Memories Are Made Of This! : Inspirational & Motivational Articles for Self Improvement and success

       Catching Lightning Bugs in a jar on a late summer evening at
dusk! The earthy smell of the country during a late evening
drive! The first kiss with that special someone you just knew
was THE one! The first time you held that new-born baby!
Memories...they can make us sigh. They can make us laugh. They
can make us cry. We cherish those memories and we hold them
dear.

BUT, what about those memories that aren't so happy? Far too
many people have memories they would like to forget. Let me
tell you a story to illustrate my point...

Once there were two brothers and they grew up together in a
family that was very harsh and critical. They were physically
abused and slaps in the face were a common occurrence. Their
father was an adulterer and an alcoholic. Their mother was an
emotional wreck and she was a very angry person. She would,
sometimes, pull a large knife out of a drawer and she would
threaten to kill one of them if they didn't stop acting up.

These boys grew up being told how sorry they were and how they
would never amount to anything. If they cried for any reason,
they would get backhanded across the face and told they were
sissies. Any sign of a tear was ridiculed and made-fun-of! They
were not allowed to cry.

When they were punished, it would be with a belt, or razor
strap, and they would be beaten until they had bloody stripes
across their backs and legs. When they went to school, their
parents wrote them excuses to get them out of P.E. so no one
would see the evidence of their abuse.

The fights between their mother and father were quite terrible.
They would hide in the hall closet and listen to the raging and
cursing coming from the violent fights. Both parents had
violent tempers and they would explode without any reason.

You see, we can't choose the kind of environment in which we
are raised. We can't choose the kind of parents we have. We
can't avoid a lot of the things which happen to us in life.
BUT, we CAN choose how we react to those things!

You DO NOT have to be an angry person! You DO NOT have to be so
critical of everything! You DO NOT have to hold a grudge against
anyone! You DO NOT have to be a bad parent! You DO NOT have to
be a bad spouse! If you are any of those things, YOU have
chosen to do that! But, you can choose not to do those things
any longer! Let me give you five things to help you overcome
stumbling blocks that have crippled you emotionally in your
life...

1. Learn Forgiveness! You are not responsible for the things
that have been done to you but you ARE responsible for how you
choose to react to those things. Learn to forgive those who
have wronged you. An unforgiving heart only hurts you, not the
one who wronged you. Most of the time, they don't even KNOW you
are mad and angry. You will, truly, be surprised how good life
can be after you set that grudge down and never pick it up
again!

2. Learn to Like Yourself! People who experience unwholesome
things in their life always experience from low self-esteem.
Somehow, it is THEIR fault. Somehow, THEY were the cause of it!
They believe all the cruel things that were said about them.
Learning to overcome low self-esteem is a whole book in itself
and we will get to writing it some time, but for now, just
remember, you ARE NOT who other people say you are. You are who
YOU choose to be and you should choose to be the person who
always takes the higher road. You ARE a good person!

3. Learn to Speak Only the Truth! "Man, am I stupid!" "I'll
never be a success!" "I'll never be as pretty as her!" Wrong!
Wrong! Wrong! That is low self-esteem talking and you need to
stop that right now! We bring into action those things which we
speak out loud so you should only say positive things. Did you
know your mind believes what it is told over and over again?
That is where your low self-esteem comes from. You were told
things over and over until you started believing them. Well,
you can make HUGE changes in your life by what you tell
yourself now! Pay attention to what you say and make changes
where necessary. This will make a huge difference in your life.


4. Learn to Stop Being Critical! YOU don't like having low
self-esteem so why are you giving it to your kids, spouse or
anyone else? Think of the impact you are having on other
people's lives. Words are a VERY powerful thing so you should
use them wisely. Just like everything else, what you say to
people is a choice YOU make. Choose to be uplifting. Choose to
be complimentary. Choose to speak words of caring and love.
Remember what I said about bringing into action those things
which we speak out loud? It is VERY important that you choose
your words carefully. Get into the habit of thinking about what
you are going to say instead of just blurting out something
reactively.

