Mental Health Articles


What you can do to live happier


Everyone wants happiness, but happiness doesn't seem to want everyone. It almost does feel like fate sometimes. Why are some people ugly and others beautiful? Why are some people rich and others poor? Why do some people suffer from depression while others seem hardwired against it? Why are some people athletic and others awkward? Why are some people lucky and others cursed?

These are the sorts of questions that can keep you awake at night. They keep you awake because there's no satisfactory answer to them. I mean, you can say that Jane is attractive and Sally less so because Jane's parents were models and Sally's mutants; but why in the world are there mutants? No one knows. When asking yourself what you can do to live happier, keep that in mind above all else. When the whys start flooding in, build a dam. Why X, Why Y? No one knows. That's just the way things are.

"What you can do to live happier" »

How to find it in yourself to go after your dreams


Making your dreams a reality is going to take a lot of things such as determination, hard work, and focus. However finding it in yourself to do so will take a great deal of confidence. When you have self confidence you will also have the courage, strength and motivation to accomplish your goals and live your dreams. Confidence will also give you the motivation and persistence that is needed to achieve your goals and rise above challenges and failures. Confidence is a learned skill and anyone can learn the skills needed to become self confident. Here are just a few tips to help you become more confident. These tips are extremely effective and when done on a daily basis they will help you to make confident thinking a habit.
1.Put yourself into a confident state of mind by writing down all of the day's achievements in your diary or journal at the end of each day. Be sure to write down even the smallest of achievements. Writing them down will reinforce the idea of success and confidence. This is beneficial and motivating for you to feel success deep within yourself so your mind acknowledges them as achievements.

"How to find it in yourself to go after your dreams" »

How to confront your fears today so you can get motivated tomorrow


Getting motivated can be a difficult thing. This is especially true when you're governed by your fears. So let's learn how to confront your fears today so that you can get motivated tomorrow.

1. Get close to your fear. This is a great way to start. In order to determine exactly what the fear is, you need to become familiar with your fear. Research it. What makes you feel this fear? Are there specific activities or people who trigger the fear? Is your fear centered on a place or a person? Are you more likely to be fearful at a particular time of day? Once you have specifically define your fear, you'll be much more likely to overcome it so you can get motivated tomorrow.
2. Develop a new thinking pattern. This may require the help of a friend or even a professional. Try to convince yourself that the fear is not there. Train your brain to ignore the fear. When confronted with the fear, instead of running from it, change your mind about the fear. Tell yourself you're not afraid and you won't be. Think positive. You can do it. You have the ability to conquer this fear and emerge as a strong, motivated person.

"How to confront your fears today so you can get motivated tomorrow" »

How to get out of failure mode


Failure mode is something that is easy to slip into. We all tend to self defeat and talk ourselves out of the ability to succeed. So, what can you do to get out of failure mode and more importantly, get into success mode? Try the following:

Recognize that failure is not always the result. In fact, many succeed. If people did not succeed then we would not have cars, government, food, technology etc. All of these things come as a result of people's dreams and goals. People are more than capable of creating compelling dreams. It is fact. The problem is that the fear of failure often clouds the path, and leads you astray. So, what you are going to do is use that wonderful imagination of yours. Imagine that it is impossible to fail. If it was impossible to fail what dreams and desires would you pursue? If you were guaranteed success then what would you try to do? When you start thinking in the possibilities, you start to get your mind out of failure mode.

"How to get out of failure mode" »

Five tips for being mentally and emotionally motivated


The two ways you know that you have finally become motivated is when you mentally and emotionally are determined to go out and do what plans you have set for yourself. These goals to mean a lot to you in order to engage yourself in the emotional and mental dedication required to make these things become a reality. Here are five tips for being mentally and emotionally motivated.

1. Become passionate about something. Or in other words, know your passions and pursue them will all you have inside you. These things will make you happy if you work hard for them. The hard work will help foster the mental and emotional drive you initially sparked to start yourself on your current affair. Caring a lot for anything will make the task so much more important and accomplishing it will be the result.

"Five tips for being mentally and emotionally motivated" »

How to build your self-esteem, and why it is important

Self-esteem is how you esteem yourself. That is, self-esteem is how you feel about yourself; how you feel about your prospects in life; how you feel about your talents, looks, abilities, job success, and so forth. High self-esteem, backed by productivity, is healthy. High self-esteem backed by low productivity is unhealthy. Low self-esteem backed by productivity is unhealthy. Low self-esteem backed by low productivity is unhealthy.

We're not here to talk about high self-esteem backed by productivity, or high self-esteem backed by low productivity. Both of those things are for different essays. What we want to consider is low self-esteem in general, whether it's backed by productivity or not.

