other people may be jealous of you and your natural talents.

Don’t compare yourself with others.

You don’t know the circumstances or the years of effort that went into what seems so easily to someone else. I can’t compare myself to people who either have a natural writing ability or have been writing for years. It’s not fair for me to compare myself to someone who has 10 books published. Also, you don’t see the mounds of drafts and discarded writings that the person has stuffed away. We only see the best that that person has produced. It’s not a fair comparison. It’s more healthy to compare myself with someone who is at the same level as me or to compare my past work to my current work.

Use your strong emotions as motivation.

I can look to my articles in the past and see how much I’ve improved. This acts as to motivate myself to improve my writing even further so that one day, I could be good enough to have my book published. You can use your feelings to work harder and improve. Challenge yourself to become better.

Know that life is not a zero-sum game.

There is enough for everyone, believe it or not. I know some people who don’t believe that and are very competitive (very petty, too) and who believe that they must have their slice before it’s all gone. We all have talents that can contribute to the betterment of everyone. If you write beautiful poetry that doesn’t mean that I can’t write beautiful poetry, too. We can both contribute beautiful poetry and add more beauty to the world.

Work on your insecurities.

When you feeling jealous, you are really feeling insecure about your abilities and self-worth. You may not be the best in the world at something, but that doesn’t mean that you are the worst, either. You may be experiencing feelings of low self-esteem. But, look at actors and how much rejection they face. Can you say who is the best actor in the world? Even the best actor has feelings of worthlessness because there is no such thing as being The Best in the World. We are all insecure about something but that doesn’t mean it should be used an excuse. Even if you never become The Best in the World, can you still be satisfied that you tried your best? Can you be happy that you at least attempted to become The Best?

Remember that we all started at the beginning at something.

It’s perfectly normal to want everything, to be the best, immediately. Especially in this era of instant gratification. We want to become and have everything now. But, that’s not how life works. Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers says that it takes 10,000 hours of practicing a specific task to become successful in any field. Don’t beat yourself up because of what stage you are currently in. There will always be people who are ahead of you and people who are behind you. This relates to not comparing yourself to others because you don’t know how many hours someone else has already put into their field. As you improve, you grow confidence in yourself and your abilities.

Be grateful for what you do have.

If you are truly grateful for what you do have and recognize that you are blessed with so much. Instead of looking externally to what others have and your perception that you are lacking something, look around at the blessings you do have in life. People who are happy, have meaning in their lives, and are content with themselves, are rarely jealous of other people. They already value and are thankful for what they have and do not begrudge the good fortune of others.

What are your thoughts? How do you deal with your feelings of jealousy and envy?

Related Posts:

1. Create Your Future Using a Vision Board
2. How to Motivate Yourself in Times of Stress
3. Warning: These Emotions May Be Affecting You More Than You Think
4. Why You Need to Write in Your Goals Book Daily
5. How Zero-Based Thinking Can Help Your Future

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!

Jillian Gile is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on the subject of becoming a nail technician for the Guide to Career Education.

“We have two ears and one mouth so that we can listen twice as much as we speak.” –Epictetus (Greek Stoic philosopher)

When you list the qualities of someone you love, admire, and respect, one of the top qualities is always “a good listener”. 

Luckily for those of us who aren’t the best at listening and letting others speak, good listening skills can be practiced and increased. 

Becoming a better listener can not only earn you more respect and admiration, but can benefit you professionally, as well.  Employers look for people who listen, can take clear direction, and who aren’t preoccupied with spreading gossip. 

Need to work on your listening skills?  Here are some tips: 

Listening doesn’t always mean keeping completely silent while the other person speaks.  “Active listening” is a great skill, and shows that you are involved in the conversation.  You can hone your listening skills by asking follow-up questions, or asking for clarification on certain points.  These simple questions will allow the speaker to continue talking while you continue listening. 

Become a people watcher.  Learn how other people listen, and take mental notes about the habits of people you think are good listeners, and people you think are bad listeners.  Often, behaviors we find annoying in others are mirror images of our own habits.  That person who keeps interrupting, or who never makes eye contact?  That could be you.  Before you start listening, make a game plan of the habits of a good listener.

Take note of what really gets you talking passionately.  Everyone has a favorite subject, or a story they just have to tell everyone they meet.  Ask a close friend or loved one what it is that really gets you going, and then next time you are having a conversation, try NOT to butt in with your story.  You can always tell the story or give your opinion later, but just exercising this ability to control yourself is a great step on the way to listening better. 

In the same way that we shouldn’t let your own stories or opinions butt into someone’s conversation, don’t let your brain race ahead of the speaker, either.  If you’re thinking “oh, I should tell so-and-so about the time I had a similar experience,” while you should be listening, your brain has effectively blocked out what the speaker is saying.  Instead, be thinking about questions to ask (see Active Listening above). 

Don’t let your brain distract you, and don’t let anything else distract you, either.  Having the television on in the background can be nice – but if you know that you’re staring at the movie rather than listening, turn the TV off (not just on mute – flashing pictures are just as distracting).  Maybe it’s music, or maybe it’s being out in public – but to become a better listener you need to be 100% focused on the speaker. 

Another part of active listening is empathy.  This means that you not only understand how the speaker feels, but actively know what they’ve gone through.  You may not have actually gone through the same experience, but imagining yourself  “in their shoes”  will allow you to feel empathy.  This will also give you material for follow-up questions, and can make you seem more approachable. 

Once you have mastered the above techniques, you will naturally find yourself falling into the best type of listening – with your whole body. 

Did you know that 75% of all communication is non-verbal?  That means that as we speak, we are reading other people’s facial features, body language, and hand motions.  You can’t fake being interested with your body language, either. Pay attention to your own non-verbal motions while you speak and look for non-verbal clues from others while you listen.

I hope these techniques will help you improve your listening skills.

Related Posts:

1. 4 Best And Worst Things About Being An Entrepreneur – Guest Post
2. The Secret Stress Buster No One Dares Tell You About – Guest Post
3. Why We Sabotage Ourselves and How to Stop
4. How to Get Your Own Personal Freedom…Starting Today
5. How To Stop Thinking And Start Doing – Guest Post

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to my feed to have all the future articles delivered to your feed reader. Thanks!