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Will I be optimistic in 3 weeks?

Will I be optimistic in 3 weeks?

Question about affirmations

Question: If I say an affirmation for three weeks, will I see results and think only positive thoughts by then?

Answer: If you begin saying a positive affirmation, and say it consistently every day for three weeks, you’ll notice an improvement in your attitude. However, you’ll need to catch each negative thought and idea and change it to a positive for the results to be most effective.

And you won’t have a permanent change in your thoughts after just three weeks. You’ll need to keep up with the affirmation, and transforming your negative thoughts even after that. But the negative thoughts will be fewer and you’ll be more positive overall.

This isn’t something you can do for a few days, weeks or months and then stop doing. It’s a focused change of thinking that must continue. You won’t have to be as diligent later on, because you’ll be more aware of your negative thoughts and automatically change them to positives. Affirmations aren’t magic. You have to use them consistently for them to work.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Podcast Interview – Mindset, Vision, Focus

Podcast Interview – Mindset, Vision, Focus

Janice Porter and I met in a networking group and shortly thereafter had a Zoom call to get to know each other better. She’s a Relationship Marketing Specialist and an amazing LinkedIn trainer, who gave me some tips on my LinkedIn profile, which I followed. She’s all about relationship building, online and offline, to grow your business and turn your connections into clients and referral partners. Relationships are so important to her that she has a podcast called Relationships Rule.

We hit it off in our call and, as a result, she asked me to be a guest on her podcast, to talk about focus and how it’s so easy to get scattered. It was a delightful conversation, wandering from how she struggles with being scattered to tips on how to stay focused to mindset to how success begins within. We even discussed whether I believe curiosity is innate or not.

We both are very curious people and it can take us both down rabbit holes. I can spend hours exploring an idea. She has a similar challenge. These tangents don’t help us when we’re trying to accomplish something. I gave her a suggestion, which I use, which can make sure our curiosity doesn’t undermine our goals.

We had a meandering conversation, but kept coming back to focus. We explored tactics to keep yourself focused. She also brought up that she didn’t really like to establish vision and goals. I explained why they’re beneficial and how you can create them in a way that will work with the subconscious mind.

As we discussed mindset, we explored how it’s more than positive thinking. It’s much more global than just optimism. We both weren’t so positive when we were younger and now choose to be positive. It is a choice about how to perceive a situation.

I mentioned how television news engages our emotions, which means it sends us into a light state of hypnosis. This can mean you accept what’s being said without analyzing it. I suggested to read news items, as you can be more objective.

We touched on the subject of believing in yourself. If you don’t believe in yourself, it’s a good bet you’ll sabotage your goals and dreams. She asked what I noticed when someone started to believe in themselves. They immediately change their actions, and start getting better results.

At her request, I gave my last piece of advice.  Focus is a skill you can develop. You can learn how to practice focusing and how to do train yourself to do so. We knew we could have continued our conversation, but unfortunately, our time was limited and we had to end it there.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Your subconscious mind acts on the overall direction of your thinking. If you’re 51% positive during the day, then that tendency overrides the 49% of the negative thoughts you’ve had. The converse is also true. The good news is that you only have to be a little more positive than negative to experience the benefits and have the negative of that day be erased. So every time you catch yourself having a negative thought, deliberately find something to be grateful for or insert an upbeat thought. It takes discipline and awareness, but it’s worth it.  

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Book Review-Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy

Book Review-Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy

Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy
by David Burns, MD

Here’s a book that gives specific instructions on how to change the way you think about your life. It was created to help people erase depression, anxiety, procrastination, guilt, pessimism, as well as perfectionism, anger, stress and low self-esteem. And it works. In a study of people with clinical depression, 70-75% of them were “cured” three months after reading this book and following the exercises.

By becoming aware of what you think, and then either addressing it or disputing the reasons, you begin to change the mental processes that have sabotaged you. Many people resist writing down their thoughts, for various reasons, but doing so allows you to view them more dispassionately. No longer are you controlled by your moods or negative thinking, you are empowered to confront it and change it.

