5 Daily Habits That Will Transform Your Life

Have you seen a tree with a lot of fresh fruits?
Isn't it so tempting to get the fruits from the tree and eat them? This is because we know they came from a good and well nourished tree.

The quality of the fruits on a tree depends on the nutrients provided in the roots- nutrients that came from the soil. The roots will always determine the fruits.

The fruits of a tree are just like our dreams.
The soil that nourishes the tree represents God in our lives.
And guess what represents the roots? - our HABITS.

The quality of our dreams is determined by our habits.
As a matter of fact, it's the little things that we do everyday that will make us a champion.

Oftentimes in our lives, we have dreams to pursue but we always lose track because of many distractions in our environment. But please don''t be discouraged by these obstacles and problems as these are needed so you can be the best that you become in achieving God's dreams for you.

Now, let me share to you 5 daily habits that really transformed my life. It changes how I see God, people and circumstances. It changes how I deal with people. It changes how I deal with problems. It changes me from being a superstar complainer to a happy person.

1. Start your Day with God.
When you wake up in the morning, thank God He gave you another day- another day to pursue your dreams, another day to inspire people, another day to serve others. Talk to Him for few minutes. Talk to Him like a friend - sharing your deepest desires and dreams to Him.

2. Plan for your day.
Write your plans for the day. Imagine the day as your best day ever - a day to be the most loving and kind, a day to celebrate life, a day to be Jesus to others, a day to be the best daughter, best parent, best employee and best person. Don't make your "best day" as an exception. Make it as a habit. Treat each day as your "best day ever."

Do what you have to do now so you will never have to wait again.

3. Live healthy. Do you believe that God wants the best for you? If so, then you would love yourself, and if you love yourself, you will love your body.

Do you want more time to spend with your family? to help other people? to serve the ministry?
If yes, then take care of your health. You need to be healthy in order to serve.

Eat fruits and vegetables.
Exercise 2-3 times a week.
Avoid processed foods.
Prefer organic.

Search more for ways to have a healthy living. God wants us to have the strength so we can fulfill His mission in this world.

4. Feed your mind.
The start of change is new information. Make it a habit a learn something new each day.
Read an inspirational book instead of watching TV shows. A 30 minute reading each day would be very helpful. If you are not a fan of reading books, you may choose audio books. You may listen to these while you're in the bus or taxi, or doing something else.

Improve yourself. Search for wisdom!

5. Associate with people who will lift you up and not with people who will bring you down.
Choose your friends wisely. Make sure your friends are true friends.

Are they always there for you whenever you have problems?
Are they trying to help you cope up with your situation?
Are they inspiring you?
Are they choosing to understand instead of judging you?

Socialize wisely.

It's the little things that we do daily that matters.
How about you? What are your habits?
Are they align to your dreams?

You will easily know - discover your fruits and assess.


Be a better you everyday,
Maya

Revolutionize Your Thoughts

 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

- Romans 12:2

Do you want a breakthrough this year? a complete life overhaul? So you can be the best that you can be?

Well, it will all start with changing your thoughts.

What are your thoughts about life? about relationships? about money? about people?
Your thoughts on these things actually reflect your current situation.

Our lives is governed by one law - the law of attraction.

Everything that you have and you will have in your life are the results of your thoughts. It's all about what you are thinking. You are actually attracting what is going on in your mind.

"Every thought of yours is a real thing - a force"

- Prentice Mulford

It doesn't matter who you are or wherever you are, this law of attraction always prevail. The law responds to your thoughts, no matter what they may be.

So what do you want in your life?

Good relationships?

Financial freedom?

A new car?

A breakthrough in business?

Be clear on what do you really want. The clearer, the better.

If you can think clearly about what  you want in your mind, and make that dominant thought, you're going to hold it in your hand, regardless of how many obstacles and struggles in the middle of your journey.

