Empowering Your Mind – Page 104 – Mindset, Motivation and Empowerment

What can I do to cope with the stress?

November 13, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

Question: I have an extremely stressful job, supervising many people, with schedule changes every few hours or days. What can I do to cope with the stress?

Answer: I’ve given seminars on stress reduction, and define stress as “any adjustment that has to be done to the normal routine.” So if your schedule changes several times a day, just the having to adjust to something new will create stress.

Doing meditation, relaxation, or self-hypnosis will help to reduce the stress. Any of these mimics the end process of the stress response, namely the “let-down” period. By doing self-hypnosis, you’re telling the mind that all is well now, and it’s safe to let go and relax. It doesn’t have to take long, just 15 minutes a day.

I know that when I do this after a stressful day, it gives me a lift, and I feel much more refreshed. My clients and the seminar attendees also say the same. You’ll be amazed. You can find the instructions to do self-hypnosis on my site at
Self-Hypnosis Steps.

In the space where you are to put in your suggestions, just imagine yourself in a special place of peace and comfort. It may be someplace you enjoy visiting, or someplace imaginary. And it may change from time to time. You’re giving yourself a mental vacation.

Change Takes Time

November 9, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

Change is a part of life. But it doesn’t happen all at once. When you were in school, you learned a little at a time, and built on what you knew. The same is true of life. Discover how you can improve this process and speed up your ability to change.

The Winding Path Of Change, Part 2

November 8, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

The reason for this winding path is that the subconscious doesn’t like change. It figures that your old beliefs, attitudes and behaviors have served you well. For your subconscious to establish a different direction, you need to be persistent. When you’re dedicated to making a change, this reassures your inner mind that you consider the new area suitable. Then, your subconscious needs to take its time getting used to the fact that you’re in strange territory, and make sure that it’s safe to be there. Once it’s gotten comfortable, it’ll allow you to cover more unknown ground.

If you change too much, too fast, without this process, you won’t have a firm enough foundation when the winds of stress blow. Stress can overwhelm any new attitude or behavior, and cause you to go back to what’s most familiar. The subconscious will channel its resources to deal with the crisis, rather than direct them to altering your life.

Also, too much change at any time is stressful in itself. In this case, too many adjustments would overwhelm the subconscious and it would sabotage any progress. Even though it may be frustrating, taking a step back to consolidate your gains actually helps you in the long run and supports eventual success.

Each time Becky stepped back into the relationship, she added to her knowledge and wisdom. When she’d move away from it, she integrated more of what she’d learned. Finally, when she realized that he wasn’t ever going to be different, she made the final break.

If she’d left before she’d assimilated all that she’d discovered, she would probably have recreated the same situation in another relationship. Instead, by allowing the natural course to play out, she ascertained which characteristics to avoid in a partner, and what ones to seek.

When you feel like you’re stalled, or have even taken a step back, realize that it’s part of the process of change. It gives you more wisdom, strength, and understanding for when you begin moving forward again. When you retreat and regroup, integrate and consolidate, it means you ultimately advance further and faster.

Affirmation

The Universe wants me to have my desire as much as I want it for myself. I recognize that getting to my goal may take me on a winding path. If I have setbacks, I keep my desire in sight. I learn from each step back I take, and use the knowledge to advance me further along the path. The entire process of change works for my benefit and my eventual success. Perfect action is always taking place as I pursue my desire.

The Winding Path Of Change, Part 1

November 8, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Becky spent months trying to break up with her boyfriend. Although she knew he wasn’t right for her, he’d be so sweet and accommodating when she’d try to split up that she’d slip back into the relationship.

Things would be fine for a few days, then something would happen and she’d be reminded why she needed to move on. And the process would start all over again. Each time she repeated the cycle, it got more apparent why the relationship wasn’t going to last long term and she discovered more about herself.

Change is like that. It rarely tracks in a straight line. Whether you’re progressing in your career, or making personal changes, you’ll probably take detours and side trips along the way. It may feel like you’re going backwards for a while, and you could get discouraged. Fear not, you’ll soon be moving forward again.

Setbacks are part of the process. In a recession, businesses have to pull back and consolidate, strengthening their financial positions. In this recent recession, stores have had fewer products, shorter hours, and less staff. They have to let go of less profitable merchandise to focus on goods that are more popular.

Businesses that are creative and innovative thrive when the economy gets better. Retreating to stabilize your financial structure means you’ll be better prepared when the time comes to expand.

The same is true of personal development. Generally, when making changes, you take two steps forward, then one back. For instance, it takes a smoker an average of four attempts to quit before they succeed. Each time, they discover more about their triggers and strategies that work for them. Any kind of improvement goes through the same type of learning curve.

When you diet, your body can get stuck at a particular weight. If this happens you may lose heart and give up. It’s simply getting adjusted to a new set point. Your body is adapting to being lighter, and once it does, you’ll quickly drop a few more pounds.

Even in your professional life, you probably won’t have a straight path to the next level. You may move laterally for awhile, gaining more experience and developing your abilities. This gives you a better track record and stronger background for when you are promoted.

Networking At AZ-MPI Fall Into Focus

October 30, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

Recently, I attended a 3 day Educational AZ-MPI (Arizona-Meeting Planners International) event in Flagstaff. I’m not a meeting or event planner, but as a speaker, I wanted to learn more about their world.

Each meal was hosted at a different place, and they were all very tasty. There were several presentations throughout the weekend, all but one given by speakers I knew.

It was a great weekend and I met a lot of wonderful people, including Cara and Paul Tracy. A couple of the attendees were speakers that I knew from my NSA-Arizona chapter, Debby Raposa and Bonnie Mattick. I enjoyed hanging with presenters June Cline, Naomi Rhode, Les Taylor, Ed Scannell, Neil Dempster and then meeting the one speaker, Holly Duckworth, I didn’t know.

It was such a pleasure to attend the Forum and network with all the fantastic people. By the end of the weekend, though, I was exhausted and ready to fall over. But it was well worth it and I’d do it again.

How do I block extraneous thoughts during meditation?

October 16, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

Question: How do I block extraneous thoughts during meditation, visualization, or self-hypnosis?

Answer: Extraneous thoughts are normal when you meditate, visualize, or do self-hypnosis. It takes time and lots of practice to learn to not let them distract you during your spiritual and/or mental practice.

When other thoughts come into your mind during your practice, you don’t have to let them interfere. I know that sounds odd, but the more you resent or resist those thoughts, the more attention they’ll get. The more attention they get, the more often they’ll interfere. When they come into your mind (and come they will, it’s the nature of the mind), just acknowledge them then put your attention back on your practice.

When I’m working with a hypnotherapy client, I say something like “other thoughts won’t interfere,” because the more a person is concerned about those thoughts, or resists them, the more they take attention away from the goal of the session. Therefore, I subliminally give them permission to have other thoughts, but then suggest that they won’t have any power to distract.

The essence of this idea works with any individual’s spiritual and/or mental practice. Give the thoughts permission to be there, but don’t get emotionally involved with them. It’s part of spiritual/mental practice to watch them objectively. This objectivity then translates into the rest of your life.

Are You A Good Gatekeeper For Your Mind?

October 16, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

Optimists learn to be positive, and it’s a skill you can develop. The benefits of positive thinking make it well worth the effort. Here are a couple of tips of how to assess what kinds of thoughts to let into your mind.

Make The Effort To Change, Part 2

October 15, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

My friend Lily read lots of self-help books, listened to motivational CD’s and went to personal development workshops and then complained that her life didn’t improve. When I asked her if she’d practiced any of the exercises in the books or CD’s or workshops. “No,” she said. “That’s too much trouble.”

To change, you need to participate and use the tools you’ve found. It’s easy to fall back into old habits. They’re familiar and comfortable, but they won’t provide you with a new direction. They won’t improve your life. There’s an old saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got.”

Negative thinking is simply a habit. People aren’t born to be pessimists, they learn to be that way. It can be changed with time, attention, and energy. One of the complaints of negative people is that it takes effort to be positive. It always takes work to change a habit, no matter what that habit might be.

