Sympathy quotes help us to help others who are going through a tough time in life to cheer up and find peace. They also help us make the best out of our world.

Sometimes dealing with a stressful situation is just too much for one person to bare and they need others to give them a shoulder to cry on. Death, breakups, or loss of a business can be hard to swallow. During those times these sympathy quotes can really make the difference.

In addition to those quotes, there is one long quote I remember hearing when I was littler. This quote was on a plaque at my mother’s house and when I was a kid I would read it and it would cheer me up. I always thought it was pretty creative and pretty heartwarming. The quote went like this.

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with God. Across the sky flashed scenes from his life. For each scene, he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand. One belonged to him and the other to God.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him. he looked back at the footprints in the sand. He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints. He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned God about it, “You said that once I decided to Follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me alone.”
God replied, “My precious, precious man, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

The moral of the story is that you are never alone. Whether it is your friends or God himself who is there for you somebody will be there. You don’t have to go through pain alone when you know that god is up there watching over you, to be there in the good times and to carry you during the bad times.

Did you enjoy These Quotes?

Did you enjoy reading these quotes? If you did take some time to share with with someone else who can benefit. Remember sometimes a few kind words can go a long way in making people feel happy.

If you know any sympathy quotes yourself feel free to share them below. My readers will appreciate it!

1 month ago I opened the door for other bloggers to add their blog posts. The submissions came pouring in from around the web. After reviewing all of the submissions and picking the ones I felt fit my blog and it’s readers, I came up with 20 interesting articles. I hope you enjoy reading these articles on self improvement, personal peace, and time management.

Goal Setting

Bavly A. presents A determined life. It posted at Life as we know it, saying, “One of the smallest pushes in life is determination. Two stories. Real life stories telling us about that and my own point of view. Life has lots of stuff to offer and you’ll be standing right there waiting for them!”

Teri Jones presents 10 Ways Working Moms Can Get More Done In a Day posted at Nanny Jobs, saying, “Some suggestions to get you on the road to efficiency so that you can deftly manage the balancing act of working moms everywhere.”

Feeling Success presents Why Clarity & Purpose Are Essential For Hitting Goals posted at FeelingSuccess.
health

Personal Peace

Rob Graumans presents There is No Life Without Death posted at The Young Socrates.

misterinfinite presents The Reality of Love posted at welcometothelifestyle saying “Adults must be able to love themselves before they are truly able to love others. If you are trying to find love to fill a void in your life, you are going to be perpetually empty.”

Diane M. presents Trusting your inner wisdom… posted at Being Truly Present, saying, “Post includes a podcast visualization exercise”

Lindsay presents From Failure Forward, Part One posted at Life As 5, saying, “This is the first in a series of learning to live with mental illness. As of today’s date there are five installments.”

Self Improvement

Jessica Clark presents 24 Blogs with Things You Can Do to Keep Your Brain Sharp as You Age posted at Kenney Myers, saying, “As you age your brain begins to shrink naturally. One of the easiest ways to keep your brain sharp is to stay socially active, whether it’s in person or online.”

Kevin Raposo presents 5 Better Ways To Meet Your Neighbors posted at SimpliSafe Blog.

Jon Rhodes presents How to Perform Self Hypnosis posted at HypnoBusters, saying, “This article shows you exactly how to do self hypnosis, which is great for self improvement.”

Jon Rhodes presents How To Remember Peoples Names posted at Free Hypnosis, saying, “Remembering peoples name is great for building trust and rapport. This article shows you a great technique to help you quickly remember peoples names.”

Jesse Abbey presents Project Ultimate Teenager – Failure posted at JBMA saying “Mistakes or failure simply aren’t worth giving it all up for. Somewhere and somehow you need to find the strength to get back up on your feet and continue your journey.”

Ashton presents Why Meditation Is The Key To Everything posted at Blog on Meditation, Personal Growth, and Goal Achievement.

Jonathan Grant presents The Most Important Thing to Do in an Argument (which no one ever does) posted at Questions & Answers About Life, saying, “Maybe the one who needs to change is you!”

Don presents The Importance of Failing posted at Breath of Optimism, saying, “Are you afraid to fail? I hope you answered no to that question because the only way you are going to be successful in life is to first fail.”

Frontlier presents How to overcome guilty feeling and avoid regret? posted at Inspirational Lifestyle – Inspiresure, saying, “We all feel guilty for the past happening sometime that may turn unhealthy and ruin our life. Relax. Here is how to avoid those feelings!”

Jana presents Being Rested: How It Sets You & Everyone Around You Up For Success posted at Wisdom Link Blog, saying, “A look into how, when you are rested and give yourself the space to be centered, you set yourself, your work and everyone around you up for success.”

Time Management

Tipsy presents Make The Most Of Each Day posted at tipsywriter saying “You never know what will happen to you so make the most of the time you have now.”

Jon Rhodes presents Timebox To Get Things Done posted at Affiliate Help!, saying, “This article shows you the technique of time boxing, which can seriously help you get far more done in a relatively short space of time.”

Gabriel Rocheleau presents Need more time? You have MUCH more time than you think! posted at Up Development, saying, “How people underestimate the amount of hours they have and debunks the myth that they “need more time”.

That concludes the Self Improvement articles that have made it to the blog, I would like to thank every blogger who took the time to write and submit an article. I also hope that my readers have benefited from this page and can use it to help them improve their own lives.

If you like this page please bookmark it, tweet it, or share it with friends.

The following is a guest post by Omar And Will at Pixpirations.com

By definition, motivation is what uplifts us, human beings, to go after our goals. Motivation is a psychological driving force that urges us to utter “…whatever it takes.” What is great about motivation is that it is so powerful that it can push us to reach or gain what we truly want in life – whether it is physiological, mental, spiritual, social, or financial gains that we seek.

Motivation helps us realize our purpose. It makes us stay laser focused in such a way that we will be able to meet what is expected from us and/or achieve our aspirations, goals and desires.

However, motivation is not an absolute thing. Meaning, it may not always be present or constant. The level of motivation a person has can fluctuate. Although it is a normal emotional phenomena for people to experience lack of motivation from time to time, especially when being faced with difficult situations, it is still better to learn how to keep motivated despite unpleasant or unfamiliar circumstances.

So how does a person stay motivated? There are five core ways to do so.

First: Realize Your Goal

What it is that you really want? What it is that you really need? What will make you feel happy or fulfilled? Answering these questions will help you visualize your goals. And this first step is the most important. Knowing what your goal is will help you to stay on track.

Visualizing what it will feel like when achieving your goal will also motivate you – seeing yourself graduating with flying colors, or slimmer and healthier, or earning more than you can imagine – this visualization is very powerful and will definitely help you stay not only motivated, but also optimistic. You will be able to see your goal already achieved and not just focus on it as a challenge or obstacle you cannot overcome.

Let your goal dictate your action. By having a realistic and well-planned goal, your behavior, attitude and perception will be able adjust in such a way that will bring your goal in to life.

Second: Do Not Procrastinate

Your goal will simply not come to you. More often than not, you really need to chase after it. Lazy people will simply not go anywhere, and most likely, will not be able to get anything accomplished. Whenever you feel like procrastinating, remind yourself that procrastination is what can ultimately kill your dreams, goals and aspirations. The more you procrastinate, the more you delay yourself from getting somewhere.

You do not need to be a philosopher to realize that TIME is EQUIVALENT to LIFE. So to be able to make the most out of your existence, you have to make the most out the time you have. Realizing this will motivate you to keep on achieving and stay focus in using your time wisely.

Third: Stay Positive

Have you ever heard of the book “The Secret”? If you have not yet, then I suggest that you read it. The book, in a nutshell, is about how powerful our way of perceiving is, and how it directly affects what happens in our lives. Meaning, if you want positive things to happen to you, you simply have to think positive, be grateful, and believe that positive things will happen. It is that simple.

Do you know how that is possible? Thinking positive, staying optimistic, focusing on the brighter side, and being grateful – all of these are psychological. But have you ever considered that our thoughts are usually converted into action? In short, our behavior is dictated by our thoughts. So yes, the more positive your perceptions are, the more positive your behavior will become, and ultimately, the more positive results you will achieve.

Fourth: Never Give Up So Quickly

Anything that is worth having requires more time and effort. Likewise, all things that are gained easily fade away quickly as well. Do not rush to get to the future. Be patient, because if you do not, you will simply get frustrated more and more until you end up convincing yourself that it is never going to happen and that it will be a lot easier if you simply give up – and this is not part of the plan, obviously. Focus on the present and take it one day at a time.

Remember to do things “slowly, but surely”. It is not a matter of who reached the goal first, it is a matter of who enjoyed the journey. Enjoy small successes that will definitely come along the way, learn from your mistakes and always stay focused.

If things do not go according to plan, do not panic. And more importantly, do not blame anything or anyone, including you. Blame will never help. Accept that there simply are things that we cannot possibly control. The earlier you accept this reality, the better you can cope. Believe that you will always find a way around it – get up and move on.

Fifth: Believe In Yourself

Self-confidence is definitely the key. Believe in yourself and trust that you will be able to overcome your challenges and fears. Teach yourself to be emotionally and spiritually strong. Know your weaknesses and limitations. Maximize and cultivate your strengths. Also, surround yourself with people who believe in you and support both your abilities and possibilities. Motivation does not always have to come from you; it can be influenced by important people who surround you.

Love yourself, appreciate what you do and respect both your capabilities and limitations. No one is perfect. Never look down on yourself and believe that you can make it despite your circumstances. Do not let any misfortune stop you from doing what you love and from reaching your goals.

Remember, no star can shine without the darkness – so yes, ironically, it is the little shades of darkness in your life that makes you shine brighter. There is a quote I came up with that I read every time I feel a bit down and I am sure it will help you too, “Your current circumstances and challenges add a more interesting plot to your success story.”

Omar Negron is the Co-Creator of www.PixPirations.com. A site created to share “Images That Inspire” all across the web. If you need some extra motivation and inspiration feel free to visit www.PixPirations.com and follow them on Twitter @Pixpiration

Like this post? If you do please share it on Twitter or Facebook or bookmark it. Here is a list of handpicked articles you may also enjoy.

What Would You Do If You Knew You Would Die In 5 Years?

Practice Saying “I’ll Start Now”

10 Reasons To Bite Off More Than You Can Chew

You’ll never break a bad habit if you keep justifying it to yourself. Yet it is a lot easier to defend our bad habits than to admit to them and try to reduce them. But it is not always the best path to take.

Chances are if you have a habit you are trying to break you are probably using one of these faulty concepts to justify it.

1. I Deserve It!

This is something that you often hear people say when they are on a diet in order to justify breaking that diet. The problem with this statement is that it works against you and prevents you from creating a good habit.

By telling ourselves we deserve it we are really just reinforcing the bad habit. We may think we are using positive reinforcement, but our brain hears, “I did good, so now I will reward myself with this slice of cake because that is what I truly want”

Essentially we are telling ourselves that we like eating cake, and by telling ourselves that it becomes harder and harder to break away from that bad habit. A better approach would be finding something that is good for us which we also like and using that as a reward.

Instead of saying, “I’ve been good I deserve some cake”, try saying, “I’ve been good, I deserve some freshly picked strawberries!” It’s better for you and it will boost your brainpower rather than your cholesterol.

2. Just One More Time

We all know that “just one more time” doesn’t really mean “just one more time” although that may be the initial intention. Every time we do something for the last time ever we are giving in to our bad habits and using this one phrase to justify it.

The problem is, the more “last times” you do something the harder it will be to give it up and the more likely you will start believing that you just can’t break the habit. In short it makes this already hard aspect of life even more challenging.

3. It Is Not The Cause Of The Effect

Another easy way we justify our bad habits is by separating the symptoms from the habit. Although we don’t do this intentionally, it is easy to think of cigarettes as good and soothing and lung cancer as a bad disease, it won’t help you break the habit.

Instead look into the future, cigarettes do cause lung cancer along with other diseases. Instead of separating the two things keep them connected in your mind. It’s a lot easier to give up smoking if every time you see a cigarette you think of cancer than it is if you see something that brings you pleasure.

4. Everything Dies Eventually

It’s easy to give up being healthy by telling yourself that everything is going to die. Health nuts make their way to the death bed just like everyone else.

