10 Valuable ARISE Posts You Might Have Missed.

As we approach the one year anniversary of the ARISE blog, we thought it was time to refresh our readers’ memories on some of our most popular posts. The most visited entries are the ones featuring quotes. Here are our top 10 blogs featuring wonderful, inspiring quotations. Enjoy!

1. 10 Quotes About Choices
2. 10 Quotes to Help You Stay Positive
3. Five Wise Quotes About Anger
4. 10 Enlightening Quotes about Money and the Economy
5. Five Quotes to Ponder
6. 10 Quotes for Success
7. 10 More Quotes for Success
8. 10 Quotes for Success, Part III
9. 10 Quotes for Success, Part IV
10. 10 Thoughtful Quotes About Worry, Stress and Anxiety

We love quotes because they make us think. We feature quotes prominently in our Life Skills material. For more information on the ARISE curricula, visit the ARISE website.

Five Quotes about Leadership, Brought to You by ARISE Life Skills

The last election and the situation in Iran have proven that human beings yearn to be led by someone fair, decisive and ethical. Leadership ability is something you are born with, but it can also be taught. ARISE offers those that work with at-risk and incarcerated youth several opportunities to become leaders at their facilities, as well as role models and mentors for the youth in their care. By taking a Life Skills Facilitator course or becoming an ARISE Certified Master Trainer, you can transform yourself from someone who simply goes to work each day to someone who is passionate about helping people. To inspire you on your path to leadership, here are five quotes about what it takes to pave a path for others.

1. “Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it.”        -Dwight D. Eisenhower
2. “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.” -Thomas Carlyle
3. “The real leader has no need to lead–he is content to point the way.” -Henry Miller
4. “A leader is a dealer in hope.” -Napoleon Bonaparte
5. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”              -John Quincy Adams

Let Go and Forgive, Brought To You by ARISE Life Skills and Training

A few weeks ago, ARISE founder Edmund Benson came across a fantastic article entitled “How To Let Go and Forgive” by Leo Babauta. The concepts in the article are so crucial to happiness, yet so difficult for most people to grasp. We have all been hurt by someone at some point in our lives. Everyone experiences pain; not everyone deals with it in the same way. Certain people make a conscious CHOICE to let go and forgive. It’s not easy, but the results can be liberating.

In his article, Mr. Babauta explained the following important points about holding onto anger and resentment:

1. You must commit to letting go.  It is a constant, conscious process.
2. Think of the problems that arise from holding pain inside you. Then think of how good it would feel to not have those problems any longer.
3. Realize that you have a CHOICE. No one is forcing you to harbor negative feelings. You can control your actions AND your thoughts. Remember that.
4. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes. Try to understand and empathize.
5. Try to understand your own responsibility for the situation. Could you have prevented it from happening?
6. Focus on the present. There is an old chinese proverb that says “the past is gone, the future is uncertain…but the present is a gift.” When you start dwelling on the past or worrying about the future, stop yourself and live in the moment. Find the joy in life NOW.
7. Breathe. Think of each breath as a vessel, moving positive energy in and negative energy out.
8. Feel compassion. Realize that by forgiving and moving on, you are allowing yourself happiness. This is not easy, especially when you harbor so much anger towards the person. Take the high road and wish happiness on the other person. Realize that when you hold anger inside, you are only hurting yourself.

ARISE understands the power of forgiveness, positive thought and making a choice to dump negativity. In fact, we created a training workshop called CHOICES: Drop it at the Door just for this purpose.  CHOICES is a two-day workshop with the power to change your entire life. It was designed to help juvenile justice employees and those that work with at-risk and troubled youth, but it can work for anyone. If you find yourself bringing workplace frustration and anger home to your family, or dragging financial or relationship stress to work, CHOICES can help you. Learn how to manage your stress and anger, control your thoughts and make a CHOICE to live a happy, healthy, positive lifestyle.

To learn more about the CHOICES: Drop it at the Door Training, visit the ARISE website.