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Use Your Decisions to Sculpt Your Life

Use Your Decisions to Sculpt Your Life

Are you living the life you want? There are so many choices that you have to make. But only some of them will lead to decisions that are in alignment with your desires. Learn a mindset shift so those decisions will support your goals. Watch Use Your Decisions to Sculpt Your Life.

Transcript:

Welcome. Are your decisions bringing you the results you want? If not, I’d like to give you a mindset shift on how to make choices that will help you to meet your goals.

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a focus mentor and hypnotherapist. These videos are dedicated to empower you to focus and align your heart with your vision so you can achieve your goals.

If you aren’t living the life you want, it may be because of the choices you’ve made in the past. Now, you make decisions every day, right? Some are made deliberately and you take action to follow through on them. But others are made by default, following the path of least resistance. They could be old patterns from the past or just what’s easiest in the moment.

Those default decisions rarely bring you anything new. You’ll just end up with what you already have. Doesn’t this sound like, “If you always do what you’ve always done, then you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten?” It’s because it’s true. But you can change that.

When you want a different outcome, you have to make a choice based on your goal or vision, right? Something different than what you’ve had. And for a new result, you have to eliminate all but the choices that lead to the outcome you want.

It’s like being the sculptor of your life. When asked how he sculpted his masterpieces, Michelangelo said the finished product was already in the stone. He just chipped away at whatever wasn’t a part of that image. He chipped away whatever was superfluous.

That’s what making a choice is for you. You choose decisions that carve out everything that doesn’t align with your ultimate vision. With the result you want.

Stay focused on making the decisions that actively support your goals and then avoid everything that doesn’t. Be like Michelangelo in pursuit of your result. Make decisions that chip away everything that doesn’t contribute to your vision. And you’ll end up with a masterpiece of your life. Thank you for watching. If you liked this video, please give it a thumbs up. And if you’d like to be notified when I release more videos on mindset, motivation and empowerment, please like my YouTube channel and click on the bell. As always, stay focused.

Read the accompanying article, Decisions Design Your Destiny.

Decisions Design Your Destiny

Decisions Design Your Destiny

by Linda-Ann Stewart

You make decisions every day, such as what to eat, what to wear, what task to do, what to say, and much more. The life you have today is based on the choices you’ve made in the past. You choose what you want, either consciously or unconsciously. Then your choice leads to making a decision, which then results in some sort of outcome. The decisions you make today will create the life you have tomorrow and beyond.

Your decisions channel the energy of the Universe. Have your decisions brought you the results you want? If you don’t like your outcomes, your power lies in being able to make different choices. But what is it that really makes you choose what you do?

What Influences Your Decisions?

There are some basic motivations that compel your decisions. Once you understand what influences your choices, you can adjust them.

Expediency. You quickly make a choice so you can move onto something else.

Past Beliefs. Old ideas unconsciously drive your choices, which may undermine what you consciously want.

Habit. You automatically fall into an old pattern of choice without thinking about it.

Fear. This can prompt you to avoid making a choice, or it can cause you to take action because of the consequences if you don’t.

Desire. You have something you really want, so you choose to go for it.

Goals. You use your goals as a frame for your choices.  

Your Decisions Create Your Life

When you make a choice, you have to abandon other options and possibilities. When you ask for Divine Guidance, the answer often becomes clear. Once you’ve chosen your course of action, follow through on it. And each decision brings consequences, or rewards and positive outcomes.

If your decision hasn’t brought what you want, reassess your original choice. Is it in alignment with your defined goal, vision or your intention? If not, and you were to choose differently, what would your choice be? Make a different decision based on your new choice.

When your decision leads you to what you’d hoped for, then it’s done its work. Each decision, and the action you take concerning it, creates your life. When you make a choice, it sets in motion the power of the Universe. You have the power. Choose your decisions according to the life you want to be living.

Affirmation:

I am divinely guided to make the best decision that brings me my Highest Good. The One Life within me leads and directs my thoughts and choices. I realize that when I make a decision, it sets the power of the Universe in motion. Divine right action takes place in all areas of my life. Only good comes to and through me.   

As a focus mentor, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart motivates women entrepreneurs and small business owners to focus and transform their business through deliberate actions that break through distraction and overwhelm to greater success, wellbeing and prosperity.To boost productivity and reduce overwhelm, register for her FREE guide, Design Your Best Day, at https://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/guide.html

What Are You Choosing?

What Are You Choosing?

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Time for Change Dial

When a smoker comes to see me, many times they tell me they feel controlled by their cigarettes. I remind them that they have the choice whether to smoke or not. Not smoking may result in a brief period of mental/emotional discomfort, but they can say “No” to a cigarette. Their subconscious mind is simply following the direction of what the conscious mind once told it to do. Their decision to smoke seemed appropriate at the time that they first began the habit. The subconscious is still operating on that decision, even though they now want to make a different one. It still is a matter of choice and communicating that choice to the subconscious.