Let me give you 3 areas in your life where you can apply the Law of Attraction

1. Transform the way you think about yourself.

Are there times you feel like you're ugly? you feel like nobody likes you?

you feel that you are not worthy of love and affection?

Transform it right away! The moment you think about these things, put those out on your mind. These are all whispers by the enemy to make you  feel like a loser, because he wants you to get broke and he wants to see you miserable. Fight the enemy by revolutionizing your thoughts!

Think about the truth and reality.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made"

- Psalm 139:14

 God's works are all wonderful! This is the truth -  no matter how many pimples you have in your face, no matter how many scars you have in your skin, no matter how flat your nose is and no matter how many sins you committed in the past.. You are Beautiful! God thinks You are Amazing! That's why He created you..

Love yourself first so you will receive love. 

Affirm yourself with these thoughts:

"I am whole, strong, powerful, unique, loving, happy, and worthy of love and affection"

“To acquire love... fill yourself up with it until you become a magnet.”  

 - Charles Haanel

 

"I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy" - See more at: http://www.onepowerfulword.com/2007/02/charles-haanel-master-key-system-part.html#sthash.s7mI5lEz.dpuf

"I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy" - See more at: http://www.onepowerfulword.com/2007/02/charles-haanel-master-key-system-part.html#sthash.s7mI5lEz.dpuf

"I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy" - See more at: http://www.onepowerfulword.com/2007/02/charles-haanel-master-key-system-part.html#sthash.s7mI5lEz.dpuf

"I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy" - See more at: http://www.onepowerfulword.com/2007/02/charles-haanel-master-key-system-part.html#sthash.s7mI5lEz.dpu

2. Transform the way you think about other people. Transform your relationships.

Learn to accept the imperfection of people around you. Who is perfect by the way?

Learn to continue trusting people, even if you've been already cheated on and betrayed.

Love your family, love your friends, love all the people around you.

Love your enemies. Love them to shame no matter how difficult it is.

Always remember the law of attraction. Whatever you do bounces back to you.

In relationships, we're so used to complaining about other people. For instance "my coworkers are so lazy, my husband makes me so mad, my children are so difficult. It's always focusing on the other person. But for relationships to really work, we need to focus on what we appreciate about the other person, not what we're complaining about. When we're complaining about those things we're only getting more of those things.

- Marci Shimoff

3. Transform the way you think about wealth. 

Wealth is good. Money, itself is not evil.. it's actually the way we use money that determines whether it's good or evil.

If you want abundance and prosperity, then focus on abundance. Focus on prosperity.

Don't focus on things that you are lacking right now.

Don't focus on scarcity.

Don't talk about it with your family.

Never discuss it with your friends.

Avoid topics about lack and scarcity of resources.

THINK ABOUT WEALTH.

Use your powerful imagination that you already have the amount of money you want. Make it a habit to look at things you want and say to yourself  "I can afford that!"

Then give more to receive more. It's also part of the Law of Attraction. When you give more, you will feel good about yourself. You feel like you're wealthy. You feel like you have a plenty to give.

Everything you want is an inside job. The outside world si the world of effects; it's just the result of thoughts. Set your thoughts and frequency on happiness... and 

you will experience the true heaven on earth

- The Secret, by Rhonda Byrne

Be a better you everyday,

Maya

The Power of Self Control

How will you react to these situations?

- Your kid doesn't get what he wants and he throw tantrums in the mall

- You get stuck with the traffic for very long hours

- Your sibling gets your thing without your permission

- Your boss screams at you in front of your colleagues

Will you be able to control your emotions?

or  Will you easily lose your temper?


I noticed that people nowadays are more expressive of what they feel. This is evident by posts in social media such as Facebook and Twitter, not only by ordinary people, but also by some influential celebrities. Some tend to say what they feel through these networks without regard to its implications to other people.

I'm hearing 3 myths about dealing with anger and temper.

Myth #1: "I can't control my emotions, I am a naturally hot headed person"

- All of us might have different reactions to circumstances. Some are born patient and some are born ill tempered or easily angered. However, here's the truth - all of us have a perfect control on our emotions. Yes, we don't have control to what's happening around us, but .. but.. we definitely have control on how we will react to different situations. When it comes to our emotions, isn't it better for us to be in driver's seat than in the passenger's seat?

Myth #2: "If I'm angry it's better to let it all out than to keep it inside"

- As a human, it's natural for us to express a strong emotion for our concerns. However, we should all realize that we can still learn to vent without exploding. You might choose a close friend who can fully understand your feelings and you might sincerely tell your concerns to him. Let him know that you just want someone to listen. Feel your feelings but don't let yourself do something that you will regret afterwards. Control your emotions and don't let it control you.

Myth #3: "If I'm gentle toward all, everyone will walk over me"

- This is just a complete myth. It won't make you a lesser person if you will be able to control your emotions. People will surely respect you more if you will display  self control.

Words are very powerful in building relationships. It can make or break someone's day.

How would you feel if someone tells you you're weak? you're a failure? you're ugly?

So the next time you feel like saying something which you think is true, but you're also aware that it could hurt someone's feeling, take control! bite your tongue! It's better to hurt yourself than to hurt others.

To better understand the concept of self control, let me share you a story... 

Once upon a time there was a little boy who was talented, creative, handsome, and extremely bright. A natural leader. The kind of person everyone would normally have wanted on their team or project. But he was also self-centered and had a very bad temper. When he got angry, he usually said, and often did, some very hurtful things. In fact, he seemed to have little regard for those around him. Even friends. So, naturally, he had few. “But,” he told himself, “that just shows how stupid most people are!”

As he grew, his parents became concerned about this personality flaw, and pondered long and hard about what they should do. Finally, the father had an idea. And he struck a bargain with his son. He gave him a bag of nails, and a BIG hammer. “Whenever you lose your temper,” he told the boy, “I want you to really let it out. Just take a nail and drive it into the oak boards of that old fence out back. Hit that nail as hard as you can!”

Of course, those weathered oak boards in that old fence were almost as tough as iron, and the hammer was mighty heavy, so it wasn’t nearly as easy as it first sounded. Nevertheless, by the end of the first day, the boy had driven 37 nails into the fence (That was one angry young man!). Gradually, over a period of weeks, the number dwindled down. Holding his temper proved to be easier than driving nails into the fence! Finally the day came when the boy didn’t lose his temper at all. He felt mighty proud as he told his parents about that accomplishment.

“As a sign of your success,” his father responded, “you get to PULL OUT one nail. In fact, you can do that each day that you don’t lose your temper even once.”
Well, many weeks passed. Finally one day the young boy was able to report proudly that all the nails were gone.

At that point, the father asked his son to walk out back with him and take one more good look at the fence. “You have done well, my son,” he said. “But I want you to notice the holes that are left. No matter what happens from now on, this fence will never be the same. Saying or doing hurtful things in anger produces the same kind of result. There will always be a scar. It won’t matter how many times you say you’re sorry, or how many years pass, the scar will still be there. And a verbal wound is as bad as a physical one. People are much more valuable than an old fence. They make us smile. They help us succeed. Some will even become friends who share our joys, and support us through bad times. And, if they trust us, they will also open their hearts to us. That means we need to treat everyone with love and respect. We need to prevent as many of those scars as we can.”


Relationships are the best investment in this world. We should spend time building bridges rather than barriers in our relationships. One way to do this is to practice self control.

"If you conquer yourself, then you conquer the world"

- Paulo Coelho, Aleph

Be a better you everyday,
Maya

Be More Grateful

Life nowadays has become more demanding.. with the release of new technologies and also with the influence of media, people are wanting more and more in life - latest fashionable clothing, accessories, shoes, cellphones, tables and a lot more.

This is the reason why some of the people fail to complain more in things that they can't have than to be grateful in what they already have.

 Let me give you Top 15 things to be grateful in life. Note: 15 is just a small number.. if you could just look around and appreciate what you have, you'll discover more and more!