"How to build your self-esteem, and why it is important" »

Getting motivated to turn off the television


A lot of people want to work out, want to be more organized, want to cook, want to go to bed early, and one thing stands in the way. What? The television. For many the television, and the inability to turn it off and do something else keeps them from accomplishing other things they want to do. The following are some tips for getting motivated to turn off the television:

1. Find a friend to work out with or do crafts with, or whatever else it is you want to do. If you find that all you do is sit in front of the television, find a friend to motivate you to do something else. If you have always wanted to make a scrapbook of your kids, invite a girl friend over to scrapbook. Then, when the day gets long, and you get to the time you planned to scrapbook, you won't justify watching television instead because you have someone to scrapbook with. The same holds true for anything else you want to do. If you have a friend to do it with you are much more likely to do it. You won't let your friend down. You will let yourself down. So, get motivated by having an external force that almost does just that, forces you to follow through with doing something, anything, other than watching television.

"Getting motivated to turn off the television" »

Getting motivated to study, read, and learn for fun!


While being smarter is something we would all want to be, sometimes it is hard to want to study, read, and learn when we could be doing something more fun, like playing games, sleeping in, reading television etc. So, how do you get motivated to study, read, and learn for fun? Try the following:

1. Start slow, with something you like, such as Harry Potter. If you have never been one to enjoy learning, reading, etc. but you want to start doing these things for fun, you can't start with something deep and heavy. Get motivated to do more reading, studying and learning by starting off with something really enjoyable. There are tons of great fiction books that can really light a fire under you, and spark the curiosity and desire to read more. Start with something like Harry Potter, or Eragon that has a series so that you do not just read one book and are done, but that you want to continue with the story and keep reading. Twilight, New Moon, and Eclipse are a fascinating series that appeals to many. Harry Potter is one of the most read series ever. If this genre is not right for you, try Grisham, find an author, or a type of book you enjoy and find pleasure in reading and start there. This should motivate

"Getting motivated to study, read, and learn for fun!" »

Getting motivated to get some sleep

Sleep is key to health and happiness. We all know this, and yet we still let a lot of things get in the way of sleep. We let television, talking on the phone, going out with friends, or even doing nothing get in the way of sleep. So, how can you change that? The following are some ways to get motivated to get some sleep:

1. Try it out and see how it goes. Just one week of going to bed early, and getting up after about eight hours will probably be all the motivation you need to get some sleep. Sleep is something that induces more sleep. It also helps you feel better, have energy during the day, you stay healthier, and you are generally less moody if you get enough sleep each night, so try it out, and let that motivate you. Usually you have gone so long without sleep that you do not feel like getting enough is really going to be that big of a deal. However, if you try for just one week, and not let yourself get distracted, you will find that you love getting enough sleep, that it makes you feel so good, and that you are motivated. You will likely still have a few late nights here and there, but for the most part the benefits will be evident and you will like sleep too much to not be motivated to get some.

"Getting motivated to get some sleep" »

Getting motivated to become smarter


Now, to be honest, if you're reading this article you're probably already motivated to become smarter. It's like saying, getting motivated to not have pimples. Everyone wants to be smarter, and no one wants pimples. BUT-there is a subtler side to it; there are ways in which what is initially a vague, general sort of emotion can be turned into a laser beam that cuts through all the gunk, buildup, and superfluous garbage of your life and makes you into the sort of person you've always dreamed of being. So let's look at a few ways in which you can get motivated to get smarter.
1. Let's talk about a general principle of existence that should come in quite handy when getting motivated to get smarter. That is, motivation increases as you reach and experience your goals. In other words, getting motivated to become smarter starts right now, with reading this article. Then you set a goal for yourself. Let's say you want to be smarter about great literature. I'd suggest you start with someone fairly straightforward like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Ernest Hemingway, Scott Fitzgerald, etc. You can probably think of a few names yourself. Sherlock Homes stories would count, the science fiction of H.G. Wells would count, you've got this whole map to range in.

"Getting motivated to become smarter" »

How being motivated makes you happier

What keeps you motivated and happy in your life? For most, being motivated is the key to happiness; For example, in my life motivation is the key to a lot of my happiness. Without it I wouldn't have accomplished the things in my life that I have. Without motivation you may not accomplish much, and even small accomplishments can make you happy. To some my accomplishments may not be the biggest achievements but they are sufficed to me, which in turn makes me happy. And who wants to be depressed? I know I don't.

Being motivated at work means higher income, at home means happier family, at diet and health means more energy and a better life. Recently one of my proudest achievements was setting up a healthy eating and exercising calendar for my family and me. It has improved our lives on so many levels and we are all so much happier and more energetic as well. It's helped my son to actually improve in school. Now how much more of a reason would you need to be motivated for something like that? Being motivated in not always simple. In fact, in the beginning it wasn't the easiest thing to get my family into-especially my son. But with persistence and of course motivation I persuaded him to the healthy side.

"How being motivated makes you happier" »

How to build on existing confidence

There are many different ways that you can build upon the abilities that you already have. For example if you are working on being able to run longer distance you are going to want to start out small and work your way up to your goal. Another thing that you might want to build on is your confidence. Maybe you have existing confidence but you want to have better confidence there are different ways that you can build on that. This just like anything else you might have to start with something small and work your way up. Here are some ways on how to build on existing confidence.