While nobody has found a way to live forever just yet, you do live longer, and you live a healthier life by keeping good habits on average. Once more you feel better and get to enjoy the world around you.

Instead of putting things into your body which makes you feel like you just got hit by a truck and you want to take a nap, why not put things into your body which gives you energy to do the things you love.

5. Everybody Does It

Justifying something because everyone around you does it is like chopping your arm off because your friend got into an accident. Ok, maybe not that bad, but you get my point. There isn’t a reason to think you have to lower yourself to someone else’s level in order to fit in.

Most of the time people are pretty understanding, if you don’t drink, don’t smoke, or don’t spend your money on frivolous things, not very many people will hold it against you.

In fact, in my experience most people will tell you they really respect you for not falling into the same hole they fell into and who knows, you may even inspire someone else to break their habits as well.

6. I Was Raised That Way

It’s easy to say that I do what I do because I was raised that way. That’s all fine and dandy, but it doesn’t mean you have to stay that way. Do some experiments, try something different, find your own path.

You may have had different experiences in the past as someone else, but tomorrow is a new day. You can always make a change to improve your life.

7. I Don’t Want To Be Boring

We seem to have an image in our minds of a person who doesn’t do anything bad to themself. We see them as a nerd, wearing glasses and getting picked on by everyone else. But that isn’t the case at all.

You don’t have to be killing yourself to have a good time and the most interesting thing we remember about people is what ideas they come up with and how much they care about others.

8. It Calms Me Down

Sometimes we do things because they are familiar to us and they calm us down. When stress builds up and change happens it is just easier to go back to the bad habits that you are familiar with in order to feel like things are staying the same and your life is not getting out of control.

Instead of using your bad habits to calm you down in stressful situations

9. Everybody’s Got Something

Another excuse is to say that everybody has something so I shouldn’t be concerned about my bad habits.

Comparing yourself to other people can have its downsides. This is one of them. If you are always weighting yourself against other people’s weaknesses you stop wanting to improve the person you are.

Nobody is perfect, we all have problems, but that doesn’t mean you can’t work on fixing them to become a stronger healthier person.

10. My Grandma Did It

I’m sure you’ve heard someone say something along the line of “My grandma drank beer every day of her life and she lived to be 108!” While everybody is different statistics is what matters.

Yes some people may seem to defy health problems that come from eating and drinking junk, but for every one person who defies these health problems 10 others don’t. There are a lot more old healthy people who eat vegetables than who drink beer just like there are more rich people who have worked hard then there are rich people who didn’t.

Don’t worry about what other people managed to do, instead focus on what you want out of life and take the steps to do it.

11. Everything’s Bad For You

This trap is easy to fall into because as they say, everything is bad for you somehow. It’s easy to fall into this trap because there are always new discoveries coming out and there are problems with all foods.

But some stuff is a lot better for you than others and that’s the key. Nobody is going to argue that sitting on the couch and drinking beer all day is better for you than exercising and eating right.

12. I’m Too Old To Change

I’m amazed at how many people refuse to use the computer because they are too old for it. Many of which aren’t even that old. Remember you are never too old to change, if you need some motivation think of Leo Plass who became the oldest person to graduate from college at age 99.

13. I Have Too Many Negative Influences

Another excuse we tell ourselves to stop ourselves from changing a bad habit into a good one is to say that we have too many negative influences in our lives. We might not be able to stop gambling because everyone we know is a gambler and will pressure us into gambling or we may not be able to stop eating junk food because junk food is everywhere.

You can counteract this by focusing on things you want rather than things you don’t. Surround yourself with people who are making a positive change in their lives. Only buy healthy foods for the house. Don’t surround yourself with negatively influence you and make it harder to break the addiction.

14. It’s Not Hurting Anyone

Another reason we might refuse to break our bad habits is because we think it isn’t hurting anyone but maybe ourselves. That’s not true, it only takes a short conversation with the family of an alcoholic to find out that their addiction affects more than just themself.

Realize that people care about you. They don’t want to see you destroying your life because of some bad addiction. Why put them through that pain when you can take a step towards improving your life today. Take a minute to create your life plan and really put in the effort to align yourself with the person you want to be.

15. I’ve tried to Quit And Failed

Have you ever said you just can’t quit something? Maybe you’ve tried it before and failed and as a result you don’t think it is possible to turn things around? In any case you can quit! You can change for the better.

Just because you failed in the past doesn’t mean you will fail again in the future. We all have the power to break bad habits, it may be tough, but we are all capable of doing it.

Like this post? If you like this post please bookmark or tweet it! Also here are some other pages you might be interested in.

How To Love Yourself Unconditionally

Why Focusing On The Bad Thing Is The Wrong Thing To Do

The War of Art

You may have read my article how to end a friendship. This article looks at the other side of the coin and asks “what should you do when someone else decides they don’t want to be your friend anymore.”

It happens to all of us, sometimes people for whatever reason, “unfriend” you. Don’t take it personally, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person, in fact many times it means they have their own issues to work out.

I’ve had a similar experience lately. A while back I ended a relationship with a girlfriend. Things didn’t work out and we went our separate ways thinking we would still be friends.

A month after we broke up, a friend of mine got together with her. I let them know that it was ok by me and I was genuinely happy for the both of them. We decided we would all still be friends. But afterwards we drifted apart.

We’ve all been pretty busy and life always gets in the way, but recently I learned that they have both deleted my number, “unfriended” me on Facebook, and ignored me when they ran into me on the street.

I don’t like jumping to conclusions, but it does appear that they have decided to end our friendship. It happens and is just a part of life.

You will get those people who decide they don’t want to be your friend anymore, even if you were good friends before. What do you do when it happens to you? What is the right thing to do?

Never Jump To Conclusions

If it seems like someone is avoiding you, don’t get mad. It could be a coincidence; I know I have appeared to be avoiding other people when in reality I just had other things going on. Life happens!

The last thing you want to do is have a bunch of anger and resentment against someone who still views you as a friend. Don’t be afraid to invite them along when you are going somewhere or to reach out to them when you bump into them at the mall. It doesn’t matter if they would do it for you, be the bigger man.

Don’t be the desperate man trying to win his friend back, but be warm and welcoming to them just like you would be to anyone else.

Remember Its Not Your Problem

This may come as a shock coming from me as I did a whole article on why you should blame yourself for the things that happen to you, but if someone just doesn’t want to be your friend anymore, it isn’t your problem.

If you have treated others with respect that is all you could have done. This is one of the few situations where looking for the problem and trying to fix it probably won’t work.

It may be that they decided that you were not a good fit as one of their friends. If they did it is no use arguing with them because it isn’t easy to change someone elses mind once it is made up. It could also be (and probably is) that they just weren’t a good friend to begin with.

Whatever the case the problem is theirs to deal with. You may look to see if there was anything you did to drive them off (be honest with yourself), but even so it’s better to just let it go and focus on the future.

Meet New People

I wouldn’t spend any time feeling sorry for yourself. Life is full of abundance and there are always more people to meet and share your experiences with. Joy is all around us.

I wouldn’t forget them either or pretend like they don’t exist. Instead remember that it was just one part of your life and that it is now time to move on. Life can get better as we grow older, so there is no point in dwelling on the past.

You should always be seeking out new people who you get along with and who can teach you new things that you want to learn. Don’t sit still, don’t stop living life with a passion, but at the same time don’t forget where you came from.

The people you meet and have around you will dictate where you end up in life, so go seek out others who you can learn from and who will inspire you. Take this as an opportunity to meet people who are already doing what you want to be doing and who can give you the courage to try it for yourself.

Welcome Lost Friends Who Come Back

Often people leave because they are lost. They don’t know what they want out of life or which road they should take. If they come back to meet you while on their journey, welcome them back!

Don’t try to get even with them or stay mad about something that isn’t even relevant. As the old saying goes, and eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.

If they haven’t really done anything bad to you, (like steal your identity or break into your house) why punish them? Don’t forget that they may desert you again, but don’t turn a cold shoulder to them. If everyone does they may have nowhere left to turn to. Be that beacon of light that leads them on the right path.

Everyone wants to be friends with the person who is warm, welcoming, and forgiving. If you treat others like you would want to be treated and become the person you would want to be friends with, you’ll always be surrounded by people who care about you, even if you occasionally draw in those that don’t.

