Sarah Tan – Personal Development

Did you know people from all over the world volunteer in Malawi every year? Volunteering in Africa has become very popular over the past 20 years. Volunteering in Dar es Salaam is a definite current favourite among volunteers. These destinations have prospered over the years due to a number of concerning factors. It is obvious that people will only want to travel to countries which are politically stable and have something to offer them. With cities such as Nairobi and Arusha you get exactly this. Not only this but the cities themselves play host to a wealth of activities and attractions which play right into the hands of the volunteers. For example Arusha has in close proximity; Mt Kilimanjaro, Serengeti National Park, Ngorogoro Crater amongst many other attractions.

Volunteers obviously want to make the most of their adventure to Africa by seeing the beauty of the landscape and the different cultures within it. This all needs to be taken into account when they choose a location to volunteer in. The main reason for the volunteer travelling to Africa in the first place is to work in their desired field, whether this is teaching children or working with HIV/AIDS orphans.

As more and more regions are becoming accessible to many people, volunteering is becoming more diversely populated. People are now opting to travel to more remote areas to experience a different kind of adventure. These people are not looking for the glitz and glamour of the other attractions of the country but solely intent on dedicating all their time to the project of their choice. The opens up the volunteer spectrum widely.

Regardless of where you choose to volunteer it is an experience that sticks with you for the rest of your life. Not only is it a once in a lifetime opportunity but offers you a good stance in the future with job prospects and career breaks.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Share This

Nanette Geiger, Law of Attraction Expert , writes… …

Few of us walk around truly realizing how we feel in every moment. All of us understand being on automatic pilot and going through the drag of life. In fact, it can be very useful to automate our efforts. Especially if it includes finishing a repetitive project such as raking leaves or peeling potatoes. When you fall into the groove of a repetitive routine, the task can turn into a meditation. Provided you aren’t repeating a complaint or problem around in your mind, being truly present with a repetitive action can be incredibly calming and helpful. Relationship Attraction has never been more powerful with the discovery of the Law of Attraction.

Being on auto-pilot may be fine for repetitious kinds of tasks, but when it comes to meaningful creation, you want to hone in slightly more carefully to what is truly going on in your vibration. Starting some investigative work on your current vibration will assist you in seeing the areas you need to remove some resisting energy or static off the line. When you acquire a clear, uncluttered channel of energy, what you desire comes more smoothly and without the mixed bag of results you are accustomed to getting. For example, say you want a lover. You create a lover, but because you’re afraid of being fully emotionally committed, he lives half-way around the world. You may think you are emotionally capable, but if you are getting a mixed result, then you’re transmitting a mixed message. A Law of Attraction Coach can assist you in completely changing your outlook with expert life coaching.

Have a look at your firmly held beliefs. Question your inner dialog. Is it really true? Does clinging to that limiting belief help you? Can you find some of your self-sabotaging behaviors? Interestingly, most of the things we hold to be true concerning life aren’t true. They are beliefs we have inherited. Pose a question of yourself and then hone in to listen to a response. Your inner guide will allow you to see interesting insights if you’re willing to allow yourself to hear them. Law of Attraction Love Relationships are incredibly rewarding and fulfilling past your wildest dreams! Think of someone who is everything you have ever desired in a lover.

Life was originally designed for you to be a success, find happiness, and fulfilled. We all came in with perfectly untainted guiding systems pointing us in the direction of our joy and self-expression. Tune back in to your thoughts and feelings. Pick the highest and best thoughts and emotions possible. Create with a clear message and you will put yourself back in the creative cockpit of your life.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Share This

My mother had always been a superstitious person. She always thought that whenever she made fun of something, it would happen to us. For example, when she was younger, she laughed at a person who was pimply-faced. My brother and I grew up with bad acne, and we were on medication for years. She felt it was her fault and kept blaming herself.

There was another occasion, when pop rings were introduced. One of her students licked a lollipop that was placed on a plastic ring, and she was quite irritated with her. When she came home that very day, she saw my brother and I doing the same thing. She was always puzzled why such things would happen even though she really hated them. Well, she might be on to something. That was the Law of Attraction.