1. Your parents - are they still alive? If yes, then you are so lucky! You have more time to express to them how much you love them- for taking care of you since you were born, for guiding you, and for loving you. Please take note that there are lot people who suffer from deep regrets of not expressing love to their parents when they were still alive.

2. Your family and friends - Are you close with your family and friends? If yes, then be thankful! Not all people have the ability to be close with family and friends. If not, then make a decision now. Whatever the circumstances are, relationships are the best things we can have in this world. One thing that others can't take away from us is the love that we give away to the people around us.

3. Your sense of sight - for seeing the colorful wonders of God's creation!

4. Your speech - for giving you an opportunity to express love and inspire others through your words

5. Your hands - for letting you flip the pages of your book, hug someone and hold the hands of your loved ones

6. Your legs - for giving you an ability to jog, walk, run, and swim

7. Your mind - for providing the ability to discern wisdom, to store memories and to solve problems

8. Your health - for letting you fulfill the dreams that you have. Without good health, we can't fulfill God's plans and dreams for us.

9. Disappointments - for giving you an opportunity to distinguish the things that really matter to you.

10. Pain - for teaching you how to become bolder and stronger. All the breakthrough we have in our lives come from pain, not pleasure. Be grateful for pain!

11.Your life - for giving you a chance to express God's love to the world

12. Your job - not all people have the kind of job that you have, have the amount of salary you earn.

13.You enemies - for helping you become a more patient  and understanding individual, recognizing that their existence is for you to uncover blind spots

14. Love - for letting you feel the true meaning of life

15. Yourself - for being unique, smart, funny, and worthy of love and affection.

Now, do you still have more reasons to complain about life?

God already provided all that you need!

What do you have that you did not receive? … Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! (1 Corinthians 4:7-8)

Be a better you everyday,
Maya

Love Yourself More

All of us were born with perfect love.
However, somewhere along our journey, due to our wrong decisions and mistakes, we developed some voices in our head that result in decreased sense of self. Unconsciously, all the pains brought by failures, defeat and hurtful experiences become a factor in losing our self-esteem and confidence, thus prevent us from loving ourselves.

But come to think of it... how are we gonna give love if we cannot love ourselves? and how the people around us love us if in the first place we cannot love ourselves?

Filling yourself with so much love is very important so you will have healthy relationships. When you love yourself, you won't become needy and you don't rely your happiness according to the reactions and conditions of people around you.

Here are the 5 things you can do to love yourself more.

1. Commit to doing self care thing. 
Always make time to pamper yourself at least once a week.
Have a foot spa. Get a makeover to the salon. Get a massage. This is very helpful and powerful because you are reminding yourself that you are worth the time and effort. When you actually care for yourself, you are loving yourself.

2.  Believe in your worthiness. 

You are unique.
You are worthy.
You are kind.
You are loving.
and you deserve the perfect love in this world.

Appreciate your worth.  When you do this, it will be easier to appreciate the worth of others and you will have healthy and happy relationships.

3. Forgive yourself.
Ask forgiveness to the Lord for your mistakes. Forgive yourself and move on.
Don't forget that you are a human. Let go and Let God.

 4. Improve Yourself.
Be a better version of you everyday. Read books. Listen to inspirational stories. Get a mentor. Do all the things that you can to improve yourself. You will be amazed on how it would increase your self confidence.. and self love!

5. Spend time with the right people.
Be careful with the people you spend the most of your time with. Hang out with people who can inspire you, whose hearts are not filled with neediness but so much love.

This doesn't mean that you won't spend time with difficult and toxic people. You can get along with them but limit the time you will spend on them. We have a limited number of hours in a day and we should always be careful on how we will be using this time.

Please take time to watch the video below. It was made for women, but it applies to all human, regardless of gender, age and status.

Believe that You Are Amazing, You Are Awesome.




Be a better you everyday,
Maya

How to Balance Life and Work

I have a friend who has always been complaining about the working hours she has. She told me she doesn't have much time on things she wants to do - such as getting some exercise, learning to cook a meal, and sharing quality moments with her family.

She's always telling me "I don't have a choice, my job requires me to work 8-12 hours a day and all my energy is already drained after working hours that I am not able to do other things anymore.

Then she asked a question...
"Is there really such thing as work-life balance?"

Well, the answer is YES.

Let me share 7 ways I got from reading self help books and research on how to balance Life and Work.

1. Focus on things that really matter. Be very clear on what you value. Focus on what you want to achieve so you can spend your energy and attention to these things. It isn't about balancing your time, but balancing your energy. It isn't about time management, but priority management.

2. Make a schedule. Plan your day according to what you value. When you are clear about the things that really matter, you can plan your day according to these things. In this manner, you will avoid unnecessary stress.

3.  Commit yourself not to use your laptop, tablet or cellphone on specific days. If possible, you may also turn off your wifi so you can't access the internet. Spend this whole day with your family. Give your focus, full time energy and attention with your loved ones.

4. Minimize unnecessary and unproductive talks at work that can take away your energy. Again, be very clear on what really matters. Don't stop for every dog that barks. Discern things and circumstances and avoid distractions.

5. Turn off autopilot. Yes, we can do anything we want, but we have to accept that we can't just do everything. Make a realistic "to do list" for the day and finish the biggest task first. Don't miss to take few breaks, grab a drink and take a walk so you can refresh your brain before moving on to the next thing.

6. Schedule specific days to learn something new or pamper yourself - play an instrument? cook a new meal? go to salon or spa? - anything that can make you feel good!

Enjoy your "Me Day.' YOU DESERVE IT!

7. Don't forget to surrender anything that is beyond your control. One of the reasons why people get easily stressed nowadays is that they are trying to get all things done on their own. Be humble to accept that you can't just do all things. Don't be scared to delegate to other people. Surrender to God anything that is beyond your control.

Be a better you everyday,
Maya

Don't Be a Complainer

Have you ever find yourself always complaining about the people in your life?

Are you an employee who repeatedly complain about the companies policies and your boss' biased opinions on promotions?

Do you complain during traffic?

Do you constantly find yourself complaining about the circumstances in your life?

If yes, you are an ultimate complainer.

Let me tell you something.

Complaining is not for the winners in life.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mean to totally ignore every negative feelings you have. It's fine to share your feelings with a close friend or family member. Allow yourself to vent every once in a while.

Being dissatisfied is normal and there's always a room for valid complaints. However, beware and make sure that complaining will not take over your life. It can destroy you and leave you without anything.

Does anything happen after you complain? I guess NONE.

Complaining is useless.
There are bad things in our lives that we can't avoid from happening. But our experience through these bad things depends on how we respond to it. It's just a matter of choice.

People who complain will get more of what they're complaining about. It's a law of attraction. It's how life works. Complainers create the problems and miseries they will experience. The moment they think about it, they materialize it.

Instead of complaining...

Change the way you think. Change your perspective about life. God gave our lives to enjoy.
Make a list of things to be thankful for- there are a lot! Focus on these things.
Love the things you possess and love the people in your life.
Surrender to God your uncontrollable circumstances and frustrations.

Make a decision now.
Don't be a complainer.

“Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won't make us happier.”

- Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Be a better you everyday,
Maya

Be Different

Be Different.

Walk away from the crowd.

Walk away from the people who don't dream.

Walk away from the people who don't take action to succeed.

Walk away from the people who don't spend time to improve themselves.

Don't do what they do.

Don't go where they go.

Don't talk the way they talk.

Take charge of your life,

Take charge of your day,

Take charge of your finances,

Take charge of your health,

Take charge of your career,

Take charge of your relationships.

Anything you can control, take charge!

Commit yourself to a whole new journey this 2014.

Start planning for your year, months and days.

Start plotting your career path.

