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Why You Need a Vision and Plan

Why You Need a Vision and Plan

by Linda-Ann Stewart

When you choose to grow a garden, do you start watering the plot without planning what you want to grow in it? Or do you decide what plants you want, and till and fertilize the soil to make it receptive for those kinds of plants? Don’t you clear the area of growth that doesn’t fit with your plan? And then you choose seeds or seedlings you want and place them in the soil. To care for your garden, you water, feed the plants, and weed out what doesn’t belong.

Your mind and life is like a garden. If you just jump into a garden, or life, without a vision or plan, you’re going to receive what plants and seeds are already in that plot. By not sowing any new seeds, you can only harvest what is already growing there. You won’t reap anything new. In this case, to misquote an investment disclaimer, “Past performance will indicate future results.”

The Downside to Going with the Flow

Many people just want to go with the flow, having no intention, vision or plan. They want to follow instinct or intuition, without any real idea of what they want. This kind of philosophy is fine if you want to float through life. But if you want to change a habit, or achieve something, you have to be more deliberate.

The problem with the idea of just flowing is that it means you’re acting on what’s already in your subconscious. There’s no new destination or goal. It’s like watering a garden without putting any thought into what you want. You’ll get what you get, not necessarily what you want. Your subconscious can only deliver on the ideas you’ve already sown into it. If you’re simply following your subconscious, you’ll wander in circles, never accomplishing anything new. And the weeds in the garden of your life may choke out most of the flowers.

The Role of Your Conscious and Subconscious

Your subconscious has a specific role to play in your life and it’s a powerful one. Your subconscious is your problem solver, and where your creativity and insights come from. But your subconscious can’t make decisions for you. Choices must come from your conscious mind to be fulfilled by your subconscious. Your subconscious uses all your knowledge and experience to help you achieve your intention. But your subconscious can’t seek any outside information to help. New information has to come to, and through, your conscious mind.

Your conscious mind chooses your destination, intentions, goals or vision.  Your subconscious provides you with the ideas, innovation and insights to realize them. When you have a vision and plan, you give your subconscious concrete information to work with. With a vision, your subconscious knows what to seek and scans your environment to help you. Your plan creates guiderails and makes it easier for your subconscious to locate and discover opportunities.

Tending Your Intention

In your garden or your life, not all the seeds you sow will germinate and not all of the plants will survive to maturity. The same is true of your vision and plan. You’ll need to discover what didn’t survive and why, and address that problem. It could be that you didn’t tend to your garden as much as it needed or that the soil wasn’t fertile enough. Maybe circumstances changed, and your vision and plan needs to be adjusted.

If you want better results in your life, you’ll tend to the garden of your intention. A garden takes constant attention to support its growth and fertility. Only after putting in the effort will you reap the rewards. Your life deserves the same care, love and consideration as a garden.

Affirmation:

As I choose my direction in life, it gives the Law of Attraction definite details of what to draw to me. The Universe is on my side, and wants the best for me. I’m Divinely Guided and Directed into the right path for my Highest Good. Everything I need is provided in the best way possible.

Watch the accompanying video, Get Greater Satisfaction from Living Intentionally.

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Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

“My path is illumined with direction, wisdom, and understanding. Each step leads me to the next, and my way is made clear. All that I encounter along the way contributes to my good.”

There are times when you may feel like you’re hitting a brick wall, not getting anywhere, and get discouraged. That’s when you most need to declare what you want, even if it’s just to be led in the right direction, wherever that may be. By giving the subconscious specific instructions, it will prompt it to open a way for you around, through or over that brick wall. 

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

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Stop Chasing Success. Seek Significance.
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Fight Exhaustion and Stay Productive at Work with These 12 Essential Tips
Sleep deprivation, stress and burnout contribute to a feeling of exhaustion. Unfortunately, you can’t just take a day or month off to recover every time this happens. You have to force yourself to crawl through it. But here are some ways that you can amp up your focusing abilities and help your body to get more done.

Want To Feel Happier Today? Try Talking To A Stranger
As humans, we’re social creatures and need relationships for health and happiness. Unfortunately, smartphones have created a barrier to establishing and supporting our relationships. They’ve become an easy way to avoid contact. Recent research shows that making a connection with a stranger through a smile or small talk can make your day.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Set Yourself Up for Success

Set Yourself Up for Success

by Linda-Ann Stewart

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Susan committed to eating a healthier diet and wanted to make sure she’d follow through on her goal. The first thing she did was go through her pantry and threw away chips and anything with sugar. At the grocery store, she bought fruits, vegetables and healthy proteins. She assembled healthy snacks ahead of time, so she’d grab them instead of looking for something inappropriate.

She used hypnotherapy to imagine staying on her plan, resisting temptation and enjoying her new treats. Through this mental rehearsal, she established a new habit and lifestyle, and easily avoided impulse snacking. Because she took control of her environment and developed strategies ahead of time, she created the conditions for success.