Awareness and claiming your authority are key. When you take the time and effort to pay attention to what you’re thinking and write it down, you’re taking control. Then, by responding to it rationally, more positively, you’re accepting your authority over your own thoughts. This will begin to change your life.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Focus On What You Want

Focus On What You Want

by Linda-Ann Stewart

In my hypnotherapy practice, when I worked with smokers to help them quit, I told them that if they’re having a hard time giving it up, it’s because for years they’ve told themselves that “I can’t quit,” or “It’s going to be hard.” The subconscious has accepted that declaration and is making sure that it’s giving them what it thinks they want. Even if they’ve made a different decision (to quit), the inner mind is simply obeying the concept with the most energy attached to it.

What have you been unwittingly telling your subconscious? “I’m not good enough,” “I can’t win,” “There isn’t enough (whatever) to go around,” “I can’t find a romantic partner,” “There isn’t enough business,” “There’s a scarcity of jobs,” “I can’t find what I want.” These conclusions are instructions to the subconscious, and it must act on them.

There’s an old saying, “Energy flows where attention goes.” Wherever your attention is, whatever you’ve been focusing on, the subconscious will create a mold for that belief and make it real. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been concentrating on what you want, or what you don’t want,  a desire or a fear. The subconscious can’t discern between positive or negative emotion. It simply recognizes the force of the energy, associates it with the image or concept you’re dwelling on, and thinks, “They must want this or else they wouldn’t have spent so much time thinking about it.” Energy (emotion) plus image (concept) equals result (your experience).

The subconscious is also quite literal. I told smokers that they needed to keep their attention on their desired result. Instead of focusing on quitting smoking, they needed to keep thinking about being a nonsmoker. I’ve known many people who have quit smoking, only to begin again a few weeks or months later because their stated goal was to “Quit smoking.” Once they’d stopped, their subconscious figured, “Okay, we’ve achieved that goal. Now let’s start smoking again so that we get to accomplish it again.”

The same is true for weight reduction. So many people focus on releasing a certain amount of weight, only to regain it again. Their attention was on the activity of reduction instead of eating and exercising for the weight they wanted to be. The subconscious is only doing what it thinks you want. You have to be specific and focus on the end result instead of the steps to get there. The steps are necessary to break the objective down into goals that can be readily accomplished.

This principle applies to every aspect of your life. Do you want a greater income? Instead contemplating the lack of money (which the subconscious perceives to be your aim), fill your mind with the amount you want and how your life will change. If you want a relationship, instead of complaining there you can’t meet anyone you like (the subconscious will make sure you don’t), realize that there are countless number of people to choose from.

Break your objective into attainable steps, small ones you can easily accomplish. And keep your mind on the eventual goal. What do you need to change to achieve it? For instance, a smoker needs to develop new coping skills, as does anyone reducing weight. For greater abundance, do you need to become more visible and network? For a relationship, find ways to meet people of like mind.

Instead of focusing on the lack or blocks to what you want (which the subconscious will misunderstand as instructions), place your attention on the solution and take the actions  necessary to get there. Universal energy will flow in, and even if you don’t know how you’ll achieve your objective, you’ll be guided in the right direction. Remember, your subconscious mind will work just as hard to give you what you want as it will to give you what you don’t want. What you concentrate on and then receive from Life is up to you.

Affirmation:

I become aware of the negative messages I’ve been telling myself. Recognizing that they are outdated and that I want to change them, I find a way to open my mind to the possibilities. I now focus on what it is that I do want. As I identify the positive changes that my goal will manifest in my life, I take the actions necessary to bring about the change I desire. My subconscious finds the way to bring it about, and the Universe guides and directs me in the right direction.

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Trending Articles of the Week

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Self-talk is the way your inner voice makes sense of the world around you and the way you communicate with your inner self. Self-talk influences your experience of stress, positively or negatively. You can stop yourself from using negative self-talk and use your mind to boost your productivity and self-esteem and relieve stress. Use these 7 ways to take charge and change your negative self-talk to something more constructive.

Most Productive People: 6 Things They Do Every Day

This article is based on six tips from Tim Ferriss, author of the international bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek. It describes the science behind why the tips work, and insight from the most productive people around. And much of it has to do with being calmer, more focused and happier.

17 Ways You Can Develop New Habits and Improve Your Life

Trying new things makes you healthier, happier, and more creative. It also builds new neural pathways in your brain. It’s possible to adapt to new ideas and habits if you’re open to the possibilities and willing to try new activities.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Why do I attract negative people?

Why do I attract negative people?

