Blog Entries tagged 'self help'

Motivation: why is it so hard to keep promises to yourself?

editor@uticopa.com — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Most people will probably admit to certain times in their working lives when they lack the motivation to do honest hard work.

If this relates to you, ask yourself honestly whether you're the type who has constantly cut corners, doing the minimum amount of work necessary for a certain project, and making excuses for handing-in papers late.

For many young people just starting out at work, there is the assumption that this tendency would end when they started doing a regular, [...]

Solving the stressful equations of life

editor@uticopa.com — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0100

How to solve the stressful equations of life?

Rather like a stack of dominoes, once the bankers of Wall Street unleashed their economic ills onto an uncertain world, piece by piece, the world's economy started to collapse. Eventually, the unstoppable force reached the common man. But there were considerable knock-on effects on individuals, resulting in mounting stress levels.

Living in such unpredictable times evokes feelings of anxiety or even fear. There is a solutio [...]

Laughter is the best medicine

editor@uticopa.com — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 +0100

Of all the tools to combat depression and negativity, humour is by far the best medicine - for both patient and doctor! Television and radio are both under-rated as purveyors of exactly this kind of medicine, no data ever being collected on the numbers of sick people made to feel appreciably better by switching-on at home and laughing uncontrollably at the comic of the day. From the comedians of yesteryear like Laurel and Hardy or Jack Benny, to Tommy Cooper or that special bran [...]

Time Travel

editor@uticopa.com — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:00 +0100

If Spock were here, he and Bones - the good doctor from the Starship Enterprise - would cure all our ills. How simple it would be if only we could go back in time to fix all those ‘if only' situations, then zoom forward at warp speed to ensure a perfect future.

Despite the fact that this is the real world, modern technology has actually come up with some innovative ideas to help. There is a free website www.futureme.org which lets you send an email to yourself up to 30 years [...]

The tree of life: how to recognise when you're close to the edge

editor@uticopa.com — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

The first thing to understand is that everyone's life goes through its ups and downs. Try to visualise one of those giant sequoia trees in California. As you stand at the root base and stretch your neck backwards, the trunk proceeds straight and true. Up, up it goes in a regular fashion until suddenly, without warning, there are two forks: one pointing one way, one the other. What to do? Which direction should you take?

So it is in life. A normal patte [...]

The ‘oy' syndrome: a case history

editor@uticopa.com — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0100

All my life I've been a pessimist. At least, that's what everybody tells me, so it must be true, mustn't it ? I was perplexed, therefore, to read in ‘The Times' that psychologists are at last coming round to the view that ‘constructive negativism' can be quite a good thing. Is this what I and many other people have ?

It all started with my paternal grandmother, who hailed originally from Eastern Europe. Her family, from the icy wastes of Lithuania, wer [...]

I'm feeling low: can therapy help instead of drugs?

editor@uticopa.com — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Rising unemployment, negative-equity, house repossessions...is it any wonder many of us are feeling depressed and unable to cope? According to Mind, the mental health charity, as many as one person in five can expect to suffer from a mental health problem during their lives. With today's global financial meltdown, this figure can be expected to rise still further. So, what can be done?

First, you need to assess whether you are merely down in the dumps or actually sufferi [...]

Can self-efficacy help us be more successful and be more resilient to stress?

editor@uticopa.com — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Psychologists believe that we all have different degrees of ‘self-efficacy’, which is our belief in our ability to succeed in specific situations – a belief, that all reactions to life challenges have an affect and a meaning.

People with robust self-efficacy can face difficulties with vigour and energy and have a ‘have a go’, ‘’try again’ spirit. Yet, what helps to develop this quality and why some people seem to have a much higher [...]

How To Cope With Stress Better

editor@uticopa.com — Thu, 22 May 2008 00:00:00 +0100

Work on your Confidence and Self Esteem

Having good self-esteem provides a robust support system that enables you to deal well with day-to-day problems that can otherwise have a negative and in some cases detrimental effect on your emotional and physical health. Confidence and self esteem is something that you can work on and there are number of therapy and life coaching techniques that can help with that.

Make sure your expectations are realistic

Your expectations and judgement [...]