SelfHelpCollective.com

How To Change The World

by Steve M Nash
(Holmfirth, UK)

10 Things That Can Make The World A Better Place To Live, Today

Everyone wants to change the world, don't they!

Okay, maybe not, but everyone would like the world to be a better place - I know that's true.

Well, it's "everyone"'s lucky day today because I can reveal 10 ways that "everyone" (including you) can make the world a better place, starting today.

And it is a cunning plan, indeed! There are no costs involved; no governments need be overthrown; we don't have to solve the global warming and world financial crises or even "stop the war!". No, none of these things are required (thankfully) to make the world a better place, today

So, how do you change the world, then? Well... there is one tiny drawback to my too-good-to-be-true 'cunning plan', and it's this: making the world a better place... it all starts with YOU!

And the plan starts now. It involves you reading some free inspirational quotes, maybe making some positive affirmations, and perhaps even engaging in a little bit of positive changes hypnosis (don't worry, it's painless!)

Or, in other words, read on (and take actions, accordingly)...


1. Worry Less



I know it's easy to turn on the news, and see all that doom and gloom and think the world is going to rack and ruin. But, you know, there is a simple solution. So simple you might not even have considered it, yet. And that is... to turn off the news - turn off the TV, even better! I know TV feels good, and it gives you something to do, but it's contributing to a great deal of your anxieties right now, it really is.

Failing that 'drastic' action, then you could just simply stop worrying! You could especially stop worrying about things you can't do anything about. And if the issue concerns you so much, then do something about it. Either way, don't worry! It is pretty much a waste of time, and yet another addiction to recognise, and let go of...


2. Smile More

"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs -- jolted by every pebble in the road."
-- Henry Ward Beecher

It really does feel good to smile. It really does feel good to see someone who's smiling. Same goes for laughing really. Positive contagion. So want to make the world a better place, then smile more! Simple as that.

Want some simple excuses to smile more? Check out these funny inspirational quotes!...


3. Express Your Love

"Of all forms of caution, caution in love is perhaps the most fatal to true happiness."
-- Bertrand Russell

I'm going to tell you something that might shock you now! It's about love, and how it's everywhere around us.

Okay, remember that song that Louis Armstrong sang - "What a Wonderful World"? Well, there's a lyric in it that I never accepted at face value, until recently anyway. The lyric, goes like this, "I see friends shaking hands... sayin.. how do you do. They're really sayin... I love you."

Yes, Louis Armstrong knew it and now so do I, but the shocking fact is this: we can love anyone and everyone we meet! And we can express that love simply by saying, "Hello!" or giving them a hug or - (see 2.) - simply smiling at them.

Of course you may disagree with this, you may think is much more precious. (The S elf Help Collective is all for disagreements, don't worry!) And if so, then that's absolutely fine - just express your love more to those people you know you love, and don't be cautious about it! Again, simply saying "Hello" will do, or hugging, and definitely sharing a smile or a laugh with them is a great way to express your love, too. Any way you express your love is good, really (like sharing a beautiful song)...




4. Challenge Your Fears

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do."
-- Eleanor Roosevelt

Most of life's troubles, especially the kind of troubles that happen between people, stem from fear. Either the fear is unexpressed, and it results in passive aggressive behaviour of some kind, or the fear is expressed and it results in hate-based actions.

Of course, I'm not talking about fear of heights or fear of public speaking or any of those popular top 10 fears. I am, however, talking about fears like these (less popular, but much, much more prevalent):

* Fear of rejection
* Fear of intimacy
* Fear of commitment
* Fear of being wrong
* Fear of failure
Etc.

These are the types of fears that play out each and every day. These are the types of fears that keep you and your world small. So when you challenge these fears, you are - by default - making your world bigger, AND better.

Know yourself; accept yourself; challenge yourself - challenge your fears (see 9.)...


5. Be More Assertive

"Assertiveness is not what you do, it's who you are!"
-- Shakti Gawain

I believe assertiveness to be vital in making this world a better place to live. I believe that we ALL should strive to be as assertive as we can be. I believe that when we tell each other what we want, when we all know where we stand, and when we're all aiming for win-win outcomes, that all will be better in each of our worlds.

Living in a state of assertiveness, rather than the default of passive aggressiveness, is a form of positive change hypnosis. It means that you've reprogrammed your mind to naturally respond in an assertive way.

Whether you chose self-hypnosis downloads as the solution to your lack of assertiveness or some other solution, the aim of the game is: be more assertive!...


6. Be More Grateful



Hmm, how true. Gratitude is a form of valuing an other. It's a way of recognising someone, of listening or hearing, of validating them.

Gratitude is powerful medicine. And the world could do with a big dose of it right now, don't you think! So let's start the ball rolling, today, with you, and your life - how can be more grateful today?...


7. Help Someone Else

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be, and help them become what they are capable of being."
-- Goethe

This is such a powerful mantra, such a positive affirmation of the potential of the human being. I could write pages on Goethe's words alone.

I won't. Instead, just imagine doing what Goethe suggests, and treating people you love and care about (as well as those you don't care for much at all) 'as if they were what they ought to be'. Just imagine how transformational it would be for you and them both if this was your inten t ion e ach an d every time you interacted with someone.

No, don't imagine it - do it! Do it, and I guarantee the world will improve!...


8. Listen Better

"Listening is a magnetic and strange thing, a creative force. When we really listen to people there is an alternating current, and this recharges us so that we never get tired of each other. We are constantly being re-created."
-- Brenda Ueland

Listening is one of those skills that we all think we're experts at. But most of us are mistaken, we really are. Good listening is an active experience where you allow someone to speak and to explain and to share. Good listening is NOT waiting for your turn, when you can speak and correct and solve.

Good listening requires one solution only: your listening, attentive self...


9. Face Yourself

Facing yourself means looking into the dark places of yourself, your 'shadow'. It's the part of us that we don't care to share with anyone (even ourselves). Trouble is, our shadow WILL always find a way of expressing itself - it cannot be ignored!

There is another way: it's called knowing yourself - faults and all. Truth is, the world will be a better place when you can face yourself, really look closely and lovingly at who you actually are.

Try it! Next time you get really angry with someone, because they're so 'selfish', ask yourself why their selfishness bothers you so much. The answer might surprise you...


10. Accept Yourself

"Once we accept our limits, we go beyond them."
- Albert Einstein

Once you can face yourself, and your limits, you are no longer held captive by them. So in the example above, you no longer get angry when someone is selfish. (And let's face it, your anger usually affects you the most, don't you think.)

When you accept yourself, faults and all, then something really special happens to you and your world: you start to accept others, also.

Fewer fights, less loathing, reduced resentment. Doesn't this sound like a world you'd like to live in?...