self-help » Empowering Your Mind

5 Secrets to Improve Your Chances of Success

Sep 132021

by Linda-Ann Stewart

When you want to achieve a goal, you focus on that desire. You can create a focus or vision board about it, formulate a list of the steps, and take action to put it into motion. But if the overall tendency of your thoughts isn’t optimistic, even if you’re generally positive about your goal, then you’ll have a hard time bringing it into reality.

When working with the Law of Attraction, practitioners state what they want. They visualize and affirm its fulfillment. But they neglect to address their supporting consciousness. For a seed to sprout, it needs to be planted in fertile soil. If it drops onto parched dirt, there’s no way it can germinate.

For instance, suppose you want to start a new business. You get all the paperwork in order, market your product or service, and have some limited success. The quality of your success depends not only on your belief that you’ll achieve it, but on whether you have a pessimistic or optimistic outlook. If your thoughts are predominantly negative, you’ll have an uphill battle.

Although focusing on the specific outcome you want is necessary to achieve the desired result, that’s not the complete picture. The subconscious acts on the average of your thoughts. If your negative thoughts outweigh your positive ones, then achieving success is going to be like dragging an anvil uphill over a rocky path.

Focusing only on your goal and its plan is like exercising to improve one single area of your body. If you only work on strengthening your stomach muscles, you’ll get mediocre abs and the rest of your body will be in poor shape. But if you exercise the rest of your body too, you’ll find that it increases the response of your abdomen to its workout. This is because the condition of your whole body is now balanced and can support the other muscles that help the abs. Whole body training is much more effective than spot training.

When you improve your overall attitude towards life, to become more optimistic, you’ll find that success comes to you much easier and more quickly. Your subconscious is instructed by your belief that change is possible and good things can happen in an instant. By addressing your supporting consciousness, more energy can be channeled into fulfilling your goal. As a result, you may bump into a contact who can open doors for you, or have opportunities drop into your lap.

Here are 5 ways to improve your overall consciousness of good and increase your chance for success:

State what you’re grateful for. Every night, write down 3 things you’re grateful for. In doing so, you’re directing your subconscious to find more to appreciate. Studies show that doing this can improve your positive attitude for months and increase your productive energy.

Put yourself on a criticism diet. When you criticize anything in your life, you’re focusing on the negative. And that instructs the subconscious to bring more to criticize into your life. Criticism contracts and destroys. Praise expands and builds. That’s why gratitude is so important.

Look for the good in everything. Whenever you seek to find the gold in a seemingly unhappy situation, you’re instructing your creative mind to find a benefit from it. If this exercise is a stretch for you, then focus on the small joys of life. Pay attention to whatever good happens during the day, no matter how tiny or insignificant it might be. Dwell on the delight.

Remember your successes. Bring to mind how you’ve met and overcome challenges, even if they’re small. Linger over them, impressing their positive images and emotions on your mind. Remind yourself that if you could do it once, you can build on it and do it again in a bigger way.

Take time to meditate. Not only does meditation reduce stress, it builds resources for you to draw on in challenging times. To begin with, you can simply observe your breath going in and out for 2 minutes. This trains your mind to quiet down. As you get comfortable with that length, you can extend the session a minute at a time.

Build a well of optimism for yourself, and when you set a goal, you’ll have all of that positive energy that can be used to focus on it. Only by increasing and improving the overall quality of your thoughts will you be able to achieve the success you desire and deserve.

Affirmation:

I know the Universe wants the best for me. When I become aware that I’m being critical, I stop and find something to praise in the situation. Gratitude instructs my creative mind to find more to appreciate, therefore the good in my life expands. I delight in the small and large joys of life. As I do, I open the channel for more Universal good to flow into my life.

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. To achieve a 90-day goal more easily, sign up for her FREE comprehensive Strategic Vision blueprint at www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/setyourcourse.html. You can contact her at LAS@Linda-AnnStewart.com or 928-600-0452.

Succeed from the Inside Out

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Sep 092021

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Everyone has two ways of being motivated to achieve a goal. You’re either internally or externally motivated. Internal motivation includes desiring to be of service, a leader, or improving yourself, while external motives could be making more money, receiving approval or developing prestige. Most people focus on external rewards to drive them toward a goal, thinking that’s the key. But oddly enough, paying attention to your internal motivation is more likely to bring you success.

You might think that having both a strong internal and external motive would increase your chances of succeeding. But that’s not the case. Instead, the two motives compete and cancel each other out. As a result, a person is less likely to meet their goals than when they have one type of motivation. And the best way to succeed is to work with your internal motives. Success flows from the inside out.

