Finding Your Way Up when You were Down

Posted by Argie Monroy On Jun 10, 2012 Comments
feeling down
Life is not always a bed of roses. It may give you the spotlight at one time, but it doesn't mean it'll always be there. While it is true that there are those people who were born with a silver spoon, believe me, they are also suffering from the hard times. You can have all the luxuries in the world - money, fame or stardom, but there will always be those things which exist to bring you down and test your will. However, this doesn't mean that you have to give in and keep yourself subdued by the grim reality of life. You need not live yourself in the rot - there is something you can do.


There's always a way up

Finding yourself down doesn't mean you have to keep yourself there. Don't let the feeling of being down completely consume you. You have that power deep within you that'll help you in dealing with all the feelings of being down. Take this personal experience of mine in account:

I'm not rich nor a famous individual. But I've certainly received some awards way back in my high school years. I've been through a lot of interschool contests, quiz bee, spelling bee, essay writing and any other literary skills competition, and fate on my side, I won. However, there came that time when I have to give up the winning spot, and this eventually triggered my ego and personality. At first, I would admit that I've been affected that much it brought me down. I just can't accept the fact that I've been defeated and felt like there's no hope of me winning again.

It lasted for several days, the feeling of being down continued to reside deep within me, then I suddenly realized one thing. If I keep on going with this feeling with me, then there'd be no chance for me to win again. Then for goodness sake, I've managed to constrain the feeling of being down and put my way back up again.

So what's my secret?

Actually, there is no secret. It just takes the right amount of courage to accept reality and enough strength to move on along the way. This particular experience mainly taught me three things:

1. You just got to accept the reality - even if things turned out worse than you've expected

What's done is done. You can never rewind the things that happened, and the best way to deal with them is through acceptance instead. If things aren't done right, then tell yourself that perhaps now is not the right time for you. Learn to accept what the reality is showing you, no matter how good or bad it may be. This will help you in understanding more about your situation and will eventually helps you focus on your next step.

2. Life isn't all about winning

The wheel of fate is constantly spinning. You can't always win, that's what life is made of. It is bound by the perfect balance that holds the equality in life. Just because you're successful now doesn't mean you can't meet some roadblocks and impediments along the way. And just because you're all wrecked up now doesn't mean your life can't get any better.

3. Keep moving forward

Don't keep yourself stuck up if you find yourself down. Life is a journey, keep moving forward. Look at the horizon and seek what life has to offer you beyond that. Get back straight, strap up, eyes to your goals and get back on your journey.

It's not really easy finding your way up when you were down, but it's not impossible either. By simply keeping a positive mindset, courage and determination, and the right pinch of perseverance, getting back up again can be achieved. And always remember, we have been giving feet to stand up and walk, so why keep yourself down?
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Why You Have to be an Early Bird and Wake Up Early

Posted by Argie Monroy On Feb 9, 2012 Comments
waking up earlyWaking up early is one of the common problems individuals faced every morning of the day. While it's true that we have to get up to 8 hours of sleep each day, we have to take note that it is not advisable to stay up late in the night and wake up late the other day. In fact, being an early riser and waking up early in the morning entails a lot of good benefits for anyone to have. Even though only a few person find it great to wake up as early as they can, some of them actually decided for it to be part of their lifestyles. Waking up early puts the early riser to such heights of advantages as opposed to those who wake up late. While it is true that we sometimes find it hard to get out of bed while it's still quite foggy in the outside, we should have to try ourselves doing so and reap the benefits from it. What would be those benefits by the way?

Listed below are the benefits that you could actually reap from waking up early. Actually, I have been able to do so, and I guess it's your turn to carry out as well.

Have enough time to exercise

Exercise is to the body as reading is to the mind. We all know that exercise is essential to the body. It makes the body firm, improves the overall immunity as well as prevent us from getting easily exhausted all the time. While you may found out exercise right after work to be a great thing, exercise early in the morning could be even a greater one since this will flex your muscles up and gets you ready to the end of the day.

Be more productive either at work or school

By being an early riser, you could be able to be more productive while at work or even at school. Studies have shown that those who woke up early and have enough time of sleep have been able to complete their tasks quickly and effectively and for students, have been able to acquire higher grades. Also, you can do a lot more things than you can when you wake up late, obviously. So, if you wake up an hour earlier, then that would mean you could do whatever you might want to do either it be doing your passion and the likes.

Develop a more positive outlook

When you start waking up early, you will see to it that your overall outlook will generally be more positive. This even goes greater when you start waking up with a purpose early in the morning. By having a habit of waking up early in bed, you could actually notice a positive shift with your attitude as well as your outlook in life.

Boost your self-confidence

You might not know it, but waking up early boosts your self-confidence until the end of day. It might be that the earlier you wake up, the more prepared you are for the things to come your way throughout the rest of the day. This will actually give a boost to your confidence which usually comes up once you have the habit of waking up early.

Benefits of what an early bird usually gets

Being an early bird opens you to a lot of great benefits which starts from beating your way out of traffic early in the morning up to having the time to focus on your studies or work at the same time. Of course, you could also get to have your breakfast in an easy way. This is because most of the people who wake up late forget to have their breakfast which usually pays until the middle of the day.

Usually, we find ourselves in a fast paced world by which it could be quite hard for us to develop the habit of waking up early. However, as soon as you have got it within you, you will surely be amazed with all the benefits you could get. I usually have the habit of waking up late before, but I found it real disadvantageous as there are a lot of things I've missed whenever I do so. But now, I've finally managed to get of the late rising hook and eventually shifted to being an early riser - with added benefits of course.

So, what are you waiting for? Start waking up early and reap the benefits of an early bird - with the worm.
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Know What your Purpose in Life Is

Posted by Argie Monroy On Dec 26, 2011 3 comments
purpose in life
We all have a purpose why we exist on this planet. We may not know it yet, but time will come and tell you what you're supposed to be, where you has to be, and what your purpose is. At times, you might feel like you got no purpose at all. Like you are a total loser, you deserve nothing in life, life wasn't meant for you. Some stuffs like that. To tell you, most people feel this way. Truth is, it is sometimes quite hard to escape from this type of mindset. Some people who have managed to lived their lives on purpose might have to go through such things. I could still remember those days wherein I have felt so low that I almost felt like I've got no purpose with my life. Usually, I get to thinking why have I lived in this planet at all and wished that I wouldn't be here anymore.

I guess no one can escape such thing. As what they've said, "It takes a lot of friction to polish a diamond, and a lot of trials to perfect a man". Talking about a life lived on purpose, how will it be possible for us humans to live life on such thing? How will it be possible to find a purpose in life? And why do we have to live our lives on purpose?

To be able to know what your purpose in life is, you have to take these steps into account.

1. Know more about what your passions are

Don't know what your passions are? Take time to do a self reflection. Take a deep realization of your self. Know what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Sort out which things you are more comfortable in doing so and which ones just simply bother you and make a waste of your time. In living a life on purpose, you have to know which things are the ones that will make you more comfortable and could make you happy. Passion is not just all about doing the things you want, but rather it is all about doing the things you want but at the same time, doing the things which make you feel more alive and make others happy as well.

2. Find out which things you love to learn about

You'll never know what your purpose in life is, unless you have your time to learn about the things you love to learn about. It is quite similar to your passion however, this one speaks about those things which are yet to be learnt and to be dealt with. Do you love to know more about cooking? Fishing? Or perhaps scuba diving? They might not be your passion, but if you are eager enough to learn them, then you'll certainly find your purpose in life.