When you have either positive thoughts or negative thoughts, the brain waves will transmit them to the other party. When there are enough of them, they will influence the other parties. If you are extremely close to someone, you can know what they are thinking. That’s because they will be sending out some kind of signals, and your brain waves are in sync with each other.

I have mentioned this before, about how I dealt with the difficult clients. I was in the middle of my work when the clerk came running to me, saying one client had come unannounced and he was being very insistent that he had to see me. He claimed that he had been working a few days without much sleep and he had no other time to meet me. This was the same person I spoke to the other time over the phone, and it was not a pleasant experience. So, I decided to use what I preach, and tried to think positive thoughts, that the meeting would go on smoothly. I would get the other party to see my point. I also decided to smile and block out other thoughts that could make the meeting unsuccessful.

To my expectations, the client was not as bad as I thought. I had heard horror stories of how he had lost his temper badly before, but he was alright. We talked, and he was able to open up. In fact, he asked whether I would continue to be on his case next year. I felt bad at saying something that might change, since I was considering a career change, but since nothing was confirmed, I told him that I would continue to be if there were no other changes. It was not a real answer, but he was satisfied. When he left, he even said that I was caring and helpful. Coming from someone who had felt the organisation was against him, the words carried weight.

Unfortunately, when I met with two other clients later, tears became the norm. We were sitting outside at the reception area. I met with the first group of clients there. One of them broke down and cried. She was sitting at this particular seat that was facing the greenery. After the longest time, the two left.

I had two other groups of clients waiting, and they could see what was going on. I made a mistake of getting the next client to sit at the same place, and all the negativity was still in the air. Everything went on smoothly, when suddenly, the lady sitting in the same seat as the former client opened up to me about her personal situation, and started crying. Within half an hour, I had at least two people crying.

I decided that the negativity was enough for the day, and I had to make some switches. The last party who had seen everything was sitting beside us, so I switched over when the lady left, and I changed position. The stuff we had to talk about was similar, as they had their emotional baggage and pain, but at least I tried to inject more positive thinking.

My mother knows something about how thinking affects situations, but she pinned it down to superstition. It is actually more of the Law of Attraction.
 

Popularity: 34% [?]

Share This

I put in 14 hours for two days running at work, and I was really tired out by the end of it. We had to meet people and relay the performances of their charges to them. Some of them were quite friendly, while others were quite demanding, by saying the fault lay with us when they should be the ones who take responsibilities.

On yesterday’s afternoon, I had to make calls to a few people to check whether they were turning up for the session at night. One of them was rather antagonistic and I started to feel all the negative vibes. I forced myself to keep smiling so that the person would calm down. Towards the end, it ended on an ok note, though he did not turn up at night.

After receiving so much negative vibes, I continued to make another call. This was a mistake I made. By bringing all the negative feelings from the other caller, I had inadvertently caused the next caller to pick up all the negative vibes and it simply triggered off from her an outpouring of frustrations and complaints on our side. She only had a few points to talk about, and each point she repeated at least 10 times using the same phrases. The accusations were mainly directed at other staff, but she still heaped all those things on me. I should have learnt better managing skills in such as telling her that it was not right make such accusations on everyone, or learning the 80/20 rule where the worst customers should be dropped.

What I did was to continue to let her pour out her grievances, and just show her that I was listening. However, I decided I had to take charge of the conversation. I decided to change my negative vibes and try to think positive thoughts that the conversation will end well. I also remembered my friend and ex-colleague telling me that when people complain, they want something to be done. So as the person in authority, we should come up with a plan to help them resolve their issues. I also came up with a strategy for better monitoring and she accepted it.

Finally, after 40 minutes of her mainly making 4 points, I could put the phone down. It was much later my colleague came to me and told me that the same lady had bombarded her for one and half hours on the same issues and she even revealed something more shocking. I totally agree with Jeanette of Good Vibe Blog, that when we persist, they resist. It’s really the Law Of Attraction.

When I checked the list of people I wanted to see, one of my supervisors came to tell me that one particular lady would talk for extremely long and could be quite difficult to handle as she wanted step-by-step explanations on every single thing. Immediately, I channelled the negative thoughts again, and when I asked my colleague who used to handle her, he told me the same thing and how careful I had to be.

I was a little affected by the two negative calls, and what my colleagues told me but I decided not to concentrate on such negativity. I decided to think how easy and quickly the meeting with her and others will go. I started thinking about how smooth the process will be, and how on time we will finish the discussions.

Hence, I used my secret weapon and just smiled and smiled. I also kept those waiting to see us happy by showing pictures of their charges and other activities. The difficult person did not turn up, and the lady I thought would take extremely long was actually quite reasonable and we finished on a good note. I had also brought up something good about her charge and she was so happy about it. So I guess focussing on positive things worked.

My supervisor who said something about “We will Survive” instead of “We will Excel”, our usual slogan, and she really channelled the negative vibes was still talking to clients when I left. The other colleague who told me how to handle that “difficult” client ended up spending more time there than anticipated. And I was actually the first one to leave. When I looked at the other meeting rooms, there were still many clients inside there milling around, and when I finally left my workroom, these people were not back yet. Positive thinking really works!

Popularity: 48% [?]

Share This

Every time my parents ask me where I have parked my car, and I tell them somewhere nearby, they always seem to view me with suspicion, as if I have just told them the largest lie. The next question they ask will always be, “You mean there are parking lots here?”

My parents always seem to have the impression that it is hard to find parking lots, especially at crowded areas. When I used to sit in their cars, I would always feel the frustration they had and they would have to circle round the car park a few times and wait for some time before getting a lot. So whenever I wanted food from a popular hawker centre such as Chomp Chomp, the excuse about how difficult it is to get a parking lot will come.

Yet, when I go there on my own, I will find a parking lot no matter how crowded the place is. That’s because I use the power of visualisation and the Law of Attraction. I will attract that parking lot even in a crowded place. My parents used the same technique, but they had only visualised the crowded area, and felt the frustration in waiting. Hence, they got what they wanted!

Initally, I met with some problems. I would always find another car right in front of me getting the lot that I had visualised. After wondering why it was not working, I realised that I had not been clear about how I had visualised my parking lot. I only visualised an empty parking lot. That visualisation benefited the car owner in front of me. He got the empty lot I envisioned.

So the next time I visualised the empty parking lot, I added something to it. I visualised my own ice metallic blue car reversing into the empty lot. Instead of just any parking lot, I also visualised it to be near the lift lobby, so that I did not have to walk far.

It has been working great for 90% of the time, when I bothered to visualise, especially if I know it is a crowded area. So, I tend to spend less time at the car park, and the other car owners who were also waiting for a lot, but had chosen to wait elsewhere would fume quietly about my “luck”.

Popularity: 44% [?]

Share This

Many donkey years ago, George Lam, a famous moustached singer, appeared in an advertisement for Guinness Stout. He said, ‘Some people tell you to change yourself to suit the environment’, then followed by, ‘Why not change the environment to suit yourself’ and he went on to turn the picture upside down to display a glass of stout.

I never gave much thought about that. Many people feel upset with their job and they keep on complaining, but they do not take any action to make things better. While we cannot expect to keep our bad habits and still survive in the working environment, sometimes it may be just easier to change the environment. There is only so much you can change about yourself within a short period of time. It’s just like being a square peg in a round hole. It is really hard to fit in.

Before changing to a new company, I was rather miserable in my previous workplace last year, and I became very negative and demoralised. I thought I was in the wrong vocation totally. However, after making a change to a new workplace, not exactly by choice, I realised that I had been the square peg for the longest time. Despite having to put in longer hours, not that the hours were short at my previous company, I had a greater sense of achievement.

True, it may be too early to tell, but at least I’m happier. That was the same I felt when I went to my previous workplace for the first time. I was utterly miserable at my first workplace, and I had even thought of breaking my bond. It turned out that the environments had simply been not suitable for me.

I made this realisation when I realised that the people in my company were more artistic and cultured. Every time I went for lunch at the cafeteria, there were always people playing the piano. Some were young, but they played the piano extremely well. That’s the type of environment I want to be in. With the Law of Attraction, I’m able to find people who are more like me, and I also start to focus more on the positive side. I do not like to be in a place where basic discipline in the people was lacking.

Because of the new environment, I found myself returning to the piano. I had spent twenty years on the piano, but unfortunately, I have little achievement to boast of. Those talented people simply played extremely demanding pieces on the piano by heart. I dug out my old music books, and started playing over the weekend.

That simply reminded me of my days in my secondary school, where I could play on one of the many pianos that were available for students to play. I liked this type of environment, and I strongly feel that with culture, the world will be a better place.

So, why not change your environment instead of constantly complaining about the current place? Sometimes, it’s not the vocation that’s wrong; it’s simply the environment. It’s also no wonder why Menscius’ mother moved his house three times just to let her son grow up in the best environment.

Popularity: 34% [?]

Share This

I borrowed a DVD today after a gym workout, and it was Just My Luck. It was about Lindsay Lohan having great luck in everything she did. The moment she stepped out of her building lobby, the rain stopped and the cab stopped right for her. She managed to get into an empty lift and get picked up by a rich man’s son. Next, she even got a job promotion after solving a major crisis.

One thing that struck me was that she had so much positivity. The Law of Attraction worked really well for her, so she did not believe that she was lucky. She just got what she wanted because she carried positive thoughts.

Now, the problem came when she kissed a guy who had the worst luck in the world. Their luck switched and she immediately got arrested, lost her job and broke her nose while in detention. He got a chance of his lifetime to get a new British band discovered by a music mogul.

About this guy, despite having bad luck for most part of his life, he did not blame himself. He still looked on the bright side of things, and was well prepared to solve any possible problems, such as keeping a poncho instead of an umbrella because he knew it would become a lightning rod with all the strong wind instead.

Even when Lohan was stuck in a janitor type job and had to scrape bubblegum and unclog the toilets, she learnt from mistakes quickly and did her best in everything.

Of course, this is a show, and anyone who is down on his or her luck will not be able to smile like her. But what was interesting was that when you keep getting something you want, even better things will come. In addition, what can go wrong will go wrong. You choose to keep a virtuous cycle as compared to being stuck in a vicious cycle.

Popularity: 36% [?]

Share This

There are many people who wish to be rich, but they surround themselves with the wrong type of people, who think that only a select few can ever be really rich. One simple way I found was to go to a fine dining restaurant, though this is an expensive method. On my birthday, just one week ago, my husband brought me to a lovely French restaurant by the Singapore River. We were the first to arrive, so we had full attention. We had champagne and the sun was setting. It was a really romantic sight.

After some time, more people came in, and they were mostly people in the corporate world. They were all smartly dressed, and they talked about their companies and other things in the financial world. They could have been from the Forbes meeting held at Sentosa, or they could be other highfliers. What struck me was that they acted rich and confident. They certainly did not appear to be boastful, unlike some of the people you hear over coffeeshop talk. They certainly were having fun chatting, and definitely not complaining about how everyone in the world owed them a living.

Granted, since a dinner at that restaurant I was at cost at least $200 per person, these people must have been very successful to eat there on a normal working day. Of course, at their level, they would be able to charge the dinners on their company expenses. By being there, it spurred me on to be even more successful in whatever I do in order to be on par with them.

This reminded of the movie I watched last night. While watching Maid in Manhattan starring Jennifer Lopez and Ralph Fiennes, one scene that struck me was Jennifer’s mum only wanted to find her daughter a cleaning job after she was fired for wearing the client’s clothes. The daughter had dreams of being a manager in the hotel industry, but her mother did not seem to think she would matter much. Jennifer told her mother to stop thinking that she was incapable of bigger things. True enough, one year later, she worked her way up to be a manager, and she launched her own newsletter in the hospitality field. You might say it is a movie, but it shows us that nothing is impossible.

The people we choose to surround ourselves are very important, so if we need any reminders that we can excel and choose to lead the life we really want, we could go out and meet successful people. Even if you do not know enough successful people, being in their presence should not deter you, but they should inspire and motivate you. This does not mean we could become snobbish and only hang out with people of means. It so happens that people of means tend to have winner’s mindsets. Whether they can be found in Singapore restaurants or San Diego restaurants, do go and eat at fine dining restaurants once in a while. The law of attraction will help us reach our goals in a shorter time.

Popularity: 35% [?]

Share This