Trust is a super important part of a healthy relationship, but it’s something that many people struggle with, for a lot of different reasons.

What does trust mean? Trusting someone means that you think they are reliable, you have confidence in them and you feel safe with them physically and emotionally. Trust is something that two people in a relationship can build together when they decide to trust each other. You can’t demand or prove trust; trusting someone is a choice that you make.

Building trust within a healthy relationship happens gradually. How do you know if you should trust someone? This can be a hard question to answer, especially at the beginning of a relationship, but your own instincts about another person and the way they behave over time are two important things to consider when making that decision.

Of course, in a healthy relationship it’s important for both partners to trust and be trusted, to open up and be vulnerable with each other. Trust can’t be built if only one partner is willing to do this and the other isn’t. Building trust requires mutual commitment. So, as your relationship progresses, ask yourself:

 

Is My Partner There for Me (and Am I There for Them)?

We’re not just talking about being there physically, but emotionally, too. Does your partner listen to you and support you? Are they sensitive to your problems, worries and fears? Do they show compassion and genuinely care about you? A person who is trustworthy is able to demonstrate consideration and care of others. This also means that they trust you to know what’s best for yourself. A partner who tells you they know best, or that you don’t know how you really feel, isn’t showing that they trust you.

It’s also important to keep in mind that in a healthy relationship, you can trust that no matter what comes up your partner won’t react in a way that threatens your safety or harms you. Everyone deserves to be in a relationship with someone who can resolve conflicts in a healthy, respectful way.

 

Is My Partner Consistent (and Am I Consistent with Them)?

Each person in a relationship demonstrates their trustworthiness through consistency in their actions. The first behaviors you look at might be relatively small, like showing up for dates at agreed-upon times. Keeping private information just between the two of you and respecting boundaries even when it doesn’t make one of you happy are other clues someone is dependable. Again, learning these things in a relationship happens gradually, as you both show that you are consistent with your actions not just occasionally, but all the time.

 

Does My Partner Say What They Mean and Do What They Say (and Do I Do the Same)?

Another way a person shows they are trustworthy is when their words and behavior match up. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “That person is all talk.” It generally means that someone’s words and actions don’t really correspond; they say one thing and do another. For example, if someone says they love you, and then they act abusively toward you, their words and actions don’t match. When you love someone, you do not abuse them.

Many people who contact love is respect are in relationships where one partner is constantly checking in, asking where the other partner is at all times, and/or trying to control who their partner spends time with. These behaviors aren’t healthy or signs of trust; again, trust is a choice you make. You can trust someone whether they’re right next to you or a long distance away. When there is trust, a person doesn’t feel a need to monitor or control their partner. They don’t need their partner to “prove” their love and faithfulness. It’s a lack of trust that makes those behaviors feel necessary. If you trust someone, you trust them regardless of who they spend time with or where they go. You trust that, even if someone else wanted to hurt your relationship, your partner wouldn’t let that happen.

 

My Trust Was Broken in the Past. How Can I Trust Again?

If you’ve been burned in the past, it’s understandable that you might have a hard time trusting other people. It can help to remind yourself that your new partner is NOT your old partner (or your friend, family member, or whoever broke your trust before), and making assumptions about them based on the actions of a completely different person isn’t really fair. Even if you’ve been hurt before, that’s not an excuse for checking up on your new partner or demanding that they prove their trustworthiness to you. As we’ve said, trust is a choice, and building on that trust within a relationship takes time. When we begin a relationship with someone, we’re making the choice to trust them. If you feel that you aren’t able to trust anyone else right now, you might not be ready to be in a relationship.

It’s worth noting that being able to trust yourself is an important component in trusting others. Being hurt by someone in the past may have affected your ability to trust yourself and your own instincts. Just remember that the person who broke your trust in the past made that choice; you can’t take responsibility for someone else’s actions or decisions. If you’re struggling with this, taking time to work through it, maybe with a counselor or therapist, could be very helpful in regaining trust in yourself and your ability to trust others.

 

We all have trust issues, it’s hard to trust anyone especially when it comes to affection and love. The world of relationships is fun and exciting until you get into your first fight, when all of your previous doubts and insecurities will flourish to the surface.

At this point, you’ll realize the person you were dating is not the image of perfection that you internalized when everything was all lovey-dovey. Once the honeymoon phase is over, you either learn to the love the person or simply hate him or her.

One phrase I commonly hear is, “I just can’t trust [insert: girls, chicks, boys, men, people…]”

I get it; we have all experienced disappointment or had someone break a silent, sacred pact of trust. But, is it fair to drag that into your next relationship, with someone who really just wants to get to know you?

While you may think you’re entering a fresh, brand-spanking-new relationship, really, you carry so much excess baggage from previous relationships and childhood traumas.

People put up barriers to protect their fragile hearts, which have most likely been broken before and take a long time to break down for new people. They nitpick on little habits or become suspicious about small things, like specific text messages.

It is okay to be cautious; we all want to protect ourselves from getting hurt, but sometimes, people make rash judgments and stir arguments as a result, which only pushes the other person further away.

It’s funny how we do this when we truly just want to be loved.

I know that at times, it can be really difficult to let people into your world, especially when you have been burned before. However, it’s not a nice feeling for the person who genuinely wants to get to know you and love you. This becomes quite difficult when you barricade your heart so that the wall you’ve put up is nearly impenetrable.

I am a very open person and would love to be with someone who is as well. I don’t want this person to share every little detail of his life with me if it feels uncomfortable, but he should also not be so concealed that it feels secretive and I feel totally shut out.

I want to date someone who can welcome me into his life and treat me as a person without preconceptions of what men or women are supposed to be “like.”

I hate feeling guilty before doing something wrong, and often, this is how I feel with people who have intense trust issues. They force me to question what I did wrong when, really, I hadn’t done anything wrong at all. It is incredibly frustrating and causes unnecessary drama.

The thing with people who have trust issues is their need to feed their egos and say, “See, I was right!” They will obsess and fuss until their suspicions are confirmed and more often than not (if they do get proved right), it is because their insecurities pushed the other person away.

When I enter a relationship, I only make my judgments based on my experience with the particular individual because it is unfair to attach my messed up past to that person. This, and I have faith in that there are good people in the world who aren’t out to get me.

