Many people understand the concept of setting goals in life to empower themselves. What most people don’t know is that goals require a constant stream of force behind them to keep them alive. In other words, you need to push them all the time to make them come true.What do I mean by force and push? To force something is to compel through pressure or necessity. To push a goal is to apply enough force to the goal to keep it fresh and empowered.

This constant pushing of your goal, while necessary, is also a detriment to effective manifestation of the goal itself. Goals are artificially created by the mind and backed up by concepts and beliefs in order for them to work. Take away the concepts and beliefs that give them the foundation to live and they will evaporate in no time.

How does this look like in practice? Let’s assume you have a goal to lose weight. As you may already know, it is important to set your goals precisely. So let’s say you want to lose 25 pounds over the next 3 months, starting today. This goal needs a foundation to work. You need to have some sort of motivation that encourages you to do this.

Let’s look at some reasons you may want to do this:

* You want to look attractive to others
* You want to look attractive to your partner
* You believe that you are overweight
* You want to fit into your favorite dress or pants again

Whatever the reason is, you absolutely need to have one, otherwise you won’t have the motivation to start. And the mere act of starting is the challenging part as you need to change some of your usual behavior and concepts in life. We all know what a challenge changing your behavior and concepts can be!

Behavior is changed in the physical domain, concepts are changed in the mental domain. This double whammy of physical and mental change is what makes a simple thing like weight loss such a challenge to bring off successfully.

Successful goals always come from a corresponding change in the mental domain. Why is this? Simply, it is because your mind and your thoughts are what create your reality. If you change only your behavior, you will have only short-term success. In time, you will fall back to your old pattern of behavior – the very thing you tried to change in the first place!

So lets assume you are in the second month of your weight loss goal and your partner leaves you. What happens to your goal about losing weight? It doesn’t work anymore, it vanishes and evaporates into thin air. You just took away the foundation and the motivation for your goal. As you can see, the problem with goals is that they depend on life circumstances – and they are always forced by mental concepts.

How About Dreams?

Your dreams are powered by source, by the ultimate power of consciousness. Your dreams are the recognition of what you can do with your unique gifts and talents you have brought into this life. Every person comes with a unique set of talents. These talents lead to a unique way of expressing themselves through various forms of creativity. Universal creativity is really what powers everything behind all manifestation.

Occasionally, we utilize unique properties of this creativity in specific ways. With this creativity you are able to serve other people and in return you get rewarded with a form of energy. In our western civilization, the most common reward is often money.

In summary: You discover your strengths, gifts and talents. You find ways to use them that very practically enrich and support society. You are in service to others. By the way, being in service in this way is life’s ultimate purpose.

Your dreams are powered by your unique creative abilities. These abilities are like a never-ending fountain, the wellspring of your life. They will always be with you, in good times and bad. They are completely independent from mental concepts. They are powered by your true nature. You can deny them, but you can’t get rid of them.

Even on the worst day of your life, your dreams still exist. If you don’t live your dreams, you must constantly suppress them by mental concepts like:

* I am too old to start
* I don’t know how to do it
* Nobody will be interested in it
* My friends will hate me when I do it
* You name it!

I have used the words force and power to associate them with goals and dreams. To understand the concepts behind these words I highly recommend David Hawkins book “Power Versus Force. Here are a few definitions from the book that help define the idea of power versus force:

* Force is associated with the partial, power with the whole
* Force must always be justified, power requires no justification
* Force always creates counter-force and its effect is limited by definition
* Force is a movement, power is a skill
* Force always moves against something, power doesn’t move against anything at all
* Force is incomplete and therefore has to be fed energy constantly
* Power is total and complete in itself and requires nothing from outside
* Force constantly consumes while power energizes, supplies and supports
* Power gives life and energy, force takes these away
* Power is associated with compassion, force is associated with judgment
* Force requires proof and support, power is inarguable and not subject to proof

People who fulfill their dreams are the happiest people on earth. They do what’s in their nature. It is completely irrelevant what kind of dreams you have. Dreams don’t need to fit into anything. They don’t need any approval. They don’t need any money to start.

Goals are temporary fixes of your mental desires that do not provide you with lasting happiness. The new car will get old and rusty, the new house will lose its charm over time, and if your goal is to create the perfect partner you will begin to see your partner’s imperfections over time as well.

Your dreams are a recognition of what you truly are and how you can contribute to this world. You will never do anything else in your life but this. There is no true retirement from the contributions you can make in this life. You live this dream to your very last breath.

Embrace the dream! Be the dream!

One important part of fly fishing is the rod. A fishing rod or also called the fishing pole is always associated with the sport called angling. Choosing the right rod for your fly fishing experience is very important. The right combination of reel and rod also matters heavily as well.

There are several types of fishing rods to choose from but for fly fishing specifically, the rods are longer, thinner and more flexible. One reason why fly rods are meant to weigh light is because rods made like this are the only ones that can cast even the lightest fly. So, you have to realize that the overall characteristic of a fly rod should be lightweight. Also for casting, the line used works together with the weight of the rod, the weight of the line acts as a helper to how the rod is able to cast the fly.

Next, the material of a fly rod varies too. Most of the rods today are made of composite materials such as carbon and graphite, carbon and boron or fiberglass materials; a more innovative version compared to the original bamboo split material. As for the sizes, you have choices between the #0 sizes to the #16 ones. You’ll have to decide first what size of species you want to catch, the type of water condition where you’ll be fishing, the wind and of course the weight of the line before selecting the the type of rod.

The #0 rods are usually used for the smallest species from freshwater, while the #16 rods are for larger ones on saltwater seas. Also, in selecting the type of rod you want to use for fly fishing, familiarize first the parts of it because unlike other types of rod, fly rods don’t have the usual handle extending just right below the reel although there are rods that have very little handle too. The reason for this is to prevent from any casting interference.

These are the primary qualities you may want to take note of before getting yourself the fly rod you want. Don’t forget to make sure, above all else, that you are comfortable with the type of rod you will be using. Don’t get the extremely long rod if you can’t even handle it yourself.

Nobody can hurt you without your consent. There are many instances in life where your confidence is hit hard. Sometimes you overcome life’s hardness, sometimes you get overwhelmed. Sometimes your courage and confidence sees you through, but sometimes your self-confidence gets a beating. However, the point here to remember is that “nobody can hurt you without your consent.”

The problem is not as important as the impact it had on you, rather the impact that you let the problem create on you. In life pain is inevitable but suffering is optional, as the saying goes. It’s purely your choice, and whether you choose to bounce back or suffer is entirely your prerogative.

There can be many reasons that your self-confidence is hurt. You may have had a bad marriage and now are heading for a divorce.

You were not chosen for your college’s football team; you may have been laid off. There’s definitely a lot of pain involved in any of the situations. But you don’t necessarily have to suffer. You must arise and resolve to get back your confidence.

The following five ways would help you do just that.

1. Look at the brighter side. If you have been laid off, it would be okay to feel bad about it for a day or two but not more than that. Losing a job is a terrible thing, but it does not mean the end of the world.

Who knows it might be a blessing in disguise. Maybe you have got some time to review your life, get aware of where you are going, have a look at your likes and hobbies which you could not develop because of pressures of your job. Maybe this is an opportunity to start afresh and live your life a new way which is more in sync with your abilities and aptitude.

Similarly, a divorce may cause great pain but then you weren’t too happy in your marriage either. It probably was just not meant to be. Now you have a chance to rebuild your life the way you want it to be.

2. Stop comparing yourself with other people. When we have a problem we always question god – “oh, god, why me?” Certainly god gave you a lot of rewards as well.

Did you then get up and ask god -“oh god, why me?” That’s what human nature is all about. We complain and remember god when we are in trouble or else we are too busy with ourselves.

Stop looking at other people who seem too happy and comfortable to you from a distance. Stop comparing their comfort with your suffering.

This will only frustrate you further. Focus on yourself and make every effort you can make to go out whenever you are feeling down.

3. Self-pity is very addictive and capable of destroying lives. Instead of indulging in self-pity (though we all do from time to time), take control of your life and take responsibility for your actions, learn from your mistakes and make a fresh start.

4. And yeah…don’t be bogged down when you hear a “no”. A “no” is something which even greats like Edison and Ford, too, had to face. If you look at them positively, you will find that each “no” actually takes you closer to a “yes.” It’s been reported time and time again that Edison conducted more than a thousand failed experiments before he actually made an electric bulb! So get going and take an occasional no in stride.

5. Are you standing in your own way? You will notice that shadows are caused when we stand in the path of sunshine. In our lives, too, we cause a lot of shadows by standing in the way of our own happiness. In today’s world, it is important to be flexible. A lot of people will look for a job for months, yet still reject work coming their way because they are not willing to adapt to some new job requirements.

Jane, a schoolteacher, was laid off from her job. She kept trying for months to get a job as a teacher while rejecting opportunities such as taking private tuitions, being a nanny, doing copy- editing work as a freelancer. The long wait hurt her self-confidence even more. Sometimes it is wise to be a little flexible and adapt ourselves to new job demands rather than to look exactly for what we lost. It helps regain confidence quickly which brings along enough energy to get an even better job in the field of your choice!

Don’t forget, there is always a way to regain your lost self-confidence. You just have to look for it. Because finding is reserved for those who search. Are you searching for an answer?