With confidence you can boldly progress towards your ambitions and aspirations. With confidence you can rise up and handle life’s demands and challenges. You can tackle any hurdle and obstruction, and move on to the next step of your journey to fulfilment and achievement.

One of the principle requirements to anything you want to do in your life is confidence. Confidence is an indispensable part of your development, betterment, progress and success, both at a personal and professional level. With confidence you can forge ahead to fulfil your potential and perform at your peak level.

Having confidence is the crux that allows you to achieve your true potential in whatever situation; in your relationships, your work or career, your finances and your self-image.

When you experience a lack of confidence, it may stop you from striving for what you want. This feeling of lack of confidence can be the root of many complications and hardships that block you from achieving your desires. It can be like a large thorn that continually bursts the bubble of desire.

There may have been times when you have felt a level of confidence when you were engaged in an activity that you were good at; such as driving a car, being a parent or managing your team. At those times you would have displayed a high level of certainty, which is a form of confidence.

However, there may have been other circumstances where you found that you felt less confident. On these occasions, you would achieve a fraction of what is truly possible for you. With determination and focus to pursue and gain confidence, you can develop the strength and fortitude to climb out of the depths of any circumstances, and take advantage of the opportunities and successes that lay ahead of you.

In the same way that you have learned to lack confidence, you can also learn to have unlimited confidence. And the simplest and quickest way to kick-start the engines of your brain, is to know and accept that confidence can be an acquired process; it can be learned and formatted to suit all moments.

As your confidence increases, you can take a front row seat in mastering many areas of your life. You will find that you become more and more comfortable and confident in multiple areas, including:
ï Moving ahead in your career
ï Starting your own business
ï Embracing the risks of every day life
ï Refusing to be held back by fear
ï Creating circumstances rather than waiting for them
ï Smiling more and enjoying life
ï Dramatically improving your health

Successful and dynamic people have gained mastery on how to feel courageous and confident. When you develop and build on your own confidence skills, you, too, will feel and become a different person. You will feel much more enthusiastic, motivated and determined in every aspect of your life.

Once you improve on the way you think and feel about yourself, your beliefs and your actions will follow. You will confidently overcome the challenges that life thrusts upon you and you will manage them with new-found belief and faith in your capability to do so.

As you become more confident you abandon worry, hesitation and, more importantly, you side-step fear. The focus here is on your whole being, every part of you; your thoughts, the images in your mind, your emotions, and ultimately your behaviour and the actual outcomes in your life.

Bear in mind that as you focus on change, change does begin to happen. It is fun, motivating and very rewarding to feel and see yourself growing and improving and becoming more confident and effective day-by-day and week-by-week.

There is great power in believing that you can succeed in your quest for greater confidence. With awareness and consistency, this is attainable. Your confidence can stretch beyond any measurable scale and further still, knowing no boundaries.

Just think what you can do with all the confidence that you can have!

Social anxiety disorder, also known as social phobia, is a kind of mental disorder where the sufferer experiences a severe or unreasonable fear of social gatherings where there is a possibility that one may get embarrassed or ridiculed. Most of the time, these anxieties arise from an intense fear of being closely watched or scrutinised – from the simple things like the way they dress, talk or act; to important job functions like performing in front of a crowd, giving a presentation, or finishing an interview for a job application. This kind of phobia gives sufferers a feeling of being trapped or shut away from the world.

They say social anxiety disorder is closely related to shyness. However social phobia differs in the sense that this disrupts normal socialising functions. It is true that everyone goes through a stage of shyness in their life, overcoming it is a different thing. When it becomes too much that it interrupts your daily life and relationships to the point where you are sick with worry, it is time to seek counsel. It is good to know the signs and symptoms of social anxiety disorder to be able to determine and treat this said condition before it worsens.

People with social phobia manifest 2 basic kinds of symptoms: emotional and physical. The emotional symptoms include: an intense fear of being in situations in which you don’t know people, fear of situations in which you may be judged, worrying about embarrassing or humiliating yourself, fear that others will notice that you look anxious, anxiety that disrupts your daily routine, work, school or other activities, avoiding doing things or speaking to people out of fear of embarrassment, avoiding situations where you might be the centre of attention. The physical symptoms include: Blushing, profuse sweating, trembling or shaking, nausea, stomach upset, difficulty talking, shaky voice, muscle tension, confusion, palpitations, diarrehea, cold and clammy hands, and difficulty making eye contact.

Basically, this phobia manifests a symptom of being overly anxious around other people. Sufferers think that other people are more confident that they are, that other people are better them. They feel uncomfortable being around people that it makes it difficult for them to eat, drink, work, asking questions, asking for dates, even going to the toilet, when other people are around.

The good news is that there is a cure for this condition. For the past 20 years, a combination of talk therapy and medications has proven most helpful to limit the effects, if not cure, this mental condition. Certain anti-depressants (Paroxetine, Sertraline and Venlafaxine), anti-anxiety medications, and beta blockers are used to help Socio-phobic people to balance certain chemicals in the brain and minimise panic attacks during periods of heightened anxiety. Talk therapy teaches people with social anxiety disorder to react differently to situations that trigger their anxiety. The therapist helps the patient confront the negative feelings about social situations and the fear about being judged by others. Patients learn how their thinking patterns add to the symptoms of social anxiety disorder and how to change their thinking so the symptoms begin to lessen.
To be shy is quite normal, everybody has gone through a similar phase. Getting past that stage is the difficult part. Ultimately, it ends up to building your confidence to a certain level for you to be comfortable enough to move normally. In case you’ve been diagnosed as a socio-phobic, it is nothing to be ashamed of. With a little bit of therapy, proper medication, and enough support from people who believe in you, you’ll slowly be able to do socialise and function normally within a group without being too anxious.

This is one thing everyone agrees about: Dance is beneficial. It’s exercising without “feeling” like you’re exercising, it increases cardiovascular and mental health, releasing endorphins while you turn, spin, and simply MOVE.

Unfortunately, in our “modernised” society, we have lost touch with its potential. In contrast, dance has always been an integral part of many other cultures. You don’t have to dance with an African tribe around a roaring fire to realise the healing benefits of dance; luckily, all you need is yourself.

The other great thing about dance is that it can be done either in the privacy of your own home, in dance classes as a recreational outlet, at a party with friends, or as you do any number of household tasks, fitting a little “swing” in your steps.

“Oh, I can’t dance,” you’ll say. Can’t, or won’t? Dancing is simply moving, like wayward walking. It doesn’t have to be funky-crazy or hip; you don’t have to go with a style you don’t feel comfortable with; and those of you with “dance inhibition” are free, nearly every day, to find time and a private place large enough to move around freely — again, also known as dancing.

Choose music you feel comfortable with. Music preferences naturally vary from person to person — and even from day to day — so it just doesn’t matter of you decide to dance to Prince, Mozart, Garth Brooks, or Billie Holiday. That’s the first rule: Never put any kind of restrictions on yourself, thinking, “I like that music, but how do you dance to “Jingle Bells”?

When you are ready to begin, stand for a moment with your eyes closed. Feel the connection of your feet to the floor and just relax. If you feel completely at a loss for what to do, imagine your breath supplying your entire body with a golden fluid, making your body light and flexible.

Allow this to transition into any movements you wish, moving as the body dictates. Flow, float, stomp, jump up and down. Move fast or in slow motion. The key is to just allow the body to move, so don’t think too much — just move. Don’t worry about how you look; if you’re alone, no one can see you. If you’re in a dance class, everyone else is laughing, making the same mistakes you are.

When you really get into it, after a while you’ll definitely notice something: You’re not worrying as much any more; you are sleeping better; you aren’t as irritable at work or at home, with your family; and you feel surprisingly “healed” in some way.

In fact, the natural bodily healing and restoration can last from a couple of minutes to a several hours. People young and old, in all states of fitness, living in all kinds of bodies can benefit from dance. Those with injuries or physical challenges can benefit as well as any “able-bodied” person; just listen to your body and work with its limitations. Dance can be used for healing major stresses as well as “everyday life,” for it is often that these stresses build up, manifesting in extreme tension, anger, and even illness.

Remember, you’re not forcing your body to move according to someone else’s steps; to truly dance is to just tune in to your own personal radio station, and move according to the rhythm of your soul. Dance slow, dance fast, dance solo, dance with others, dance with joy, even dance the sorrow out of your heart. There are no rules — just DANCE!

Everybody, at one point in their lives, has experienced some form of anxiety. Common events like an upcoming exam or thesis presentation; or when a loved one gets sick; or when you go to unfamiliar places — all these may cause you to feel fidgety and worried. However, extreme distress over the littlest things may be considered as a disorder and needs to be treated. Other symptoms of anxiety can include palpitations; shortness of breath; sweating; trembling; sense of choking; chest pain; nausea or stomach upsets; dizziness; numbness or tingling; and chills or hot flashes.

So what causes anxiety disorders? Scientists attribute it to a lot of factors, four of which are genetics, personality, brain chemistry, and environmental factors. Researchers theorise that family history contributes to a high likelihood of someone developing an anxiety disorder. If one was brought up around a household of worriers, the chances of a person growing up to be a worrier too will be very high. Personality plays a big part as well. People who have low self-regard and have poor coping skills are also likely to develop anxiety disorders.

Anxiety disorders are associated with high levels of brain chemicals, called neurotransmitters, in the brain. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that transmit impulses. An imbalance on certain neurotransmitters may alter the way the mind would react to different situations, leading to anxiety.

Any form of trauma or stressful situations such as abuse, accidents, or death may lead to anxiety disorders. Stress and anxiety go hand in hand. Anxiety levels heighten with constant exposure to extreme stress. Also, the constant use or sudden withdrawal from addictive substances like alcohol, caffeine and nicotine may also worsen anxiety.

Oftentimes, worrying too much leads to anxiety panic attacks. These are surges of overwhelming fear that come out of nowhere and for no apparent reason. It affects not only the way the brain functions, but it also triggers changes in our body’s major glands. The glands produce different kinds of stimulants and hormones double-time, flooding body cells simultaneously, causing the sufferer to feel the need to either run, get out, or hide. This is far worse than the regular anxiety that people feel when they’re stressed out as this is based on irrational fear.

Stress management may help prevent anxiety disorders from developing. One good way to manage stress is to improve your lifestyle. Get adequate amount of sleep, making sure that the body is well-rested after a full day’s work. Intake of stimulants such as caffeine and nicotine containing products should be decreased as they would not help alleviate your stress, and may even aggravate your condition. Performing relaxation exercises will also help you during stressful times as it will relieve tense muscles. Last but not the least, don’t forget to take a breather. Relax. Anxiety is our body’s natural reaction to stress. It’s up to us if we let it take over our lives. To keep it short and simple, when you’re feeling anxious ñ stop, take a deep breath, count to ten, and relax.

Relinquishing your dreams

All too frequently we allow others to dictate what is good,
right or possible. We allow them to steal our dreams. Notice
I use the word “allow.” No one can put you down, stomp on
your dream, or kill an idea of yours unless you allow them
to.

Consider that:

• The movie Star Wars was rejected by every movie studio in
  Hollywood before 20th Century Fox finally produced it. It
  went on to be one of the largest-grossing movies in film
  history.
• As a child, Sylvester Stallone was frequently beaten by
  his father and told he had no brains. He grew up an unhappy
  loner. He floated in and out of schools. An advisor at
  Drexel University told him that based on his aptitude tests
  he should pursue a career as an elevator repair person. It’s
  not a bad profession but it’s certainly not where “Rocky”
  ended up!
• Einstein was criticised for not wearing socks or cutting
  his hair. He didn’t speak until he was four, and didn’t read
  until he was seven. One observer noted, “He could be
  mentally retarded”.
• An expert said of Vince Lombardi:”He possesses minimal
  football knowledge. Lacks motivation. . .
• Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred
  playing his own compositions instead of improving his
  technique. His teacher proclaimed him hopeless as a
  composer.
• Walt Disney was fired from his job as a newspaper editor
  for lack of ideas. He also went bankrupt several times
  before he created Disneyland.
• Henry Ford failed and went broke 5 times before he finally
  succeeded.
• Louisa May Alcott, the author of Little Women, was
  encouraged to find work as a servant or seamstress. She
  would certainly never be a writer.
• In 1944, the director of the Blue Book Modeling Agency
  told modeling hopeful Norma Jean Baker (Marilyn Monroe),
  “You’d better learn secretarial work, or else get married.”