If you enjoyed reading this article and think someone else might enjoy it. Please share it with them. Also here are some related posts you might enjoy

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All out of ideas? Do you want to be able to come up with new topics, dreams, and out of the box solutions? We all need to refresh our brains, think differently, and come up with new things that impress others and help mankind as a whole.

Regardless of what you need a creativity boost for, here are 101 creativity techniques that can help.

1. Sleep

Einstein is said to have slept 10 hours a night when not working and 11 hours a night when working. Sleep helps your body and mind recharge and dreams helps your mind think in new ways.

2. Don’t Watch T.V.

If you have read my article how to add 13.65 years onto your life you understand that T.V. takes away from your life. Not only that it ruins your ability to think clearly and come up with new ideas.

3. Think

Set aside some time to just think. It doesn’t matter what you think about, although if you want solutions to a problem you should probably spend it thinking about that problem.

4. Keep A Note Pad

Sometimes our best ideas come to us when we are busy. By keeping a notepad with you at all times you can write down your ideas and even use them to come up with other ideas down the road.

5. Go For A Walk

Get out of the house, walk to park or just walk down your neighborhood. Walking helps you to think because it gets your heart pumping and brings oxygen to the brain.

6. Watch Nature

Nature is simply amazing, watch it and learn from it.

7. Watch People

People are pretty interesting. Finding a quiet spot to sit down and watch people come and go can give you a new look at who we are and how we interact.

8. Read A Book On A Specific Topic

Reading a book about self improvement, history, or even politics can help you come up with great ideas of your own.

9. Network

Find others who have the same interests as you. Than network and bounce ideas off of them.

10. Do More

When you try something new you get a new perspective on life and how others think. Do new things regularly.

11. Think Constantly

Never turn your brain off. Wonder why something happens, create stories, and keep your brain active.

12. Become A Kid

Kids are very creative because they look at life as a learning experience and have not yet been told how they must act. Become a kid again to get your inner creative self back.

13. Love Learning

Make it a point to learn one thing a day. The more we learn the more we realize how much we don’t know and the more questions we ask.

14. Meditate

This calms your brain down to focus on things that are important.

15. Paint

When you start painting you see everything as a miracle

16. Write

Write down your thoughts or create a story about others. Be as creative as you can be in your writing and you will force yourself to become even more creative.

17. Watch The Sunset

Again, nature is beautiful

18. Read Fiction

Cell phones, laptops, and automatic doors all showed up on the big screen before it became a reality. By reading fiction you get a new perspective of what may be possible.

19. Go See Others Being Creative

Going to art shows, concerts, etc, lets you see others being creative and just might spur your creative juice as well.

20. Get Out Of The House

Sometimes you need to get away and do something to be creative. Don’t stay in your house all the time.

21. Visit An Art Gallery

Art is creativity at its best. By visiting an art gallery you get to see what others have been up to and you may be able to pull ideas off of that.

22. Dream

Think about what you want out of life. Don’t think about what is possible, think about what you want.

23. Learn From Failures

Learning to blame yourself for the bad things that happen to you can actually be a good thing because it allows you to come up with solutions to your problems instead of just running into the same problem over and over again.

24. Create A Vision Board

A vision board is simply a board that has everything you want on it. You can cut out your future home, future wife, future car from magazines and paste it on the board. When you’re doing it allow your imagination to run wild.

25. Break Away From Social Norms

Just because everybody else has the new cell phone or listens to the same band doesn’t mean you have to. Try out new things for yourself.

26. Break Away From The System

Our world is built on systems. Everyone is supposed to find their spot in that system to make it work. But breaking away and showing a little bit of individuality might be a better alternative.

27. Talk To Strangers

You don’t know what other people know or who they are until you talk to them.

28. Meet People In Different Walks Of Life

Make friends with the rich, poor, males, and females to get a sense of what life is like in their shoes.

29. Volunteer

When you volunteer you get a new perspective out of life and if you are always thinking you’ll probably come up with some good questions.

30. Do Something New

You don’t come up with new ideas by only doing what you’ve done in the past. Try something new and see where it takes you.

31. Bounce Ideas Off Others

Tell others your ideas so they can tell you the flaws in them and help you come up with better ideas.

