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Stop Believing Your Excuses

Stop Believing Your Excuses

Are you believing the excuses you’re telling yourself? These are the reasons why you aren’t going after what it is you want or taking an action that will move your forward to your dream. You may think that it’s a valid reason, but generally, it’s not. It’s simply a way to keep you in your comfort zone and from doing something that makes you uncomfortable. Learn how you can stop believing your excuses and start creating ones that support your goals.



Transcript:

Are you believing the excuses you’re telling yourself? These are the reasons why you aren’t going after what it is you want or taking an action that will move you forward to a goal or dream. You may think that it’s a valid reason, but generally, it’s not. It’s simply a way to keep you in your comfort zone and from doing something that makes you uncomfortable.

I’ve been a hypnotherapist for almost 30 years. Clients came to me to create change in their lives. They might want to stop smoking, lose weight, feel better about themselves, or reduce their stress, and they hadn’t been able to do it on their own. And much of those reasons were because the things that they were telling themselves about it. So one of my tasks was to de-hypnotize them of those incorrect/false beliefs. Think about that. And many of those beliefs were wrapped in excuses. I’d like to touch on how you can stop believing your excuses so you can have a freer, happier and more successful life.

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, Heartvision Consulting. I’m a vision strategist and help women entrepreneurs align their heart with their vision. As a hypnotherapist and coach, I’ve helped clients achieve their goals. Now, as a vision strategist coach, I help women entrepreneurs who are stuck, scattered and tired of being run ragged by their business to align their heart with their vision, get clear, focused and accelerate their business to the next level.
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One of the things I do is help them to recognize their excuses and what they’re believing that’s holding them in that self-sabotaging feedback loop. It’s the same type of cycle you get into when you find yourself making excuses why you don’t…. go to the gym, refuse that cookie, make that follow up phone call, finish your project on time, stand up for yourself …. Fill in the blank. Those excuses become self-fulfilling prophecies.

You tell yourself why you can’t do something/aren’t doing it this time. If you keep telling yourself that same idea, it becomes a belief, and then becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Without realizing it, you’re making sure that belief becomes true, which just confirms it for you. That’s the feedback loop you have to de-hypnotize yourself from and break.

For instance, I had a client come in to reduce stress. One of her complaints was that she didn’t have enough time and get everything done in her work. That’s a common enough complaint, isn’t it? Do you have it? There’s so much to do that we just run out of time and energy to get it all done, right? And you can’t do anything about that, right? Time is finite, right? Well… that’s a belief. And believing it means that your actions will make it into a reality. Bear with me.

My client and I worked to deal with some of her issues to reduce stress and this was one of the big ones. I gave her the suggestion that she was able to get twice as much done in half the amount of time. A bit of an exaggeration, but… she found that she got creative. She figured out how to ditch some of the things she really didn’t need to be concerned with and how to streamline others. Within a short time, my client was able to get all her work done with time to spare.

What excuses are you turning into beliefs and making real? What are you preventing yourself from having? The mind is very creative when you give it a goal, whether that idea is good, bad or indifferent. Belief becomes a goal. With my client, we just had to de-hypnotize her of the false belief and then get her mind focused on a new idea so it would figure out how to make it real.

For you to overcome your excuses, you have be become aware of them. Notice what you tell yourself whenever you’re avoiding something, or telling yourself “I can’t.” Those are 2 signs of an excuse coming on. Confront and challenge your excuse. Why do you think it’s true? When might it not be true? What can you do to undo it?

These are all things that I help a client with. But you can do it for yourself. When you de-hypnotize yourself of false beliefs, and start to focus on ones you want to be true, you’ll make them real. It takes some dedication, stay focused, but you can do it.

If you’d like more tips on how to make your day flow more smoothly, download my free guide, Take Control of Your Day.

Thank you for watching. I hope you’ve gotten some encouragement and direction to support yourself in your quest for your goals and dreams.

Read the accompanying article, What Are Your Excuses Telling You?

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What Are Your Excuses Telling You?

What Are Your Excuses Telling You?

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Message_Bubbles-2103156Caroline was a massage therapist who worked in a spa. The spa did all the marketing and scheduled her clients for her, and paid her per client. But Caroline thought she could have more freedom and get more clients on her own. She left the spa, and opened her own office.

But she discovered that she hated the administrative chores the spa had done for her, such as scheduling, paying utilities, and marketing. This caused her to be chronically forgetful. She’d forget to take business cards when networking, pay her bills, or write down appointments, which caused her to miss them. Although her clients knew and liked her, they learned not to trust her and they went elsewhere. Because of her refusal to work on the details of her business, she made less than she had at the spa.

Finally, one of her friends confronted her and said that Caroline’s excuses were clues she was leaving herself. Caroline realized that she really just wanted to give massages. She gave up her business and returned to the spa, where she could let others handle the tasks she despised. She needed the structure the spa gave her. Even though she was giving up control, she was gaining the freedom she’d craved.

Do you chronically defend yourself, to yourself or others about why you didn’t do what you had agreed to do? At your core, you just didn’t want to do whatever it was. Something within you was preventing it. You’re giving yourself a message that you haven’t listened to yet.

When you use excuses, you’re giving the Law of Attraction conflicting information. On one side, you’ve agreed to something, and on the other, you are reluctant to follow through. By not being clear, the Law of Attraction won’t know what you really want. You’ll just idle in neutral until you decide which way you really want to go.

There are times when excuses are valid. For example, if you had a flat tire on the way to work. Or an important phone call delayed your leaving for an appointment. Events that are unexpected and unavoidable are legitimate reasons why you weren’t able to fulfill a promise. But the question to ask yourself is, are your explanations reasonable or are they just trying to get you out of trouble?

The stories you tell yourself are hints as to how motivated you are to achieve your goals, dreams and vision. They may be telling you how you feel about your commitment or your direction. Here are some of the possible messages your excuses are communicating:

Fear. You’re afraid of the next step or where it may take you. Or you’re not confident that you know how to accomplish your task, goal or agreement. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst that could happen?” Generally, when you bring the fear into your awareness, you realize it has little validity. Ask yourself, “What do I need to do to gain that confidence?” It could be something as simple as learning a new skill.

Not the right goal/dream/vision. You could be going in the wrong direction. Or your task, vision or your motivation to achieve it isn’t strong enough. When you find yourself not taking the actions you need to, ask yourself if you’re ambivalent over your goal. If there’s a part of you holding back, you need to address its concerns. Are you really committed to your dream or vision? If not, choose another one or scale back on your current one.

It’s a “should.” You think you “should” want a particular goal. Others have told you that it’s the right one for you. But it doesn’t really resonate with you, or you felt pressured into doing it. This one is especially true when you’ve agreed to do something you really didn’t want to do, such as participate in a charity event. Is it really your priority, or someone else’s? To simplify your life, decline someone else’s objective for you and focus on what you really want

These are just a few of the excuses we make. The only way you’re going to fulfill your goals is if you transcend your excuses. Listen to the message they’re telling you. When you hear it, and change your responses, you’ll be happier and on track to your dream.

Affirmation:
I now become aware of the excuses I make. I realize that they’re giving me powerful messages about what’s holding me back. Since the Universe only wants the best for me, it must be my beliefs and attitudes that are sabotaging me. By understanding the messages I’m giving myself, I’m able to change my beliefs and thus change my responses to support my dreams.

Watch the accompanying video, Stop Believing Your Excuses.

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Why am I not moving forward in life?

Why am I not moving forward in life?

Question about affirmationsQuestion: Why am I not moving forward in life?

Answer: Most of us do have some unconscious resistance to moving forward in some area of our lives. The challenge is to figure out what it is that’s holding us back. Who are you trying to please? What would change if you did move forward, and what would leave your life? What would you  eliminate from your life with the change? They may be things that consciously you want to let go of, but they’re holding on for some purpose.

Consider what those reasons might be, even if they don’t make sense. Many times, once we discover what’s been hanging us up, it doesn’t make much sense to us in the present. Remember that the reason was created a long time ago.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.” – Thomas Jefferson

A person can work like crazy to get ahead, have great ideas, great connections, and great opportunities, but still fail. Usually, it’s due to a negative, self-defeating attitude. Through either early training or hard knocks, they believe that nothing they do is going to succeed. Therefore, it doesn’t. They can’t contradict their expectations. Studies have shown that a person with a positive outlook will go farther and achieve more. An optimistic person seems to not only attract more opportunities, but they seem to know better how to make them pay off. And the good news is that optimists aren’t born, they’re created. With some work, you can have a better mental attitude and become an optimist.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of InsightIn the New Testament, Jesus told a parable about a farmer sowing seeds. Some fell on hard ground and were eaten by the birds. Still others fell on rocky soil and sprouted, but didn’t have enough soil or water to grow, and therefore died. Some fell on ground that was choked with weeds, and were able to begin to grow. But the weeds choked the life out of them. However, some fell on rich, deep soil, sprouted, were watered, and grew into plants that produced many more seeds.