Start planning your finances.

Start taking action for a good health.

Start finding ways to improve your spirituality.

Start building good relationships.

All you have to do is to START.

Once you experience a good life, you will never go back to the old ways, to the old language, to the old times.

Commit yourself to success everyday.

Let your work be your declaration of God's love to the world.

Make 2014 a breakthrough year.

" Success is something you attract by the person you become"

- Jim Rohn

Be a better you everyday,

Maya

Simple Steps to a Better Day

Do you have a goal of making each day of your life "a better day?"- that you don't have to wait for a promotion or for a Christmas season for you to call a day a "great day?"

Taking out those 'don't happen everyday" things (like the day you got married or the day you got promoted), let me give you 5 simple steps to a better day.

1. Laugh often. I can't imagine myself without a laughter on a day. I always find myself laughing at stuff - by watching comedy videos in Youtube or by talking to a friend about crazy stuff.

However, always be reminded to laugh at things , not to people.

According to study, laugh is a strong medicine for mind and body. It is a powerful antidote to stress, pain and conflict.

So don't be too hard on yourself. Find a way to laugh so you can make each day a better day everyday.

2. Take a walk. Go out of your house, take a walk and breathe the fresh outdoor air. Clear your mind. Calm yourself.

 Say to yourself "How lucky I am to be alive and enjoy the things and people in this world"
It will definitely have a great effect on your day.

3. Give as many hugs as you can. A recent Canadian study shows that an affectionate cuddle is beneficial in bringing up positive emotions and improving our frame of mind.

A loving hug in the morning can keep you buoyant throughout the day.
So what are you waiting for? Start giving your hugs now.

4. Let go. Stop caring about everything. Simply let some things go. Let go and let God. Do your best for things that you can control and pray for things that are beyond your power.

5. Love more. Love yourself. Love your impatient partner. Love your naughty kid. Love your selfish sister. Love your noisy neighbors. Love the imperfect people around you.

Recently, I realized that the kinder I am to everyone, even if they don't reciprocate, the better day I have.

"Everyday is a good day to be alive, whether the sun's shining or not"

- Marty Robbins

Fail More

"If you're not failing, you're not growing"

- H. Stanley Judd

In school we learn that mistakes are bad and we are punished for making them. Yet, if you look at the way humans are designed to learn, we learn by making mistakes. 

We learn to walk by falling down.
If we never fell down, we would never walk.

Don't be scared to make a mess.
Don't be scared to be ridiculed at.
Don't be scared to be laughed at.
Don't be scared to be criticized.
Don't be scared to fail and make mistakes.

Successful people failed many times in their lives before they become successful.

Oprah Winfrey was fired from one of her first jobs because she was "unfit for TV."

Walt Disney was told a mouse would never work.
SIdney Poitier was told to become a dishwasher.

Oliver Stone was dropped out of school.

Steven Spielberg got rejected from film school ... three times

Stephen King received 30 rejections for "Carrie"

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team

Steve Jobs was removed from the company he started

Hugh Jackman got fried from 7-Eleven


So what are you waiting for?
Make a mess, make a miracle!


Be a better you everyday,
Maya

Listen More

"Most people do not listen with the intent to understand, they listen with the intent to reply"

- Stephen Covey

Listening is very significant to every relationship. 
Without listening, there's no communication.

When was the last time you found someone who display a genuine interest in what you want to share? 
How did you feel?

We feel loved, valued, and significant when someone pays attention to what we are saying.

So the next time you encounter someone who want to share something with you, focus on what he's trying to say. Have a burning desire to understand his insights. As much as you can, refrain from thinking about how to respond so you can focus more on his concerns. In addition, do not judge the person based on what he is sharing. Always remember that the purpose of listening is to UNDERSTAND. Do not try to give advice if the person is not asking for it. Just listen and understand.

“We have two ears and one mouth, so we should listen more than we say.” 
― Zeno of Citium

Be a better you,
Maya