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How to Master Problem Solving

How to Master Problem Solving

by Linda-Ann Stewart

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Have you ever tried to remember someone’s name, but it just wasn’t happening? You could probably remember specific details about them, like where you saw them last, what you talked about, even their favorite color. But their name eluded you?

If you’re like most people, when you let go of trying, voila! That person’s name popped into your mind, while you were driving, washing dishes or talking with someone else. This has happened to me more times than I can count. If you’d kept picking at it, it would have taken a lot longer, if ever, to remember the name.

That’s the way your creative mind works in solving problems, whether it’s for a person’s name, an artistic  project, or trying to find an answer to a difficult issue. When you have a challenge, both your conscious and subconscious minds have specific roles to play. To be successful in this endeavor, you have to let them do their separate jobs, or they get in each others way.

The Roles of Your Conscious and Subconscious Minds Explained

Your conscious mind’s purpose is to focus on the problem. Your analytical mind identifies and defines what’s wrong, and then gathers all the information it can about the challenge and any potential solution. Once your conscious mind has done its job, it’s time for your subconscious mind to go to work.

Directed by your intention to find a solution, your subconscious then accesses all the information your conscious mind has gathered. Your creative mind combines that data with everything else it has gathered over the years. It processes all the information, and brings it together in a new way to solve the puzzle.

The Universe has the answer to every challenge, and has your best interest in mind. When you ask for guidance from the Universe, It delivers the direction  through your subconscious mind.

The Secret to Problem Solving

But there’s a secret that activates your subconscious mind to locate a solution. You have to deliberately let go of thinking about the problem. As long as your conscious mind is really focused and concerned about the issue, your subconscious mind can’t work on it. This is because all the energy is going to and through your conscious mind. When you shift your attention to something else, your subconscious has the space to reflect, sort out and construct. Your subconscious can open to receive the guidance from the Universe.

To allow your subconscious mind to discover the answer, set aside the problem. This is counter-intuitive, but you have to let it go. Go do something else. For your subconscious to develop a solution, you have to let your mind rest from obsessing about the problem. Take the pressure off. Go for a walk, do the dishes, let your mind wander. Especially, set aside your smartphone, stay off social media, and don’t watch TV. Give your mind space to meander and breathe. Your mind has to be quiet to hear that “still, small voice” from the Universe.

Next Steps

If, after awhile, you don’t have an answer, go back and focus on the problem, and assess it further. You may notice new information. Then, let go of the matter again. This nudges your subconscious mind back into action. Repeat until an idea surfaces that might work.

Don’t accept your idea as the best one quite yet. It may need to be refined. Try the idea out to see if the answer will fill your requirements. If it’s still not entirely right, focus on the problem again for a bit, then go do something else.

The Method

This is the method.

  1. Engage your conscious mind to examine the challenge.
  2. Go do something that frees your mind.
  3. Release the concern so your subconscious can deal with it.
  4. Assess your insight.
  5. Repeat this process until you find the solution that satisfies you.

I’ve used this technique with clients, and myself, for many issues. One time, I’d lost my hiking hat. I knew it was in the house, and went through drawers, closets, and bags. Finally, I let go wondering about the hat, and instructed my subconscious to inspire me with a new place to look. Not long after, I thought about going through the backpack I’d already searched four times. But I hadn’t looked in the outer pocket, which is where I found the hat.

The more you’re able to practice this method, the faster your results will be. The process is to focus on the problem, relax, release, assess, rinse and repeat. When you trust the natural function of your mind, you’ll cultivate your “aha!” moment more quickly and easily.

Affirmation:

The Universe guides and directs me in all my ways. It knows the answer to every problem. When I have a challenge, I listen for the still, small voice to give me insight and inspiration. I trust the roles of my conscious and subconscious minds. I know that I am led to the best solution that is for my Highest Good.

Watch the accompanying video, To Solve a Problem, Sleep on It and Guided Meditation for Problem Solving.

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 Linda-AnnStewart.com/guide.html

To Solve a Problem, Sleep on It

To Solve a Problem, Sleep on It

Sleep is a precious resource to regenerate you physically and mentally. But it’s also a natural way that helps you solve all sorts of problems. Learn how to utilize this natural process to find answers and achieve your goals. Watch To Solve a Problem, Sleep on It.

Transcript:

Welcome. I’d like to talk to you about a natural way you can use to solve all sorts of problems you might have. It’s a way that boosts your creativity and insights, and a process you experience every day. Or, at least I hope you do. That process is sleep. And I’d like to share how to use this tried and true method to deliberately solve a problem.

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

Research shows that a person with a problem who “sleeps on it” will be twice as likely to awaken with insights and solutions than someone who stays awake to think and worry about it. You can train yourself to find solutions by letting your subconscious mind work on the problem as you sleep.

To use this technique, before you go to sleep, think about your problem. Then, let it go, saying something like, “I’ll have the answer to it in the morning.” In the morning, before you check your phone or do anything else, write down any insights or ideas you might have. If nothing comes immediately, don’t worry, an answer may surface during the day. If it doesn’t, rinse and repeat the technique that night.

Thomas Edison said, “Never go to sleep without a request to your subconscious.” In addition to solutions to problems, you can use this process for ideas on achieving your goals, creative breakthroughs, increasing your clarity or other issues. Utilize your natural ability for inspiration and to improve 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 channel and click on the bell. As always, stay focused.

Read the accompanying article, How to Master Problem Solving.

It’s Safe to Relax

It’s Safe to Relax

by Linda-Ann Stewart

As I was guiding a client into self-hypnosis using a relaxation technique, I noticed her shoulders becoming more and more tense. I suggested “It’s safe to relax,” and her shoulders dropped. She successfully went into self-hypnosis and we continued with her session. At the conclusion, she opened her eyes and said, “I couldn’t relax until you told me it was safe to do so.”

Are You Afraid to Relax?

I’ve heard this same thing from numerous clients. Many people have a fear of letting go and relaxing for a variety of reasons. Some of them have come from dysfunctional homes, and have learned to be hypervigilant in order to survive. Others have been through a long period of crises that have emotionally hit them over and over, until they, too, are hypervigilant. People with either of these issues often fear that something awful will happen if they let down their guard.

Sometimes anxieties or fears will begin to surface as a person starts the relaxation process. These are feelings that they’ve been able to keep suppressed and are now rising to the surface because their conscious control of them has loosened. Or a person could simply become apprehensive because relaxing is so unfamiliar that they feel uncomfortable doing it.

Tension Depletes You

Stress, tension or a sense of pressure signals the brain to keep the mind and body on alert, prepared for physical danger. Waiting for the other shoe to drop, or the next crisis, damages the body in subtle ways. The medical profession believes that stress causes or worsens  over 90% of illnesses. It’s like water dripping through a hole in a glass. Eventually, the glass will empty completely. Stress and tension actually wear away body systems, until they are depleted.

Being able to relax is essential to a person’s well-being, both physical and emotional. Relaxation allows the body to heal in a natural fashion, like replenishing the water in the glass. The body then has a reservoir of energy to draw from and preserve health.

Relaxation Replenishes You

Relaxation is the way we tell the brain that we’re safe, that all is well. For those who’ve existed in a dangerous environment, feeling safe is a new concept. I remind them that if there’s going to be a crisis, it’s going to happen whether they’re tense or relaxed. Relaxation not only gives the mind a feeling of safety, it provides it with more resources, reserves, and resiliency to handle the challenges of life.

Where a small setback, like being late to work, might have been all that was needed for a mental meltdown, the more relaxed person can keep the situation in perspective. Creativity and problem solving are also enhanced, as is mental flexibility. A person can be more productive and efficient, because their mental resources aren’t diverted to keeping them alert for a danger which may no longer exist. 

Relearn to Relax

In our fast-paced world, we have a habit of  being tense. Although relaxation is a natural process, it needs to be relearned. I tell my clients that they’re entering a period of training. They’re re-educating their bodies and minds to let go of tension and return to their natural state of relaxation. As they practice, they feel better mentally, emotionally, and physically. They quickly find that the rewards of relearning to relax are powerful and tangible.

