Women Self Improvement
... In My Opinion
'women self improvement'
Above is the main keyword combination for this article, but instead of writing as I normally do - mostly factually and usually broadly - I'll script out a 'case study' regarding my mother; a woman who has tried always, in my opinion, to live as holistic a life as possible.
Here she is in a nutshell (not that she's a nut):
WARNING: The following section of this piece, being written entirely from the subjective mind of a mother's son, may be absolute hogwash. Hopefully not though.
* My mother's thoroughly straightforward, which is why people - both adults and children - generally respond well to her.
* She never speaks down to people and hates all forms of teasing.
* She regards clear communication as the foundation for maintaining healthy relationships.
* She's exceptionally creative and always buzzing with energy.
* She's not totally confident regarding new technologies; however, she loves all manner of modern items, i.e. certain present-day music (including hip hop), many of the latest TV shows, etc.
* Continuing from the above point... she's incredibly open-minded, not seeming to let the ongoing process of age deter this quality as it does with so many other people.
* She feels my father can fix or create anything (and usually he can) so she often assigns him 'little' tasks to test his mettle.
* She is extremely creative (especially with regards to art, cooking, and gardening) and quite knowledgeable on the topic of art history.
And it is the above point which I shall now elaborate on, even though I could, of course, continue speaking about the myriad of other wonderful qualities I further associate with my mother. If you didn't just go 'awww!', then perhaps you should consider doing so now because that was definitely what some may refer to as being an almost embarrassingly sweet moment. Moving along, however...
Her Art
At this stage in my website's development, almost every picture featured on it is a thumbnail of one of my mom's works, which is why most of them link back to this article.
However, apart from her having received a Diploma in Fine Arts, and having taught art for approximately six years to most age groups, and having sold a number of her pieces to various individuals, art is far more to my mother than simply a business venture.
Like many involved in creative employments, she has always been artistic, and I think a huge part of this is because, for her, it's a way of relaxing, focusing her mind, and best expressing her emotions and thoughts.
Art - I have realized in large part due to my mom - can therefore be a form of therapy, but also a form of keeping oneself mentally stimulated, and a way in which one can strengthen both the creative and logical mind.
It's a technique of externalizing whatever is internally most important to you at a time, but in such a way that you can refine your thinking or feeling about a topic more clearly because you put what was inside of you directly in front of you... on a piece of canvas or in the body of a sculpture or whatever else may take your fancy. I believe when you can see or feel something you've made from something else which was originally purely an idea or emotion, you can, in a sense, work more easily and properly on that piece of 'mind matter' - for lack of a better made up word - because then it's physical. And so creating art, while not only being both fun and rewarding, is additionally a useful way in which you can 'self-improve' yourself.
On yet another note, but still in the ballpark of 'using one's creative abilities to tackle a topic', the following is a method my mom taught me in lieu of how to 'confront' someone about an issue, and it's something I'm amazed I've never thought of before, considering - as you'll see - it's 'write' down my alley...
Write Out Your Thoughts FIRST In Concerns To A Specific Issue You're Having With Someone
Many of us make the mistake of impulsively approaching another person, about an issue which could likely become confrontational, with no prior thought of what we're going to say specifically to them when face to face. This is how things usually become messy fast, quite often taking an already less-than-wonderful situation backwards. This is sad, but mostly because it's often entirely unnecessary.
When we don't make a truly clear case about what we may have to say in regards to some issue which may possibly become confrontational, it's akin to not SPECIFICALLY 'putting on the table' what's bugging us, and therefore we may just as well have said nothing instead. Also - perhaps worse than that - when we dive into an issue head-first, then we don't even know clearly, in regards to ourself, what reason WE are having a specific problem about. Therefore, write your thoughts out beforehand concerning WHY you think something is bugging you (as opposed to merely WHAT'S bugging you) and possibly do this in the form of an article. You'll quite often find you're actually upset or angry or concerned about another person's intentions or behaviours not for the reasons you at first assumed (or not MOSTLY for the reasons you first assumed), but you might now see the situation with more logic and objectivity having 'penned out your thoughts' before acting upon them. Yes... when broaching a sore topic, it's best to initially be as clear as possibly in your OWN mind about the matter for your sake as well as the other person's.
Additionally, if you've written out what issues you have about 'something' in regards to 'someone' before approaching them about it, then when you do finally discuss what's on your mind with said person, in regards to them, you'll be able to provide a greater amount of points as to why you have some reserve either over their having acted a certain way or their considering doing something which may cause some possible future upset to themself, yourself, or 'someone else's self'.
But now I've remained off-topic for too long a time.
Cutting to the next scene, therefore...
The Point Of This Article
My mother is a woman with huge artistic talents, and while she is currently pondering the numerous variety of websites she can build to promote and sell her work, she has already seen a great portion of her potential successfully applied in certain offline capacities. But many other women out there haven't. And you might be one of those women. If so, then this final part of the article is specifically for you. In other words...
If you're a lady, currently without employment, but wishing this weren't so, then consider the possibility of becoming a WAHM.
A WAHM?
A Work At Home Mom if in case you didn't already know it.
Whether or not you're a mother though, and whether or not you're married, and whether or not you're nineteen or ninety, you can run a business from the comfort of your home IF this makes the most sense to you in regards to whatever life situation you may presently be in.
Most WAHMs are mothers, it's true, but some WAHMs are simply women who would prefer to run a business independently from the comfort of their own home because, for them, it's a more attractive option than the alternative of trying to find a boss... trying to find a job, I mean. There are also those WAHMs who are moms, and would like to work again, but while minding their children; because, some would argue, children should be every parent's most important priority in their life.
According to Wikipedia, "An increasing number of young children are being raised by a childcare provider or another person other than a parent; older children are more likely today to come home to an empty house and spend time with video games, television and the Internet with less guidance to offset or control the messages coming from these sources. No one knows how many kids are home after school without an adult, but they know the number is in the millions. Also, according to a study by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the more time that children spent in child care, the more likely their sixth grade teachers were to report behavior problems. The findings are the results of the largest study of child care and development conducted in the United States; the analysis tracked 1,364 children from birth." This, to say the least, is both fascinating but also thoroughly scary.
Apart from being able to spend more time with your family, however, running a business from home is beneficial for a number of other reasons too. For instance, you would have:
* lower business expenses
* personal health improvements
* a more flexible schedule
* less commuting
* more time to ACTUALLY work and plan work
* etc
Other surprising perks might additionally arise as a result of becoming a WAHM. As an example, some women, after some time, find themselves allowing their children to help in the maintenance of their businesses (obviously in a totally 'non-child-labour way') which creates a true sense of work-accomplishment for a child and teaches them real-world skills.
Another word describing WAHMs is 'mompreneur'. Investopedia says that mompreneurs are 'a relatively new trend in entrepreneurship, and have come to increase in prominence in the Internet age, with the Internet allowing entrepreneurs to sell products out of the home.'
And so...
In Conclusion
Two things...
1) In Japan, 'karoshi' is a term commonly used for, and quite literally meaning, 'death from overwork'. AKA: occupational sudden death.
2) 'Time poverty' is a phrase, originating in Britain, for those who earn a well-paid salary, but, as a result, have almost no time to spend and enjoy it.
If you're a woman who feels the need to start up a business from home, and if this is in some part due to your wanting to manage your time more in accordance to your own wishes, then, to begin with, mostly all you need is an idea for a business and some incentive to bring it to fruition.
While my mother is an amazing artist, I sincerely do believe we all have something valuable of our own to offer the world, even if you don't know what that something might be.
Using your creativity to build your world in the way in which you wish it to be is at first daunting, but ultimately hugely rewarding.
All that said and done though, and as an absolutely final note, beware of certain work-at-home schemes. While the Internet is generally the Digital Land of Opportunity, there are certain spots in every area best to be avoided.
OTHER RECOMMENDED ARTICLES
* The Heart Of Self Improvement
* Self Fulfillment
* Self Confidence Improvement
* Contributors And Feeders
* Self Improvement Quotes
To return to the main Mental Health page, CLICK HERE.
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REFERENCES:
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work-life_balance
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Work_at_home_parent
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mompreneur
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoshi
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money-rich,_time-poor