These seeds are like your thoughts. Some fall on ground that is too hard to accept anything new and are eaten by those who wish us to fail. Other thoughts begin to sprout, but there’s not enough positive nourishment to allow them to expand. Still more fall into thought patterns that are choked with negativity and old ideas, and the life is choked out of the ideas. But when you’ve prepared your mind, through actions, positive focusing, and affirmations, the seeds that are sown into that ground find welcome. They are able to germinate, sprout and grow, and bring much more good into your life.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Trending Articles of the Week

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As a hypnotherapist, this article was especially interesting to me. Unfortunately, so many people have misconceptions about this process, including that it doesn’t exist. Now, neuroscientists are taking an interest in and researching it. They’re beginning to understand its mechanisms. This article shows an experiment with one of those mechanisms.

You Are What You Think
Neuroscience tells us to “Be careful what you wish for,” because you may get it. Your brain follows your attention, and will take you where it thinks you want to go. This applies to both positive goals and to negative thoughts. This article gives you 4 steps to creating your perfect world and solving problems using the power of thought.

“You’ve got this!”: How “You Statements” enhance self-regulation
Life is a giant game of self-regulation. If you can manage yourself and your thoughts, then you’ll have a better life. However, it’s not easy to develop and act on these skills. Positive and supportive self-talk are very helpful in sticking to it. Research is showing that giving yourself positive support in the second or third person is much better than just saying, “I.” Learn how your inner dialogue helps you to improve your self-management skills.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

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We all want our brains to work at their best, especially when we’re making a decision or working on a project. But sometimes, we feel like we’re wading through molasses. Scientists have found a quick exercise that can give you a 14 percent gain in cognitive performance. And that could make all the difference.

How To Rewire Your Brain For Happiness
You can literally create new neural pathways that lead to compassion, gratitude, and joy instead of anxiety, fear, and anger. It does require conscious effort, but all change starts with that. If you knew you could experience more positive emotions, wouldn’t you make the effort? This article gives you some direction on how to do that.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Break Your Trance

Break Your Trance

Most people have misconceptions about what hypnosis is and isn’t. What they don’t realize is that they’re using this process in their lives every day, for their benefit or detriment. This is a brief explanation of hypnosis, by a hypnotherapist of 30 years. Join me to learn what it is, how you’ve been using it, and how you can use it to now benefit yourself.





Transcript:

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart. Ok, so I’ve been a hypnotherapist for almost 30 years. But most people have all sorts of misconceptions about hypnosis. They think that someone takes control of their mind and makes them do things they don’t want to do. Not. They don’t realize that it’s a normal, natural process that they access several times every day. And they walk around in a trance that’s impacting their ability to either achieve or sabotage their goals and their vision.

So today, I’d like to give you a very brief explanation of the natural process of hypnosis. I hope that you’ll walk away understanding how you hypnotize yourself every day. And how you can use this natural ability to benefit yourself.

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. Like I said, I’ve been a hypnotherapist for almost 30 years. Clients came to see me to create change in their lives. Over time, I discovered that they had to also have a vision of where they wanted to end up with that change to be truly successful. Now, as a vision strategist, I help women entrepreneurs get a clear vision, get focused on its strategies and get back in control so they’re able to accelerate to the next level of their business.

When people hear that I’m a hypnotherapist, they have various reactions to it, based on their beliefs about hypnosis. Swinging watch. “Look into my eyes, and sleep.” It’s not true. And I can’t tell you how many clients have asked me, “Am I going to walk out of here barking like a dog?” My reply, “Not unless you want to.”

Not their fault. Their beliefs are based on what they’ve seen on TV and in movies. They don’t believe that an ordinary man can really “leap tall buildings in a single bound,” but they believe how writers sensationalize hypnosis because there are already so many misconceptions about it.

What TV and movies depict isn’t hypnosis, it’s Hollywood.

