productivity » Empowering Your Mind

Align Your Heart with Your Vision

Oct 182018

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Do you sometimes want to change a habit, achieve a goal or cultivate a talent, but something holds you back? It may be something that you think you should want. Or it’s something you really do want, but your beliefs don’t accept it. Many people have this problem. They have a vision of where they want to be, but their beliefs can’t support pursuing or fulfilling their intention.

For instance, Nancee was a business consultant and wanted to help business owners develop better business and marketing plans. But unconsciously, she was afraid of disappointing her clients because she couldn’t wave a magic wand and make their problems disappear. Her service would have improved their bottom line, but she held herself back from promoting her business. Once she realized that she wasn’t responsible for how her clients acted on her guidance, she followed the marketing plan she’d created, and her business grew.

Your Heart and Vision Must Align to Make Progress

Nancee’s heart, which was her beliefs and passion, had to align with her vision, which was her intentional destination, before she would take action. Some people think they want to achieve an objective, but their heart isn’t in it. Or they don’t want to take the actions they need to take to get there. They just aren’t invested enough in their vision. Unfortunately, they just don’t have the necessary passion to follow through on it. .

Other people have the heart, or the belief and passion, but they haven’t developed a vision. Flailing away, they try one thing after another. They confuse motion with action. And they’re so caught up with taking action that they don’t take the time to assess if they’re making any progress. Because they don’t know where they’re going, they don’t have a comprehensive plan of how to get there. They might have goals, but they don’t accomplish much unless they know where they want those goals to take them.

And still others have the belief that they can achieve what they want, and a vision of where they want to go. But that intention has been instilled in them by someone else. For instance, Robert’s father talked him into majoring in engineering in college. Once Robert got his degree and got a job, he found the work unsatisfying. Instead, he wanted to teach high school science classes. So he returned to college, got a teaching certificate and fulfilled his passion.

Is the Problem with Your Heart or Your Vision?

If you have a deep desire that isn’t being fulfilled, check either your heart or your vision. The problem will be in one of them. These two must be in alignment or your efforts will be useless and unsatisfactory. They feed each other, creating motivation and inspiration. When one is not in alignment, it’s like riding a bike with a single flat tire.

For instance, if the issue is with your heart, you won’t pursue your vision with enough energy. Your beliefs get in your way. Fear holds you back, or you simply won’t want your vision badly enough. You could also have other concepts that are sabotaging you, such as lack of self-worth or self-confidence. In this case, ask yourself, “What is undermining my progress?”

However, if the challenge is that you don’t have a clear vision, you take action, but spin your wheels. You don’t have a direction you’re moving towards. When you reach a goal, you backslide and have to start over again. Dealing with details takes precedence over moving forward so you stay in the same place. In this situation, ask yourself, “What do I actually want to accomplish with my efforts?”

Once you become aware of where the difficulty lies, you can begin to resolve it. If you need to work on your heart, or mindset, there are many resources to help you improve it. But if the obstacle is that you don’t have a clear vision, set aside the time to create one. Once you have your heart and vision aligned, it’s a natural progression for you to develop a plan that works for you.

This is an ongoing process. As you progress, you’ll discover that you’ll need to fine tune your beliefs, mindset and vision to continue to support you. You’ll be constantly balancing your heart and vision and correcting your course to make sure you remain on track. But because you have your heart and vision aligned, you’ll have your path clear before you.

Affirmation:
The Universe supports my every endeavor by guiding and directing my efforts. I recognize any beliefs that are holding me back and let them go. They no longer serve me. I now establish ideas, beliefs and attitudes that are in alignment with my dream. That dream is now clear and concise and I know that the Universe wants me to accomplish it. Everything I need is now provided.

Watch the accompanying video, Key Elements for your Success.

As a vision strategist, hypnotherapist, and speaker, Linda-Ann Stewart helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners who feel stuck, immobilized and overwhelmed to to get clear, focused and on the fast track to the next level of their business. If you'd like some help to reach your goals, apply for her complimentary "Clarify Your Vision" consultation at http://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/coaching.shtml

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight No Responses »

Aug 202018

I’m sure you’ve heard people recommend that you “Sleep on it” when you need to make some important decision. This is because by thinking about the issue just before going to bed, then drifting off to sleep, it allows your subconscious mind to process all the information that it has about the situation. The next morning, when you consider the problem again, you’ll have an answer. But you must trust your subconscious to provide this important service. This is just like when you try to remember someone’s name, let it go, and it comes to you in a few minutes. By letting it do its job, the subconscious, which is the creative part of you, will find a solution.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Making Your Priorities Important

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Aug 152018

It’s sometimes hard to keep your priorities straight. You’re pulled in different directions, especially when other people want something from you. But your priorities are important and necessary if you’re going to achieve any goal. And the most important person to please is yourself. Here are 3 tips on how to respect your priorities and set them first in your life.

Transcript:
Thank you for watching. I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. Sometimes, it’s just so hard to keep your priorities straight, isn’t it? You’re pulled in different directions. You have competing agendas from yourself and other people.

For instance, let’s say you want to lose 10 pounds, but you also want a piece of your coworker’s birthday cake. It’s really a hard choice. One part of you wants to lose the weight, the other wants the cake. Future benefits vs immediate gratification, and the cake is right there in front of you. But if you don’t focus on your priorities, which are for your future benefit, you sabotage what you want to accomplish, don’t you? I mean, that 10 pounds will always remain because of all the temptations, unless you prioritize your priorities.

And it’s not just sugar that can be your downfall. When you want to accomplish some goal, it’s all to easy to get distracted by small tasks and other peoples desires, isn’t it? Being able to stick to your priorities is important if you ever want to achieve your goals. It doesn’t matter if your goal is personal or professional. You have to make it a priority above other things. This is what propels you forward so that you reach your goal or dream. And this is one of the things I help my coaching clients with.

I specialize in working with women service professionals and entrepreneurs, who spin their wheels and get stuck as their business runs them. Using my 30 years of experience as a hypnotherapist, I help them chart their course and develop the strategies that will accelerate their business to the next level and beyond. And I’d like to share a some tips that I share with my clients.

One of the things that gets in the say of sticking to your priorities is other people’s desires. They want something from you and it can be hard to disappoint them, can’t it? It’s hard to know when it’s appropriate to give them what they want and when it’s not. Especially for women. All too often, we put off our priorities to please others, don’t we?

But priorities are called that for a reason. When you prioritize something, and follow through on it, you’re establishing that it’s important to you. It’s more important than what other people want from you, or than the other tasks and minutiae that crop up to distract you. A priority takes precedence over all that, right?

How can you approve of your priorities, rather than seeking approval from other people? The most important person to please is yourself. If you constantly put your priorities aside for other people, you’ll never get them done. It may feel selfish, but, if you think about it, so is breathing.

By fulfilling your priorities, you’re committing to a certain course of action that will take you to a goal and you’re dedicating your time and effort to towards it. The priority of your goal comes first on the list of things to accomplish.

Life can get in the way, sometimes, and you can get sidetracked, can’t you? But if you establish your priorities, and respect them, you’ll stay on track to accomplish your goal. And your goal is a step towards your dream or vision. So how can you set your priorities first?

1. Set strong boundaries. Let people know what you’ll do and what you won’t do. When you’ll help and when you won’t. And don’t make exceptions, except in a true emergency.

2. Prioritize your priorities. When they’re they most important thing in your mind, that changes the way you think about them and how you respond to distractions and others demands. When you’re faced with temptation, remember that you’ve set your priority above anything else.

3. Take action on your priorities. Take 1 step, do 1 thing. Your brain and subconscious likes accomplishment, even if it’s small. Your subconscious and brain will use that to keep your motivation up and momentum going.

These are 3 steps you can take to make sure you fulfill your priorities. When you act on them, you’ll have more success in achieving your goal, dream and vision.

If you’d like some help in achieving your goals, apply for a complimentary Clarify Your Vision coaching consultation.

Thank you for watching. As you take care of your priorities, your goal will take care of itself.

Read the article that accompanies this video, Don’t Let Distractions Crush Your Dreams.

Don’t Let Distractions Crush Your Dreams

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Aug 102018

by Linda-Ann Stewart

I recently had lunch with a friend, Mary, who makes jewelry. Her work is in stores and online, and has begun to get popular. But, as with many creative entrepreneurs, she’s having trouble with loved ones who don’t take her business seriously. She struggles with balancing her work with the expectations of her extended family.

Because she doesn’t have a 9 to 5 job, her family assumes that she’ll be available whenever they want. They don’t respect her work time because she hasn’t insisted that they do. She’s put their desires above her interests. Her message to them and to her subconscious is that her work and priorities aren’t that important. As a result, she’s trained her subconscious and the Law of Attraction to not only accept the interruption to her work, but to attract other interference.

Have you ever noticed that as you’re expanding and changing, you have a lot more distractions? They seem to pop up out of nowhere, and keep getting in the way of what you want to accomplish. If you succumb to them, they’ll sabotage your priorities. But it’s a natural part of the change process. The Universe isn’t testing you. It’s your subconscious testing you to see if you really are dedicated to your dream. The subconscious is also trying to keep you in your comfort zone.

I was amazed at how many of my smoking cessation hypnotherapy clients would experience unexpected stressful situations when they quit smoking. It was their subconscious throwing up road blocks to their goal. The severity of their problems was in direct proportion to the amount of ambivalence they had to becoming an ex-smoker. If they weren’t committed to quitting, they backslid and gave up. The distraction was an excuse for them to continue smoking.

Sometimes the subconscious will know you really don’t want to face a task, and your concentration is disturbed. For instance, you need to get the budget done. But you receive a phone call about an insignificant matter that pulls you away from it. You could have let the call go to voicemail, but welcomed the interruption. That’s the subconscious trying to help you avoid what it knows you don’t want to do.

The main purpose of the subconscious is to keep you safe, even if it means keeping you from doing what you want. It sees any change as a threat. If you allow yourself to get off track, the subconscious will get the message that you want to stay off course. And it will begin to seek out new ways to detour you.

However, if you push the distractions aside and persist with your priorities, there will be fewer disturbances. Your subconscious will get more comfortable and will help you move towards your goal. Your priorities are important. The Universe and Your subconscious will support you as you support yourself. When you respect your own priorities above what anyone else wants from you, you’re instructing your subconscious to respect your interests, too.

Mary decided to make appointments with herself to work, and keep them no matter what. She wanted to make sure nothing got in the way of that time with her jewelry. This will convince her subconscious that she’s committed to her work, and her inner mind will start to support her by reducing distractions. When she recognizes the validity of her business, she’ll be able to stand up for her priorities. As a result, she’ll create boundaries and insist that others recognize them.

Is there some goal or dream you want? If so, set it as a priority. Work towards your goal and don’t let anything get in the way. You can attend to other people’s wishes after you’ve satisfied your priorities. But your priorities come first. How can you respect your priorities and stand up for them? When you figure that out, and act on it, your path to achieving your dream will get easier.

Affirmation:
The Universe supports me as I support myself in the pursuit of my dream. I deserve it, and I respect my time and efforts. I realize that other people may have desires of their own, but I put my well being and interests first. I fulfill my priorities first, then I can address the desires of others.

Watch the video that accompanies this article, Making Your Priorities Important.