Showing posts with label youth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label youth. Show all posts

Sunday, 12 August 2007

How To Face The Fear Of The Unknown

So you are facing the unknown in your life and fear is knocking at your door. Welcome to first step in success. Everyone that has ever succeeded in life has felt the same thing. As a matter of fact, we have all felt it on more then one occasion. So how do you deal with it? Here are 3 keys to facing the fear of the unknown.

1. Do your due diligence.

Here are the basics. You are feeling fear because there is some sort of risk involved with what you are doing. Risk isn’t a bad thing if you know how to handle it. The first thing you always need to do is your due diligence. Don’t go into a situation blindly. Just because it may seem like a good deal on the outside doesn’t mean that it is. Just by knowing what you are dealing with can help you overcome fear.

2. Trust yourself.

Once you have done your due diligence so that you can make an informed decision, you have to learn to trust your instincts. If you find that the risk involved is one that you are able to handle, don’t start to doubt yourself. If you doubt yourself you will tend to make wrong decisions and choices.

3. Ask someone who knows.

You have probably heard the saying that there is nothing new under the sun. Well guess what? You aren’t the first one to face the fear of the unknown. One of the best things that you can do is ask for help from someone that has been down the same road that you are on right now. Sometimes all you need is a little advice from someone that has overcome their fear and come out the other side successfully.

Friday, 29 June 2007

You Are Only As Good As Your Word

"One's philosophy is not best expressed in words; it is expressed in the choices one makes. In the long run, we shape our lives and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility." Eleanor Roosevelt, first lady

If I asked you for your outlook on life, I am sure like most people you would have many reasons why there is so much suffering, opinions on politics and probably millions of complaints about the state of the world today regarding violence, terror, disruptive youth, child prostitution, the list goes on....

It seems that we are all experts on life when it comes to talking about it but then, what are we actually DOING about following up on those words?

Are you talking about health yet continuing to smoke, overeat and doing little to take care of your own?

Are you talking about poverty and pointing a finger at 'big businesses' for their apparent un involvement to charities yet continuing to walk straight past the homeless man you pass everyday on the street?

Are you talking but doing little more than moving your lips?

Today I want to challenge is to carry out an assessment on yourself.

Take note of how many times today you talk about doing something versus actually taking action and doing it.

I think you will be surprised at the outcome!

Do not beat yourself up over the answer, just know that one of the keys to success is matching your words with your deeds.

Saturday, 2 June 2007

Pictures!!

Check out recent pictures of church events here:

Thursday, 31 May 2007

How To Live A Life That Inspires Others

I read this great quote today that got me thinking!

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader." John Quincy Adams - 6th U.S President

We often consider leadership as a position that is granted to someone who is a leader! Someone who is confident, educated, wise, a good public speaker, and passionate about what they do! Somebody in a position of authority like a teacher, boss, police man!

However, this quote suggests something different. It says that you area leader simply when you inspire those around you! How difficult is that? It's not at all!!

Today, make a conscious effort to inspire the people in your world. Inspire them to dream bigger, to dig deeper, and to never give up on their passions. Look at the people around you, the people in your circle of influence. Maybe you have co workers under you, a younger brother or sister, a friend, everyone in your world needs to be believed in. Everyone needs to feel wanted and appreciated.

Sometimes people just need someone to believe in them. Going for your dreams sounds all nice and easy, but often on your journey, you have to exit your comfort zone and enter the unknown to get them. Sometimes people just need a push and sombody close to them to say 'Go for it! I believe you can do it.'

Part of finding your own greatness is the ability to see the potential in the people around you and inspire them to go for their goals and achieve their dreams.

Make it a point to believe in somebody else today.

Wednesday, 25 April 2007

Friday, 20 April 2007

10 Tips To Great Communication With Teenagers

Communication and understanding are crucial to every relationship, and especially in a relationship with a teenager. If you are a parent, youth worker, counsellor or teacher, this article contains practical tips to keeping the lines of communication open with the teenagers in your world.

1. Keep Communicating. Even if they do not seem to be listening, keep communicating. Ask them about what they are interested in. If you work as an accountant and they are passionate about music, do not hold a conversation based on numbers. Ask them about their music and why they like it. Listen to it with them.

2. Be Genuine. Teenagers can spot a fake a mile away. If you have an alternative agenda for communicating with them you may as well forget it!

3. Invest Time. There is a quote that says 'People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.' You could know all about the artists they listen to and the movies they watch, but if you do not genuinely care, neither do they. Show them that you care by doing an activity that they enjoy. Go shopping, horse riding, walking, dancing or to the movies. Take them to do something that they would enjoy.

4. Give Them Privacy. Let them know you are there for them if they want to talk about anything but if they do not want to, give them their privacy. Sometimes everyone wants to be alone. Do not torment your teenagers!

5. Believe In Them. Continually tell them you believe in who they are and not in what they accomplish in life. Sometimes all a young person needs is someone to believe in them and then they start to believe in themselves.

6. Do Not Embarrass Them. Parents can sometimes be offended when their teenager tells them that they are embarrassed by their presence, but think back to when you were a teenager. If your Dad ran down the street in his dressing gown and slippers with your lunch that you forgot, you would be embarrassed. If you were having a slumber party and your Mum came in to kiss you goodnight and you are 17 years old, you would be embarrassed too.

7. Set Boundaries. If you are a parent and your teenagers live at home, you are perfectly entitles to set boundaries on their behaviours based on what you believe. My Mum's motto was 'My house, My rules.' They will grudgingly respect you for it. You do not have to tolerate what they tell you their friends are allowed to do in their house if you are not happy with it.

8. Be Open About Teenage Sex. You may not want to believe it, but teenage pregnancies are on the rise and that means that teenagers are having sex! If your teenager is currently in a relationship, or you suspect they are but they have not yet told you, you especially need to discuss this with them. If you are not comfortable talking with your teenagers about this, pick up a few leaflets on contraceptives, drugs and relationships from your local Doctor's Office and give them to them to read.

9. When To Seek Professional Help. If your teenager is displaying signs of depression, self harm or suicide, do not deny this or try to cover it up, but seek professional help. It may be that a relationship break up effected them more than you realised, or failing an exam made them feel a failure and lead them to self harm.

10. Respect Their Opinions. Just because a person has not reached 20 and may not have as much life experience as you, it does not mean that they do not have some valid opinions. Respect their opinions, do not brush them off.