The first way to build on existing confidence is to believe in you. You are your number one critic. You are going to be harder on yourself than anyone else. You need to make sure that you are comfortable with who you are and what you are about. This might be difficult at times but try to find something positive about yourself everyday that can help you to like yourself more and more. Doing this will help your existing confidence be even better because when you are more comfortable with yourself it is natural to have more confidence,

"How to build on existing confidence" »

How simply sticking with it when times get rough will keep you motivated

Staying motivated to do the things that need to get done can be difficult. If there are things that you do not do because you love to, or things that take motivation to get done, then it is important for you to stay motivated no matter what. In life things do not go perfectly, there will be interruptions and problems, things that effect you emotionally will occur. So, you have two choices, you can stop working and let the emotional drama take over, or you can work through it, stick with it, and stay motivated. The following is an explanation of why simply sticking with it when times get rough will keep you motivated:

1. If when something hard, or rough happens, you just give up, and decide to come back to things later, when you aren't so distracted by your problems, you will find that you will be unlikely to ever get motivated to come back to it. Giving up is equivalent to no success, and if you have no success in what you do, you will not be very likely to want to continue doing it, and try for success. Instead, you will feel frustrated, and you will associate the thing you need to be motivated to do with your problem, instead of separate like it should be. So, what should you do? If you have a rough moment, instead of stopping work, or whatever it is you are doing, just push through. You will have a hard time at first, you won't be as productive, or effective, but after just a little while you will be back on the ball, and you will be better off than if you don't stick with it. If you stop, then when you come back to it, you will feel behind, and you will have a big struggle.

"How simply sticking with it when times get rough will keep you motivated" »

How simply sticking with it when times get rough will keep you motivated

Staying motivated to do the things that need to get done can be difficult. If there are things that you do not do because you love to, or things that take motivation to get done, then it is important for you to stay motivated no matter what. In life things do not go perfectly, there will be interruptions and problems, things that effect you emotionally will occur. So, you have two choices, you can stop working and let the emotional drama take over, or you can work through it, stick with it, and stay motivated. The following is an explanation of why simply sticking with it when times get rough will keep you motivated:

1. If when something hard, or rough happens, you just give up, and decide to come back to things later, when you aren't so distracted by your problems, you will find that you will be unlikely to ever get motivated to come back to it. Giving up is equivalent to no success, and if you have no success in what you do, you will not be very likely to want to continue doing it, and try for success. Instead, you will feel frustrated, and you will associate the thing you need to be motivated to do with your problem, instead of separate like it should be. So, what should you do? If you have a rough moment, instead of stopping work, or whatever it is you are doing, just push through. You will have a hard time at first, you won't be as productive, or effective, but after just a little while you will be back on the ball, and you will be better off than if you don't stick with it. If you stop, then when you come back to it, you will feel behind, and you will have a big struggle.

"How simply sticking with it when times get rough will keep you motivated" »

Tips for getting out of a slump

There's nothing worse than finding oneself stranded in the doldrums of the `blahs'. Those days, weeks, or months (hopefully not years!) of being in a slump are the worst. And it can be really hard to find a way to perk up and find some motivation for being optimistic. Check out this dynamite list for getting fired up again and getting out of a slump.

1. Exercise
It is a proven fact that exercise helps fight against depression. So hop up off the sagging couch and go swimming, biking, rollerblading, walking, hiking, jogging, ice skating, running, or something else, just get that heart pumping!

"Tips for getting out of a slump" »

How to think positively, despite difficult circumstances

One of the best qualities any person can develop is the ability to think positively despite difficult circumstances. It has been said that there are no situations so bad that complaining about them won't make them worse! Here are some ideas on how to think positively despite difficult circumstances.

1. Make a habit of looking for the good.

"How to think positively, despite difficult circumstances" »

How to improve your mental attitudes

Let's face it: attitude is everything. Our frame of mind is definitely what frames our world. These sound like trite little cliché phrases, but they really speak the truth! Nothing can change the outlook of the world better than changing our own attitude. So here are some thoughts about how to improve your mental attitudes.

First thing first - a person has to want to change. Reading books, practicing skills, and going to therapists won't do a darn thing until a person really wants to change. Something as personal as improving one's attitude is not altered by any outside source. The only way to make a difference is to change from within. That starts to sound all hokey doesn't it? Too bad it's the truth. The only way to change a mental attitude is to do it yourself.

"How to improve your mental attitudes" »

How to eliminate the tendency to set mental limits

The sky is the limit. You can accomplish anything you set your mind to. What thoughts run through your head as you read statements like these? Many people tend to think that statements like these are foolish thinking. But isn't that the beginning of setting mental limits on what we can accomplish? We tend to think that great accomplishments are things that happen to other people. This is not so. People who think in these terms are limiting their ability to achieve. Here are some suggestions on how to eliminate the tendency to set mental limits.

1. Thoughts

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