It Takes Courage

So what are your ideas? Your thoughts? Your dreams? Your
plans?

It doesn’t matter if anyone supports what you want to do.
The important thing is for YOU to believe. For YOU to ignore
the people who say you can’t do it – and DO IT ANYWAY! It
takes courage. It takes persistence. It takes believing in
the “voice inside” when no one else does. Ideas, dreams and
visions are planted within you because you have the ability
to make them happen. You’ll learn, grow, scramble, fail, and
get back up again! The important thing is to simply never
give up. The people I mentioned earlier never gave up – and
they made great things happen!

Life is a like a million piece jigsaw puzzle. There are so many ways you can attack getting that jigsaw in order. Sometimes it requires a team effort, sometimes you can go it solo. You can sort shapes, colours and sizes and try to compartmentalise everything but at the end of the day you have take the pieces and try them out to see if they are going to fit together. And the beautiful part is that when you put those final pieces in, the whole picture is completed. It is the missing pieces that cause us the most trouble. Do you have missing pieces in your life today? – Hayley Solich

August 2011 Issue

So excited about the latest issue of Finally at 40 Life Begins Magazine as there are some sensational people we have interviewed who have such interesting lives…

Susan Gianevsky - Completely inspirational Women’s Leader and Homeophath walks to the beat of her own drum

Andrew Griffiths – Best Selling Business Author and a man with a big heart

Tracey Hodgkins – Telstra Business Woman of the Year 2005 shares her gold

Janine Mison – Real Women Australia Plus Size Modelling Agency and Stylist is breaking all the rules

Lenore Miller – Shares about the ‘New Normal’ after losing her 18 year old son to asthma

Melinda Hutchings – Shares about the early warning signs of an eating disorder

Karen Creif - Newly appointed Editor of new magazine “Style Your Home with Karen Creith”

Sir Jeffrey Archer – Only Time Will Tell

Then some sensational other articles…

Wild about Ginger  - Susan Gianevsky

Spotlight on Vitamin D – Jean Hailes Foundation

Mobile Phone Rage – Donna Hanson

Sunshine on a Rainy Day Fashion Feature – Trace Davis

Learning to Trust After Infidelity – Heide McConkey

Need a Loan?  - Sue Crawford

Midlife Man-Mess – A real life day in teh life of @blokeslib

What’s On and Great Reads with Andrea Cafnik

Going Grey Gracefully – Michael Davids

Dr Jane Elliot

Dr Jane Elliott, one of Australia’s leading experts on women’s health and menopause and the President-Elect of Australasian Menopause Society, talks about menopause, the cause, the symptoms and the impact that it can have on the quality of a woman’s life.

Menopause effects women all over the world. Dr Elliott talks us through menopause and it’s symptoms such as hot flushes, hot flashes, night sweats, difficulty sleeping and depression, and the important things you need to know about treatment options including hormone replacement therapy.

WebVNR has interviewed Dr Jane Elliott President-Elect of Australasian Menopause Society and a General Practitioner specialising in women’s health and menopause, to ask her the following questions:

• How long have you been working in women’s health?
• What is menopause? When does it occur? What causes it?
• What are the symptoms? How long do they last?
• How does the reduction of eostrogen (or estrogen) affect women’s health as they get older?
• What treatment options are currently available to help reduce symptoms like hot flushes?
• Are there any sideeffects from taking HRT?
• How does Menopause affect the quality of a woman’s life?
• At what age do women start experiencing symptoms and what should they do?
• Is there anything other advice you’d like to offer women experiencing menopause or fellow GPs?

Please share this video with others who are looking to find out about Menopause.

Dr Jane Elliott is one of the researchers currently conducting a clinical trial on Menopause which is recruiting patients. For more information or to find out if you might be eligible to participate please call 1800 236 350.

More about the trial here http://newmenopauseresearch.com/clinical-trials-directory/

TPR Global fosters patient recruitment communities by sharing relevant content and producing online resources about specific therapeutic areas.

Sign up below and be in the running for one of 10 Serenity CD's, perfect for starting your day peacefully

Let’s face it; life in the 21^st century is ‘V Busy.’ We race around from sunrise to sunset only to fall into bed totally exhausted and often too tired to sleep.  Our minds are still active from the activities of the day and, instead of nodding off straight away our minds continue to process which leads to loss of sleep and periods of insomnia.  Our body and our mind ends up being robbed of the recharge necessary to function at full capacity.

Frustration, anger, stress, low tolerance levels, illness and bouts of crying are only some of the warning signs that our body gives us and, we need to listen and make an effort to give it the rest it craves.

Meditation can be practised at any time of the day and even five minutes of quiet time in the middle of the day can help us to get through to the end.  Meditation in the evening will help to relax the body and quiet the mind so that when you close your eyes you are ready to fall into a beautiful dream filled sleep and, when practised first thing in the morning it can set you up for the busy day ahead.  The perfect time for meditating is whenever it suits you.  It needs to fit in with your lifestyle.

So what is meditation anyway?

Meditation is a practice of continued concentrated effort upon a sound, an object or the breath. It reduces stress, promotes relaxation and enhances the functions of the body and mind.  All it takes is fifteen minutes a day to improve your quality of life immensely.

So how do I practice meditation?

I used to think that I had to sit cross legged on a cushion with a straight back for hours on end and chant.  I have to say that two of these things I struggled to achieve.  Sitting cross legged and staying there for hours.   I came to learn, after doing some research, that this is not necessarily the case.  The way you choose to enjoy your quiet time is entirely up to you.  The only rule is that you are in a quiet place free of any interruptions and trust me you will come to love the escape.  When my children were little I had a sign made up that read; “Mummy’s Quiet Time – Do Not Disturb!”  I would place this on the door and it didn’t take long before they grew to respect my need for this ‘me’ time.  I have developed my own ritual over the years and I do not deviate unless I am in the great outdoors and wish to sit quietly in nature.  My five steps to meditation are as follows;

Light a beautifully scented candle and burn some incense

Put on some relaxing music that plays softly in the background

Sit in a comfortable position and ensure it is a position that I can hold for a period of time

Take three deep slow breaths.  In for five and out for five during which time I can feel my shoulders, my neck and the rest of my body relaxing.  If I am especially tense I will repeat this process until I am fully relaxed

I then put all my focus on my breath and let my thoughts come and go without giving them any attention.  If my mind is racing and I am finding it difficult to ignore my thoughts then I count up to ten and back down again repeatedly until I am able to let my thoughts just come and go like the ocean tide.

Scheduling in some quiet time is the best gift you could give to yourself and your body and your mind will love you for it.

Susan Briggs

Susan Briggs is a Personal Development Specialist whose greatest joy is to help women over 40 discover the potential that is resident within them.

How Can Susan Help You? Download Susan’s story and the programs she offers that are already changing lives today.

If you don’t know how to meditate, Susan also offers one-to-one coaching, as she firmly believes this is one of the core strengths of her life as she has practiced meditation as a daily routine for many years.

For your chance to win one of 10 copies of Susan’s brand new morning meditation CD, “Serenity”, simply answer our mystery question below and complete the email form.  Susan will then send you updates about when her next evening meditation CD, “Tranquility”, is released.

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A fantastic interview with great insight about body image issues for young people. I highly recommend that you watch the video if you have children or grandchildren so you know what the warning signs are.