32. Go Back To The Problem

Ignore the solutions that others have come up with and look at the problem again. You might just find a better solution.

33. Do Brain Teasers and Riddles

Doing brain teasers and riddles helps you to think in new ways you would have never thought of before. Here’s a start. If a piggy bank holds 1 quart of pennies, how many pennies can you put in an empty piggy bank?

34. Learn The SCAMPER Technique

The scamper technique is a creative technique that managers have been using to come up with out of the box ideas for years. Read my article about it for more information.

35. Learn What Others Say About You

By learning what others say about you, you get a new perspective.

36. Question Everything

Don’t assume everything your teacher says is true, ask why.

37. Look For Gaps In Knowledge

Look at what we do know to figure out what we still don’t know. Than think about what we don’t know.

38. Figure Out What Others Missed

We all make mistakes, figure out what mistakes others made and try to solve them.

39. Follow Through

Don’t start a new project and stop, follow through with it. It will force you to be creative especially when times are tough.

40. Start Something New

Start a new goal, diet, business. Think about what all you need to do to succeed.

41. Make Up Parodies

Take the songs you love and change the words around to fit your life. Instead of singing about going to the chapel to get married, sing about taking a shower to get clean.

42. Make Up Songs

Don’t stop there, create songs of your own.

43. Listen to New Music

Our brains grow as we try new things. Don’t just write off that country song because you don’t like country music. Instead learn what country music is all about.

44. Break Your Pattern

Don’t do the same thing every day. Break your pattern and take a different route to work.

45. Read a Blog

Read a blog that you love and see what else they have to write

46. Learn to Program

Learning how to program computers gives you an advantage in this world, especially considering how many things computers run.

47. Visit Stumbleupon and other social bookmarketing sites

Sites like stumbleupon host the most creative webpages around. See what others have come up with to get your imagination flowing. But I warn you, it’s incredibly addictive.

48. Accept Mistakes

You need to accept mistakes happen and turn it into a learning experience.

49. Look For Mistakes

Look for mistakes you have made in the past and come up with solutions to those mistakes and what you should have done. Although it may not help you in the past it will help you in the future.

50. Don’t Be Someone Else

Don’t be someone else just because your friends want you to be someone else. Be yourself instead.

51. Have Fun

Always remember life is meant to be enjoyed. Have fun and learn to do things you enjoy, because if you enjoy them you will learn from them.

52. Observe The World

Look at the world around you. Wonder why things happen the way they do.

53. Don’t Wear a Uniform

If you don’t have to wear a uniform don’t. Let your inner creativeness decide how to dress you instead.

54. Take Risks

Take risks and come up with ideas that sound crazy. If you sound crazy to others you might just be on the right track to solving problems they couldn’t.

55. Focus On The Positives

Regardless of what happens in life look for the positives and focus on finding the positives in every situation.

56. Do What Is Hard

If it was easy you wouldn’t need to be creative to figure it out. Challenge your creativity by tackling on hard problems.

57. Change Up Your Meals

Don’t always eat the same thing and don’t always have your meal at the same time. Mix it up a bit.

58. Have Different Colored Plates

Not everything needs to match. Sometimes it is better when they don’t.

59. Dress Outrageously

I once heard of a couple who dresses like superheros when they leave the house. While you don’t have to go that far, you can mix it up a bit and wear something that expresses yourself.

60. Eat Healthy

Don’t forget to give your brain the right nutrients to perform at its best.

61. Take Responsibility

Take responsibility for everything that happens and look for ways to improve it.

62. Help Others Work Out Problems

Help others come up with solutions to their problems.

63. Decide What You Want That Look For Ways To Do It

Take some time to think about what you want out of life. Don’t think realistically, think big. After that think of creative (legal) things you can do to help you reach your goal.

64. Be Spontaneous

Don’t plan everything to a tee. Have time to just be spontaneous and do new things as they emerge.

65. Play With A Rubik’s Cube

Rubik’s cubes are fun to play with and they help you to think in new ways to solve complex problems.

66. Make A Time Capsule

Think about what the people in the future might find fascinating about today and put that in a time capsule.

67. Think About The Future Of Man

Think about where man is heading and what the world will look like in 50, 100, 1000 years from now. Think as outside of the box as you can.

68. Think About Your Future

Think about what your future will look like and think about what creative things you can do now to change your future.

69. Draw

Drawing can give you a burst of creativity because it allows you to focus on specific details.

70. Write With Your Left Hand

Did you know, if you can sign your name from left to right with your right hand you should be able to sign your name from right to left with your left hand.

71. Dance

Dance not only helps you to learn something new, but it also gets your heart beating and pumps oxygen to your brain.

72. Play Scrabble

Who doesn’t like to play Scrabble? Not only is it fun but it forces you to be creative and see new solutions.

73. Play Monopoly

Monopoly is a classic, It takes strategy, bargaining, and a whole lot of creativity to win.

74. Take a Different Path Than The Crowd

Just because everybody else is doing one thing doesn’t mean you have to. There are plenty of other paths along the road.

75. Talk With A Kid

Kids have a build in curiosity about the world. Talking to one will help you to reconnect with your own curious mind and get you to start asking questions.

76. Speak Your Mind

Say what you want to say about a subject. If you get shot down and shown that you are wrong at least you know that you were wrong and you can look for other solutions.

77. Be Weird

Do things that may seem weird to others because it lets you think in a new way.

78. Don’t Bother Feeling Sorry For Yourself

Don’t bother feeling sorry for yourself and who you are. Instead learn from everything that happens and think of creative solutions.

79. Do A Puzzle

Puzzles help challenge your mind and get you thinking.

80. Have A Creative Hobby

Take up something that seems creative to you.

81. Brainstorm

Take a piece of paper and brainstorm different ideas. Take those ideas and branch off of them. Write down any idea that comes to your mind, you can always go back to pick out the good ones later on.

82. Try Something On Your Own

Is there something you have never been able to do without help? If there is, try doing it yourself and see what happens.

83. Meet Creative People

Creativity is like a virus, creative people help others think of new ideas and bounce back even crazier ideas.

84. Visit A Museum

Museums are filled with creations from around the world and from different times. Take a look at what others have done and branch your ideas off of them.

85. Eat Differently

Try something you have never eaten before.

86. Listen to Both Sides Of The Story

The failure of politics comes from two parities not listening to each other. Take some time to listen to both sides of the argument before making up your mind.

87. Find Neutral Information

A lot of the information we read is written by people who have a bias one way or the other. Look for neutral information sources and create your own opinions.

88. Imagine What If

What would your life be like if you married one of your exs? What would the world be like if aliens invaded?

89. Redesign History

What if the Roman Empire never fell or if the Chinese colonized America? Think about how history would have been different in different situations.

90. Don’t Assume Yours Is Better

Don’t assume your ideas, cities, car, etc, is better than another person’s. Think about it from their point of view.

91. Look At The Clouds And See Images

What images do you see in the clouds? Look hard!

92. Look At What Ideas You’ve Came Up With Already And Expand

Look at the ideas you have thought of before and think of ways to expand them to create more ideas.

93. Look At What Ideas You’ve Came Up With And Oppose Them

Take the opposite point of view than you have taken before. Are there ways it can have some truth to it as well.

94. Try To Prove A False Belief

Take something you know is true and try to disprove it. Logically this shouldn’t work, but it will get your mind looking for new paths.

95. Try to Disprove Your Own Belief

This is similar to 94 with one exception, your belief might actually be wrong.

96. Create Interesting Conversations

New ideas excite me, but even when you can’t talk about new ideas at least make conversation fun. Don’t ask generic questions like, “how’s it going?” or “What have you been up to?” Instead be creative and ask questions like, “If you could have a radio show with 5 sound bites what would they be and why?”

97. Get Inspired

Get inspired by others, your inspiration may even lead to new ideas.

98. Take Up Quantum Physics

Nothing makes you think outside of the box like quantum physics.

99. Talk To Others About Strange Ideas

Others may have strange ideas, talk to them about it. If they don’t have strange ideas, be the one bringing them up.

100. Create A Chart

The chart may let you see information in a whole new way and give you more room for ideas.

101. Make A List

When all else fails make a list around a specific topic and use that list to come up with ideas.

Resources

21 Ways To Be More Creative

Tips For Coming Up With Ideas

Flicker Images

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