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Trending Articles of the Week

Trending Articles of the Week

Flagstaff Aspen Rainbow5 affirmations that have the power to transform your life
The statements you tell yourself affect your feelings, beliefs and behaviors. Here are 5 positive statements, with a brief commentary, that can help you create a happier, healthier life. They are declarations of intention to keep you focused on what’s important.

Nine steps to work-place happiness
The biggest obstacle to happiness at work is your belief that you’re the prisoner of circumstance.
And your beliefs create your experience. Here are 9 steps that can help you keep your perspective, take control of your thoughts and have a happier, more harmonious life.

For Happiness, Keep a Gratitude Journal
Keeping a gratitude journal has been studied extensively at UC Davis Emmons Lab. They’ve found that those who keep them experience a host of benefits, from better health and well being to feeling more connected to others. This is one person’s journey with keeping one, and transitioning from a pessimist to a more optimistic person.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How Your Mindset Affects Your Actions

How Your Mindset Affects Your Actions

Is your mindset or taking action more important? Without the right mindset, one that’s in alignment with your vision, your actions won’t be successful. All the right strategies in the world won’t make up for a mindset that doesn’t believe your goal is possible. Learn 3 concepts that hold you back and what to do about them.



~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Trending Articles of the Week

Trending Articles of the Week

Flagstaff Aspen RainbowA Mindful Minute: How to Observe a Train of Anxious Thoughts
We all have negative self-talk that spirals into bad feelings that can then affect our behavior. This article has a great illustration to help teach children how to recognize and let go of their anxious thoughts. Although it’s created for children, it’s a great analogy for adults to learn how to do it, too.

How Happiness Influences Our Health, In One Chart
Happiness may be one of the best medicines when it comes to our physical health. Research suggests people who have an exuberant attitude also have a lower heart rate and lower levels of stress. Here’s a chart that shows the benefits of happiness and optimism.

8 Ways to be a Happier you
Abraham Lincoln said, “Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” Your thoughts are a choice. This article suggests some easy ways to become a happier person. Most of them have been verified with research.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Brian Tracy – Change Your Life with the Power of Positive Thinking

Brian Tracy – Change Your Life with the Power of Positive Thinking

Speaker, author and success expert, Brian Tracy, explains how optimists cultivate their positive attitude. He describes some of their characteristics that make them that way. When you do the same things that optimistic people do, you’ll become one of these people. Model them and you’ll develop the same qualities.




For steps on how you can start today on setting new goals, click here to download his FREE GOALS REPORT.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Let Your Light Shine

Let Your Light Shine

by Linda-Ann StewartSun Rays

As a child, I learned to avoid calling attention to myself. Whenever I excelled at anything positive, friends, classmates and some adults criticized and condemned me. Achievement meant being a target with no protection. Therefore, I tried to fit into the crowd and become invisible. I hid my talents, intelligence and abilities to avoid being hurt.

Growing up, I noticed that some people craved attention so much that they’d sacrifice everything for it. And then there were those who want the world to revolve around them. Everything was about them and they stole the credit from those who deserved it. I began to associate being noticed to these types of people and I didn’t want to be like them. Over and over again, I heard the same thing from clients and people I knew. Being visible was threatening and distasteful, and it was safer to hide in the shadows.

Many of them seek work in the background, where they’re the most comfortable. They feel their mission is to support others. Unfortunately, they’re uncomfortable to even receive compliments or acknowledgement. But to succeed, advance, or fulfill their purpose, they have to be able receive recognition, and that’s incredibly unpleasant for them.

A few years ago, I was amazed to discover that some people considered being the center of attention a good thing and something to pursue. I finally realized that there are some people who enjoy being in the limelight, who do so to help others. At last, I understood that if we want to be of service, in any way, we have to let others know what we have to offer.

In “Do What You Love, The Money Will Follow,” Marsha Sinetar says that creative and gifted people tend to shun attention. They do so to avoid being rejected, criticized, and having to deal with the hostility and jealousy of others. But in so doing, they can’t live up to their potential. The seek comfort and safety, preferring to be unfulfilled rather than deal with the challenge and distress that visibility brings.

An artist friend of mine has said that if she doesn’t paint and show it to the world, then she’s not honoring the gift that God gave her. This is true of us all. When we don’t use our God-given talents and abilities, and reveal them, then we’re not fulfilling our purpose. They were bestowed on us for a reason, to share with others. If we don’t express them, then we’re not living up to our potential. And if we don’t let others know what we have to offer, even when we work in supportive positions, then we’re trying to avoid our responsibility to ourselves and the Universe.

The true role of advertising and marketing is to let people know what’s available. If a person doesn’t know a solution exists to solve their problem, then it remains forever unsolved. Being visible and allowing people to know our capabilities isn’t bragging, but informing. We’re performing a service by letting others know. Some people won’t need what we offer, some won’t like it, but others will honor and value it. And it will meet their needs.

