Cast Iron Egg & Veggie Bake

Ingredients

4 eggs
1 8oz. to 12 oz. of greek style yogurt
1 small onion, sliced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
3 mushrooms, sliced
2 TB fresh parsley, chopped (or 2tsp, dried)
1/2 tsp caraway seed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 TB extra virgin olive oil

1. Heat olive oil in medium cast iron skillet.
2. Sautee sliced onions until lightly browned, set aside.
3. Beat eggs and yogurt together pour into skillet.
4. Top with onions, mushrooms, bell peppers, herbs and pepper.
5. Cover and cook on low to medium heat for 20 minutes or until set. Uncover and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed.

Article by CatheDotCom (c) Cathe Friedrich» Cast Iron Egg & Veggie Bake | Blog - Read full story here.

A lot of us have grown careless in what we say. “It wasn’t my fault we lost the game, I didn’t hear the whistle.” or “I was pushed over and my foot hurt.” Who has never made up an excuse to stop feeling embarrassed?

This covering up may seem harmless enough but over time a pattern of making up excuses can become an ingrained habit, a way of defending oneself against any inconvenient fact that might otherwise expose mistakes, greed, or failure.

As a way of avoiding criticism sometimes people unfairly blame others.

So if telling lies gets you off the hook why is honesty the best policy?

1. Wasted time and energy

Only a spurious conscience would worry about telling the odd white lie spoken to pull someone’s leg, or to give a needed compliment. However, lies that are used to defend yourself can grow and multiply and there can be a lot of nervous energy involved in not getting found out. You have got to make sure it’s a credible story that hangs together and remember what was told to whom at various times.

2. Not connecting with others

Who doesn’t get irritated from time to time by other people? Like with a neighbour who has not returned your garden tool or a relative who won’t take no for an answer. Sometimes one ends up saying nothing, or saying “it’s just fine” and pretending not to mind when really one does.

Not being honest actually takes away the chance of connecting with others authentically and experiencing the satisfaction of true friendship. On the other hand sometimes people assume that being honest means giving vent to their feelings without restraint and of course this can do much harm to a relationship.

What does work is to be firm with someone about your point of view without going over the top and without taking a blaming attitude. Honest communication can be clear and to the point, yet tactful and kindly meant.

3. Not feeling a sense of forgiveness

If you don’t confess to someone anything you have done wrong that affects the person, how can you hope to find their forgiveness? It is difficult to forgive yourself without a sense of the other person’s forgiveness.

4. Causing harm by gossip

We have all probably enjoyed telling tales about someone behind their back when they are not around to defend themself. Sometimes what we say is true but often we give a biased version, slanting the truth to bring out an unhelpful meaning.

Unfortunately a spirit of antagonism rather than harmony develops. Chinese whispers come into play as what we say is repeated and perhaps further exaggerated along the way and our put-downs have maligned the person.

5. Dishonest reputation

Honesty in business and professional life means being true to one’s word, honouring commitments, and keeping promises. Twisting the truth, exaggerating details, deliberately changing a word or leaving out aspects of a story in order to prove one’s point, are all kinds of dishonesty.

When someone’s dishonesty gets found out they lose their reputation for being trustworthy. And once lost, a reputation is very hard to recover. This loss can even affect their livelihood. Who is going to ask for professional advice that is suspected of being unreliable or who is going to deal with a dishonest trader?

6. Lying to yourself

When reflecting on a mistake you have made or something wrong you have done, it is tempting to believe the rationalisations that come to mind. It is easier to secretly but unfairly blame someone else than acknowledge one’s own mistakes; nicer to indulge feelings of self-justification and even self-pity.

But self-deception means living a lie and results in all sorts of anxiety because one is not in touch with one’s inner self. What is needed is an honest self-examination to acknowledge one’s errors as well as one’s strengths.

7. Preventing authentic relationship with God

Adam and Eve in the biblical story, after eating the forbidden fruit, tried to evade personal responsibility by dishonestly blaming God and blaming the serpent. Just think how such an attitude might affect the authenticity of one’s relationship with God. According to religion, prayer just doesn’t work without honesty: for the truth will make us free.

8. Distorted thinking

The truth is often sidestepped when we are experiencing a dark mood, or a feeling of anxiety, anger, or guilt. A distortion of what is reasonable can be an exaggerated way of seeing what is going on, or an over-generalisation unwarranted by the facts. “The plane will crash”; “I will die in the operating theatre”; or “The future is completely without any hope.”

Distorted thinking like this can result in worsening feelings of fear, fury, or despair – emotions which often result in unwise actions such as panic attack, violence, or suicide.

Better to be helped to think rationally getting a more balanced view of how things really are. For what is true has a power to rebut such distorted thinking.

Copyright 2012 Stephen Russell-Lacy

As a clinical psychologist, Stephen Russell-Lacy has specialised in cognitive-behavioural psychotherapy, working for many years with adults suffering distress and disturbance.

He edits Spiritual Questions a free eZine that explores links between spiritual philosophy and the comments and questions of spiritual seekers. You can share your views and find out more about making sense of life.

His book Heart, Head and Hands draws links between the psycho-spiritual teachings of the eighteenth century spiritual philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg and current ideas in therapy and psychology.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Stephen_Russell-Lacy
http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-Honesty-Really-The-Best-Policy?&id=6960135

Article by The Self Improvement Blog (c) The Self Improvement Blog - Read full story here.

Integrity is a gift that once tarnished you may never be able to get it clean again. Integrity is not just about how you deal with business situations, but how you act in all matters from your home to your business and everything in between. A leader should never have their integrity put into question.

If you build integrity into your character, how you act even in your private life you will become a person that can not be called into question about your motives. People will trust you quickly and will remain loyal forever as long as you keep your actions integral.

I had a boss once who demanded that we be on time for all meetings. No matter how short the notice was, his expectations were expected. I can tell you that it took about a month for everyone to notice that he was never on time and the grumblings started. You can imagine what they said. Everything from, “He demands us to be on time, eh?” to “I quit!”.

Your expectations on others need to be met by you first. If you expect others to be on time for a meeting, then your integrity with your time management needs to be above reproach. Once you head down the path of expecting more from others, without being able to do the same, your character becomes tarnished.

Integrity is about an unimpaired or perfect condition. This means that your demands need to be perfect, or you will lose support. Integrity has much deeper meanings to it, but the bottom line is, you need to develop integrity as part of your character. Part of this process will be you reflecting on what you expect of others and ensure that you can reflect those same demands back yourself.

Take the time each night to make note of what you did well and what you did not do well. Ask for feedback from others and resolve to develop the habit of getting better everyday. Your integrity once integrated into your character will help take you to new levels of leadership. If you take the time to reflect and resolve to do better, your character will reflect the truth of who you are, words will not be necessary.

If you have been called to be a leader, take the time to really develop your character to the fullest you can. there are so many traits to add to your character. If you want respect, give respect, build character traits starting with integrity today.

Leadership is a skill that must be mastered and practiced at all times. For more information on leadership, check out my webpage located at Jeff Robb International

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeff_Robb
http://EzineArticles.com/?Build-Integrity-Into-Your-Character&id=6872138

Article by The Self Improvement Blog (c) The Self Improvement Blog - Read full story here.

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