Did you realize you’re in a mild state of self-hypnosis several times every day? When you’re daydreaming, watching a movie, get so involved with a project that the distractions of the world go away, you’re in a light state of self-hypnosis. You’re driving down the road, daydreaming, and miss your turn. Have you ever done that? Should ask, “How many times a day.” We all do. Light state of self-hypnosis.

You walk around in a trance much of the time, not fully aware of what you’re saying (“Hi, how are you”), thinking (“I’m never going to get it all done”), doing (eat that donut without being aware of it, and wonder where the powdered sugar on your fingers came from).

That trance is self-hypnosis, and you’re hypnotizing yourself every day. It isn’t magic, a strange, mystical or other state of mind. Nor is it the “deep sleep” that people normally associate with hypnosis. It’s a natural state that most people drift into and out of many times during the day. Hypnosis is when the rational, analytical part of your mind isn’t as present. Hypnosis is simply a more focused state.

The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis defines hypnosis as a state of inner absorption, concentration and focused attention.

Secret – hypnosis also occurs whenever you’re upset, stressed or worried. Just for a moment, think about what you think about when you’re upset or stressed. Those thoughts become auto-suggestions. Scary, huh?

What most people don’t realize is that the things you say to yourself over and over that you’re only half aware of, are actually being said when you’re in a light state of hypnosis. Things like, “I know this won’t work,” “I don’t have enough time,” or “It can’t fail.” Do any of these sound familiar?

You then act on them as if they were true, whether they were or not. How that works is, suppose you’re afraid that your phone call to a potential customer won’t be welcomed. If you call at all, you’ll be nervous, not make a good impression, and end the call quickly. Your belief would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. All from what you were telling yourself. Has that ever happened to you?

Remember, hypnosis is just focusing the attention. So it all depends on the direction and the beliefs that you’re focusing your attention on. And your attention determines your actions. “Energy flows where attention goes.” Heard of that before? Not airy-fairy. Psych truth.

It’s like driving a car. You’re aware of the traffic, the landscape, your dashboard. But the majority of your attention is on the direction you want to go to your destination. If you’re driving, and you stare off to the side, what’s your automatic response?…. To drift in the direction of you’re looking, isn’t it? The same principle applies to your daily life. Your attention drive your actions. So keep your vision directed towards where you want to be headed and not rear view mirror.

So how can you use this natural process for yourself – other than just focusing on your direction? When you have a goal or a vision, become aware of what you’re telling yourself about it. They’re auto-suggestions. Do you doubt you can make it? Are you afraid of any step along the process? If so, these are the hidden hypnotic suggestions you’ve been giving yourself. Break your trance. Change them with auto-suggestions. You can do this. Even if you don’t believe it right away, repeating new ideas with consistency and persistence will start changing the old ones. The old beliefs were simply ideas that you accepted some time in the past.

When you change your beliefs, your emotions and responses change. You’ve already been using the process of hypnosis every day, by what you’ve been focusing on. I hope you start using the natural process of hypnosis to create what it is that you want.

If you want tips to you increase your productivity and accelerate your success, download my free guide Take Control of Your Day. It will also give you information on a process I used with my clients that helped them achieve their goals and vision.

Thank you for watching. I hope you’ve learned how to use this process for your benefit and use it to improve your life.

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Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of InsightWhat would you be doing if success were inevitable? How would you be leading your life? What would change? Consider what thoughts you’d be thinking, actions you’d be taking, and ways you’d be acting if your dreams were assured. I don’t mean that you should go out and buy a Mercedes if your current income is at the Honda Civic level, but how would you feel about your car? Before there can be a significant improvement in your life, you have to act and think the part first.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

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We tend to think that what we see in our world is reality. But we’re seeing it “through a glass, darkly.” Our thoughts and beliefs filter reality, and it’s corrupted data. To be more successful, we need to question our thoughts and not believe everything we think. Here are 3 ways to start doing just that.

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It has long been believed that smartphones are actually making us dumber; but now there is evidence for it. Researchers have found that having them in our field of vision makes us less able to remember information. This was true even when the phones were switched off. However, the further away the phone was, as in another room, the better cognition was. If you value your intellect, this article will make you think twice about being dependent on your smart phone.

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Debilitating self-doubt affects the successful and struggling alike. Success and achievement is no guarantee that people will feel confident and and fulfilled. It seems that there are three key afflictions hold people back from experiencing deeper fulfillment. Here are some remedies for the fear of being “found out.”

~ Linda-Ann Stewart