3. Accept criticisms and learn to deal with them

As the quote goes on saying, "Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things." Yes! Criticism in indeed one of the best means to find out why you are here in this world. Do people throw negative compliments on you? Have you been criticized by someone because of your lack of talent in a certain sport? Well, perhaps that might not be something that's meant for you. But it doesn't mean you have to stop pursuing any other things. If you're not really good at cooking and people say negative things about how you cook, then try to improve them. But if you can find it just hard, then why not try baking instead? I've remembered being a debater in our college and no matter how hard I've tried to speak well, I still didn't fit in. But that doesn't bother me though. There are a lot of things to do in life. Some just aren't meant for you.

So, what would you do then if you find out your purpose in life? Well, it might take quite some time, but as soon as you find out what your purpose is, you simply have to stick to it and live life to the fullest! However, you have to be patient and don't rush in when deciding to figure out what your purpose is. You don't want to end up in regrets after falling to the wrong choice. So, sit down, relax, take a deep breath, and then start thinking now.
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The Good Side of Procrastination and How Can It Help You

Posted by Argie Monroy On Dec 22, 2011 2 comments
procrastinating man
Before I wrote down this post, I have been thinking to myself, "Should I finish it now or should I put it aside and finish it the other day?" Well, I myself, am procrastinating. I have read several journals and have heard a lot of people talking that procrastination is really a bad thing, a very very bad one. It leaves their work undone, their tasks unfulfilled, and their goals not reached. Mostly, they have been giving people tips as to how to deal with procrastination and to completely cure it. This notion, as what I see to it, is almost impossible to fulfill. You may not agree with me, but we all are procrastinators. But in this posting, I will share to you not the bad sides of procrastination and how to cure it. Instead, I will share to you that procrastination has its own good side and how we could take full advantage of it. So let me tell you something good with procrastination by breaking them down into the following reasons why, procrastination is good.

1. You could reduce your stress

Firstly, why do procrastination has the ability to reduce stress? Let's face this common example. You have a project at school and you're supposed to submit it a week after. If  you procrastinate, you could be able to save almost a week of stress doing that project all week long. Why not arrange your life for something fun during the other days of the week and instead of worrying your project all week long, why not put them into one whole night and work on it instead? With this, you could reduce all those seven days of stress into just one night!

2. It helps in improving your health

Procrastinating could indeed save you from the burden of lack of rest and of physical and emotional wellness. We all know that sleep and adequate rest is truly beneficial to our health. Why finish doing your work on a late night when you can still have time for it the other day? Particularly, you could feel more revitalized doing it once you've taken enough rest. Is that thing you're doing could save your life? I think not. So, get your rest now. Procrastinate!

3. Make proper use of your time

I've heard a lot of individuals whining about the lack of time they have in their lives. I don't think time is lacking. A single day is still 24 hours no matter what! They're just saying such because they are too busy on their tasks which leave them a little or no opportunity at all to spend their time with the things they like. By way of procrastination, you will be able to give yourself more time. Truth is, no one really dies in the deathbed wishing that their mirrors or rooms were spotlessly clean.

4. Give yourself more chance to enjoy life

Life is indeed too short. So while we can, we must live it to the fullest and get the most enjoyment out of it. Don't worry too much about your deadlines. You can't bring them with you when you would be lying in the hospital bed due to your efforts just to finish it up. Give a little more time to yourself, give a little time to procrastinate.

Now that you've finished reading this one, I guess you would be convinced that procrastination indeed has its own good side as well. Sometimes, we are just to focused on a single portion and tend to overlook the other side of the fence. Procrastination is indeed bad, but sometimes it is good. As what my coach told me:
There is inherent good and bad in everything.
Hear hear! So, how about you share some of your thoughts about the good side of procrastination? Should you really apply them to your own life? Just put in some comments in the box. I would love to hear something from you.
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Why People Cheat and Why You Shouldn't

Posted by Argie Monroy On Dec 20, 2011 Comments
cheating
Not long ago, we have our examination period and it was one of the most stressful moment of my life. In fact, I haven't been prepared that day and my mind was still boggling how could I be able to answer most of the questions which could come forth in the examination itself. Shortly after the exams commenced, I've spotted this classmate of mind busy looking down on his palm whilst the instructor is looking to the other side. Well, all I knew that time was, that guy was cheating. As what we know it, cheating is invariably wrong no matter what. Asking a question "why cheating is wrong?" could be quite silly but still, most people are into it. And since others could see that they could benefit by cheating, the rest would then follow believing that same thought as well.

Now why do people cheat?

There are indeed several reasons why people cheat, and the majority of these individuals are students. Particularly, the reasons why a student cheat can be broken down to the following:

1. Everybody does it

Because nearly everybody in the class cheat, then a student would then be drawn into cheating. Sometimes, cheating for them could give them a feeling of not being alone but instead, of being in the crowd. Statistically, almost 80-90% of the students taking up an examination, cheat. And even though they know it's wrong, still they easily get into it.

2. It is an easy way out

We have to face the sad truth. Only a few students would care to study their lessons every night, and even fewer would care to do so during exams. It is because they tend to believe that by cheating, they are making an easy way out just as long as they don't get caught. It might be true but there are some inevitable instances when adverse effects could occur instead. Seemingly, almost 90% of those who cheat have never been caught doing so and due to that, they keep repeating the same mistake over and over again.

3. Lack of time to study

Some students who cheat are those who have been deprived or have been lacking their study time. Since they didn't have enough time to study their lessons and keep them fresh in their minds,  they resort to cheating. Also, factors as lack of skill, poor stress management, poor time management and poor comprehension of the subject are those that follow.

Why you should not cheat?

Because it is terribly wrong. But there's more than just that! If you cheat, it means you are throwing away the self-confidence you have in you. Also, take into account that you can't hide forever to cheating. Time and time will come that you will be caught in the act of cheating, and you will have to bear the consequences it could give you. If you go on cheating, you will never succeed in life. Cheating is only for the foolish, and you don't want to be one of them - unless you want to be. Remember: if you cheat, you are cheating yourself. This quote by Sophocles will tell you:
I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating.
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Should We Be Afraid to Fail?

Posted by Argie Monroy On Dec 19, 2011 1 comments
FailureFailure is one of the things which a lot of people are afraid to commit. For most, experiencing a failure is one great mistake they have committed which can never be corrected again. And for that reason, a lot of people would afraid this thing called failure. We've all heard a lot of stories and quotes about failures and how to overcome them and use them instead as an advantage. Among the most inspiring one is that of Thomas Edison, the inventor of the first ever electric light bulb and many other things. If you've read his story, you can see to it that Edison himself failed more than ten thousand times just to perfect his first invention! That's why one quote goes saying. "Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before perfecting his first invention. An average person would quit for the first try or two. That's why there are a lot of average person; and only one Edison".

I am not saying that you try to be like Edison by failing a thousand times over and over again. It just means that you have to do your best to never give up once you experience failure. To tell you, going through a failure is okay. In what sense? Failures themselves are created to make us strong and well-rounded persons in the long run. Remember that a diamond will never be polished unless it undergo several processes itself. In short, failures are what polishes us. We must learn to take this into account.

How could we overcome our failures?

It is okay to fail, but we must learn from it. If ever you get low grades in your examinations, then try to do your best during the next one. There's always a second chance for everything. If you fail, know what makes you so. If you believe you didn't studied well, then do your best to study for the next examination period. However, never ever try to cheat during your exams. If you don't want to fail the second time, try not to do such things but instead, make yourself clean from such. You don't want to end up feeling a sense of guilt in you once you've cheated in the test. And if ever you have been caught doing so, it might end up worst than you could ever imagine.

By changing your ways and learning from your mistakes, you can steer clear of the failures to come in the near end. But if ever another one comes in, always remember to never lose hope. Instead, take as a challenge in making yourself do better. Take Edison's word for it!

Many of life's failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.
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