Taking Personal Stock - Confidence Matters 10-02-06

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they are good or evil?

What if I’m crazy?

Voices

Divinity or Insanity?

answers these questions

and more

40 of Skye Thomas’ most popular articles have been brought together to create this magical book. Give it as a gift to someone going through a rough time to show them

your love and support. Give

it to your teenagers as a series of life lessons to help them get through the difficulties of becoming adults. Give it to yourself as a reminder that

you have what it takes to

get through the dramas that

life throws your way.

When All Else Fails,

Find Your Heart’s Song and Sing Louder!

is one of those pick-me-ups

that you can rely on to always be there like a good friend ready to cheer you up on a cloudy day.

who I am on the inside?

Who is naturally loyal

and faithful?

Why Do I Keep Falling

in Love With the

Wrong People?

answers these questions

and more

How can I stop the

negative self-talk from ruining my life?

How can I conquer my negativity and become a naturally positive person?

Why am I so fearful

of trying new things?

How can I improve

my self-esteem?

Beyond the Inner Critic

answers these questions

and more

Halloween Goodies in our Tomorrow’s Edge

Gift Shoppe

Long Live the American Dream! We help you to re-commit yourself to “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness”

October 2nd, 2006

Confidence Matters

Good Morning,

I have this sand dollar sitting here on my desk. I keep looking at it this morning and then outside at the leaves in the trees turning red, yellow, and orange. I wasn’t quite done with summer just yet, but the autumn colors are really quite pretty. Hope you are all doing well and are taking time to notice and enjoy the changing seasons.

take care,

Skye Thomas

Tomorrow's Edge

...inspiring leaps of faith

www.TomorrowsEdge.net

Long Live the American Dream!

Quote of the Week:

"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man’s training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly." – Thomas H. Huxley, scientist, educator

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. " – Winston Churchill

"I decided to be the best and the smartest." – Oprah Winfrey, entrepreneur, talk-show host

This Week’s News of Interest:

A New and Improved Tomorrow’s Edge Website

We found a way to put a soft background color on the site so that it will be easier to read the text without glare from monitors and we put in a new navigation system that is not as big and bulky as the previous version. We have sorted and sifted through the material on the website and gathered it up into six “hubs” by topic. This should make it much easier to find what you are looking for.

The Astrology Hub

The Love and Compatibility Hub

The Self Discovery Hub

The Angels and Spirituality Hub

The Entrepreneurs Hub

The Family and Friends Hub

October 2006 Forecasts

The new October monthly horoscopes were posted to the website a little over a week ago. This batch of new ones are packed full of good news for everyone.

Feature Article of the Week:

Taking Personal Stock

What is the difference between self-criticism and self-awareness? There is so much talk in the world about loving ourselves just the way we are. The idea is that we are each perfect and beautiful. It goes even further to say that in reference to our personal journeys, we are exactly where we are meant to be and there is no need to berate ourselves for not being more spiritual, more educated, more affluent, more of anything. My concern is that so many people take that to mean they can then sit and do nothing about fixing any of their self-limiting ways. People act as though acknowledging a flaw or even using the very word ‘flaw’ is the same as self-hatred and is too critical. Yes, those who have been on the path of self-enlightenment for a long time have discovered the difference, but I am not so sure that the everyday Joe on the street understands the message completely.

Nobody lives a perfect blissful life from birth to the grave. Problems arise and we usually play a role in creating those problems for ourselves. Perhaps the problem is that we just are not where we want to be in life. If we are ever to fix anything or solve any problems, we must first pull our head out of the sand and acknowledge the situation for what it is. Take full stock of ourselves, our beliefs, our gifts, our talents, our challenges, our flaws, everything. By really looking at ourselves, we can then decide what we do and do not like about ourselves. From a place of self-awareness, we can determine what is helping us to accomplish our goals and what is limiting us. That is being self-aware.

Self-criticism looks very similar. We are taking inventory of ourselves and assigning positive and negative labels to those traits we find within. The difference comes in the form of the attitude we use while doing so. If we are judging the various attributes, especially from a harsh light, then we are being critical rather than simply being aware. When we are being self-critical, we are not loving, logical, nor detached from the various elements of ourselves that we are analyzing. We are being very judgmental and unnecessarily harsh.

Either way, we come to the same conclusion that changes need to take place, but the emotional fuel behind them is very different. One says, “I choose to change because it will help me to manifest the life I desire for myself. I am perfect whether I change or not, but I choose this change because I would like to eliminate this self-defeating behavior.” The other says, “I must change because I’m a loser and no good. I must change because if I don’t, I’ll never be a winner. I can’t love myself until I am a winner and am therefore not worthy of anyone else’s love either.” Both of these views can be very powerful motivators, but the journey of life is difficult and challenging enough without our having added unnecessary negativity to it.

Many of us were raised to be self-critical and have to learn how to love ourselves. The goal is to be able to be both self-aware and self-loving. While trying to get to that point, there is bound to be a transition period. During that time, while taking inventory of ourselves we need to make a conscious effort to remain detached and logical. Pretend that you are Spock from Star Trek. Do not attach any emotion whatsoever to the various lists of positive and negative traits. They simply exist. They are what they are. Nothing more, nothing less. There is no need to judge them good or evil. Make an effort to logically analyze what is serving you and what is not. Then make an informed decision as to what kinds of changes you think might be of benefit to your future hopes and dreams. Eventually, the detachment can be shifted towards having a loving emotion towards ourselves during the process. But for starters, a detached evaluation will still serve the purpose of getting you moving along towards a better future without the pain and heartache caused by being critical and mean to yourself just for being human.

The only thing worse than ripping yourself apart with cruel self-thoughts, is to pretend that nothing is wrong and to continue moving through your life repeating the same bad experiences over and over while never learning from them. Self-growth, self-help, self-empowerment, self-esteem, self-love all root from the ability to be self-aware without judgment. As long as we hide from ourselves and do not face our flaws head on, then we are making a choice to live an unfulfilling, unenlightened life. Do not take the teachings about loving yourself just the way you are to mean that you cannot improve upon your chances at happiness by making some internal adjustments. When you love something, you nurture it, protect it, help it to grow and thrive. The same should be true with self-love.

In being honest with ourselves regarding who and what we are, we can then begin making real choices that have a real impact on our future happiness. We can decide to make tiny adjustments or great big life changing alterations to ourselves. Avoiding taking a good long look at yourself will not make the core of who you are and how you approach life get any better. The act of avoiding self-reflection in and of itself implies that you really do not see yourself as beautiful and exactly where you need to be in life. Being self-critical will never lead you to see that you really are beautiful and exactly where you need to be. Being self-aware will help you see that it is true, you really are a beautiful soul just the way you are and exactly where you are, but will also allow you to take control over where you will be heading next and who you will be when you get there.

Tomorrow's Edge

...inspiring leaps of faith

www.TomorrowsEdge.net

Long Live the American Dream!

Skye Thomas is the CEO of Tomorrow’s Edge, an Internet leader in inspiring leaps of faith. She became a writer in 1999 after twenty years of studying personal growth, motivation, soulmates, self-esteem, parenting, spirituality, metaphysics, family dynamics, dating, and astrology. Her books, articles, and astrological forecasts have inspired people of all ages and faiths to recommit themselves to the pursuit of happiness. To read more of her articles, previews of her books, and her astrology forecasts, go to www.TomorrowsEdge.net. To read more about Skye and to sign up to receive her free weekly newsletter, go to www.SkyeThomas.com.

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