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Mindset, the First Step to Success

Mindset, the First Step to Success

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Steps to Success

When you want to move towards a goal, which comes first, action or mindset? Many coaches  advise you to get into action as quickly as you can. They say that swirling around in planning can suck the life out of a project, which is true. They also say that you’ll build your mindset as your actions are successful.

But if action was the first step to fulfill your vision, then everyone who did it would be successful. So many people jump into motion without considering where they’re starting and where they’re headed.

If mindset wasn’t important, then every person who started a business, quit smoking or set a goal would have been successful by simply taking action. And you know that isn’t the case. The vast majority of people don’t achieve their goals and their businesses fail. In fact, according to Bloomberg, 8 out of 10 businesses fail. Some of the failures are due to not taking action, but most of them are related to a mindset issue.

What Your Mindset Is Composed of

Your mindset is a combination of thoughts, beliefs and attitudes about your vision. It frames your mental patterns about your life and your goal. Because you filter your world through your mindset, it also affects the way you respond to situations. The Law of Attraction operates through your mindset by drawing to you what you mainly think about. Just take a look at your life to see what the tendency of your mindset has been.

Your mindset has to be in alignment with your vision if you want to be successful in any area of life. Along with focus, it spurs your actions. By influencing the decisions you make, it can prevent you from taking action due to a fear of failure or success. To confirm some old concept about yourself, or success, it can also promote wrong action.

Without the right mindset, you could avoid following through with clients or making behavior changes that would improve your life. The wrong mindset is like dragging a 100 pound anchor behind you. You might be able to keep moving, but it’s exhausting and you’ll soon give up. Your mindset is your motivation to move forward, and action is the result.

How Your Mindset Obstructs You and What to Do

Do you have a focused mindset or does it vacillate day to day? An inconsistent mindset produces erratic actions, which leads to failed results. There are several ways your mindset interferes with your actions.

1. You don’t want to do the work. Instead of accepting a step by step approach, you want your vision to magically appear in your life. To remedy this, decide how important what you want is to you. If it’s off the charts, then get started on the consistent actions you need to take.  

2. You don’t want to step out of your comfort zone. Even though you’re not happy where you are, you’re not motivated enough to take the actions necessary to get to where you want to be. The only way to grow is to step into areas that feel scary and unfamiliar. Realize that fear is a normal response to the unknown.

3. You want to avoid pain. Change is difficult. Often you have to let go of ideas and behaviors that have been part of you for a long time. The discomfort will only last a short time. Accept that the benefits of your vision outweigh the pinch of releasing a mindset that no longer works for you.

4. You’re afraid of how the result will affect you and your loved ones. One of the side effects may be that you change the way they think of yourself and your world. And once you’ve accomplished your aim, you fear how others may feel about it. After you realize your vision, your whole world will improve and you’ll feel better about yourself. And the loved ones who are truly on your side will be supportive of your accomplishment.

5. You lack commitment to your vision. You’re ambivalent about whether or not you want to move forward. Many times, you’ll get close to accomplishing your goal, only to back away from it. The next time you’re on the threshold, understand that the fear is simply trying to keep you safe. Step through the doorway and keep going.

How to Move Forward

Once you’ve addressed your mindset and gotten it to support your endeavors, start taking small, consistent actions. This convinces your subconscious that you truly want your vision. Then the Law of Attraction will be successful in drawing possibilities to you. Taking action also builds momentum that helps you stay on course. Only by establishing your vision, and being consistent in your mindset, will you be able to take effective action. Your mindset plus your actions results in success.

Affirmation:

I release any idea, thought or belief that has undermined the accomplishment of my vision for my life. I fully commit myself to moving forward towards my vision. I attract all that I need for the fulfillment of my goals and vision. I deserve it and the Universe completely supports my endeavors.

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

Develop Self-Mastery by Managing Your Attention

Develop Self-Mastery by Managing Your Attention

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Energy flows where attention goes.

“Energy flows where attention goes” means that wherever you put your attention, you channel your energy to that place. It also means your attention directs the Law of Attraction’s energy. If your focus is on working on a task, then you make progress. Or if you’re focusing on a desire, the Law of Attraction knows what to draw to you. But if your attention is scattered, then your energy is, as well, and not much gets accomplished. And the Law of Attraction can’t function. Multitasking is a notorious offender that fragments your energy and efficiency.

When your attention is scattered, then you’re dispersing your energy and giving the Universe conflicting feedback. The Law of Attraction won’t know what you want. Your focus lets the Law of Attraction know your desire and gives the Universe a mold to fulfill.

Too many people think that being mindlessly busy means they’re achieving something. They jump into action before they know what they want to accomplish. Instead of remembering they’re a human BEing, they’re a human DOing in thoughtless motion, and their efforts are mostly wasted. To be more successful, stop, breathe and decide where you want to spend your energy, so you’re a conduit for Universal good.

Concentrate Your Energy

Peter Drucker said, “If there is any one ‘secret’ of effectiveness, it is concentration.” When you focus your efforts, doing one thing at a time, you’re able to reach your goals. Your success, personally and professionally, depends on where you put your attention and your energy.

Have you ever wanted to clear off your desk, picked up a book to take it into the other room, and started organizing the bookshelf there? Then, you carried a dirty cup from the bookshelf to the kitchen and decided to do the dishes? But, in the middle of washing dishes, the phone rang and you talked on it for an hour? Because you jumped from one activity to the next, nothing was finished. You didn’t attend to your original intention, which was to put your desk in order, and you’ve wasted a lot of time and energy.

The same is true when you skip from one desire to another. This confuses the Universe, and the Law of Attraction will then manifest whatever is your strongest, most familiar idea. When you regulate your thoughts and actions, you support your energy and are more in the flow of the Universe.

Direct Your Attention

When you’re able to direct your attention where you want, not only does it increase your effectiveness, but it also builds confidence and self-mastery. It’s a skill that you can develop and will pay rich dividends in your life. It allows you to have a clearer channel to the Universe and the Law of Attraction. Here are a few areas that will empower your ability to guide your energy.

Manage Your Mind. Train yourself to think more positively by considering the best outcome. When you do, you grow brain cells for greater well being and it also instructs your mind to be open to more options. You make it easier for the Universe to create more good for you. Meditation and mindfulness also help in this area by building grey matter in your brain, which improves memory, mood, compassion and focus. Using these techniques teaches your mind to stay on track, and frees you to be clearer.

Manage Your Impulses. One way to practice this is to delay gratification or resist urges. For instance, don’t check your cell phone every 5 minutes, eat that entire piece of cake, or scroll through social media. Become aware of your triggers, and plan your response. When you’re able to regulate your compulsions, you build self-control, self-discipline, strengthen your will power and make better decisions. Self-control gives your thoughts more power.

Manage Your Environment. Most distractions can be removed with some planning. Make your space more conducive to focusing on your task. For example, close the door and put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on it. Put your cell phone on “silent.” Say, “No,” to disrespect and being taken advantage of. By taking charge of the things that disrupt your flow and peace of mind, you define your boundaries and increase your self-worth.

Manage Your Attention. Decide on your priorities ahead of time. Take the most important one, and focus on that task for a set amount of time. This starts to build your ability to focus. Also, take some time to read a book, not your computer, tablet or phone. People tend to skim on technical devices and reading a physical book improves memory, concentration and comprehension.

Taking these small steps contributes to bigger ones. Each small step you take to build your ability to focus expands that capacity. Not only your attention, but your energy, becomes more effective and you achieve more flow and success in your life.

Affirmation:

I set an intention to begin each day with focus. The ability to focus is natural, and one that I can exercise and develop. As I do, I’m better able to direct my energy and give the Universe the channel through which Its energy will flow. I master my attention and guide it where it can accomplish my Highest Good.

Watch the accompanying video, Manage Your Priorities to Achieve Your Goals.

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.

Guided Meditation for Problem Solving

Guided Meditation for Problem Solving

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Wouldn’t you like to be able to find solutions to your problems more quickly and easily? Your creative mind is the key for you to insights and answers, but you have to be able to access it. This guided meditation will help you learn how to hack your mind and have it deliver an answer sooner. Watch Guided Meditation for Problem Solving.

Transcript:

Welcome. If you’re like most people who have a problem, you think about it, obsess over it, turn it over and around in your mind. Then, at some point after you’ve let go of it, the answer comes to you in a flash of insight, right? What if you could hack into your mind and get to that insight sooner?

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.

When you’re thinking about a problem, your conscious mind is engaged in examining the issue. But to find the answer, your conscious mind has to let go and let your subconscious mind, your creative mind, process and find the solution.

One way to do this is by taking the problem into a more focused state of mind in the form of a guided meditation. I’ll lead you through a quick guided meditation to give you an idea of how it can help you find solutions more quickly.  

If you want to experience this and you feel ok doing so, close your eyes. Take a deep breath, hold it, now let it go.

Now, think of a problem or challenge you might be facing. Examine all the details you know about it. What about it is causing a problem? Assess it from various sides.

Now shift your attention to what the problem or challenge would look like solved. Don’t think about “how” it could be solved. That’s the job of your subconscious. Your subconscious knows how to find the answer. Just consider what outcome you want. What results you want. And leave the door open to a solution that would be even better than what you can envision.

Maybe you don’t have any idea of exactly what the answer will be, or what it will look like. Whether you do or not, consider how you’ll you’ll feel with the issue solved.

Instruct your subconscious mind to find a pleasant solution and communicate it to your conscious mind in a timely fashion, in a way that you recognize. Now let it go. Your subconscious mind has its instructions. Open your eyes.

Whenever you think of the problem, just repeat that your subconscious mind is finding the solution and let it go again. Go about your life. The answer could come to you while you’re driving, doing the dishes, watching TV or in the shower.

Using this technique, you’re hacking into the normal way your conscious and subconscious minds problem solve. But, by following the steps of this meditation, you’re creating a short cut to finding the solution.

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.

How to Master Problem Solving

How to Master Problem Solving

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Lightbulb

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

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.

The Dreaded Word “Discipline”

The Dreaded Word “Discipline”

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Steps to Success

Everyone hates the “D” word. Discipline. When I would mention the word to clients, they sometimes shuddered and gave me a dirty look. I think it’s because most people associate the word “discipline” with punishment, enforced obedience, submission to some outside authority, or hard work with little reward. But the dictionary defines discipline as instruction, a branch of research, or training that shapes or molds. The root of the word discipline is “disciple” or “one who receives instruction from another” or more simply, “to learn.” In this context, discipline takes on a whole new flavor.

Discipline Leads to Achievement

Without self-discipline, a person rarely achieves anything in life, including spiritual growth. For instance, meditating every day takes discipline. So many things could distract a person from that practice, from folding the laundry to watching that half-hour comedy. It takes setting a strong intention and following through, no matter what, to fulfill that goal.

Imagine you’re in a line at a buffet, and your favorite food in the whole is at the end of the long table. (It’s not a perfect analogy, but play along, okay?) All the foods that populate the table look succulent and delicious, but you are holding out for your favorite, because you know you only have enough room for that particular morsel. So you discipline yourself to pass up all the other foods, refuse to let them divert you, and keep your eyes on your goal.

Self-Discipline Means Training Yourself

Self-discipline means that you are training yourself into a mold that you heartily desire. No one else is forcing you to take the path you’ve chosen. You consciously make choices that benefit your end goal and avoid things that might sidetrack you. By choosing your goal and staying on purpose, you become your own authority. Self-discipline actually becomes a spiritual practice as you recognize that you are your own best teacher. So transform the negative associations you have with this word to what it really means, and learn to use self-discipline to achieve what you want from life.

Affirmation:

I recognize that self-discipline makes me a disciple of my Highest Good. I make wise decisions that support my goals, and choose to follow through with them. Disregarding any distractions from my Good, I stay on my path. Since I am my own authority,  I am the one molding myself into what I want. This is my choice, and I am enthusiastic about self-discipline as a spiritual practice. 

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

Craft a Sustainable Well of Happiness

Craft a Sustainable Well of Happiness

Contrary to western beliefs, rather than success bringing happiness, happiness brings success. In great measure, your happiness is within your control. You can increase your level of happiness that will bring you multiple benefits. Watch Craft a Sustainable Well of Happiness.

Transcript:

Welcome to this month’s mindset coaching tip. Everyone could use more happiness, right? But trying to find it through achievement or awards is fleeting, at best. Happiness is much more persistent and powerful when it’s developed by  activities that you have the ability to do each day. I’d like to share a couple of tips on how you can craft a more sustainable well of happiness.

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a focus mentor and hypnotherapist. I empower people to focus and align their heart with their vision so they can achieve their goals. And being happy makes success more likely

The first tip to developing happiness I’d like to share with you is to take 15 minutes a day to do something that feeds your soul. Take a walk, get into nature, play with your dog or cat, or garden.

This gives your brain a boost of pleasure chemicals that increase your sense of satisfaction and joy. You know how you feel when you take time for what matters to you, right? So make sure you take at least 15 minutes a day for you.  

My second tip to crafting happiness is an outgrowth of the first tip. Get creative with some sort of craft. It could be something like quilting, embroidery, needlework, jewelry making, beading, knitting, crocheting, or my favorite, weaving. Crafting can reduce stress and anxiety.

The same is true of any art or creativity, such as painting, sculpting, music, pottery, photography, cooking, baking, or woodworking. And there are so many more.

Because you’re focused on something enjoyable, it puts you in a state of flow. In addition to increasing a sense of satisfaction, flow is where ideas and insights can start to surface. This makes achieving your goals easier.

So there are multiple benefits for taking the time for you and also for enjoying some art or craft each day. Not only will you reduce stress, and  improve your mood, but you will begin to build a well of happiness and fulfillment within yourself.

What can you do for you today? I’m going to go take a walk and then go weave. Thank you for watching. 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. Stay focused.

Read the accompanying article, How to Improve Your Happiness Level.

Be as Kind to Yourself as You Are to Others

Be as Kind to Yourself as You Are to Others

Being kind to others brings great rewards. But there are times when you get depleted when you’ve been kind without paying attention to your needs. Learn some signals that let you know when you need to be kind to yourself. Watch Be as Kind to Yourself as You Are to Others.

Transcript:

We all know that it’s important to be kind to others. One small act of kindness can spread, like the ripples in a pond. But there are times when giving too much of yourself can deplete you. People can expect too much, take advantage of you, or you just can’t draw the line. It’s hard to say “no” when your spirit is willing, but your physical, mental and emotional well being is drained.

I know how it is to be stretched beyond your limit by volunteering and giving of your time and energy. At one time, I’d overextended myself so much that my health suffered.

I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a focus mentor and hypnotherapist. I empower people to focus and align their heart with their vision so they can achieve their goals.

I learned that to be able to have enough energy to give to others, you need to be able to replenish what you have. Being kind to yourself is as important, if not more so, than being kind to others. If you’re depleted, then you can’t help anyone.

One of the ways to make sure you stay balanced is to know when to pull back and say “not now” or “no.” Some good signals to do this are when you’re starting to feel overwhelmed, resentful,or exhausted. These indicate that it’s time for you to step back, be kind to yourself and restore your energy.

Kindness begins with your being kind to yourself. Give yourself the same thoughtfulness that you give to others, and then you’ll be able to spread that kindness in a much greater way. How can you be kind to yourself today? Thank you for watching.  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. Be kind, to yourself and others, and as always, stay focused.

Please read the accompanying article, Can Kindness Backfire?

Defuse the Power of Negative Thinking

Defuse the Power of Negative Thinking

by Linda-Ann Stewart

"We are what we think about all day long." Ralph Waldo Emerson

“We are what we think about all day long.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

What do you tend to think about all day? Is your awareness focused on beneficial, enriching thoughts or are you mainly thinking discouraging, undermining ideas and telling yourself that “I can’t?” The subconscious follows the tendency of your thoughts, and manifests the average of what you ponder during the day. If the overall quality of your thoughts is positive and uplifting, then the subconscious moves in that direction, and the converse is true.

It’s not easy to think positively every moment of every day. I’m not even sure it’s possible. But the subconscious doesn’t need you to be continuously constructive. It just needs you to be more positive than negative for it to create more harmony. But many people fear their negative thoughts, and that very fear gives those thoughts more energy.

Thought Is Creative

Each thought is potentially creative and is formed of energy. When a person recognizes they’ve considered a negative idea, many times they feel guilty for doing so, and become afraid that it will overcome any positive thoughts. Instead of simply switching their attention to something more beneficial, they continue to spiral downwards, and the negative thought takes on a life of its own. 

For instance, consider a baseball player who has missed every pitch in a game. Instead of figuring he just had a bad game, or the pitcher was especially good, he might begin to doubt his abilities. During practice, and the next game, he’ll tense up and worry too much about hitting the ball. He may recognize the tendency of his thinking, and try to overcome it. But now he’s fighting on two fronts. He’s concerned about not hitting the ball and fearful that his thinking is going to become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once he begins to worry, and not trust his abilities, problems arise.

Your Subconscious Programs

Many times, the limiting, negative thoughts are simply a part of the subconscious trying to protect you and keep you safe. You might hear that little voice in your head saying:

  • If you don’t try, then you won’t fail, right?
  • By expecting the worst, you won’t be disappointed when it happens.
  • If you don’t succeed, then people won’t expect more of you.

This little voice is part of the subconscious mind using fear, doubt, and worry as a way to keep you from growing and moving forward. As long as you’re in familiar territory, then it figures nothing bad will happen.

It’s simply doing its job, repeating what it’s been programmed to do. So instead of vilifying it, resisting the negative thoughts and fearing their power, change your way of responding to them. When you become aware of a negative idea, simply say, “Thank you.” This immediately defuses the power you attach to the negative thought. You’re acknowledging its attempt to help, instead of rebelling against it. State, “Thank you, but that’s no longer helpful,” and respond with a beneficial concept.

How to Deal with Negative Thoughts

A long time ago, I learned a powerful way of dealing with negative thoughts. Divide a paper in half, write your affirmative goal on the left side, and record any objection that comes to mind on the right side, and then reply with “Thank you.” By writing down its concerns, and then acknowledging it with a “Thank you,” you’re letting the subconscious mind know that you recognize its distress. On the next line, write your goal again, and then any negative response, and “Thank you.” Continue until you don’t notice any negative thoughts about it coming into your mind.

Eventually, it will cease to bother you with protests, because you’ve let it know you’ve heard it, but are still going to move in that new direction. You’ve taken back your power. It will respect that, because that’s its true goal. As long as you accept your own authority in directing your life, the critical voice will quiet down. And you can now put your attention on what it is you want in your life, without wasting your energy resisting your negative thoughts.

Affirmation:

Negative thoughts are simply outdated ideas that I accepted sometime in the past. They are no longer valid or necessary to help me. Whenever I recognize myself dwelling on a negative concept, I remember that it’s simply my subconscious mind concerned about me. I respond with “Thank you, but it’s safe for me to experience progress.” I accept that I am the authority in my life and now take back my power.

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 achieve your goals with confidence and ease in 4 powerful steps, register for her FREE training video and accompanying action planning guide at www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/setyourcourse.html. You can contact her at LAS@Linda-AnnStewart.com or 928-600-0452.

Find the Good in Your Life

Find the Good in Your Life

Linda-Ann Stewart

Have you ever had someone rudely jump ahead of you in line at the grocery store, and it soured your mood for hours? Or had someone make a spiteful remark, and it ruined your day? Even if the rest of the day was pleasant, you likely dwelled on the annoying encounter and were sensitized to notice more irritations afterwards. This is a natural occurrence.

People are primed to notice more negative things than positive. Your brain was designed to help you survive, and does so by detecting threats to your life. If your ancestors hadn’t registered that the tiger was about to pounce on them, they wouldn’t have survived to pass their genes onto you.

Nowadays, there aren’t as many physical dangers, but the mind doesn’t distinguish between what might kill you and what disturbs you emotionally or mentally. The brain perceives them all as potential threats and spotlights what’s upsetting to you so it can try to help you survive.

The Negativity Effect

Scientists call this the Negativity Bias or Effect. Humans are more inclined to recognize and remember the negative, and brush off the positive. It’s the brain and subconscious mind’s effort to keep you safe.

It’s not an issue if it only happens once in a while, such as from an unpleasant encounter. But if you get stuck in viewing the world through this dark lens, it adversely impacts how you think and react in other areas. You only perceive what’s wrong, and can become cynical, irritable and depressed.  

You need to be careful as this primal characteristic can overwhelm your life. If you’re always braced for something to go wrong, you’re predisposed to overreact to minor upsets or annoyances, and you notice them more. At the same time, you don’t recognize the good in your life.

You’re always in a fight or flight mode, stressed, anxious and exhausted. If this is the case, you don’t have enough resources to think clearly or be creative. You automatically react like you did in the past, without considering other alternatives.

Why It’s Important to Overcome This Tendency

The more you focus on what bothers you, the more incidents you notice, and this mindset becomes a habit. This ingrained attitude can lead you to expect the worst in people and situations, and can adversely affect your relationships. Your actions follow your beliefs and attention, so you could unwittingly create the very conditions that would confirm your pessimistic expectations.

Fortunately, you’re not a captive to this ancient bias. You can counteract your brain’s predisposition to lean to the negative by training yourself to pay attention to what’s good in your life. This will balance out that primeval tendency to always be on alert for threats. You have the power to decide how much of an impact unpleasant situations will have on you.

Instead of getting sucked into a negative frame of mind, you can train yourself to notice what’s good in your life. It takes time and practice, but when you persist in developing this skill, annoyances will bother you less overall. You may be aware of the irritations, but they won’t trigger you to fall into a well of cynicism.

What You Focus on Grows

As you begin to pay attention to what’s going well in your life, you’ll discover there’s more that’s good than you originally thought. What you focus on grows in your awareness and your subconscious mind will begin to scan your environment for other positive aspects.

Scientists say that “neurons that fire together, wire together.” If you dwell on the negative, you grow more brain cells that create discouragement, depression and helplessness. This is how pessimists are created. However, when you focus on the positive, brain cells grow in the areas for happiness, wellbeing and resourcefulness. Doing this develops optimists.

The One to Five Ratio

Scientists say that, in a relationship, it takes between four and five positive interactions to overcome a single negative one. If you’ve had an unpleasant disagreement with a friend, you’ll need several amicable exchanges with them to feel comfortable with them again. I think the same might be true of events. When you’ve experienced a distressing situation and it has soured your mood, it may take four to five pleasant incidents to improve your outlook.

You can be more proactive to start to feel better. Shortly after you’re upset, irritated or annoyed, find five things you’re grateful for in your life. Or seek out five items that make you happy in the moment. They can be small pleasures, like a flower, clouds floating in a blue sky or a child’s laugh. This will balance out the negativity, and help you shake off the unpleasantness you encountered.

Creating a New Brain Pattern.

You don’t have to let upsets or irritations control your overall mood or mindset. As you deliberately seek out more of the positive, you establish a new pattern in your brain. You create more positive leaning brain cells. By training yourself to pay attention to what’s positive, negative situations will bother you less. You won’t waste mental energy on minor negative incidents. They’ll reduce in importance, and you’ll increase your ability to handle them.

Not only that, you’ll be able to recognize more possibilities that you would have ignored before. Because you’re more open to them, your subconscious will search your environment for opportunities that benefit you. To uplift your entire life and overcome your ancient bias to be negative, spend time to enjoy pleasant moments and rewire your brain to be happy.

Affirmation:

I have the power and ability to choose where to put my attention. When I focus on more positive thoughts, I know that it impacts my life in a beneficial way. I become aware of when I start to slide into negativity, and decide to notice what’s good in my life. As I seek out the positive, I establish a new pattern within my mind that leans to optimism. This opens my mind to greater wellbeing and happiness.

Watch the accompanying video, Train Yourself to Be Positive.

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. Register for her FREE guide to Design Your Best Day at www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/guide.html. You can also contact her at LAS@Linda-AnnStewart.com or 928-600-0452.