It still can be scary to be visible, but we have resources and knowledge as adults that we didn’t have when we first learned to hide. When someone is jealous, it’s helpful to realize that it’s their issue, and not about us. We shouldn’t try to “hide our light under a bushel,” but to let it shine into the world so that people see what we can offer and be an answer to their prayers. Only then will we begin to live up to our potential, be successful and experience a sense of fulfillment.

Affirmation

I have gifts that were bestowed upon me by the Universe, and it is my responsibility to express and share them. When others criticize, are jealous or hostile, it’s their issue, not mine. By expressing my talents and abilities, and allowing others to know about them, I’m fulfilling my potential. It’s now safe for me to be visible. I now gratefully accept compliments, acknowledgement and recognition. I let my light shine into the world.

Copyright 2007, 2015 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Does working on a goal interfere with affirming it?

Does working on a goal interfere with affirming it?

Question: When affirming the fulfillment of a goal, such as finding a job, doesn’t it interfere with the process of the Road to Successsubconscious to keep seeking it, such as networking, looking at ads, etc.?

Answer: This is a very good question. As a person is learning about how the subconscious works, it’s sometimes difficult to know just what to do. The object is to focus on your goal, such as finding the perfect job, but not to concern yourself as to which one or how you’ll find it.

Then you go about the action necessary to find a job. This sends forth energy into the world and lets your subconscious know that you’re serious about finding one. You may not locate your job from any of the avenues you’ve pursued, but the subconscious has been working behind the scenes, and you may bump into someone, or have someone contact you.

By thinking on this over and over, and keeping your mind focused on the goal, and working towards it, this helps the subconscious know what you want and that you truly want it. And by not trying to figure out “how” it will happen, this keeps you out of the subconscious mind’s way.

So many times, a person might say “I want a new job,” but do nothing to that end. The subconscious then figures that is just a fleeting wish. The dominant idea that a person has is what will manifest. In this case, the person might wish for a new job, but not want to put out any effort to find one. The dominant idea is to take the easy way out and stay where they are.

Copyright 2006, 2015 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Overcome The Falsehood Of Fear

Overcome The Falsehood Of Fear

by Linda-Ann Stewart Grand Canyon Rim Trail

Many years ago, I decided to overcome my fear of acting. Instead of diving in, I attended an audition for a play at the local community theater to familiarize myself with the process. This lowered my anxiety threshold, and I made plans to ease into auditioning for a play a few months later.

The Universe had other ideas. The director insisted I audition for that play and gave me a supporting role in it. Within weeks of committing myself to overcoming my fear of acting in front of an audience, I was officially a thespian.

The only thing that had prevented me from doing this before was my fear. I was afraid I’d forget my lines or my blocking, and panic if something unexpected happened. None of those fears were based on reality. They were simply excuses to keep me from fulfilling a goal.

As a survival instinct, fear’s mission is to give you the energy to fight or flee from a physical danger. But the mind doesn’t distinguish between a real or imagined, physical or emotional threat. It reacts to the image in your mind. Whether the image comes from your eyes or your imagination doesn’t matter. Your mind acts on it in the same way. Only when the hazard is real is the instinct a positive response.

Most of what you fear is a lie. Unless it’s acting as a survival instinct against physical injury, fear is an emotion that’s based on your beliefs. The emotion is an attempt by older thought patterns to keep you safe. Those thoughts were developed in an environment that no longer exists. If you didn’t have those beliefs, you wouldn’t feel fear.

Those patterns were designed specifically to convince you that you couldn’t survive if the worst happened. Fear of rejection, disapproval, failure, disappointment, responsibility, and success are just a few reasons why this emotion keeps you stuck. What you tell yourself about a situation becomes an autosuggestion that reinforces the feeling. This makes you think it has more validity than it actually does and strengthens its grip on you.

As a child, you were taught to cross the street by looking both ways to make sure there weren’t any cars coming. That’s normal caution. You check to see if there’s danger coming, and if there isn’t, you move ahead. But you could continue to look both ways forever and never commit to crossing the road. In this case, you’d be stuck in paralyzing fear.

The autosuggestion that created your belief is mutable. You created it and you can change it. Changing the belief changes the emotion. For instance, you can realize that you now have experience, knowledge and resources you didn’t have when the old thought patterns were created.

If you ask for a raise and get turned down, you’ll be disappointed. But you won’t be devastated as you might have been as a child when something similar happened. Speaking up for yourself and getting belittled is upsetting, but it doesn’t have to destroy you anymore. You can even find help from people and places if need be.

When you take a deep breath and forge ahead, the Universe comes in to support and guide you. Opportunities, contacts, resources, knowledge and anything else you need ambles into your path. Your energy is directed towards your goal, instead of toward playing it safe and staying put.

When fear comes up in your life, assess it to see if it’s realistic or valid. If not, remind yourself that it’s a lie, trying to fool you to believing there’s danger where none exists. Once you’ve established that it’s safe to move forward, fear is no longer helpful. Commit yourself to your vision and dedicate yourself to moving forward. Fear begins to dissipate when you prove to yourself that its message is false.

After that first play, I acted in three more. I remembered my lines, blocking, choreography and easily handled unexpected situations that arose onstage. It was a magnificent time in my life. I enjoyed it, grew from it, and became a different person because of it. When you stop letting fear rule your actions, your life will change. Not only will it be richer and freer, but also you’ll be more satisfied and fulfilled.

Affirmation

Fear is a false idea that simply comes from my old beliefs. Beliefs that my mind has created, my mind can also change. I remind myself that fears are simply to caution me. The Universe protects and guides me in the right direction. Whatever I need to fulfill my goal appears, as I need it. As I commit myself to moving forward, the next step unfolds for a richer and fuller life.

Copyright 2012, 2015 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Are Your Expectations Realistic?

Are Your Expectations Realistic?

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Many years ago, Julie came to me to use hypnotherapy for weight loss. As we talked about what she wanted, I discovered Step Through Woodsthat she had unrealistic expectations about what hypnosis could do for her. She didn’t want to reduce the amount or kind of food she ate, or exercise. Instead, she expected hypnosis to magically speed up her metabolism so she could continue to eat the way she always had and still lose weight.

She went on to explain that she just wanted to eat normal portions. When I asked what she considered those to be, she said, “What you get in a restaurant.” Since restaurants serve hearty portions that would put weight on almost anyone, it was unrealistic that she’d be able to reduce weight if she continued to eat that way.

Are your goals realistic or are they fantasies that could only have a one in ten million chance of coming true? For instance, are you hoping you can dig yourself out of debt by winning the lottery? It happens occasionally, but it’s highly unlikely to happen to you.

Or do you want to attract customers without doing any marketing? Marketing enables your product or service to be visible and lets customers know what you offer. If they don’t know about you, they can’t become customers and you never make sales.

Do you expect people to treat you with respect when you don’t treat yourself that way? Life tends to treat us the way we treat ourselves. When you don’t value yourself, then others are going to take that as a cue to take advantage of you.

Would you expect to play piano without training or rehearsal? Or be a basketball superstar without practice? Except in rare savant or genius instances, you need to cultivate a talent, skill or ability. It doesn’t happen in a week or a month, but over time.

When you have a goal, first you need to decide how realistic it is. If you don’t honestly believe it’s credible, then your subconscious mind will ignore it. Your inner mind follows the lead of your conscious mind. Unless you actually believe you can reach your goal, then your subconscious won’t waste its energy on it.

The next thing you need to do is to commit yourself to whatever it takes to accomplish your desire. This level of intention gets the attention and cooperation of your subconscious mind. It realizes that you wouldn’t be this focused if you didn’t mean it.

Then, break your goal down into small steps. Make sure each one is believable and achievable. Divide it into even smaller components if you don’t think a step can be easily accomplished.

If you’re a couch potato, it’s within reason to conceive of walking five minutes a day and then increase the amount a little bit each week. But if you’d decided to go from the couch to training for a marathon, that would be overwhelming and you’d probably give up.

In the last stage, you dedicate yourself to take a step each day that helps you move in the direction of your goal. Again, taking action convinces the subconscious that you really do want your desire. This helps to dissolve any inner conflicts you may have.

When Julie discovered that she’d have to change her behaviors to reach her goal of weight reduction, she decided not to continue with hypnotherapy. She wasn’t dedicated enough to achieve her goal.

As they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” A building needs plans, a foundation, walls, roof, wiring, plumbing, and so forth. Without any of these, the structure is unlivable and may collapse. And, in general, plans need to be done in a specific order. The same is true of any change you want in your life. You’ll need to work on it, realistic brick by brick, until you have the structure you want.

Affirmation

I now assess my desire to realize whether it’s realistic or not. If it’s not, I establish reasonable goals that I know I can accomplish. When I can believe that I can achieve a goal, then I can put my whole being towards creating it. Blocks and barriers fall as I take small steps each day towards my goal. The whole Universe supports me with everything I need to attain my goal as I commit myself to it.

Copyright 2011, 2014 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Joe Vitale: Understanding the “What if UP Method”

Joe Vitale: Understanding the “What if UP Method”

Author Joe Vitale explains how you can use a typical question to open your mind to greater possibilities. Using this technique, you can begin rewiring your brain to be more positive. When you’re more positive, you attract and notice more opportunities around you. It’s a proven method that can help you create a better life for yourself.



~ Linda-Ann Stewart