Are you going to continue to float along with your old ways of thinking and doing things? If so, your life isn’t going to improve much. What are you willing to do to make it different? Think of one thing that you could start doing, and then commit to practice it every day. It could be meditating, self-hypnosis, being mindful, an affirmation, journaling or one of any number of other techniques and exercises that you’ve found over the years.

By choosing to make one small, consistent difference in the course of your life, you’ll begin to break up the inertia that’s gripped you. Each day that you follow through with your choice will take you in a new direction. You have the power to change your life. You just need to work it.

Affirmation

I have the ability to change my life. All the power of the Universe is available to me to create new ways of thinking and new beliefs. I now decide to use the tools that I’ve been given to create new habits that are more beneficial for me. My life will only improve if I choose to change it. I take charge of my life and commit myself to my well being.

Make The Effort To Change, Part 1

October 10, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

At a meeting, I was talking with a woman and mentioned Joseph Murphy and his best-selling book, “Power of the Subconscious Mind.” She asked, “In his book, did he explain why the subconscious doesn’t work for most people?”

That set me back. The subconscious mind is always working, and it responds according to the nature of your thoughts. But one thing can prevent the subconscious from making the changes a person wants. I responded, “Because they don’t work it.”

“Oh,” she replied. “I guess that’s true. Nothing changes if you aren’t willing to work on it.” I quietly sighed, thinking of all the people I knew who didn’t work on an issue, then complained when change didn’t happen.

Most people resist change and it takes effort to overcome that. Inertia can take over, causing you to drift and stalling your progress. It takes determination to pull out of it and move in a different direction. Change doesn’t happen overnight, nor does it happen without applying shifts in thinking and behaving. Your old ways of doing things are simply habits, and can be changed. But it takes attention to alter your course and initiative to put it into action.

Posting affirmation signs around the house won’t help if you don’t repeat the statement frequently. They work by modifying the things you automatically say to yourself. Passively glancing at them without noticing them won’t make much of an impression on your subconscious. You have to be pro-active in impressing the concepts on your inner mind.

Wanting to be more positive won’t work unless you pay attention and change your attitude when you find your thoughts straying into negative territory. Just as you have to turn the car around when you realize you’re going to the gas station when you meant to go to the store, you have to re-focus your attention when your thoughts go in the wrong direction.

Tools For Change

October 2, 2012 Linda-Ann Stewart

Reading self-help and personal development books, and listening to CD’s of them, is helpful to expand the awareness of the possibilities for yourself. It also can uplift you and put you in a more constructive mindset. But if you don’t start using some of the tools that you learn about, the improvements won’t last long. You need to create your own foundation so that you can build a strong structure that can withstand the winds of storms.

Here are a few techniques for you to begin with, if you need to start somewhere.

Meditation – Studies show that meditation actually changes the structure of the brain. It establishes a sense of well being, allows us to think more quickly and make better decisions, along with a whole host of other positive results.
Mindfulness – This type of meditation means that you just remain aware of the present moment. As with meditation, it changes brain structure, reducing fear, improving memory and productivity.
Self-hypnosis – This is a process of communication with the inner mind that can change ideas at level where they were programmed. It can reduce stress and anxiety, help change habits, grow self-confidence and improve all sorts of physical issues.
Cognitive techniques – This technique instructs you how to become conscious of negative ideas and change them. It’s effective for improving depression, anxiety, and negative self-talk.
Journaling – Studies have shown that when you write about your feelings, your situations, or your life, this can improve the way you feel physically and mentally. It helps the mind to reprocess the information at a deep level and builds inner resources.
Affirmations/self-talk – When you change the way you talk to yourself, you change the way you believe and behave. It helps increase optimism and is a key to stress management.

Choose one of these to begin practicing consistently and you’ll notice an improvement in your life in a very short time. It will give you the tool you need to hold onto when life gets a little bumpy. You’ll get through the challenges much more smoothly when you have been making time for your personal development.