Question about affirmations

Question: Why do I attract negative people?

Answer: Are you an upbeat or downbeat personality? If you tend to be more negative, then you’re attracting people who are similar to you. You’ve heard of like attracts like? Where people who are similar tend to drift together? You could be drawing people to you who are reflecting that aspect back to you.

On the other hand, if you’re more optimistic, there’s also a principle of opposites attracting. Negative, as well as positive people, are attracted to those with a positive personality. The upbeat person is stronger, more optimistic, inspirational, and tends to uplift those around them. People like to bathe in the warmth and radiance. A negative person may want to be more positive, and therefore be attracted to the characteristic they want.

But there are also those people who want to tear down those whom they see as more gifted, optimistic, and happy. It’s not personal. Remember, “Misery loves company.” If they’re dismal, they want everyone to join them there. It’s not so much that you’ve attracted them, as that they’ve been attracted to you and your warmth. If you’re beginning to feel depleted by the negative people, gently send them on their way. You aren’t obligated to heal them.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How to Approach Change

How to Approach Change

Most people don’t like change. It triggers our fight-or-flight response and we resist it. This prevents us from being able to move forward or make good decisions. There’s one way you can shift from being a victim into taking control. This opens the door to new opportunities for you.

Transcript:

Most people don’t like to have change thrust on them. Change triggers our fight or flight response, because we feel like we’re going to lose something we value by moving forward. And sometimes, that’s true. And sometimes, that thing we value isn’t working for as well as it could.

When we’re in fight or flight, we resist the change, trying to keep our old, familiar ways. All of this prevents us from thinking clearly, and making good decisions that are for our benefit.

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist coach. In over 30 years as a hypnotherapist, I’ve helped scores of people embrace change. I’d like to suggest a way to help you get out of the fight or flight response, become proactive and respond better to change. In other words, a better way to approach change.

Look for any positives that could come from the change. This may seem too simplistic or airy-fairy, but it’s effective. When you shift your attitude and reframe how you approach a situation, the outcome of the situation changes. You open doors for your subconscious mind to seek out, and find, opportunities for you. It may be a cliché, but look for the silver lining.

By adjusting your attitude to accepting the change and looking for advantages, you stop being a victim or feeling helpless. Instead of being in a boat being tossed about by the waves, you’ve set your sails to use the winds of change. Once you’ve taken control of your attitude, you can then make wise decisions and take positive action.

If this has been helpful, please like this video and subscribe to my YouTube channel for more tips to reach your goals and improve your life.

Thank you for watching. What positive can you find in the change you are  dealing with?

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

If you’d like to achieve your goals with confidence and ease in 4 powerful steps, register for a FREE training video and accompanying action planning guide, Set Your Course to Success.

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Trending Articles of the Week

Be kind to yourself: How self-compassion can improve your resiliency

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The Voice Inside Your Head Is Playing with You

With every situation you encounter, you interpret it through your beliefs. Often, an inner  negative voice tears you down and sabotages your efforts. However, you can learn to replace that pessimistic self-talk with  more upbeat thoughts. Use these 4 steps to recognize and counter the negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones.

What Is Optimism?

Optimists are those who expect good things to happen, where pessimists instead predict unfavorable outcomes. Optimistic attitudes are linked to a number of benefits. There are things you can do to cultivate an optimistic attitude. Even if you’re a pessimist, you can change the way you think about situations and learn how to become an optimist.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Book Review: Bex Beltran’s Journals

Book Review: Bex Beltran’s Journals

Bex Beltran’s Journals

I love journals that you write in. Research has shown that writing by hand is more effective than typewriting or using a keyboard. Using a pen or pencil engages the mind more, allows more inner communication, processes information better and remembers the material better.

Bex Beltran has created a line of journals to cover all sorts of issues, from intuition to lists, manifestation to a crystal journal. Some are for business and business development, like the networking followup, client record, or social media content creator. And others are for personal use, like one for goal setting, reviewing accomplishments, or self-care for a highly sensitive person.

I especially love that some have questions to inspire you, for insight or help you overcome blocks. In a way, some could also be called workbooks. At this writing, there are almost ninety of them, and she continues to add more. I’m sure there’s one that you’ll find valuable. I’ve linked to the page that lists them, so you can browse through these amazing, inexpensive journals.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart