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Have you ever found yourself standing in front of the refrigerator, staring at all the food, and saying to yourself, “There is nothing to eat in this house?” Have you opened your closet, looked at the neatly hanging array of clothing and said, “I have nothing to wear?”

An outside observer would have to wonder what you are talking about, staring at all that abundance and hearing you proclaim that there is nothing there for you. That is what we call Being Stuck. You have everything that you need to provide you with a full and happy life, but it just doesn’t satisfy you.

Sometimes, we get to a place where we just don’t know what we want out of life. Perhaps the career that you poured your energy into is no longer satisfying. Perhaps the relationships that were once exciting and stimulating have become stale. Maybe you know that it is time to make changes in your life, but you have no clue where to begin.

From all outward appearances, you have it all. You know that you have food in the fridge, clothes in the closet, career options and relationship choices. Yet, inside, something is missing. Being stuck keeps you from making the decisions that will bring you peace and satisfaction.

The first step in getting unstuck is to examine the why. Very often something from our past is holding us back. Maybe you broke up with your boyfriend/girlfriend or got divorced and have all those negative feelings; maybe you’re afraid to change jobs because you once made a hasty job decision; maybe you remember feeling afraid when you tried to do something.

Now is the time to Acknowledge the Past. Acknowledging the Past simply means to recognize and understand the impact that the past has on who we are today, right now. All the events leading up to this day — both good and bad — have created the person who looks back at you in the mirror. Acknowledging the events and circumstances that brought us here is a key step toward living a fulfilling and happy life.

Why is this important? People have a tendency to engage in revisionist history when it comes to the past. Have you heard people talk in glowing terms about someone who died and you scratched your head and wondered, “Who are they talking about?” It is important to take a good, realistic look at the relationship we are acknowledging, warts and all, and bring that relationship into proper perspective. It is OK to acknowledge that someone you loved was a slob or forgetful or perpetually late.

In the case of a divorce, you hear of someone you knew to be kind and generous referred to as “a monster” by their ex. It is fine to remember a special, meaningful event that makes you smile, to remember what it was that made you fall in love to begin with, to have kids with, build a life with. It is also important to make peace with whatever precipitated the breakup and use that to benefit your going forward. Remember that there are no mistakes, only opportunities to learn how to live a better life. If you made a bad job decision, OK you made a bad decision, we all have at some time in our lives.

It is important to keep in mind that Acknowledging the Past is not meant to have you erase the past or to ignore it. Conversely, it is not about dwelling on what has happened. This is to assist you in putting your past into its proper perspective.

Acknowledging the past does not mean forgetting. It means coming to terms with what has happened and moving forward. Does lingering bitterness from a divorce keep you from fully enjoying the life you have now? Does unabated sadness from being widowed keep you from believing that you can ever have a peaceful and happy life without your deceased spouse? Does fear of not having enough money keep your closet packed with clothes you hate?

HOW? One way to Acknowledge the Past is to put all of your feelings on pieces of paper. Go ahead! Write down the fear or anger or sadness you are feeling. Acknowledge that these are real feelings that you were entitled to have but that it is now time to let go. Then tear up or burn those pieces of paper. We happen to like burning because then you can scatter those ashes or flush them down the toilet and watch all your negative emotions flush down the drain. You are letting go!

Can’t let go? You’re not alone, it is hard. Your New World Coaching specializes in helping people find out what makes them happy and helps them take the steps toward achieving that happiness.

Fran Elster and Mary Caprio are Certified Empowerment Coaches and the founders of Your New World Coaching. They are dedicated to helping people move forward in their lives. Visit our website at http://www.yournewworldcoaching.com Acknowledge The Past, Live In The Present, Embrace The Future.

If you’ve just graduated from high school and are making major life decisions for the years ahead, you may have already been approached by a military recruiter presenting dozens of ‘benefits’ of enlisting in the armed forces. Slick advertising and carefully crafted marketing messages may already have you convinced that paying for school is much easier if you join one of the armed forces.

What these attractive messages don’t tell you is the real cost of joining –Vietnam War veterans learned their lessons through the military and will tell you that joining the armed forces is not what you make it, but what those up the chain of command make it. There’s a reason why the anti-war movement exists today; don’t be the next victim of war lies and end up risking your life for somebody else’s agenda. The young troops that Americans claim they support, who are now in prison and must live with a dishonorable discharge if they are ever released, didn’t set up Abu Ghraib prison, and they most certainly didn’t plan the daily events that took place there. But they must take the blame for these things because real justice would make our president, vice-president, secretary of defense, and the general staff at the Pentagon look like barbarians. The CIA’s part in this national disgrace was expected, and since it would be impossible to damage their reputation further, no one would care.

Why High School Students Still Fall For the Lies

Joining the military seems to make sense for thousands of students who don’t have financial resources to make their way through college. If your parents weren’t able to set aside funds for your future, or you didn’t do well enough in school to qualify for grants and scholarships, you probably won’t be able to pay for school on your own.

The truth is a college degree can be obtained through a variety of means. Federal aid, scholarships, grants and even work-study programs are all available – you just have to be smart enough to take advantage of the right opportunities. Unfortunately, army recruiters are very well-trained to emphasize only their benefits, and will not even shed light on the dozens of options available to you.

Investing In Your Education is the Best Anti-War Strategy

Anti-war supporters are making a commitment to help you steer clear of the armed forces after high school so you can pursue more valuable opportunities. Why would you give up your daily freedom, your sweetheart, and ultimately your life so Halliburton’s CEO could make more money in a year than your father has made in his life time? Here’s a guy with a really good reason for not serving his country on the battlefield. When Vice-President, Dick Cheney was asked why he had requested so many draft deferments in order to avoid the Vietnam War, he said, “I had better things to do.”

We may not realize it, but self-esteem is a great determinant of whether or not we will be a success in life or not. Why? Because self-esteem, or the way we view ourselves, including ours skills and our talents, affect our thoughts. And these thoughts turn into actions. Being part of the needless murder of countless thousands of people, 4,000 of them young Americans like you, can destroy one’s self-esteem.

Bob Miller is one of America’s most controversial writers. His anti-Bush & anti-War speeches have circled the globe. Visit: Survey Your Nation Bob Miller Writes Kill Me If You Can Or contact me at 954-714-0765 or E-Mail Me

Do you feel stuck in your life? Has the world suddenly seemed to have closed in around you? In addition, are you doing the same thing day in, day out? If this sounds like your life then you are probably stuck in a rut, with what seems to be no way out.

Being stuck in a rut can drag you down, make you feel depressed, or as if life is something you just go through but have long since stopped enjoying. You become this way slowly without even realizing it, until one day you wonder what happened and when.

Sometimes routine can start to get us down, leave us with a feeling of dissociation and start causing problems in relationships, work and daily life in general, we gradually become unhappy.

Here are some tips to help you stay in a rut, to never take back control over you life, stay unhappy and get out of the rut.

1. Never take up a new hobby, or you could end up giving yourself some times throughout the day to just enjoy something you like doing.

2. At meal times never try something different, or you could end up with either a different recipe or a different take out, or worst of all try foods from different cultures.

3. Never go out and meet new people. Joining a gym, club or attending a self-improvement class or hobby class are no-go areas.

4. Never drive a different way to work or walk or start bicycling, not only will this break the rut you are in, but it may also get you fitter.

5. Never make any small changes around the home or work area.

6. Never de-clutter your home or work area; it is surprising how being surrounded by clutter can really help to get you down.

7. Never take up a new sport. This is a danger area as there are many types of sport and all are designed to make you fitter.

8. Be careful not to do something that is totally out of character for you, as you may only start off with small changes but before you know it, you will work your way up to bigger ones.

9. If you are stuck at home with children then never change your routine throughout the day, make sure you always do the same chore at the same time.

10. Never do anything that is different to your normal routine. You could do something as simple as taking a short break and going for a walk, sitting down to read a chapter of a book or any other hobby or pastime you once enjoyed. To stay in a rut do not do any of these.

For many of us our daily life is governed by some form of routine, which we cannot avoid, for example going to work 8 hours a day, taking the kids to school each morning, this is daily life and routine, which for the most part cannot be changed. Another reason behind routine is the safety barrier; we get comfortable with our lives and feel secure in our rut, so why change?

Lynn Claridge is the author of “The Thinking inthe6th Phenomenon” and has personal development web site and a spiritual development web site Mystical Empowerment that is dedicated to help people understand their inner self.