North Star Mental Fitness Blog

Personal Development List

How would you like to have a list of resources for personal development?  No more having to explore the Internet.  Priscilla Palmer from Personal Development Demands Success planted the seed.  She began by listing five of her favorite blogs.

This Personal Development List has grown tremendously.  Today I am writing this post about this exciting list of resources and blockers committed to personal growth.  I was certainly honored to be included in the list.  I have recommended some bloggers, who are now included in the list.  If you have other people to recommend for the list, please leave a comment on Patricia Palmer's blog entitled "personal development list".

You will always be able to find this updated list on my blog site, The North Star Mental Fitness Blog under the section on the left side of my blog, My Favorite Links.  You will also be able to find the list on Priscilla's blog site.

Here is the current list of resources.

25 Things I've Learned about Choices

As I approach 40 years of practice as a clinical psychologist, the power, parameters and magic of choices continues to intrigue and entice me.  I've heard people say I'm getting old.  I smile to myself as I think of the limitations in their thinking.  Little do they know. 

In the 1980s my wife and I named our outpatient, substance abuse facility, Choices Unlimited.  I love that name, because truly people's choices are unlimited. 

Although my body showed signs of aging, I am not in the declining years of my life and practice.  Instead, I choose to see myself entering life's empowering and enlightening years.  In spite of what I see in the mirror in the morning, I am energized with the  rejuvenating thought: My Choices Are Unlimited!

Also I have learned to view my clients as choice makers with unlimited choices.  Choice makers are like artists.  Choice makers began their creations with raw materials created by their genes and past living experiences.  As I looked over my client's shoulders, I saw and heard their choices of mediums, perspectives, colors and shading transform their genetic predispositions and past life experiences into majestic works of art.

Now, I'd like to tell you about 25 things I have learned about choices.   

The Mental Radio

A few years ago we had him a major remodeling of our home.  Before this project, I would never realized the importance of a radio in re-modeling or renovating a home.

The importance of the radio became clear to me, when the radio was the first tool to be turned on in the morning and the last tool to be turned off at the end of the day.

Today let me tell you about the importance of The Mental Radio for remodeling or renovating your life.

The Mental Sander

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness.  Nothing is so gentle as real strength".  Another quote from Midnight Cafe Maze was

"Never be in a hurry.  Do everything quietly and in a calm spirit.  Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset".  These quotations were made by Frances de Sales.

Carpenters have many tools to smooth out the surfaces of wood.  Rough edges and surfaces are not tolerable, when we desire high quality wood products.

Why am I adding The Mental Sander to Dr. Hal's Toolbox for Repairing and Creating Your Life?

The Mental Plan

Design your life!  Before beginning a remodeling project or new construction, architects and builders create blueprints.  Without a blueprint and detailed plans a construction project flounders.

Wily W. Walnut from Unleash Your Genius for Creative Thinking wrote Creating Your Life Purpose The Ultimate Creative Challenge! 

Wily says:  "Your life has no predetermined purpose. If you are waiting for your life purpose to be revealed, you are in for a long wait. You are the Creator. And only you can create the purpose of your life."

The Mental Glue

  Glue is in the carpenter's toolbox. Glue is a substance used to attach  or connect substances to another. 

Glue can also be used to associate thoughts, feelings, perceptions, behaviors and relationship skills with the important people in your life.

The Mental Glue will help you build strong relationships after you have removed the clutter and clogs from your relationships.  Yesterday, I wrote about The Mental Plunger for declogging your life when you are stuck and for removing sources of "messing up in your life".   Declogging your life must be followed by building your life.

Often, relationship conflicts are caused by emotions that rage out of control.  I am convinced that relationship conflicts are associated with  temporary memory deficits.  That is, people react with  destructive expression of emotions, forgetting that they are communicating and relating with somebody  they love.

Let me tell you how The Mental Glue can be used to repair and renovate your  memory and life.

The Mental Plunger

There are many ways people clog up their relationships.  "Waking up to your relationship's reality" was the name of a post by Wendy Jaffie from Divorce Lawyers' Guide to Staying Married.  On her blog site she gives advice for staying married.

Wendy referenced a MSN article, Stay or Go, which first appeared in O,The Oprah Magazine.  In this article 5 women "stuck in unfulfilling relationship shared their wake-up moments". 

These women were stuck in unfulfilling relationships, because of recurrent, mistakes in their relationships.  No matter how often mistakes in relationships are repeated, the results will always be the same.  Relationships will be completely clogged and unfulfilling.

What were the mistakes in the five relationships?

The Mental Generator

A source of power is necessary for repairing or renovating your life just as a source of power is necessary for construction.

Construction can only take place when there is light rather than darkness.   Do you want a repairman trying to repair something in the dark?  Do you want somebody constructing something for you in the dark? 

With so many power tools, it is necessary to have a source of energy for construction to proceed successfully.   Without a source of power, all the power tools in the world are useless!

Without light and without a source of energy, there can be no repairs or renovations.   What is THE MENTAL GENERATOR?

14 Ways To Use The Mental Inspection Tool

From a website, Home Insepector Essentials there were numerous inspection tools for sale.  There are tools to check for air particles in the air, carbon monoxide, and the moisture in the air.

There are instruments to detect the presence of gas leaks and for problems with electricity.  There is a tool called a Borescope.  Available in various lengths and diameters, professionals use borescopes to inspect heat exchangers and to locate damage from pests.

There are also numerous measuring devices that can be used for inspection and evaluation of work that has been completed.  Even tools such as a flashlight, are important for inspecting the quality of work.

Inspection tools are necessary in the construction industry to ensure the quality of work meets professional standards, has been correctly completed and is safe.

Mental inspection tools are also necessary to make sure that the repairs and renovations you make in your life are focused, effective and safe.  How can mental inspection tools help?

The Mental Saw

A saw is a  tool for cutting  wood or other material, consisting of a  serrated blade (a blade with the cutting edge dentated or toothed and worked either by hand  or by steam, water electric  or other power. The teeth of the saw are each bent to specific angle and this angle is called "set". The set of a tooth is dependent on the kind of cut the saw will be making. .

There are many different types of saws  in the toolbox  of a construction worker.  A construction worker chooses the type of saw depending on the purpose of making the cut.  In a virtual, mental toolbox you  could have many different types of saws.

This post is featuring a reciprocating saw.  A reciprocating saw is a type of saw in which the cutting action is achieved through a push and pull  reciprocating motion of the blade.  A  reciprocating  saw is used in construction and demolition work.

Why would anyone want a reciprocating saw in  their mental toolbox?