Affirmation:

It’s safe to let go and relax. I’m safe now. I drop my shoulders, and release the tension in every part of my body. By relaxing, I’m allowing healing energy to fill my mind, body and spirit. In doing so, I have more resources and resiliency to deal with the challenges of my life. I trust that all is well, and Divine Right Action takes place for the Highest Good of all concerned.

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

Why Is Focus Important for Success?

Why Is Focus Important for Success?

Ingafay Faison Cavitt and I met at a virtual networking event. She introduced herself as a Confidence Coach for Women. Since that was one of my specialties in my hypnotherapy practice, we scheduled a video call to get to know one another better. She works with women in direct sales to become the person they were destined to be. At the end of our conversation, she decided that my approach as a focus coach would work well on her podcast.

Being able to focus is vital to being successful in business, so that’s the approach we decided to take. I shared my story of  how, when I focused on one item at a time on a long to-do list, I was finally able to complete items in a short period. Ingafay agreed that doing one thing at a time is more productive.

We discussed how getting distracted can feel rewarding, but you don’t get much done. And it can cause you to seek out more distractions. Oddly enough, one hour of focused time is equivalent to many more hours of distracted time.

I shared 4 steps that anyone can use to develop the skill of focus. One of those steps was to take breaks after a period of concentration to give the mind time to recover. Ingafay asked if a break could be like doing household chores and I said, “Yes.”

At the end of the podcast, she asked me about something I’d mentioned  when we’d had our first conversation. She asked, “Can you talk again about introverts and extroverts?” I explained that introverts and extroverts need different types of stimulation to focus for productivity. Extroverts work best around other people and introverts work best alone. I shared how a friend had tried me to work her way, and I couldn’t. I really enjoyed talking with Ingafay and wished we had more time. We both have the mission to lift women up, support and empower them to have better lives. Women have the power to fulfill their dreams.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How to Stay Mindfully Focused

How to Stay Mindfully Focused

It’s hard to stay focused and not get distracted in our frantic, fast-paced lives. But focus is the best way to achieve your goals and be productive. Focus is one of the most important skills a person can develop. Learn a simple technique to learn how to be more focused and get more done, more easily.

Transcript:

Thank you for joining me. In our frantic day-to-day lives, it’s hard to stay focused, isn’t it? We’re pulled in so many different directions. But being able to focus on a task or project is the way to get it done and done well. I’d like to share a simple technique for you to be able to hone your attention, to be more single-minded, and get more done, more easily. Wouldn’t that be great?

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. The technique I’m going to share with you combines a couple of tactics. One is deep breathing, and the other is self-talk. Either of which is good to help calm you down and get focused. But together, they are an unbeatable combination.

Using this technique allows you to pay attention to what you want to pay attention to, to what’s important and not what’s trying to distract you. When you take care of what’s important first, you can deal with other things later.

When you want to focus on a task, first take three long, slow, deep breaths. This calms your brain and nervous system so you can focus. It also allows you to take a mental step back to make a decision on what to do next. Rather than being pushed by events, you can make a choice of what to do next. It’s the difference between reacting and responding. When you respond, you’re reclaiming your power over your actions. 

Next, engage in talking to yourself to keep yourself focused. Just saying things like, “Focus” or “concentrate” or “stick with it,” will rein in your thoughts to stay on task. You could also talk to yourself as if you’re a third person, like, “Linda-Ann, continue working on this for the next half-hour.” When you say your name, it catches your attention, doesn’t it? And you’re more likely to follow your own directions.

When you stay mindfully focused you’ll find yourself being more productive and efficient, while increasing your peace of mind. As a side benefit, you’ll also be training yourself to be more focused, so the more you practice, the better at it you’ll become. You’ll be developing a vital skill that you can use for the rest of your life, in all areas of your life.

If you’d to achieve a 90-day goal more easily, download my free comprehensive Strategic Vision guide at www.SetYourCourseGuide.com. You’ll receive the guide, as well as a training video that walks you through it with tips and directions to support you in you in accomplishing your goal.

Thank you for watching. How can you use this technique of deep breathing and self-talk today? Take care.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart