Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you welcome an offender back into your life. That may be the worst thing you could do for yourself. Forgiveness doesn’t absolve a person of the responsibility of what they’ve done and they might not have changed. Forgiving simply means you’re letting go of your anger against the person. When you can truly wish them the best, then you know you’ve forgiven them.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
How to Deal With Negative People Who Just Aren’t Going Away
Negative people enjoy being dream killers. When you have someone like this who is a part of your life, either personally or professionally, it can be draining to interact with them. Their negativity can bring you down and impact your ability to take action. Learn to shield yourself from their negativity with these 6 strategies.
Positive Daily Affirmations: Is There Science Behind It?
Affirmations are a way of re-programming your beliefs, attitudes and thinking. As a result, they can change the course of your life. This article explores some of the science and benefits of them. It also suggests affirmations for various types of people and conditions. In addition, it has other resources and meditation videos to help you improve your life.
The Power of Optimistic Action
Behaving optimistically makes things better even when we feel bad. Optimism isn’t only about attitude, it’s about behavior. When you act as if you’re optimistic, the outcomes lead to a better mood. To help you stay positive, use the 3 strategies she suggests.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Focus in one of the most important skills to develop if you want to be successful, whether personally or professionally. But because of our current crisis and disruption of our routines, focus is hard to grab onto and maintain. Here’s a couple of strategies to help you to broaden your mental bandwidth and feel more in control.
Transcript:
Thank you for joining me. I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. I wanted to talk about how to find focus in times that seem unsettled, chaotic, or uncertain, like now.
Focus in one of the most important skills to have if you want to be successful, whether personally or professionally. But because of our current crisis and disruption of our routines, focus is hard to grab onto and maintain, isn’t it? Your attention is taken up with the immediate and the urgent, right? And there’s so much that’s out of your control right now, which splinters your focus even more, doesn’t it?
So, for right now, just focus on what you can control. You can control what you do, your decisions, and your response to immediate situations. Just paying attention to what you can control lowers your stress level and you have more mental bandwidth.
Next, focus on one thing at a time. Just one thing. The brain can focus only on a single task at a time. When you’re thinking about or doing too many things at one time, you’re “task switching” and that exhausts your ability to function. So when you’re doing something, focus completely on it, if only for ten minutes.
Using these two strategies, pretty soon, you’ll feel on more stable ground. And you’ll be able to pay attention to more than just what’s right in front of you. And then, amazingly, you’ll be able to start to plan for the future.
If you’d to achieve a 90-day goal more easily, download my free comprehensive Strategic Vision Blueprint. You’ll receive the blueprint, as well as a video of that walks you through it with tips and directions to support you in accomplishing your goal.
Thank you for watching. What one thing are you going to focus on today? Take care.
Read the complementary article Finding Your Course in Unstable Times.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Last month, I was interviewed for Jamie Lynn Warber’s Breakthrough & Thrive – Awaken Your Voice Summit. The summit empowered sexual abuse and trauma survivors to take charge of their power, healing and happiness. Jamie and I were connected through another podcast host and I jumped at the chance to reach these women with my message.
As a hypnotherapist and coach for 30 years, I’ve helped many sexual abuse survivors achieve their goals. Whether to heal from the trauma, break habits or improve their life, I discovered that they needed to improve their self-esteem to be successful. They had to come to realize that they deserved success before they could achieve it.
These women and this subject are very dear to my heart, as it is to Jamie Lynn’s, who is a sexual abuse survivor. She shared some of her story, which was touching and brave of her. She’s incredibly heart-centered. In our discussion, we explored why self-esteem is necessary to be successful. I also gave several strategies and exercises that listeners can use to raise their self-esteem and sense of self-worth.
It was a delightful discussion. I enjoyed talking with her so much. Even after the interview, we continued chatting for almost an hour, sharing our philosophies, perspectives and experiences. I remain in touch with her, and hope to be on future summits of hers. For now, I keep in touch with her Facebook page, Arise Empowered, LLC. If you’re a sexual abuse and/or trauma survivor, I recommend you check it out.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
“I know that forgiveness releases me from the past. I forgive myself for past mistakes and forgive those who have done me harm. When I can’t forgive someone, I give the situation to God and let God forgive them through me.”
Forgiveness cuts you from hanging onto the past, freeing you for a brighter future. Forgiving yourself and others is a healing balm, but sometimes you simply can’t find the ability to forgive. The offense might have been too great, or you’re still too angry. In that case, let God work through you. God can see the true essence of the other person and has already forgiven their faults. This makes it easier for you to detach from the situation, which makes it easier to free yourself.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
People mistakenly think that to forgive a person, they have to excuse the event, too. Nothing could be further from the truth. The individual acted in a particular way that hurt you, and that is their responsibility. In your mind, separate the person from their mistake. Because their action isn’t what you’re forgiving. You’re letting go of your anger, resentment and grudge against the person. And you’re not doing it for them. You’re doing it so it doesn’t continue to poison you.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
9 Telltale Signs You’re Dealing With an Inauthentic Person
There is no skill more important to success than being able to detect who is sincere and who isn’t. Inauthentic people try to be someone they’re not, in an attempt to be successful. But, because of that, they can’t be trusted. When you learn who is faking it, you can then decide how to handle them.
Nine Little-Known Signs of Perfectionism
You may be a perfectionist and not even know it. There’s a price that comes with being a perfectionist, such as being controlling, micro-managing, and never feeling good enough. When perfectionism is mild, it can contribute to success. When it’s extreme, it can sabotage you. Learn the signs and how to let go of what may not be working for you.
5 Signs Someone Is Manipulating You
It can be difficult to determine when someone is manipulating you. Usually, they’ve developed the skill over years and hide their intent well. But if you can recognize the behavior, you won’t fall into their trap and can make a better decision on how to handle the situation.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
“Re-examine all that you have been told… dismiss that which insults your soul.” – Walt Whitman
Many of the standards, values and beliefs you have in your life are ones that were programmed into you by family and authorities when you were young. They may not be valid or useful to you. You have the power and authority to assess them and decide whether you want to keep them or not. Discard anything that doesn’t support you in being the best person you can be.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Top 10 Ways to Train Your Brain to Stay Focused
Focus is one of the skills you need it you want to get things done and be successful. But our fractured lives undermine this precious ability. The good news is that it is an skill that can be cultivated and learned. Using these strategies will help you build more focus so you can be more effective and productive.
Spiritual Intelligence: What It Is and How Leaders Can Use It to Thrive
Think of it as emotional intelligence taken to the next level. Essentially, it can improve resilience, empathy, calmness, and creativity. This contributes to higher morale and better customer relations, among other things. When leaders understand the 3 points in this article, they can take advantage of its benefits.
9 Tips to Help You Co-exist Peacefully With Difficult People
Everybody has to deal with a difficult person at some time or other. And it’s always a trial to figure out what to do to get along with them. Not only does this article give valuable tips on how to handle them, it includes suggestions from various leaders on how to do so.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart
Recently, Marie Burns of Mind, Money, Motion interviewed me on her podcast, which focuses on helping listeners worry less about money by keeping their mind and body healthy. We first met at a meeting of the Arizona Chapter of the National Speakers Association. But the idea of being interviewed on her podcast didn’t arise until the COVID-19 shut-down pushed all meetings online.
Marie and I were in a virtual Zoom meeting together, when she messaged me to ask if I’d be interested in being on her podcast. I was delighted! I felt the interview would be fun as I’d get to know her better and be able to share my ideas with her audience.
In the interview, we discussed my hypnotherapy background and I explained a little bit about what hypnosis is and isn’t. Most people have misconceptions about hypnosis, and I take every opportunity to clear those away. In this instance, it led into how I realized why having a vision was so important to achieving your goals.
She asked great questions and led me deeper into explaining about mindset and focus, my specialties. Mindset is so much more than just positive thinking. And focus is necessary if you’re going to avoid distractions and stay on course. Mindset, vision and focus are all essential to success in personal and professional life, in normal and uncertain times.
Time got away from us, and the interview ended all too soon. That’s what happens when you’re having fun, isn’t it? I would have loved to have spent more time with her and gone even deeper into my topics.
The 26-minute interview, Clarifying your vision and building a strategy to achieve your goals, can be found at Mind, Money, Motion, as well as on Itunes and Csuite Network. Those links are on the same page as the interview.
I hope you check out her other podcasts, as they provide fascinating information to help you in your life. Marie wants you to enjoy less worry and more life. She’s a Certified Financial Planner, speaker, author, and hosts the podcast to provide actionable ideas for women. I was honored to have been invited into her world and hope her audience enjoys the interview.
~ Linda-Ann Stewart