This same process can be used for any habit or situation you want to improve, personally or professionally. There’s an old saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” If you leave the details to fate, hoping that you’ll take the right action in the moment, you probably won’t. Either someone else will decide for you, unexpected situations will get in the way, or inertia will keep you in place. And you’ll just fall back on what’s familiar and automatic.

The Problem with Willpower

Willpower will only take you so far. You need to have strong motivation to be able to get yourself moving in a new direction. Usually, your willpower flags if you get tired, stressed, bored or the results don’t live up to your expectations. Think of the last diet you were on. You probably stayed on it for a while and then began to slack off a little at a time. The slide began with Fettuccine Alfredo at the restaurant with your spouse, then birthday cake at your best friend’s party, and finally you gave up when you went on vacation.

Set Up the Conditions to Succeed

Instead of relying on willpower, set up the conditions ahead of time that will get and keep you on track. Do you want to lose weight, start to exercise or make follow up calls for your business? How can you design the situation to ensure you’ll fulfill your intention? For instance, to permanently lose weight, reframing the concept may help. Rather than thinking of being a diet, consider it a lifestyle change. Decide that you don’t eat certain foods or only a moderate amount of them, not only now, but from now on.

To begin an exercise program, get a buddy or schedule reminders in your phone. Set out your clothes or shoes so you almost trip over them. Start small, with a few minutes a day, and then increase the time as you get into the habit. Design the circumstances so that you know you’ll do it with very little effort.

How can you make sure you make those follow up calls? The night before you could decide on the list of people to call and put it on your computer. And you could reward yourself with something healthy, such as a break with your favorite book, when they’re done. Another solution would be to have an accountability partner that you’d call or email when you’ve completed your task.

Figure out how you can set up the situation so that you’ll behave the way you want. Formulate guard rails to keep yourself from drifting off course. Make as many decisions as you can ahead of time, so when a challenging situation arises, you’re prepared with a solution. The main item you need to develop is commitment to your vision, as Susan did. If you want it badly enough, you can create the conditions so that you’re successful.

AFFIRMATION:

The Universe wants the best for me and supports my quest to improve my life. I’m guided and inspired as to how to create the right conditions for me to thrive. Everything I need is already available from the Infinite. I simply need to look for and recognize it. I willingly accept my greater good.

Watch the accompanying video Planning for the Unexpected.

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3 Tips to Handle Obstacles

3 Tips to Handle Obstacles

Most people spin off course when an obstacle arises. They don’t seek for the core of the problem and just react. This can make it worse. But you can take charge and discover a lasting solution. Learn what to ask yourself to get yourself back on course.



Transcript:

Thank you for watching. I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. Today, I’d like to give you 3 tips on how to take charge and handle obstacles. If you don’t know what to do when trouble arises, it can send you spinning off course, can’t it?

Unfortunately, when most people hit an obstacle, they aren’t even sure what the problem is. They just look at what’s obvious and don’t investigate any further, right? This generally won’t solve the problem and may just get you in deeper.

So your first step is to discover what the obstacle actually is. Don’t just react or you could make it worse. Ask yourself if the problem is what’s showing up, like miscommunication, or if it’s a deeper, systemic issue? Keep digging until you identify the core of the obstacle. Once you do, you’ll be able to find creative solutions that will last.

Second, take responsibility for your part in contributing to the obstacle. Sometimes you have had a part in creating it, and sometimes you haven’t. But you still have responsibility to contribute to the solution. Ask yourself these questions, “What could I have done differently to prevent it?” and “What can I do differently from this point on to improve the result?” The answers you come up with will help prevent similar issues from arising.

Third, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” Because there’s always something for you to learn to use in the future. This is how we grow, develop and gain experience. If you don’t learn from it, you’ll continue to repeat the pattern, and I don’t think you want that, do you? When you’ve determined what you’ve learned, you can put it into practice.

These 3 tips will get you back on course. About 85% of your success is due to your mindset, which affects how you respond to life and to challenges. By taking charge when an obstacle arises, you empower yourself to work through it and become more successful.

If you’d like more tips on how to increase your productivity and accelerate your success, download my free guide, Take Control of Your Day.

Thank you for watching. Can you commit to putting these tips into action in your life?

Read the accompanying article How Accountability Can Increase Your Success.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight“The Universe knows what to do in every situation or circumstance to bring forth harmony, peace and perfect action. I allow the Universe to work through me, guiding my every thought and action. With complete peace of mind, I know that there is a perfect solution to any challenge I might have.”

To receive the answer to a problem, you need to have the assurance that there is a solution. By taking the issue to a higher point of your consciousness, you’re able to loosen your grip on fear or anxiety about it and bring in a greater understanding than you could comprehend.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

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~ Linda-Ann Stewart

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~ Linda-Ann Stewart

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~ Linda-Ann Stewart