5. Learn to Walk a Mile in Someone Else's Shoes! Now stop that!
You know it's just an _expression! Seriously, try to see things
from the other person's perspective. You will be well on your
way to enjoying life when you can look at things from another
person's point-of-view. You will find yourself becoming less
angry. You will find yourself becoming less judgmental. You
will find yourself viewing life with a freshness you have never
known before. Actually, you will find yourself!

You see, it's not the environment we are raised in that
determines who we are. It's not what our parents are like that
determines who we are. It's certainly not what people say about
us that determines who we are! We are who we CHOOSE to be. Some
people live their whole lives blaming their present on their
past. What a sad and wasted life that must be! Instead of
blaming your parents, forgive them! Instead of blaming your
poverty, learn from it! Instead of blaming your physical
disabilities, overcome them!

Oh, I almost forgot about those two boys in the story. Whatever
happened to them you ask? One of them went to college, got his
doctorate degree and he is now a Chaplain at Baylor Medical
Center in Dallas, Texas. The other one just wrote this article!


About The Author: Chris W. Sutton is the president of Higher
Motivation, Inc. We are committed to creating family-friendly
web pages with great content. We are people-driven and we serve
customers throughout the world by providing them with the
information they need to help them change their lives.
http://www.front-porch-attitude.com
Author:  Chris W. Sutton

1|| Title: ENDING PROCRASTINATION by Jim Rohn 
2|| Title: Why You MUST Have a Photo in Your Internet Personals Ad 
3|| Title: The Willingness To Heal 
4|| Title: Catching Up With Your Life 
5|| Title: Are you doing Great Work? Or merely Good Work? 
6|| Title: 6 Steps To Ensure You Always Have A Job 
7|| Title: Bouncing Back From Difficult Times 
8|| Title: Are Your Goals Exciting? 
9|| Title: Goals Help In Getting Out Of The "Pits" 
10|| Title: A Glimpse Of Your True Nature... 
11|| Title: Seven Tips for Boosting Your Self Confidence 
12|| Title: Getting Motivated By A Motivational Speaker? 
13|| Title: Giving Up In Dealing With Your Fears Is Not An Option 
14|| Title: Achieving Your Personal Best: Making The Leap From Good To Great 
15|| Title: How to Keep The Job You Have (Even When Times are Tough) 
16|| Title: Seven Strategies for Inflating Your Success 
17|| Title: 10 Differences between Winner & Loser 
18|| Title: Managing The Fear Of Loneliness 
19|| Title: Warning Signs: Your Guy May be a Mr. Wrong instead of Mr. Right 
20|| Title: Proven Ways to Lose Weight Quickly and Naturally 
21|| Title: Discover How Online College Classes Work 
22|| Title: How to Have a Happy Marriage 
23|| Title: Build The Confidence To Approach Other People, Through The Power Of Compassion! 
24|| Title: Managing The Fear Of Rejection In Today’s World 
25|| Title: Zen Listening and Communication 101 
26|| Title: Achieve Your Goals – Tips From A Life Coach 
27|| Title: We Were Meant to Fly 
28|| Title: How You Can Get Anything You Want In Life In 68 Seconds 
29|| Title: Four Tips To Help You Set And Enforce Family Boundaries 
30|| Title: 9 Steps To Living Abundantly 
31|| Title: Getting Through The Day When Your Anxieties Are Out Of Control 
32|| Title: Alcohol And Substance Abuse Will Not Take Away Your Fears 
33|| Title: The Drugs Don’t Work! 
34|| Title: Effective Time Management - Ten Top Tips 
35|| Title: Universal Law Series - The Law Of Belief 
36|| Title: Do You Have Problems Getting Things Done? 
37|| Title: Where To Find Happy People! 
38|| Title: Facing The Fear And Anxiety Of The Unknown 
39|| Title: The Leadership Development Plan 
40|| Title: The Day X-Mass Went Up For Sale 
41|| Title: Every Garden is Attacked 
42|| Title: A Review Of Techniques In Managing Your Depression 
43|| Title: Considering Becoming A Life Coach? 
44|| Title: R… E… S… P… E… C… T…: Four Tip s For Teaching Your Child Respect 
45|| Title: Travel Single and Safe in Italy 
46|| Title: New Job Tips: Starting A New Job Next Week? 
47|| Title: Divorced And Penniless - Why It Can Happen To You 
48|| Title: Ever Thought About Being A Commercial Pilot? 
49|| Title: Success Is Based On A Realistic Plan 
50|| Title: Mommy What’s A Hurricane? Helping Your Child Cope with Natural Disaster 
51|| Title: Getting A College Degree After The Military 
52|| Title: Tips To Get Into College 
53|| Title: 3 Steps To Forgiveness 
54|| Title: The Success Zone 
55|| Title: Managing Your Fears, Anxieties, Depression, OCD, And Panic Attacks 
56|| Title: Discernment And Judgement 
57|| Title: Sexual Enhancement Food 
58|| Title: Who Is Responsible For Solving All Of Life's Problems? 
59|| Title: Memories Are Made Of This! 
60|| Title: Our Worst Enemy 
61|| Title: Life Experiment in Wealth and Abundance 
62|| Title: Are You Lost or Are You Found? 
63|| Title: If I'm not accepted, I'm not okay 
64|| Title: Everything You’ve Ever Learned about Public Speaking Is Wrong 
65|| Title: The 80/20 Success Secret 
66|| Title: How To Start Now 
67|| Title: 8 STEPS TO UNLEASHING YOUR GENIE... 
68|| Title: On-Line Libraries 
69|| Title: THE SEVEN C's OF SUCCESS by Brian Tracy 
70|| Title: THE BILLIONAIRE'S STRATEGY FOR SUCCESS by Brian Tracy 
71|| Title: 10 Steps To Better Decision Making 
72|| Title: Get Over Your Need for Acceptance and Get on with Your Life 
73|| Title: The Secret for Overcoming Procrastination 
74|| Title: WHY GET RICH WHEN YOU CAN BE WEALTHY? by Chris Widener 
75|| Title: Expressing Your Love Through Service 
76|| Title: Great Salary Negotiation Tips 
77|| Title: Boost self-esteem tip #1: Think back to when you did something new for the first time. 
78|| Title: Build self-esteem if you were not born with it 
79|| Title: Finding Inspiration to Realise Your Dreams and Ambitions 
80|| Title: Three Inspirations for Happiness 
81|| Title: How to Give Yourself a Motivational Warm Up When You Wake Up 
82|| Title: Motivational Operations 
83|| Title: 10 Motivational Triggers That Make People Buy 
84|| Title: Tips and Motivational Advice for Keeping Fit One Day at a Time 
85|| Title: Setting Goals That Empower The Business Owner 
86|| Title: Don't You Quit! 
87|| Title: Home-Based Business Breakthroughs - 8 Powerful Strategies 
88|| Title: Guide to Internet Business - Website Setup 
89|| Title: A Home Based Business - Who, Why, When and Where To Start? 
90|| Title: 3 Easy, Money Making Internet Business Models 
91|| Title: How To Be Motivated Without A Motivator 
92|| Title: If you try, your dreams might come true! 
93|| Title: Forget "Thinking" Outside The Box....GET Outside The Box 
94|| Title: The Thriver's Secrets to Success™: It Starts With Your Attitude - Get a Grip and Go®! 
95|| Title: 5 DIY Anti-Aging Tactics. 
96|| Title: Is Wealth For Me? 
97|| Title: Time in a… Shoe? 
98|| Title: What is your Charisma Quotient? 
99|| Title: The Ten Pillars of Leadership and Business Development 
100|| Title: About Happiness and Fulfillment