When you elevate your internal motivation, you’re connecting with your Higher Self and allowing it to express in your life. This allows you to be in the flow of the Universe, and expand your influence and awareness.

The Elements of Internal Motivation

Your internal motive is your why, or the purpose, you’re seeking with your goal. Without a strong reason, you’ll run out of gas on your way to your objective and sputter to a stop. When you have your “why” figured out, it empowers and encourages you to continue when the going gets tough. Your “why” also energizes the Law of Attraction to draw what you want to you. Do you want to be healthier or feel better? Does your goal support or allow you to express your values? Figure out your “why” and keep it in mind as you move forward.

If your beliefs aren’t aligned with your goals, then you may come close to or even achieve your goal, only to backslide. You’ll find a way to sabotage yourself to stay in agreement with your belief. If your beliefs don’t sustain your goal, that gives the Law of Attraction conflicting directions, and will deliver only a partial result. Do you have trouble believing that your goal is possible? Or do you feel unworthy of achieving your goal? Uncover the unproductive beliefs you have about your goal and find a way to turn them around so they support your aspiration.

Having clarity about your vision is vital to accomplish your goal. Your vision establishes where you want to end up with your goal. Unless you have a vision, you may accomplish a goal, but it won’t take you anywhere. You’ll spin your wheels or run in circles, without fulfilling the purpose for the goal. A vision gives the Law of Attraction a definite pattern of what you want. The Law can then fill that pattern more easily. Once you have a vision, create a plan of how to get to your destination. Then determine the goals, or steps, you need to bring your plan into reality.

Succeed from the Inside Out

Probably 90% of the time, your internal motivation will bring you to success. All of your strategies and tactics should rest on the foundation of your inner motives. Whether you have a goal to change a habit or build a business, pay more attention to your internal motivation. This is what will drive your external strategies, steps and actions so that you stay focused on your vision. You’ll experience more meaning, purpose and fulfillment when you plan to succeed from the inside out.

Affirmation:

The Universe supports my goals, vision and aspirations. It wants the best for me. I determine what my inner motivation is to propel me towards my desire. That motivation inspires and sets my intention to take the actions necessary to fulfill my vision. My motivation is one that is good for me and for everyone concerned.

Why do I attract negative people?

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Aug 302021

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

Sparks of Insight

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Aug 262021

Whenever you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, practice being in the now. Don’t worry about the future, just deal with the one thing you have to do in this minute. Studies show that people who practice mindfulness have more mental, physical and emotional resources. When your mind is constantly darting around, trying to solve problems while you’re working on a project, it’s exhausting and counter-productive. Being in the moment can give your busy mind a rest and allow you to focus all your energies on what you have to do right now. When you’re done with that, you can go on to the next thing. Studies show that this can also improve your mood, memory and well-being.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How to Approach Change

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Aug 182021

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.

How to Cope with the Inevitability of Change

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Aug 052021

by Linda-Ann Stewart

The world is changing all the time. Sometimes, it sedately plods along, but other times, change explodes and disrupts the status quo in a major way. When this happens, it’s normal to resist change, especially because it’s imposed on you.

Whether your choice or not, change is threatening and scary. Nothing will ever be exactly the same as it was. You don’t know what you may lose, and no one likes to leave their comfort zone or feel out of control. But there are times when massive change happens whether you like it or not.

How Change Affects You

For instance, a deadly pandemic creates a major upheaval in everyone’s life. As a result, you could have to find another job, or you need to move to a new location, or a loved one may become chronically ill. Unwelcome and unexpected change brings uncertainty, which leads to stress and ultimately to anxiety.

The Universe often nudges you out of your comfort zone with unwelcome conditions. If you don’t take the hint, it pushes more forcefully. The Universe wants you to keep expanding and evolving, and you can’t do that by staying in your old habits. You’ll have to let go of what no longer serves you to flow with the Universe and adjust to the new situation.

When change is sudden and affects your personal life, your normal response is to go into shock. Shock gives you time to process the reality of what’s happened. When you begin to emerge from the numbness, you may get anxious because you don’t know what to do. Or you do know what to do, and it’s overwhelming.

How to Handle the Uncertainty

When you find ways to handle the uncertainty, you feel more in control. Here are four steps you can do to take charge of your life.

1. Accept the change. The more you resist or deny the change, the less energy, resourcefulness or time you have to adjust to it. If you can’t accept the change yet, acknowledge that it has affected you. This is your first step to coping with it and moving forward.

2. Grieve the loss. For every change, something has to be left behind. There can also be opportunities, but often they come later in the process. At this point, if you have a sense of loss of what you valued, allow yourself the space to mourn. Only after grieving can you seek how to extract some good from the situation.

3. Deal with the anxiety. What can you do in the moment to reduce your anxiety? Maybe it’s to learn a new skill, do some research, or go to a caregiving support group. Or maybe all you can do in the moment is take some deep breaths to ground yourself.

4. Make a plan. No matter how small the steps might be, or even one tiny step, make a plan. This will bring you a sense of control, lower your stress, and allow you to think more clearly. When you take one step, figure out what the next two might be, and take them. Keep doing this until you build up momentum.

When you become proactive, you take charge and begin to adjust to the change that’s affecting your life. As you chart your course through the troubled waters, you can find a way to survive and thrive with the changes that have happened.

Affirmation:

I acknowledge that change has altered the course of my life. The Universe will guide me in my direction and give me definite insight into what to do next. I take the actions I know to take, and the next step now appears. Everything is in Divine Order and works out in my best interests.

Book Review: Bex Beltran’s Journals

“Learn To Embrace Change”

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Aug 022021

by Linda-Ann Stewart

“There is nothing permanent except change,” said Heraclitus, the Greek philosoper. Nothing ever stays the same. If it did, you’d stagnate spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically. Relationships would become boring, business would never grow, spiritual evolution would halt. Without some drive to progress, you’d still be getting around by horse and buggy.

When things are stable, you tend to get in a groove. It’s natural to want things to stay the same. However, if you don’t try new things, it’s the nature of Life to shake things up to get your to expand. You’d experience a difficult business climate (like now), economic upheaval, bumps in your relationships, challenges in your personal life. This is to make sure you don’t get into a rut, hoping you can just hang on to what you have.

If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten. The Universe is like a river, with a strong current flowing, propelling you to advance. When you ride the current, cooperating with it, you can steer around the rocks and choose your destination. But, if you try to stay in one place, hanging onto a branch, eventually you’ll lose your grip and be dragged by the current. With no control, you’ll get banged up on the rocks and have to go wherever the river takes you.

I’ve heard many people say that, “I’m not going to participate in the recession,” which is a noble and optimistic attitude. However, economic transformations, as well as any other crisis, requires that you pay attention to their message. You need to recognize and acknowledge that your economy is changing, and decide how you’re going to adjust.

If you don’t, and keep on doing business the way you’ve always done, then you’re trying to stay in the same place while the rest of the world changes to meet the new needs. You have to discover fresh, new ways to stay ahead of the wave. Shakeups make you more creative. “Necessity is the mother of invention,” and when it’s necessary to make changes, you dig deep within and engage more resources.

To take advantage of the opportunity that lies in any difficult time:

1. Be willing to let go of your old patterns, beliefs, attitudes and ways of being. They no longer serve you. Start asking yourself, “What do I need to change to triumph over this?”

2. Be willing to think positively about the challenge. Not resisting the change will give you more energy, creativity and resources to create something better from it. Ask yourself, “What is the message or lesson in this for me?”

3. Be open to the idea that this change will somehow be beneficial. This engages the resourcefulness of your subconscious mind to manifest something wonderful. Affirm “Something good is going to come out of this for me, even though I don’t know right now what it could be.”

When you willingly participate with the Universe when It forces change upon you, you receive a bounty of good from it. Many people look back and state, “It was the best thing that could have happened to me.” It may not be easy, comfortable or even gentle, but change is the nature of the Universe. Embrace change to find the blessing that it brings.

Affirmation

The Universe is change and I am willing to embrace it when it comes into my life. Even though I may not be able to see the benefit or advantage in changing, I know that the Universe has my best interests at heart. Everything takes place in Divine Order for my Highest Good. Only good can come from it for me, and I am guided in my decisions, and the best direction to go.

If you’d like to use this article in your ezine, blog, forum or website, please include this information with it:

“A nationally known hypnotherapist, writer, speaker and life coach, Linda-Ann Stewart helps people rediscover their power and sense of self-worth. For a copy of her free book, “Secrets To The Law Of Attraction,” visit www.Cedarfire.com/secretstoloa.shtml “

self improvement, self help, personal growth, personal development, motivation, inspiration

Sparks of Insight

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Aug 022021

“Ideas that promote a life of joy, harmony, success and prosperity flow into my mind. I recognize and welcome them, putting these ideas into action. As I do, all of Life wells up to assist me.”

You’re always receiving a flood of ideas for progress, but due to stress, overwhelm or just frustrated, you may not be aware of them. You may have ignored them for so long that it’ll take time to tune your consciousness to them. As you listen, and act on the ideas, even if it’s just a little bit, it encourages your subconscious to feed you more. And action puts Life into motion to meet you and help you along the way.

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