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Be True To Yourself, Part 1

Be True To Yourself, Part 1

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Shakespeare said, “This above all: to thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” When you are true to yourself, you follow certain values that you live your life by.

A moral is “You must be honest,” and are generally dictated by culture, society or religion. But when you’re working on your income tax return, you might feel that you’re entitled to keep the money that you’ve earned. In this case, your value would be that any way to elude the regulations is ok, so that you keep what you believe is rightfully yours. Values are core beliefs that you have accepted or created and they direct your actions and decisions.

Values are also attitudes and behaviors that you’ve consciously decided are important to you. They motivate you to act in constructive ways. They might have been inspired by others, but they are ideas that you have chosen to live by. What they aren’t are ideas that have been imposed on you or you think you should have.

For instance, if you enjoy being an omnivore (eating meat and vegetables), and your friends pressure you into being a vegetarian, that’s not a value that you’ve chosen for yourself. And you’ll probably eventually return to what resonates with you. Some values are created by fear, such as, “Don’t rock the boat,” or “Be invisible.” These are constrictive and don’t allow you to expand into your potential.

A positive core value would be one such as honesty, independence, empathy, order, personal power, risk taking, family time and similar concepts. When you uphold your values and live accordingly, you feel fulfilled and authentic. However, when you aren’t true to yourself, or violate your individual values, you feel anxious and out of sorts. You probably feel guilty because you’ve violated what you cherish.

For instance, if you value honesty, you can’t shoplift or steal from another. For Anabel, honesty was a core value. As a teenager, she accidentally walked out of a store with a candy bar. In a store across the mall, she realized what she’d done. She went directly back to the original store, explained what had happened and paid for it. Rather than taking the easy way out and just keeping the candy, she took action on what she valued. If she hadn’t, she would have violated what she held dear.

Copyright 2013 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

The Spiritual Blame Game

The Spiritual Blame Game

Over the years, I’ve been distressed when a person who has had a trauma, whether physical, financial or health, had their “well meaning” spiritual friends ask, “Why did you attract this?” Unfortunately, this question rarely helps, and just gets in the way of that person healing. They’re already reeling from the crisis, and probably asking themselves that same question.

That comment is simply a new way of blaming the difficulty on the wounded. It used to be that a woman who was raped was held responsible for dressing provocatively or “asking for it.” Now we know that the rapist is simply trying to exert control over another person. The woman was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and happened to somehow trigger the rapist’s fantasy.

When a challenge happens, so much more is going on than anyone knows. Many health issues are triggered or made worse by stress. And there are a lot of stressful occurrences that have happened in our world. Believing that we control all the factors that go into our lives is a simplistic attitude.

No one is perfect, so there’s plenty in our consciousness that could contribute to a cluster of events that result in problems. Jesus said, “He who is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” The same sentiment is true for those who have suffered setbacks. Rather than asking, “What was in your consciousness that attracted this,” a better response would be, “What can you learn from this.”

We don’t have control over the economy or other people. We have control over our response to what happens to us. By accepting what has happened, rather than trying to analyzing why it did, we free up resources to move forward. Instead of resisting the situation, ask how we can take the challenge and derive something beneficial from it. This is a much more kind, healing and empowering way to approach the situation.

Why have I been blocked from manifesting a change in my career?

Why have I been blocked from manifesting a change in my career?

Question: Why have I been blocked from manifesting a change in my career?

Answer: If you’re having trouble manifesting your chosen career, I’d suggest examining what your beliefs about it are. You may feel that it’s going to be difficult to make it, you could have a core belief that you have to struggle, or you may have had a life where you tried to please people and fear their envy if you’re successful. Begin by meditating on what you feel is blocking it. You can also affirm that “The truth of this situation is now revealed to me.”

In manifesting what you want, you need to let your subconscious mind know what you want, and trust that it will manifest it in due time. You can affirm that you may not know what to do next, but your subconscious mind knows and now brings to you whatever you need. Follow any leads, any ideas that might come to you. Realize that the result may not come directly from what actions you take, but the actions are creating a ripple effect, and the fulfillment may come from an unknown direction.

Copyright 2004, 2013 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Practice For Success

Practice For Success

To succeed, you have to break old habit patterns and establish new ones. As you change your mental attitude toward your goal, you’re left with an empty shell of the old one. By succeeding on each small step towards your goal, you create a habit of success.


Attitude Makes All The Difference – By the Amazing Zig Ziglar

Attitude Makes All The Difference – By the Amazing Zig Ziglar

The amazing motivational speaker and thought leader, Zig Ziglar, passed away this week at 86 years of age. He taught millions about the fundamentals of sales, success and how attitude makes all the difference. He didn’t even begin his career as a motivational speaker until he was in his 40’s.

As a speaker, he encouraged others to believe in themselves. Ziglar emphasized that a positive attitude must be followed up by action before success could be achieved. To listen to his inspiring podcasts, visit http://zigziglar.libsyn.com/

In this video, he tells the story of a woman who complained about her job, changed her attitude about it, and changed her life.


Change Takes Time

Change Takes Time

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.


Copyright 2012 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

The Winding Path Of Change, Part 2

The Winding Path Of Change, Part 2

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.

Copyright 2012 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Are You A Good Gatekeeper For Your Mind?

Are You A Good Gatekeeper For Your Mind?

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.


Copyright 2012 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Make The Effort To Change, Part 2

Make The Effort To Change, Part 2

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.

Copyright 2012 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved