empowerment – Page 25 – Empowering Your Mind

5 Steps to Create a Greater Self-Image

June 6, 2019 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Do you identify yourself as a procrastinator, leader or optimist? How you view yourself is a component of your self-image and it affects your decisions and actions. Without being aware of it, you’ll be congruent with how you characterize yourself. For instance, if you consider yourself to be a procrastinator, then your actions will support that belief. It will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

But your self-image isn’t set in stone. It can be changed. When it changes, then your actions and decisions change to agree with your new one. To achieve your goals and vision, personally or professionally, your self-image will have to shift. It will have to be in alignment with the person you need to be to accomplish your vision.

For instance, a procrastinator will not be tapped to be a manager, because they won’t have the necessary quality of being proactive. But if you start viewing yourself as proactive, and choosing those actions, you’ll be management material. You’re not lying to yourself in this new view; you’re choosing to behave in a new way.

Improve Your Self-Image

One way to expand your self-image is to imagine your ideal self. This is your vision of who you are in the future, the person you want to be. This is the same concept as having a vision for other parts of your life or your business. With your ideal self, you have a vision of the future you, so you can create strategies to achieve this goal.

This is the person you must be working towards before you can bring your greater vision for your life into being. You may have these ideal characteristics in some measure, but won’t have fully expressed them at this time. They’re qualities you’re aspiring to embody and are still striving to bring into reality. And your choice of traits may change over time.

Here are five steps to help you create the new, ideal you.

1. Select three to five words you want to use to describe yourself. They need to be reasonable and possible for you. These words are different from your values, but may have values inherent in them or made up of them. They’re concepts that reflect the way the Universe views you. And the ideas probably suggest traits of your most authentic self.

For instance, you could want to be:

Compassionate, imaginative, and motivated
Confident, proactive, and determined
Resourceful, trustworthy, and self-disciplined
Spiritual, present, and empathetic

2. Ascertain the qualities you need to develop for your words to be true. These will include attitudes, beliefs, habits, and skills that are cultivated and amplified as you work on your overall vision for yourself. What do you need to develop to fully bring these attributes into reality?

For instance, to be self-disciplined, you need to follow through on the decisions and promises you’ve made, even when they’re inconvenient. To be proactive, you take action to bring about specific results, addressing issues before they become a problem. In developing compassion, you choose to consciously seek the good in everyone and be nonjudgmental.

3. Write your words somewhere so you see them daily. This could be on your phone, tablet, computer or taped on the wall by your desk. They’ll remind you what you’re aspiring towards and that their qualities are important to you.

4. When you read these words, feel what they mean to you. This impresses the subconscious and it will take that as direction to become like them. Say to yourself, “This is who I’m choosing to be.” Identify with them because you tend to become what you identify with. Your subconscious wants you to be congruent with your belief about your identity.

5. Commit to acting on your new characteristics. For instance, to be more determined, persist when the going gets rough. If you want to be more optimistic, and you’ve had several setbacks, choose to believe the best possible outcome. Be consistent with the behaviors, qualities and traits that reflect your ideal you. Over time, they will feel more natural and it will become automatic.

What you’re doing is creating a vision of the best version of yourself. You’re molding your future you into the person you want to be. As you do, you’re becoming the person who accomplishes your goals and vision.

Affirmation:
The Universe approves of me, as I am, and also has an ideal concept of who I can be. It views me as my best self and knows that I can grow into that ideal. It supports me fully in my endeavor to be a better person. I make the choices that reflect my future, ideal self and act on them.

Watch the accompanying video, 3 Exercises to Improve Your Self-Image.

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Sparks of Insight

May 6, 2019 Linda-Ann Stewart

The Universe wants the best for you. Since the Universe is expressing as Itself through you, why would It want less for Itself? It can only desire the most joy, harmony and abundance for Itself. Imagine the greatest possible events that could happen in your life. Even better than that is what the Universe wants for you. Don’t fall into the old concept that the Universe is restricting your good, for It couldn’t do that. That would be against Its nature. So begin to visualize the best, highest and greatest things for yourself, and know that they are possible and that you deserve them.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Book Review-The Science of Successful Living

April 30, 2019 Linda-Ann Stewart

The Science of Successful Living: The Spiritual Formula for a Joyous Life
by Raymond Charles Barker

The subtitle on my copy of this book reads, “Written by a successful man for people who want success.” The author was a well-known author and minister for a Religious Science church in New York City. He also co-authored a book (now out of print) with Maxwell Maltz (who wrote “Psychocybernetics”).

This book gives straight, practical, down to earth information on how to experience greater success in all areas of your life. The author takes the reader into the depths of how the Universal and creative minds work, and translates abstract concepts into concrete explanations. As you read the information in this book, your consciousness will change to increase your acceptance of abundance, health, joy and peace of mind.

My copy is old and falling apart, with many passages either underlined or highlighted. But I wouldn’t trade it for any other, more recent, book. I value it too highly.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

3 Tips to Handle Obstacles

April 18, 2019 Linda-Ann Stewart

Most people spin off course when an obstacle arises. They don’t seek for the core of the problem and just react. This can make it worse. But you can take charge and discover a lasting solution. Learn what to ask yourself to get yourself back on course.

Transcript:

Thank you for watching. I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. Today, I’d like to give you 3 tips on how to take charge and handle obstacles. If you don’t know what to do when trouble arises, it can send you spinning off course, can’t it?

Unfortunately, when most people hit an obstacle, they aren’t even sure what the problem is. They just look at what’s obvious and don’t investigate any further, right? This generally won’t solve the problem and may just get you in deeper.

So your first step is to discover what the obstacle actually is. Don’t just react or you could make it worse. Ask yourself if the problem is what’s showing up, like miscommunication, or if it’s a deeper, systemic issue? Keep digging until you identify the core of the obstacle. Once you do, you’ll be able to find creative solutions that will last.

Second, take responsibility for your part in contributing to the obstacle. Sometimes you have had a part in creating it, and sometimes you haven’t. But you still have responsibility to contribute to the solution. Ask yourself these questions, “What could I have done differently to prevent it?” and “What can I do differently from this point on to improve the result?” The answers you come up with will help prevent similar issues from arising.

Third, ask yourself, “What can I learn from this?” Because there’s always something for you to learn to use in the future. This is how we grow, develop and gain experience. If you don’t learn from it, you’ll continue to repeat the pattern, and I don’t think you want that, do you? When you’ve determined what you’ve learned, you can put it into practice.

These 3 tips will get you back on course. About 85% of your success is due to your mindset, which affects how you respond to life and to challenges. By taking charge when an obstacle arises, you empower yourself to work through it and become more successful.

If you’d like more tips on how to increase your productivity and accelerate your success, download my free guide, Take Control of Your Day.

Thank you for watching. Can you commit to putting these tips into action in your life?

Read the accompanying article How Accountability Can Increase Your Success.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How Accountability Can Increase Your Success

April 4, 2019 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

You want to start exercising to improve your health and fitness. But you can’t ever find the time to get to the gym or outdoors for a run. Life tends to push you, solving problems, dealing with issues, and handling crises. And your goal to exercise becomes a casualty.

Or you wanted to put together a new offer or product for your business by a certain date. But because other situations came up, you missed that self-imposed deadline. Life kept you distracted, and you didn’t focus on your offer or make it a priority.

With your life being so full and driven nowadays, it’s hard to set and reach goals. Goals take you off the beaten path, and set you on a new one. That takes energy, attention and persistence, qualities that are hard to maintain in today’s world. But if you are accountable, you can have a 76% greater likelihood of achieving your goal.

What Is Accountability?

Accountability isn’t handing over your responsibility or authority to someone else. Nor is it about blame, shame, guilt, judgment or punishment if you don’t meet your goal. It’s simply a way to keep yourself on track to your vision by committing to a goal, writing it down or telling someone about your plans.

For a goal of your choosing, you aren’t required to justify your decisions, actions or inactions if you fail. However, excuses aren’t acceptable. By being accountable, you’re taking responsibility for fulfilling whatever intention you’ve deemed to be important. You’re communicating to yourself and the Universe that your goal is a priority for you.

Ways You Can Be Accountable and Increase Your Success

Whether you want to change a habit, improve your life or build a business, accountability will accelerate your progress. There are a lot of ways you can become more accountable and some are more successful than others. Here are 5 ways you can be accountable. Choose the one that gives you the best chance for success.

1. Be self-directed. Think about your goal, how important it is to you, and what level of commitment and motivation you’re willing to have. This has the least likelihood of being successful, because it’s subjective and based on your level of self-discipline. However, I’ve used this tactic to maintain an exercise practice for almost five years because I was highly motivated.

2. Write down your goals and action steps. You’ve heard about how writing your goals down give you a greater chance of success. A Dominican University study found that if you do this, you have a 60% likelihood of achieving your goal. Keep referring to your goals to see if you’re taking the steps you’ve established.

3. Find an accountability partner. Tell or email a trusted friend about your goal, commitment and action plan. Someone now knows about what you want to do and will support and celebrate your efforts. I don’t generally recommend a close loved one for this role. Unfortunately, the loved one often gets too attached to the result and makes misguided efforts to motivate the goal achiever. These efforts often backfire.

4. Join or create a mastermind or accountability group. This takes the accountability partner approach to the next level. Not only do you tell a person or persons about your goal and plan, you also check in with them periodically (weekly), reporting your progress. With a mastermind, you’re also exchanging ideas to help you overcome challenges. This regular progress reports tactic gives you a 76% chance of achieving your goal.

5. Find a coach. Hiring a coach means you’ve invested in your success. People tend to be more productive when they’ve committed to a goal with their hard earned currency. A coach can not only help you gain clarity and work through obstacles, they can also keep you focused, motivated and on track. They’re objective, and can give you a different perspective and make sure you’re sticking to your priorities.

When you are honest and accountable about your progress, or lack of it, you hold yourself to a higher standard. You are being accountable to and for yourself, and to the Universe. This increases your sense of empowerment, self-worth, responsibility and effectiveness. Choose the best accountability method for you and reach for the stars.

Affirmation:
The Universe responds according to my thoughts and desires. It wants the best for me and will support me in my efforts. When I commit to a course of action, the Universe recognizes my intention and provides everything I need for success. I keep my attention on my goal, knowing that it is possible. And I hold myself accountable for taking the steps that I know to take. The Universe does the rest.

Watch the accompanying video, 3 Tips to Handle Obstacles.