Besides, how can you build any relationship without the foundation of trust?

So, knock down those walls and learn to let people in. They aren’t so bad. Honesty is the best policy, right? And if they do manage to hurt you, don’t let that prove your theory right.

“If that person breaks your trust, then you can make your next decision accordingly. If he or she screws up again, maybe the person is just all wrong for you and simply, you must move on alone.

Kyla Madjad

 

Why is Loyalty Important?

Loyalty is important in a lot of ways. In leadership or government, being loyal to a leader will produce a better society because there is no betrayal that happens. When each member of the society is loyal to the leader, it’s easier to impose rules and regulations. The leader can trust his subordinates so he can then achieve his goals for the country without any failure.

In a relationship, loyalty is also needed because it creates commitment and dedication to someone you care for. If you have loyalty to your loved ones, there will be trust and respect. A relationship to last longer needs a partner who takes a stand for somebody they believe in. In friendship, loyalty is also needed because you can always count on that person once he is loyal. Whenever you have problems in life and struggle to encounter, you are assured that there is somebody to turn to for comfort.

Loyalty is also important in any business. Customer loyalty helps in building satisfaction and trust toward your service and products. When customers are loyal to your business, there will be an assurance that these customers will patronize your products, thus increasing your sale and avoiding bankruptcy.

Loyalty is one virtue that people find difficult to achieve. It needs an investment in time and feelings. You can’t be loyal to someone or something if you think they will not do well to you. If you think you will be happy with somebody, then there is a need to sacrifice to strengthen a relationship. That sacrifice will usually involve giving your utmost loyalty to the person you care for.

Loyalty is one value that every individual should possess. When we are loyal to something or someone, our world will be a better place to live in more peaceful and organized.

Loyalty is one of the traits that people generally say is important to them in relationships, be it romantic, friendship, business, or otherwise. Yet some of us don’t make it a priority or give that quality enough credit. Here are some reasons why staying true and sticking by the people and things you care about is the best thing you can do for yourself, and those you care about.

 

1. It’s less messy than constantly switching sides. There are enough things to cleanup in life, so making a mess while you go just isn’t necessary.

 

2. It earns you good karma. Is karma real? Who knows, but it might be safer to assume that it is.

 

3. You can be a loyal girl without being a “good” girl. You can be a sassy or as freaky as you want in your relationships but stay loyal and you’ll just feel like trouble instead of actually causing damage.

 

4. You’ll form deeper connections. Loyalty leads to feelings of security, which leads to better communication and deeper bonds.

 

5. You have to be loyal to yourself, too. Loyal to your emotions, beliefs, needs responsibilities, health…

 

6. You won’t get passed up for work opportunities. You can be great at a job, but if you aren’t accountable or you have a reputation for screwing people over, it’s much harder to grow and be rewarded for your work.

 

7. One disloyal act can ruin years of loyalty. Might as well keep the good thing going.

 

8. You can be loyal but still have boundaries. Being loyal doesn’t mean you have to put up with bullshit in life; it means you give people an opportunity to show you their true colors and then you make decisions that work for you.

 

9. You’ll be quicker to act when it comes to doing the right thing. If you’re feeling the urge to cheat but just morally can’t allow yourself to do so, then you end a relationship before you cheat and simplify the whole thing for everyone.

 

10. People won’t be out to get you. No ‘eye for an eye’ plans are put into place if you don’t do something shady in the first place.

 

11. It doesn’t make you a badass to be mean. Enough said.

 

12. You’ll have real relationships. It’s much harder to stay with someone who you know you shouldn’t be with when loyalty is a top priority. Things get real when you’re accountable.

 

13. Guilt hurts like a bitch. Is there a worse feeling than knowing that you could have avoided hurting someone you care about?

 

14. You’re more likely to be treated with loyalty, as well. If you’re loyal, most people will be loyal right back.

 

15. Your exes won’t be able to say bad things about you. Well, okay, maybe there are a couple bad things they could say about you, but won’t be that you’re a cheater.

 

16. You’ll have more friends. Disloyal people tend to blow people off when they make new friends, but if you’re loyal, you can just keep adding friends. Much more reasonable.

 

17. People will remember it. In the short term, hustling around for the best opportunities can be tempting, but in the long term people keep around trustworthy and stable people above all else.

 

18. Your power will come from respect. Not from your ability to swindle and play games.

 

19. Loyalty lets people know that they’re wanted in your life. There is less pressure to try to make romantic relationships and friendships work when people inherently know that they’re working.

 

If loyalty is one of your principles, that means that if you’re not loyal to your friends, you’re not loyal to yourself. Betraying a friend would be breaking your principles and therefore becomes betraying yourself. If you are strong, committed and for real with it, you won’t let this happen.

When you consider loyalty a priority you will notice you won’t make as much “friends” because you and others know that when you get into it; you commit to it.

“Be slow to fall into friendship; but when thou art in, continue firm and constant.” – Socrates.

In my opinion to be loyal to yourself (and thus to everyone you decide to be loyal to), it all boils down to ‘keepin’ it real’.

“Keeping it real means keeping it real to you, not what’s real to everybody else. If you wanna be a doctor and you go on to become a doctor, then that’s keeping it real”

Loyalty in the personal realm, which comes out of love, devotion, dedication and commitment to the wellbeing of another, is healthy. Yet, at times, people are not aware of all the aspects of loyalty within a relationship.

No marital contract spells out, or even defines loyalty. Yet, both partners assume that this commitment will be honored. Loyalty does not only mean physical fidelity it includes emotional devotion.
Being loyal in every aspect of a couple’s life has many manifestations. . Here are some ways in which loyalty is expressed in love:

1. Being loyal means being respectful of your partners’ weaknesses and discretely helping them compensate for those weaknesses. For example, if your mate is absent minded and loses her keys often, you may help her set a system to make it easier for her to find things and help her search, when needed, without anger or shaming.
2. Being loyal means never saying anything that may shame your mate in private or public. “Well, she told someone she was sick, when she didn’t feel like entertaining.” Though this is a small offense, when it is revealed to others, it is shaming and disloyal.
3. Being loyal means keeping confidences, without fail. Any information that is private, or labeled as secret must be vigilantly guarded as such. Telling “just one other person” means it will be told to one person at a time. If it is your partner’s secret, it may not be shared with ANYONE.
4. Being loyal means siding with your partner, even when you think he or she may be partially at fault. When your mate tells you about difficulties at work with a colleague or supervisor, it is imperative that you affirm your mate’s frustrations, empathize with his feelings and refrain from saying: “Your boss just wants you to work harder.” That assumption may be made later, not at a time of emotional difficulty for your mate.
5. Being loyal means reassuring your partner that you will be there emotionally and physically, whenever you are needed and following through with this promise. Your presence, helpful action and kind words are important signs of trust and security for your mate in the relationship. Many spouses hold resentments about their mates not being there at crisis points in their lives. These resentments can be avoided with conscious loyal behaviors.
6. Being loyal means not speaking disparagingly about your spouse to others. You may share YOUR frustrations with a close confidant without blaming your spouse. “I feel so frustrated when he comes home and is too tired to help with the kids homework or dinner.” This is complaining without denigrating the mate.
7. Being loyal means that when others say less than positive comments about your mate, you abstain from joining them in discounting your partner. Even if their grudge bears some truth, it is incumbent upon you as a loyal mate, to defend your partner’s actions and present him in a more favorable light.
8. Being loyal means keeping your partner’s needs as primary over all other peoples’ needs. Any obligation or commitment to other people has to be assessed in importance, once your mate requires your attention. It does not mean that your parents do not get your attention until all your spouse’s needs are satisfied. It means that the spouse gets first priority in all-important or urgent matters.
9. Being loyal means keeping your word, being truthful and reliable in keeping your promises to your mate. Not honoring your word discredits you and disappoints your mate.
10. Being loyal means accommodating your mate- even when it not a choice activity for you. If your partner needs you to be present to help her with her volunteer party, your loyalty will aid you in rescheduling your previously planned recreational activity. If your spouse wants you to attend his business meeting, which is less than thrilling for you, you do it with grace.

Choosing to be loyal in attitude, actions and words is a personal decision. Being truly loyal is very hard. Yet, no other way works for truly intimate and loving couples.

“Real loyalty is a choice and it starts from within”

Kyla Madjad

Kindness means that we recognize that others are fragile–that we have the power to hurt or heal them–and we choose to be healers. When we are kind, we don’t take advantage of our power or of other people’s vulnerabilities. Instead, we seek to comfort, encourage and strengthen those around us.

To be kind requires empathy: we must consciously attune ourselves to the life experience of another being to know what will feel good for them. Kindness builds confidence, because it lets us see others in all of their complicated, needy humanity, rather than putting them on pedestals.

Kindness does not ask whether it will be repaid. Even so, our kindness often ripples through the world around us; it invites others to be kind in turn.

Even the smallest act of kindness can make a difference in someone’s day. And sometimes it’s the smallest gestures that have the greatest impact on someone. Whenever you help yourself to some gum, offer a piece to whoever is nearby you. Whether it be to a classmate you’re friends with, the stranger sitting next to you on the bus or the homeless man standing next to you as you’re waiting to cross the street, give him or her a smile as you hold out a piece of gum.

Your simple act of offering someone a stick of gum may truly make an impact on that person. What if your gesture is the only bit of kindness that person receives today? You might be the only person that notices him or her today, and he or she will definitely be grateful. It’s an easy thing you can do to spread kindness, but your attention will be valued.

Do you really want to be happy? Everyone says yes, but the gateway to happiness makes some of us frown. The gateway to happiness, is giving to others. Think about this:

“If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.”  – The Dalai Lama

Some of us may feel that, if we give too much, our generosity, will be taken advantage of by others. This is true, and a few very selfish individuals can possibly perceive your good intentions as weakness. However, people who seek to take advantage are in the minority.

To quote Gandhi, “We must be the change; we wish to see in the world.”

Think about it, change has to start somewhere, so why not start with you and me. right now? You can donate anything randomly, without seeking reward, and anonymously, without telling anyone. This is good for you, the universe, and those who receive your acts of kindness. Every time you give, you will receive – even, if you are not looking for a reward. Try it, and you will see, what some call, “karma,” the law of cause and effect. It works like this: For every action there is a reaction. Let’s make sure the reactions to our actions are good ones.

Danny Thomas said, “All of us are born for a reason, but all of us don’t discover why. Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”

Being kind to people makes you special, makes you feel accomplished and grateful. Being able to help people who are ill and sick makes you feel obliged on helping them more.

I want to be a doctor someday in my life, one of those dreams might come true in the future. This passion I have deep in my heart and mind to help people, shows that no matter who you are and what position in life you have become, it doesn’t affect the choice on showing kindness to everyone, young nor old, poor nor rich, foreigner nor a citizen of your country, it doesn’t matter; kindness is for everyone to feel, everyone to cherish, going to the right path of life that God gave you, will be filled with gratitude, blessings,,,, and reward even when you’re not expecting any.

Generosity is not about helping those less fortunate than us. It is about giving freely, without condition, without judgement, and without need of explanation.  The idea has been around for millennia. Jesus showed favor to the old woman who gave all that she had, which didn’t amount to a lot, over the rich man who may have given a lot, but nothing that would diminish his riches. This is not saying that generosity is determined by how much you give, but in your intentions. Jesus showed favor to the old woman because she gave without regard for her own ego, while the rich man gave to boost his ego.

Many people honor the Ten Commandments and try to live by them. The belief is that a long, long time ago, God gifted us with these guidelines. In this more complex world, we can use twelve more to steer us in positive personal and global ways.

The following are my ideas for the next Twelve Commandments. To be consistent with the first ten, I started with “Thou Shalt.” However, if you have a problem with that, just read the rest of the sentence. Your hearts will probably resonate with these positive courses of action that help create peace and joy.

1. Thou Shalt Be Free to Be Thy Unique Self.

When we are being and expressing who we are, we feel happy and fulfilled. This means exploring our interests, desires, skills and talents and deciding what is right for us. Effective parents help us have high self-esteem, inspire us to be who we are and then support us to live our unique lives, just like mother birds encourage their babies to fly from the nest when they can.

2. Thou Shalt Speak Thy Truth In A Loving Way.

It is more important how we say something than what we say. When we begin our communication with “I” we take responsibility for what we are saying. Speaking from our hearts with kind words is very powerful, because people can hear us and feel good about what we are saying.

3. Thou Shalt Focus On Being Kind and Loving.

Positive words and actions are contagious. Be the person you want others to be. If you want your partner, children and others to be kind and loving then act that way with them.

4. Thou Shalt Allow Thyself Abundance and Share.

Prosperity is your birthright and you deserve abundance. There is a belief that the more you give, the more you receive. It also feels so good to give to others unconditionally.

5. Thou Shalt Forgive Thyself and Others.

Revenge and holding grudges will hurt you. Accept that we are all human beings, hopefully learning from our mistakes. It is very healing to forgive others and yourself.

6. Thou Shalt Seek Win-Win Solutions.

If both parties are not okay with the solution, then, it will not be effective. No one likes to lose. It is best if all parties involved feel heard, considered and okay with the decisions.

7. Thou Shalt Respect All People’s Beliefs.

Everyone is entitled to their beliefs. When we honor them, we have more peace and harmony. Be open to accept other people’s opinions. You do not have to understand everyone’s beliefs, but it is important to respect them.

8. Thou Shalt Accept Everyone As Global Family.

We are all human and have the same basic emotional and physical needs. When we accept everyone as our brothers and sisters, we will live in a wonderful, peaceful world.

9. Thou Shalt Honor and Take Care of Mother Earth.

Planet Earth is our home. If we devastate it, we will also destroy ourselves. To truly live a healthy life, we need a healthy earth that is kept clean and considered in everything we do.

10. Thou Shalt Balance Thy Life Between Work and Play.

In order to be healthy and happy, we need to balance our lives. We are actually even more effective and efficient when we take the time to play and rejuvenate.

11. Thou Shalt Be Healthy, Happy and Fulfilled.

We are not here to struggle and suffer. It takes healthy, happy people to make a healthy, happy family, neighborhood, city, state, country and world.

12. Thou Shalt Live in Love, Joy, Peace and Harmony.

I believe that our God Beings, whoever and whatever that is for us, wants us to live in love, joy, peace and harmony. We are a microcosm for the macrocosm of the world. If we all choose to live this way, we will create a loving, peaceful world.

Living from the 12 commandments can help us all live better lives and enjoy peace on earth. Each one of us has the power to make a difference. These guidelines can help you create the joyful life and world you desire. Go for it!

“Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to live without hesitation, how to lose without regret and how to acquire without meanness.”

“Faith does not make things easy, it makes them possible.”

                Faith in God is marvelous because God is reliable. Faith releases the blessing of God. It brings God onto the scene. In previous studies, we have seen that God has provided a marvelous salvation from all the consequences of man’s rebellion.

This salvation is to be received through repentance and faith. God expects us to change our allegiance. We must now love Him and serve Him – not our old selfish and corrupt desires. He wants to set us free from every oppression. But as well as this change of allegiance or repentance we need to believe God and His promises with a living faith. In this lesson we will consider what it means to have faith in God.

Faith is not religion. Many times people say

“We have our faith”.

What they mean is this:

“We have our religious ideas and doctrines, our traditions, our ways of doing things passed down through the generations. Don’t you try to change them.”

This is not the Biblical idea of faith.

Faith is not mental assent. It is not agreeing with your mind, “Yes, that is true.” Many professing Christians believe mentally that the Bible is the Word of God, but this faith does not change the way they live. It is not a faith that can save. (James 2:14)

Even demons have that kind of faith. They know and believe that God exists (James 2:19) – and tremble. They have no loving confidence in God.

Faith is not a way to manipulate God. It is not a power by which we make God do what WE want when otherwise He would be unwilling to do that thing. It is not a kind of magic through which we make God into our servant!

Faith is not hope, nor positive desire. Hope is good, and relates to the future. Faith, however, takes the promise as done NOW. Many people have hope and are anxiously looking for results, but they lack the settled confidence and present assurance which faith has.

In the general sense of the word, to have faith is to believe in something or someone, to fully trust, to be so confident that you base your actions on what you believe. To have faith is to be fully convinced of the truthfulness and reliability of that in which you believe.

Faith in God then, is having the kind of trust and confidence in God and in Christ that leads you to commit your whole soul to Him as Saviour (Justifier, Cleanser, Healer, Deliverer) and Lord (Master, King).

The NIV translation says,

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for, and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1 NIV).

The NKJV of the Bible says,

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1).

Faith is a spiritual substance. When you have this spiritual substance in you, it communicates to you a certain inner knowing that the thing you are hoping for is certainly established, even before you see any material evidence that it has happened.

Faith is a spiritual force. Faith in God is a response to God’s Word which moves God to act. Jesus said in Mark 11:23,

“For assuredly I say to you, whoever SAYS to this mountain, ‘Be removed and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but BELIEVES that those things he SAYS will be done, he will HAVE whatever he SAYS.”

Words mixed with the real, pure faith can and will move mountains or any other problem that we face.

Faith in God must be from the heart. It is not merely intellectual. It is spiritual.

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:10)

Faith causes you to know in your heart before you see with your eyes.

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Some say, “Seeing is believing.” Once you see the thing hoped for already existing in the natural order, you don’t need faith.

Hope is a condition for faith. Hope is “a positive unwavering expectation of good”. Hope is for the mind (1 Thessalonians 5:8; Hebrews 6:19), an anchor for the soul. It keeps us in the place where we can believe, but it is not in itself “faith”. Yet, without hope there are no “things hoped for”, and therefore there cannot be faith.

Through faith we can know we have the answer to our prayer before we see anything change in the natural order (1 John 5:14,15). Jesus said, “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.” (Mk 11:24). God expects us, even commands us, to believe that our petitions are answered by God AT THE MOMENT WE MAKE THEM. We must believe that the response is immediately sent WHEN we pray. Faith is like the confirmation slip in our hearts that the goods are on the way. We have that confirmation slip instantly from God. We sense it in our hearts. The manifestation of those goods, the answer received, comes later as long as we are patient and do not throw away our confidence. (Hebrews 10:35-39; Hebrews 6:12)

Faith is like a cheque. All you have to do is hold on to the cheque, go to the bank to present it and you can confidently expect the money to appear in your account after a certain time. If you throw the cheque away the money will not be put in your account. God is trustworthy and always has resources to back his promises.

