I have noticed one of the best ways to boost self-confidence is to act immediately. When you want to do something but you have a fear about it you will usually avoid and resist doing it. But when you choose to act in the moment in spite that your fear, you experience power and boost in self confidence.
When I am working with a client and they have an assignment or task to complete that is confronting to them I notice they always want to push it off doing it and put it toward the bottom of the list. And they put the easy things at the time of their priority list. So I always have to give them a little push and request that they do the scary thing first or soon. What happens when you put things off that you're afraid of doing, they become scarier over time. It is harder and harder to get yourself to do it.
It is important to do the things that you fear first, right away when you are starting your day. This approach as you feel powerful and confident and everything else you do seems like a breeze. Also when you are asked to do things that scare you, it will be easy for you to say yes and because you will have the confidence to know you can do it.
If you know there is something you want to do that scares you, do not choose to wait two weeks to do it. If you do you are giving your mind the opportunity to focus on the fears. You will start to find excuses for putting it off even longer. That is how procrastination starts. So many women tell me that they think they are lazy because they procrastinate. I have to re-educate them that they are not lazy. The problem is they believe their fears and excuses are real. They don't realize they are avoiding something that is confronting to them. Once they see that it is an irrational fear blocking them they choose to take action.
Have you notice when you have procrastinated, after you did what you were putting off you say things to yourself “it wasn't that bad, “I don't know what I was so worried about?” “That was easier than I thought.” Those thoughts are signs that you feared something and it was stopping you from acting. The fear may be as simple as you feared it would take long, or the task would overwhelm you.
The next time you want to do something that is scary or confronting to you act immediately with out thinking about it. Even if you have some thoughts or fears that come up, accept them and say do it anyway. If you do it right away you will instantly feel confident. Surrender to not knowing everything or having enough time and do it, its ok, you will figure it out as you go. When you have this approach everything usually feels less threatening and more enjoyable.
I can not stress enough how important it is to act immediately, this is one of the best ways to boost yourself self-confidence. When you practice this you will become more decisive and know how to respond quickly to any situation. You unwavering trust about yourself.
Your assignment:
The next time you want to do something that you have fear do it right away. Do not let your mind talk you out of it. Look at the last two weeks and identify where you have put off doing something. See what excuses you have come up for not doing it. Ask yourself is it possible that this excuse came from a fear I have? Is that feat real or valid? Also ask yourself, If I did not have this fear would I have done it already? Then take care of it immediately.
Copyright (c) 2007 Melisa Milonas LLC
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates again yesterday and will be likely to do so again in six weeks. Yields on 5-year Certificates of Deposit are down to around 4.25% and falling. On top of that, the mortgage meltdown has hindered the performance of the entire stock market. If you are retired and need your investments to generate income you don't have to settle for these paltry rates and dismal returns. Read on to learn how you can get rates that are double that!
I have written several articles on various types of investments that can generate a dependable income stream that is far higher than that paid by certificates of deposit. I've talked about income deposit securities, closed-end funds, regional telephone companies and Canadian income trusts in previous articles. Keep in mind that these types of investments aren't guaranteed by the government and their share value will fluctuate from day to day.
Closed-end funds make attractive income-oriented investments. Think of a closed-end fund as a pool of underlying investments. Those underlying investments can be U.S. corporate bonds, foreign bonds or even stocks. Something unique to closed-end funds is that they don't always trade at the same price as the underlying value of what they own.
For instance, a closed-end bond fund may own a pool of bonds that, if sold that day, would be worth $10 per share. Those shares don't always trade at $10. They can trade above or below that price at a premium or a discount to the fair market value of what it owns. Currently, high-quality closed-end funds that previously were trading at a premium are now trading at a discount. Some have discounts of 10% or more.
One reason why I particularly find select closed-end funds attractive is because the share price has been declining much faster than the value of the underlying securities. To me, this is an indication that the decline is a result of investor panic, not the underlying fundamentals of the fund. The yields on attractive closed-end funds have increased 2-3% with many yielding in the 9-10% range.
I also like the stocks of select regional telephone companies. Studies have been done that show how stocks paying dividends tend to out-perform those that don't over longer periods of time. That's because companies that pay dividends tend to be older and are in industries where their cash flow is more dependable.
These telephone companies have a steady, stable and growing cash flow. Think about it. Every month you pay your phone and cable bill. Things would have to get pretty bad before people allow their phone and cable to be shut off. Recent market fears have even caused the price of these stalwarts to decline. That means you can now get yields close to 10%--or even higher.
Canadian Trusts are popular among those seeking higher dividend yields. These investments are out of favor due to changes in Canadian tax laws. Those laws don't take effect until 2011 though, and even then will only have a limited impact on certain trusts. Yet the share prices of all of the trusts have declined as much as those trusts that are adversely affected. That means that high quality trusts with healthy and growing underlying businesses are paying unbelievable yields.
A company that prints telephone directories is now yielding over 7.5% and has already increased their dividend this year. There are trusts in the oil and gas sector that have shown they can weather the stress of low natural gas prices. Some are paying over 10%--some even 15%---and still they are only paying out 70-80% of the money they have available for dividends.
The key with all investments like these is to own several of them to reduce your risk. The prices will fluctuate. The prospects of individual companies can change. That's why I use groups of these in my clients, portfolios. For instance, my growth stock portfolio may utilize 10-15 different positions like those mentioned here.
So while everyone else is in a panic and rushing for the exits, I am using this opportunity to pick up investments that will give my clients a steady and growing source of income for years to come.
Both Melisa Milonas & Jeffrey Voudrie are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.