Many times, we make choices that then take on a life of their own. They operate under our mental radar, and we’re not even aware that they’re there. It’s like installing a program on our computer, and having it run in the background. We tend to forget it’s there, even if it begins interfering with the functioning of our computer.

How We Make Decisions

We make decisions based on the best information at the time. As children, we try to fit into a strange world, and learn how to survive there. We take on the attitudes of those who are powerful, such as parents, as a way to gain acceptance, safety and security. When we grow up, we don’t need those same survival strategies, but they continue to function because we haven’t made any attempt to change them.

The automatic programs can be physical ones, such as smoking or overeating to avoid uncomfortable feelings. Or they can be mental/emotional programs of feeling like a victim, having low self-esteem, difficulties with money, or pessimistic thinking. The past choices we’ve made were reasonable at a specific time and place in our lives, but now they’re no longer helping us anymore. Actually, they may be causing us harm. But unless you give the subconscious different instructions, it will continue to operate those old programs, thinking that it’s still what you want.

How We Change Our Choice

One of the first things I do for many of my clients is to make them aware of when their habitual program kicks in. Many of my smoking clients think that they smoke all the time, only to discover that there are only certain times or places that trigger the desire. The same is true of clients who have low self-esteem. They may feel competent doing their job, but as soon as someone criticizes them, they feel worthless. After we discover when the mental program begins to run, we work on retraining the subconscious to think differently.

But first, we have to become consciously aware of the choice. Bringing it out of the shadows, where it’s been operating, and into the light so we can assess it and make a different decision. When we first begin to change the program, the subconscious may rebel by seeming to make the habit more entrenched or causing chaos. It’s just acting on the original instructions of the conscious mind. The subconscious must follow the directions of the conscious mind, and as long as the conscious mind stays focused on the goal, the inner mind will follow.

Be Consistent

Every moment of every day, we’re making choices, whether they’re ones operating automatically or ones we make consciously. If there are areas of your life that aren’t working for your good anymore, then become aware of the reason you made the original choice and make a new one. Figure out what you need to do every time that program begins to run, become aware of it, and then implement the new choice every single time it shows up. You have to make a firm, new choice, and act on it every time, or the subconscious won’t believe the conscious mind is really serious about it.

It’s very simple, but not necessarily easy. There may be some discomfort as you make the changes, just like when you part your hair in a different place. It feels strange at first. But soon your subconscious will recognize your determination, realize that it’s okay to make that change, and will then act on the new instructions. But first you need to be aware of your choices and make a new decision.

Affirmation:

I now choose to become consciously aware of past decisions that I’ve made that are no longer serving a positive purpose in my life. I recognize that they seemed reasonable and appropriate when they were first made, but they are no longer helpful. I now create a new mental program to alert me when the remnant of the old choice starts to operate. As I become aware of it, I now substitute the new choice I’ve made. My subconscious mind now understands that it is safe and better for me in the present to accept the new programming.

As a focus mentor, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart motivates women entrepreneurs and small business owners to focus and transform their business through deliberate actions that break through distraction and overwhelm to greater success, wellbeing and prosperity.To boost productivity and reduce overwhelm, register for her FREE guide, Design Your Best Day, at https://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/guide.html

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Every minute of the day, you’re making choices. Some of them are unconscious, because they were made and programmed into your subconscious years ago. And some of your decisions are unconscious because they’re based on beliefs and attitudes you’ve formulated during your life. Are the choices you’re making for your benefit and encourage your success? If not, they were instituted to help you long ago. Even if you feel that you’re stuck, and can’t move ahead, that’s a choice. Every issue that you have in your life is based on a decision you once made. Once you realize you can change that choice, a world of possibilities opens for you.  If you can choose to eat oatmeal for breakfast, rather than scrambled eggs, you can make the decisions necessary to be a success.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of InsightEverything is a choice. Whether to set the alarm for 6:05am or 6:10am? Will you have a bagel or eggs for breakfast? Which way will you drive to work? You are choosing something every moment of the day. What to think, do and say. It’s always in your power. Even not choosing is a choice. When you have a negative thought, you can make the decision to keep following that path, or you can turn it around and think differently. You have the power to make the choice.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Trending Articles of the Week

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Reframing means that you look at a situation from a different perspective. When you shift the way you think about a situation, it changes your emotions and attitude about it, bringing a sense of relief and lightness. This article includes 4 ways shift your outlook and ease your stress.

What to Do When You Just Can’t Make the Decision
Do you sometimes find it hard to make a decision? It’s tough when there are so many choices and you get confused by them. Learn 5 ways to improve your decision making skills that will help make it easier to make a choice that is best for you.

The Successful Optimist
The language you use makes a difference because when you explain things in a positive way, you’re more likely to get what you wanted. But optimists aren’t born. They develop that way over years and you can learn how to be an optimist. Discover how just making a couple of tweaks to your words and attitude can start changing you from a pessimist to an optimist.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

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Trending Articles of the Week

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Networking is a necessary evil for those who are in public relations, own a small business or others. It can be uncomfortable, frustrating and many times fruitless. This video gives some great tips on how to connect more easily and benefit from these events.

How to Program Your Mind to Kick the Bad Habit
Bad habits not only hold us back, but cause us to lose self-respect. But it’s hard to deal with the pain and discomfort of changing the habit, so we keep doing it. Breaking a bad habit can be done, but you have to prepare and plan for it. This article gives 3 great tips on how to start that process and be successful at it.

Why too much choice is stressing us out
Choice is supposed to be beneficial, so we have freedom and autonomy. But realistically, when we have too many choices, it becomes too hard to decide. And many times, we choose not to choose. And when we do, we’re less satisfied. This affects us in our grocery and clothes shopping, as well as when we use dating sites.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Affirmation:
“The Universe fills my being at all times. It provides me with everything necessary for the complete expression of a life of joy, harmony, health and abundance. I welcome all the good of the Universe.”
Sparks of Insight

Commentary:
The Universe, Infinite or whatever name you use for God is all good. It’s the substance that makes up your life. But it’s like a banquet. You have to reach out, accept, put the food on your plate and eat it. You can’t be force-fed the good of life. When you begin to recognize that you are being provided everything you need, then you’re beginning to accept Life’s bounty.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Your Choice Creates Your Outcome

Your Choice Creates Your Outcome

Step Through Woodsby Linda-Ann Stewart

Cookie assumed she’d always have good health. Most of her life, she’d bounced back quickly from any illnesses and hadn’t had to worry about her weight. Because of her history and that assumption, she didn’t follow any health guidelines. She smoked and didn’t exercise. Taking her health for granted caught up with her when she was in her late 60’s, when her health declined rapidly.

When she discovered she had emphysema, she quit smoking. But for several years, she didn’t do anything else to maximize the health she had. Eventually, she had to use oxygen all the time and things went downhill from there.

A smoker doesn’t choose to have COPD, emphysema or cancer, but the decision to smoke increases the possibility of their dying of a smoking related illness by 50%. The same is true of someone who has poor eating habits and doesn’t exercise. If they’re overweight and eat lots of meat, fat and carbs, they have a good chance of developing heart disease. They don’t consciously choose that outcome, but their behaviors lead them in that direction.

You don’t necessarily experience what you’d want for yourself, but the result of your everyday, habitual choices. If you want to be more productive and successful, studies show that optimism increases this outcome by 31%. But many people cling to pessimism, justifying that it’s more realistic and accurate. Their result is that in the work place they aren’t promoted as much as optimists and their productivity is lower.

Every choice you make has an intended or unintended consequence. Some are beneficial, some are neutral, and some are very destructive. Look at your life, and wherever you have a situation that you don’t like, track it back to a decision you made. If you’re in a bad relationship, you probably chose to “Go along to get along.” Though it seems it would lead to harmony, generally it creates the opposite effect.

You have a choice of what to think about and focus on. What you focus on and think about formulates your actions or inactions. If you act in the same way over and over again, you form habits. And those habits create an outcome, of success or failure, health or illness, good relationships or bad, beneficial self-concept or a destructive one. All of this comes from what you focus on.

The decision about what to pay attention to is under your control. What you focus on comes from your beliefs. Those beliefs were formed over time based on the decisions you made and the ideas you paid attention to earlier in your life. It’s a feedback cycle. You can break that cycle by making a new choice. If Cookie had made a new choice even a few years earlier, she might have avoided or reduced many of her health issues.

Begin to develop habits that serve you and increase your wellbeing. For instance, exercise, choose foods that optimize your health and avoid sugar, excessive carbohydrates and unhealthy fats. Deal with uncomfortable challenges when they arise, before they escalate out of control. Address conflicts and misunderstandings immediately, so they can be resolved quickly. If you have trouble living within your budget, reduce your expenses.

Decide on the result you want, and then aim all your choices towards that outcome. It won’t be an easy road to begin with, because you’re changing life-long habits. Don’t allow yourself to get distracted. That’s simply an outdated behavior that has sabotaged your goals.

You have control over what you experience in your life. It’s in the small and large choices that you make every day. Every one of them has some consequence. Be aware of what they might be, and choose wisely.

Affirmation:
The choices I’ve made have created the life I now have. I now become aware of my choices and decide if they’re giving me the results I want. I’m now guided by the Infinite to make conscious and wise choices that enhance my quality of life. I’m worthy of all the best that the Universe has to offer, and now choose to experience all the good that I deserve.

Copyright 2013, 2016 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Choose What’s Important for You

Choose What’s Important for You

Do you make choices based on what’s important for you, or because someone else wants it for you? If your heart isn’t in it, then you won’t be happy or very successful with the decision you make. You can always change your choice, but you’re the only one who has the right to make it.



~ Linda-Ann Stewart