Living faith always has corresponding actions. We talk what we really believe, and we act according to what we really believe. The heroes of faith like Abraham were considered men of faith because they acted on what God showed them. They acted on their faith. (Hebrews 11:17-38, James 2:21-23).

To live in faith means to do and say what you believe is right, without doubting.

Faith is a rest. It is compatible with inner peace. It is not “trying to believe”. To say that you are “trying to believe” God is to say that you don’t believe Him. The man who is “trying to believe” may be sincere, but he does not have faith in that area yet.

Why must we believe God? Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please God, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”

“Whatever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23) and God hates sin. When we don’t believe God, we treat Him like He is a liar. Remember that He is everywhere and sees all things. He is hurt when we act like He doesn’t exist, or that He will not do what He promised to do. Only when we have confidence in God and His Word can we please Him.

Lack of faith leads to lack of obedience. God’s commands can only really be fulfilled through faith. Without confidence in God’s promises a man will never really do what God says. Lack of obedience in God’s eyes is rebellion. Such lack of obedience dishonors God and surely deserves to be punished.

“The just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). We must live by faith in order to be considered by God “right” and “correct”. Otherwise we stand condemned.

Those who don’t believe God inevitably believe in something else. Either religious tradition, or their understanding of science, or what the women’s magazine says, or what their next door neighbor tells them, the education system, the mass-media or a combination of all these things. God is not impressed. “Professing to be wise, they became fools.” (Romans 1:22) In fact, those who don’t fully believing God end up believing the devil somewhere along the track. It is very possible to believe what the devil says without even believing that he exists! Satan is speaking through so many philosophies and religions without openly declaring himself. Not too many actually know they are trusting the words of Satan and his demons.

 

God is therefore righteous in expecting us to believe in Him and what He says. Who is better qualified to tell us the truth and help us to find answers for life and eternity?

 

                “Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.”

Kyla Madjad

“The distance between dreams and reality is called discipline”

Discipline is freedom. You may disagree with this statement, and if you do you are certainly not alone. For many people discipline is a dirty word that is compared with the absence of freedom. In fact the opposite is true. As Stephen R. Covey once wrote,

“The undisciplined are slaves to moods, appetites and passions”

In the longer term, the undisciplined lack the freedom that comes with possessing particular skills and abilities – e.g. to play a musical instrument or speak a foreign language.

Self-discipline involves acting according to what you think instead of how you feel in the moment. Often it involves sacrificing the pleasure and thrill of the moment for what matters most in life. Therefore it is self-discipline that drives you to:

• Work on an idea or project after the initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away
• Go to the gym when all you want to do is lie on the couch and watch TV
• Wake early to work on yourself
• Say “no” when tempted to break your diet
• Only check your email a few of times per day at particular times

 

1. Self-Knowledge

Discipline means behaving according to what you have decided is best, regardless of how you feel in the moment. Therefore the first trait of discipline is self-knowledge. You need to decide what behavior best reflects your goals and values. This process requires introspection and self-analysis, and is most effective when tied to written expression. I highly recommend taking the time to write out your goals, dreams and ambitions. Even better, write out a personal mission statement. I found that writing such a statement gave me a greater understanding of who I am, what I am about and what I value.

 

2. Conscious Awareness

Self-discipline depends upon conscious awareness as to both what you are doing and what you are not doing. Think about it. If you aren’t aware your behavior is undisciplined, how will you know to act otherwise?

As you begin to build self-discipline, you may catch yourself being in the act of being undisciplined – e.g. biting your nails, avoiding the gym, eating a piece of cake or checking your email constantly. Developing self-discipline takes time, and the key here is you are aware of your undisciplined behavior. With time this awareness will come earlier, meaning rather than catching yourself in the act of being undisciplined you will have awareness before you act in this way. This gives you the opportunity to make a decision that is in better alignment with your goals and values.

 

3. Commitment to Self-Discipline

It is not enough to simply write out your goals and values. You must make an internal commitment to them. Otherwise when your alarm clock goes off at 5am you will see no harm in hitting the snooze button for “just another 5 minutes….” Or, when initial rush of enthusiasm has faded away from a project you will struggle to see it through to completion.

If you struggle with commitment, start by making a conscious decision to follow through on what you say you’re going to do – both when you said you would do it and how you said you would do it. Then, I highly recommend putting in place a system to track these commitments. As the saying goes, “What gets measured gets improved”.

 

4. Courage

Did you notice the sweat dripping from the man in the picture at the start of this article? Make no mistake, self-discipline is often extremely difficult. Moods, appetites and passions can be powerful forces to go against. Therefore self-discipline is highly dependent on courage. Don’t pretend something is easy for you to do when it is in fact very difficult and/ or painful. Instead, find the courage to face this pain and difficulty. As you begin to accumulate small private victories, your self-confidence will grow and the courage that underpins self-discipline will come more naturally.

 

5. Internal Coaching

Self-talk is often harmful, but it can also be extremely beneficial if you have control of it. When you find yourself being tested, I suggest you talk to yourself, encourage yourself and reassure yourself. After all, it is self-talk that has the ability to remind you of your goals, call up courage, reinforce your commitment and keep you conscious of the task at hand. When I find my discipline being tested, I always recall the following quote:

“The price of discipline is always less than the pain of regret”.

Burn this quote into your memory, and recall in whenever you find yourself being tested. It may change your life.

The five pillars of self-discipline are: Acceptance, Willpower, Hard Work, Industry, and Persistence. If you take the first letter of each word, you get the acronym “A WHIP” — a convenient way to remember them, since many people associate self-discipline with whipping themselves into shape.

Each day of the series, I’ll explore one of these pillars, explaining why it’s important and how to develop it.

Self-discipline is the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state.

Imagine what you could accomplish if you could simply get yourself to follow through on your best intentions no matter what. Picture yourself saying to your body, “You’re overweight. Lose 20 pounds.” Without self-discipline that intention won’t become manifest. But with sufficient self-discipline, it’s a done deal. The pinnacle of self-discipline is when you reach the point that when you make a conscious decision, it’s virtually guaranteed you’ll follow through on it.

Self-discipline is one of many personal development tools available to you. Of course it is not a panacea. Nevertheless, the problems which self-discipline can solve are important, and while there are other ways to solve these problems, self-discipline absolutely shreds them. Self-discipline can empower you to overcome any addiction or lose any amount of weight. It can wipe out procrastination, disorder, and ignorance. Within the domain of problems it can solve, self-discipline is simply unmatched. Moreover, it becomes a powerful teammate when combined with other tools like passion, goal-setting, and planning.

The way to build self-discipline is analogous to using progressive weight training to build muscle. This means lifting weights that are close to your limit. Note that when you weight train, you lift weights that are within your ability to lift. You push your muscles until they fail, and then you rest.

Similarly, the basic method to build self-discipline is to tackle challenges that you can successfully accomplish but which are near your limit. This doesn’t mean trying something and failing at it every day, nor does it mean staying within your comfort zone. You will gain no strength trying to lift a weight that you cannot budge, nor will you gain strength lifting weights that are too light for you. You must start with weights/challenges that are within your current ability to lift but which are near your limit.

Progressive training means that once you succeed, you increase the challenge. If you keep working out with the same weights, you won’t get any stronger. Similarly, if you fail to challenge yourself in life, you won’t gain any more self-discipline.

Just as most people have very weak muscles compared to how strong they could become with training, most people are very weak in their level of self-discipline.

It’s a mistake to try to push yourself too hard when trying to build self-discipline. If you try to transform your entire life overnight by setting dozens of new goals for yourself and expecting yourself to follow through consistently starting the very next day, you’re almost certain to fail.

Don’t compare yourself to other people. It won’t help. You’ll only find what you expect to find. If you think you’re weak, everyone else will seem stronger. If you think you’re strong, everyone else will seem weaker. There’s no point in doing this. Simply look at where you are now, and aim to get better as you go forward.

“Discipline is the bridge between goals and accomplishment”

Kyla Madjad

 

 

 

 

“Diligence is the beginning of brilliance”

The habit of being persistent and making hard-working effort in your work or duties may be a painful activity, but, undergoing a significant change it brings you impressive achievements eventually. Not only does it cause you to achieve your goals but it also makes a favorable impression on others. In this way, the activity which was thought to be painful turns out to be fruitful. Whatever it may be, a field of knowledge, interest or activity, if you make persistent efforts with hard work toward the accomplishment of your goals, they are not to be futile at all. Of course, in one way or another, your efforts are to be duly acknowledged. That’s the blessing of this quality, which is diligence.

As is patience, diligence is a virtue. A diligent person is he who shows persistent and hardworking effort in doing something. In this way, diligence may rather be regarded as a combination of both hard work and patience because being persistent requires patience. It is also one of the most important attributes of a person. It is a heavenly gift that has been endowed upon a person. One must therefore feel privileged to have got it.

Diligence is needed in all spheres of life as it is one of the key ingredients for success. Those who use the sheer power of diligence, succeed in their goals surely. If you are a student, you can make yourself successful in your studies on the basis of your diligence. If you are an employee, diligence causes you to be regarded as an asset to your organization and leading you toward the excellence eventually, diligence does not only delight you but it also does to your owners keeping you in their good books always. Making a good career or career move or craving for career development requires one hundred percent commitment and in order to stay committed you must be diligent.

One must remind oneself of the drawbacks or downsides of sitting idle. An idle person is known as good-for-nothing. There is no real pleasure in sitting idle but it is idle pleasures. One therefore needs to be active to keep all his relating matters activated. Diligence refers to being persistent and making hard work effort in doing something. As it goes in this saying that emphasizes the importance of diligence,

“A wandering dog is better than a lion lying down”.

As as student of Regional Science High School, each one of us should be diligent in our studies. Such dreams should be devoted into studying and hardworking, to be able to fulfill our dreams these virtue help accomplishing things in time. Diligence invests time, thought, and energy into a task with the hope that it will produce a healthy return.

Diligence is the key to success. It means that success involves persistence and cannot be achieved overnight. The true meaning of diligence is not to exert ourselves around the clock without rest, but to work persistently and efficiently without wasting time.

Some people believe in luck, but that outlook may deliver negative messages. For example, if a farmer just ploughs his field for a day and rests for most of the season, he would gain nothing.

On the contrary, some people understand the importance of diligence and forming good habits, and I believe they are on the right track. For example, the reason why the Chinese women’s table tennis team does so well is because they all work hard training every day.

Diligence is especially true in studying. We all know that once time is wasted, it will never return. As a junior college student who only has a three-year university life, I know we should devote more time and energy to our studies, because diligence will lead us to success.

Another school year will be drawing to a close in the next school year, and most young people have spent the last seven months in school (June-January), hopefully preparing for a better school year ahead.

I would like to ask the young people reading this (young people like me): Do you ever wonder what you will do to earn a living, what your career will consist of? Do you ever wonder how successful you are going to be, or what things you will be able to accomplish? Do you ever wonder if you will be able to enjoy the “good life” and afford the nicer than average things? Do you wonder if you will wind up having a job that you enjoy, or one that you must do out of necessity? Will you be able to support yourself and a family and own a nice home and automobile—all of those things we think of as the “American Dream” “Europe Dream” or whatever dreams you have?

Probably most young people have these thoughts and questions from time to time. You may not worry about such things at this time in your life, but you do think about them.

“Diligence reaps rewards”

Two scriptures in the Bible prove this point. Let’s see the downside of the first in Proverbs 13:4,

“The soul of a lazy man desires, and has nothing; but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.”

This person wants to be successful, with all of the wants and desires, but without diligence he cannot make it. The last part of the verse indicates the diligent person is going to be successful.

Proverbs 12:24 also verifies this:

“The hand of the diligent will rule, but the lazy man will be put to forced labor.”

The diligent person will be in control or in management—will rule. But the indifferent person, the sluggard, will be forced to work at the more boring paying jobs that won’t produce the good things or extras in life that most people desire. Think about something as this school year ends. You could approach the rest of the school year from either of the two different attitudes we just read about. You could decide to just get through it—get your time of education behind you and deal later with whatever comes next. Maybe you treat some of your classes that way—just enduring them—while you enjoy and are diligent in other classes. What you are doing is setting a pattern that will follow you the rest of your life. As you leave this school year behind and go on to the next level, this way will probably continue in your life.

As strange as this may sound, there is no greater key to success in this life than being able to produce what is called “an honest day’s work.” If you start now to become diligent in every application of school—and as you either begin your work career or go on to college, whichever you choose—you will begin to set a pattern that will make you successful.

Shortcuts, just getting by, breezing through class with a passing grade and allowing others to challenge the tough jobs is not the way to success. If this is your pattern, you will be average or below average as a wage earner. You will have a life, and you will get by, but you won’t be able to enjoy the nicer things and share your success with others.

As you plan for your future, you need to know what employers seek. Many other young people are looking for jobs in your chosen field. If you have established a pattern and reputation of diligence as part of your character, you will get the jobs and advancements and will be successful.

Look at what Proverbs 10:4 has to say about this.

“He who has a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”

Those who are indifferent, lazy or just want to slide by and get it over with will wind up below average.

The diligent person brings success and even wealth to himself and to his family. A major key to your being successful begins in your life NOW. Diligence is your key to success.

“Almost everyone dreams of one day “having it all.” By applying a simple value, you can improve your everyday life and reap lifelong rewards”.

Kyla Madjad

“Experience tells you what to do; confidence allows you to do it.”— Stan Smith

Confidence is not something that can be learned like a set of rules; confidence is a state of mind. Positive thinking, practice, training, knowledge and talking to other people are all useful ways to help improve or boost your confidence levels. Confidence comes from feelings of well-being, acceptance of your body and mind (self-esteem) and belief in your own ability, skills and experience.

Low-confidence can be a result of many factors including: fear of the unknown, criticism, being unhappy with personal appearance (self-esteem), feeling unprepared, poor time-management, lack of knowledge and previous failures.

Confidence is not a static measure, our confidence to perform roles and tasks can increase and decrease; some days we may feel more confident than others.

Confidence and self-esteem are not the same thing, although they are often linked. Confidence is the term we use to describe how we feel about our ability to perform roles, functions and tasks. Self-esteem is how we feel about ourselves, the way we look, the way we think – whether or not we feel worthy or valued. People with low self-esteem often also suffer from generally low confidence, but people with good self-esteem can also have low confidence. It is also perfectly possible for people with low self-esteem to be very confident in some areas.

Performing a role or completing a task confidently is not about not making mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable, especially when doing something new. Confidence includes knowing what to do when mistakes come to light and therefore is also about problem solving and decision making.

Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, yet so many people struggle to find it. Sadly, this can be a vicious circle: people who lack self-confidence can find it difficult to become successful.

After all, most people are reluctant to back a project that’s being pitched by someone who was nervous, fumbling, and overly apologetic.

On the other hand, you might be persuaded by someone who speaks clearly, who holds his or her head high, who answers questions assuredly, and who readily admits when he or she does not know something.

Confident people inspire confidence in others: their audience, their peers, their bosses, their customers, and their friends. And gaining the confidence of others is one of the key ways in which a self-confident person finds success.

The good news is that self-confidence really can be learned and built on. And, whether you’re working on your own confidence or building the confidence of people around you, it’s well-worth the effort!

Two main things contribute to self-confidence: self-efficacy and self-esteem.

We gain a sense of self-efficacy when we see ourselves (and others similar to ourselves) mastering skills and achieving goals that matter in those skill areas. This is the confidence that, if we learn and work hard in a particular area, we’ll succeed; and it’s this type of confidence that leads people to accept difficult challenges, and persist in the face of setbacks.

This overlaps with the idea of self-esteem, which is a more general sense that we can cope with what’s going on in our lives, and that we have a right to be happy. Partly, this comes from a feeling that the people around us approve of us, which we may or may not be able to control. However, it also comes from the sense that we are behaving virtuously, that we’re competent at what we do, and that we can compete successfully when we put our minds to it.

Some people believe that self-confidence can be built with affirmations and positive thinking. At Mind Tools, we believe that there’s some truth in this, but that it’s just as important to build self-confidence by setting and achieving goals – thereby building competence. Without this underlying competence, you don’t have self-confidence: you have shallow over-confidence, with all of the issues, upset and failure that this brings.

So here are our three steps to self-confidence, for which we’ll use the metaphor of a journey: preparing for your journey; setting out; and accelerating towards success.

 

Step 1: Preparing for Your Journey

The first step involves getting yourself ready for your journey to self-confidence. You need to take stock of where you are, think about where you want to go, get yourself in the right mindset for your journey, and commit yourself to starting it and staying with it.

In preparing for your journey, do these five things:

• Look at What You’ve Already Achieved
• Think About Your Strengths
• Think About What’s Important to You, and Where you Want to Go
• Start Managing Your Mind
• Commit Yourself to Success!

Self-confidence is about balance. At one extreme, we have people with low self-confidence. At the other end, we have people who may be over-confident.

If you are under-confident, you’ll avoid taking risks and stretching yourself; and you might not try at all. And if you’re over-confident, you may take on too much risk, stretch yourself beyond your capabilities, and crash badly. You may also find that you’re so optimistic that you don’t try hard enough to truly succeed.

Getting this right is a matter of having the right amount of confidence, founded in reality and on your true ability. With the right amount of self-confidence, you will take informed risks, stretch yourself (but not beyond your abilities) and try hard.

 

Step 2: Setting Out

This is where you start, ever so slowly, moving towards your goal. By doing the right things, and starting with small, easy wins, you’ll put yourself on the path to success – and start building the self-confidence that comes with this.

• Build the Knowledge you Need to Succeed
• Focus on the Basics
• Set Small Goals, and Achieve Them
• Keep Managing Your Mind

 

Step 3: Accelerating Towards Success

By this stage, you’ll feel your self-confidence building. You’ll have completed some of the courses you started in step 2, and you’ll have plenty of success to celebrate!

This is the time to start stretching yourself. Make the goals a bit bigger, and the challenges a bit tougher. Increase the size of your commitment. And extend the skills you’ve proven into new, but closely related arenas.

Keep yourself grounded – this is where people tend to get over-confident and over-stretch themselves. And make sure you don’t start enjoying cleverness for its own sake…

As long as you keep on stretching yourself enough, but not too much, you’ll find your self-confidence building apace. What’s more, you’ll have earned your self-confidence – because you’ll have put in the hard graft necessary to be successful!

 

Self-confidence is extremely important in almost every aspect of our lives, and people who lack it can find it difficult to become successful.

Two main things contribute to self-confidence: self-efficacy and self-esteem. You can develop it with these three steps:

• Prepare for your journey.
• Set out on your journey.
• Accelerate towards success.
• Goal setting is probably the most important activity that you can learn in order to improve your self-confidence.

“Be proud of who you are, and not ashamed of how others see you.”

Kyla Madjad

“How deep is your love?

Is it like the ocean?

What devotion are you?

How deep is your love?

Is it like nirvana?

Hit me harder, again

How deep is your love?

How deep is your love?

How deep is your love?

Is it like the ocean?

Pull me closer, again

How deep is your love?”

From the song  “How deep is your love?” by Calvin Harris shows that you can’t really measure how deep you love someone. What is love?

If you’ve ever experienced the following:

1. 1. Felt a connection with someone
2. 2. Became entangled in some sort of love-making
3. 3. Realized you were thinking about your potential future with this person

Then you understand how love and commitment are related and how easily our minds connect the two. It troubles me, though, just how connected we treat these two very different things.

Love, as it turns out, is a feeling (no surprises there). We get tingly and joyful. We get excited. We love. We hug and kiss and wrap our bodies around each other because it somehow expresses this feeling. “I want to smooch my body onto your body” is probably the best way I’ve heard this described, in one of the best explorations of this topic I’ve ever read.

Commitment, on the other hand, is a decision. Based on some combination of feelings and logic, we make a decision about our future plans. We are used to doing this, and we recognize that it’s possible to make both good and bad decisions. Some decisions affect your life more than others.

Let’s have examples.

Teenagers today are fund of trying to get into relationships. Nowadays, some of the teenagers commit to things they don’t know, like relationships, love, sex, pregnancy, and a lot more. Why do they commit to these things? What is the reason behind it? The only thing that controls everything they act is their confidence in commitment. Some are very confident on having commitment to someone they love because they know that they have a chance, they hope for something that may not be possible. Sometimes commitment cause pain, like when you commit to someone you like and he/she doesn’t like you back there are no mutual feelings from the both of you and this commitment you’ve done may cause pain and seizures to your heart.

I know it sounds cheesy, but this is what every teenager feel cause I felt the same way. Justifying everyone’s feelings love is  a hard topic to talk about, it has a deep meaning and a LOT of meaning. Why? Cause love is different in each of our minds and hearts. We have different perspectives about love itself. Love is different for her, love is different for him, love is different for adults, love is different for out of school youth, love is different for addicts, love is different for prostitutes. We are all unique in our own way, we think differently, we act differently. No one’s alike, no one’s equal inside and out. God made us different but the same.

Being different makes us unique. Commitment makes us conscious of our own actions, nevertheless we just want commitment to be done at ease. No one wants to be hurt, no one wants to be in pain, no one wants to feel pleasure against their rights, no one wants false hope, no one wants dictatorship, no one wants war, no one wants hell, no one wants aggressiveness, but we can’t rely on general statements, on majorities, on higher positions that says “this” and “that”. We can’t judge anyone’s point of view, we literally cannot judge anyone’s actions against their will.

Commitment for LOVE makes everything special. Commitment on telling someone you like them, makes you feel more free and “okay” but, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it makes you feel worried, discomfort, anxiety pervades your mind, and sometimes fear consumes you.

Fear on getting blocked up, fear of letting yourself be a burden for his/her life , fear on making your friendship worse, fear on breaking your friendship, and fear of losing someone you always dreamed of. This things might happen, these possibilities might be true, these theories might lead to a conclusion, a conclusion that answers every questions bugging our minds.

• When you truly love someone, you do so without considering whether they deserve your love or not. You simply choose to love them, unconditionally. In marriage, expecting love does not bring about love.  Loving behavior, however, most often does.

• Love is a feeling, loving is a verb. Loving is the “action” part of love.  It involves not only experiencing feelings of love, but it is also the sharing of loving behaviors with your partner. Loving behaviors do not always follow feelings of love.  Many times it is the just the opposite: Feelings of love often emerge out of loving behaviors.

• Loving behaviors are neither token gestures, nor simple behavior exchanges – one for another. They are true gifts, given to your partner without expectations. Behave lovingly toward your partner in many different ways.  Use more than words to express yourself to your loved one.

• Marriage is your personal promise (covenant) of what you will give to your partner and your relationship. It is not a contract, made up of your expectations and obligations for your partner to fulfill.

• Be a good marriage partner by learning how to positively interact with your partner and how to sustain and nurture your relationship. The cost of learning how to do this is often painful.  Don’t expect it to be otherwise.  Some of the best marriages were built upon partners struggling to survive a difficult or endangered relationship.

• A good marriage involves learning about your partner: learning about his or her dreams, goals, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors. You must know your partner in order to give the gifts that make him or her happy.  Learning about your partner requires both observing and listening.

• Marriage requires constant nurturing of the relationship. Marriages are not sustained by simply being together and living together.  Good marriages are built upon and sustained by the happiness found in sharing life together.

• Participate in your marital relationship. Marriage is not a passive existence with your partner.  You don’t just live in a house together – You live in a relationship together.  The term relationship implies active involvement with another person.  Demonstrate your presence in the relationship by being an active participant.  Share life.

• Never abandon your partner! He or she is your life’s partner.  Take care of one another, whatever the hardship, whatever the circumstances.

People change. Feelings change. Circumstances change. To promise to love someone forever is not a realistic promise.

It’s a common definition of love – something you feel, something you might stop feeling if your heart were to change.  It’s a vision of love as a feather that can be blown by the wind, always landing softly.  It’s cute, and a lot of people believe it… probably because Hollywood has foisted it upon us many times in many different movies and TV shows.

It’s a flighty definition of love that is very convenient for the one taking flight.

However, that is countered by someone else who outlined a simple but powerful change in thinking:

Some of us believe that love is an action, not an emotion. As such, we don’t necessarily believe such things are impossible to achieve.

That’s the awesomeness, right there.  You want to know how to make your marriage last?  That’s it.  Stop thinking that love is that feeling of butterflies in your tummy.  Stop thinking that love is that giddy feeling of attraction.  Start thinking that love is about respect, commitment, loyalty, and the deliberate choice to move past negative emotions that might pull things apart.  Love is not about fair weather relationships.  It’s about weathering storms together.

 

Kyla Madjad