goals – Page 16 – Empowering Your Mind

Are You Living on Autopilot?

November 1, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

In an aircraft, the autopilot is a tool to assist the plane to stay on course, allowing the pilot to attend to other things. The autopilot guides the plane based on information it receives from other systems. Unfortunately, those systems aren’t perfect and accumulate errors over time, and course corrections will need to be made. The same thing is true of your life.

How many times do you lay your keys or glasses down and then don’t remember where they are? Do you ever eat a cookie without remembering doing it, but find crumbs on your hand later? Your mind was on other things while your body acted automatically. What about your relationships? Do you expect they will to continue to grow without tending them?

Before cellphones, I had a boyfriend who put me near the bottom of his list of priorities. Everything in his life came before his agreements with me. If he’d promised to meet me at a restaurant, but a neighbor dropped in for coffee, he’d leave me waiting for hours. He put our relationship on autopilot, and ignored my warnings that it was going off course. Eventually, he flew the relationship into the ground.

If you’re not paying attention, or just going through the motions, this can happen in any area of your life. At work, if you aren’t making any progress, it may be because you’re dealing with what’s immediate, and not what’s important. All your energy is going into being reactive and not proactive or intentional. You aren’t assessing to see if you’ve gotten off track and how you need to shift your priorities to meet your goals.

You Program Your Autopilot

Habits are a form of autopilot. By repeatedly performing a certain action or thinking a particular thought, it develops into an unconscious routine. It operates below your conscious awareness to fulfill its original purpose. Habits are valuable and useful, until they’re not. If you don’t notice when they’re no longer helpful, they will take your life into a vast wasteland.

You can’t live your entire life being aware of every single thought and action. It would use up too much mental and physical energy. That’s what your subconscious mind is for. You program it with your thoughts, beliefs, and what’s most important to you. The Law of Attraction works through your subconscious mind, drawing to you circumstances that will fit your strongest thoughts. And it [your subconscious and the Law of Attraction] works like an autopilot. It They helps keep you on the course that you’ve set by using habits.

Your conscious mind, which is rational, decides on your destination and actions. When it performs its job, it makes decisions that keep you on course. It also makes sure you stay aware of changing conditions in the environment and events. If it notices you’re getting off track, it makes adjustments. The key is that it has to periodically check in to assess if you’re going in the right direction.

When you’re living on autopilot, you’re blocking the flow of Divine inspiration and guidance. It can’t cut through your preoccupation. And you’re not giving the Law of Attraction any intentional direction, so it just gives you more of what you’re paying attention to.

How to Determine If You’re on Autopilot

Life gives you signals that you’re living on autopilot. You could be dealing with some of these issues:

What you’re doing isn’t taking you where you want to go.
Your habits or beliefs are in direct opposition to your goals.
You’re following someone else’s dream or instruction, and it’s making you miserable.
You say “Yes” to things when you really want to say, “No.”
You can’t remember anything that you’ve accomplished at the end of the day.
Your relationships chronically fall apart.
You know you’re sabotaging yourself and can feel it in your gut.

If you’ve experienced any of these, it’s time to take a step back, consider the situation and change course. You’ll have to make different decisions than the ones you’ve made and follow through on them. This means you’ll have to pay attention to what you’re doing so you can change the bad habits that have developed and make new ones.

An autopilot is a tool to help a pilot. But you can’t just set it and forget it, any more than you can your subconscious or the Law of Attraction. To stay on course, you need to monitor it and periodically make course corrections. That’s when the conscious mind comes into play. It sets your subconscious autopilot so it can take care of more important things. But every so often, your conscious mind needs to check in and see if you’re on track. It’s better to find out that you’re off course sooner than later, because it’s easier to change.

Affirmation:
The Universe supports all of my endeavors and approves of my choices. It guides and directs all of my decisions. I take charge of my thinking and my life. When I establish a goal or desire, I pay attention to whether I’m moving in that direction. I give the Law of Attraction intentional direction. If I need to make changes, I do so quickly.

Watch the accompanying video The Decisions That Keep You on Course.

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Align Your Heart with Your Vision

October 18, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Do you sometimes want to change a habit, achieve a goal or cultivate a talent, but something holds you back? It may be something that you think you should want. Or it’s something you really do want, but your beliefs don’t accept it. Many people have this problem. They have a vision of where they want to be, but their beliefs can’t support pursuing or fulfilling their intention.

For instance, Nancee was a business consultant and wanted to help business owners develop better business and marketing plans. But unconsciously, she was afraid of disappointing her clients because she couldn’t wave a magic wand and make their problems disappear. Her service would have improved their bottom line, but she held herself back from promoting her business. Once she realized that she wasn’t responsible for how her clients acted on her guidance, she followed the marketing plan she’d created, and her business grew.

Your Heart and Vision Must Align to Make Progress

Nancee’s heart, which was her beliefs and passion, had to align with her vision, which was her intentional destination, before she would take action. Some people think they want to achieve an objective, but their heart isn’t in it. Or they don’t want to take the actions they need to take to get there. They just aren’t invested enough in their vision. Unfortunately, they just don’t have the necessary passion to follow through on it. .

Other people have the heart, or the belief and passion, but they haven’t developed a vision. Flailing away, they try one thing after another. They confuse motion with action. And they’re so caught up with taking action that they don’t take the time to assess if they’re making any progress. Because they don’t know where they’re going, they don’t have a comprehensive plan of how to get there. They might have goals, but they don’t accomplish much unless they know where they want those goals to take them.

And still others have the belief that they can achieve what they want, and a vision of where they want to go. But that intention has been instilled in them by someone else. For instance, Robert’s father talked him into majoring in engineering in college. Once Robert got his degree and got a job, he found the work unsatisfying. Instead, he wanted to teach high school science classes. So he returned to college, got a teaching certificate and fulfilled his passion.

Is the Problem with Your Heart or Your Vision?

If you have a deep desire that isn’t being fulfilled, check either your heart or your vision. The problem will be in one of them. These two must be in alignment or your efforts will be useless and unsatisfactory. They feed each other, creating motivation and inspiration. When one is not in alignment, it’s like riding a bike with a single flat tire.

For instance, if the issue is with your heart, you won’t pursue your vision with enough energy. Your beliefs get in your way. Fear holds you back, or you simply won’t want your vision badly enough. You could also have other concepts that are sabotaging you, such as lack of self-worth or self-confidence. In this case, ask yourself, “What is undermining my progress?”

However, if the challenge is that you don’t have a clear vision, you take action, but spin your wheels. You don’t have a direction you’re moving towards. When you reach a goal, you backslide and have to start over again. Dealing with details takes precedence over moving forward so you stay in the same place. In this situation, ask yourself, “What do I actually want to accomplish with my efforts?”

Once you become aware of where the difficulty lies, you can begin to resolve it. If you need to work on your heart, or mindset, there are many resources to help you improve it. But if the obstacle is that you don’t have a clear vision, set aside the time to create one. Once you have your heart and vision aligned, it’s a natural progression for you to develop a plan that works for you.

This is an ongoing process. As you progress, you’ll discover that you’ll need to fine tune your beliefs, mindset and vision to continue to support you. You’ll be constantly balancing your heart and vision and correcting your course to make sure you remain on track. But because you have your heart and vision aligned, you’ll have your path clear before you.

Affirmation:
The Universe supports my every endeavor by guiding and directing my efforts. I recognize any beliefs that are holding me back and let them go. They no longer serve me. I now establish ideas, beliefs and attitudes that are in alignment with my dream. That dream is now clear and concise and I know that the Universe wants me to accomplish it. Everything I need is now provided.

Watch the accompanying video, Key Elements for your Success.

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Key Elements for Your Success

October 17, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

Having your heart and vision aligned are vital for the success of any venture, whether personal or professional. But they is another key element that you need to be able to propel yourself forward. It’s one that is key for your success and it includes other aspects. Linda-Ann Stewart, vision strategist, will share what this element is and give you some ideas on how to cultivate it in your life.

Transcript:
Thank you for joining me. I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. Do you wonder what that is? Well, I help people take their vision and focus on the strategies that will bring it into a reality. I’d like to talk about what elements you need to have in place to be successful. The first part of is that you need to align your heart with your vision. From there you create a plan, or strategies, and then focus on them.

When I talk about the heart, I mean passion and beliefs, mindset. What about you? Do you have a passion for your next step? Do you have any beliefs that contradict it? Your passion and beliefs have to be aligned with your vision, which is your intention and direction you want to go in.

Your vision is why you want to achieve your goals, and what you eventually hope to achieve. What about you? What’s your vision? When your heart and vision are supporting each other, the plan, which is the steps, strategies and tactics to take, is easy to develop. Natural progression. Heart, vision and plan form the foundation of any endeavor, whether personal or professional.

In my hypnotherapy practice, these were the first things my clients and I had to decide on before we start making changes in their lives, whether for stress reduction, stopping smoking, weight management, improving self-esteem, success programming or anything else. Without the foundation to build on, my clients would have failed to achieve their goals.

The next step was equally important. It’s what programmed them for success. It was focusing on the strategies and taking the actions that the plan dictated. Many people pay attention to details or tactics that don’t really help them in the long run. But they feel like they’re getting things done, even though they’re really just in motion. Do you ever feel that?

You can run on a treadmill, but you’ll never actually get anywhere, will you? If you’re running in place, you have to step back off that treadmill and assess if the actions you’re taking are allowing you to make progress.

When you’re not focused, you can easily become scattered, sidetracked and distracted. You don’t want to always be chasing after squirrels, do you? So focus also means to have your priorities straight. You decide what comes first then next, then next after that. You wouldn’t try to scramble eggs before you got a pan onto the stove, would you? If you did, you’d have a real mess, right? Same goes with priorities.

And you have to make sure you spend time on your priorities, and not let someone else dictate what they are. For instance, suppose you’d planned to spend the evening paying bills that were due, but a friend stopped by at the last minute and wanted you to go to a movie with them. If you agree, wouldn’t you have let their priority be more important than yours?

I know paying bills isn’t a fun job, but it was your priority and necessary to avoid late fees. If you didn’t get it done when you’d originally planned, it had to be done another time, when you might have had something else planned.

This can also happen if you don’t have any priorities at all. Then you leave the door open for someone else to decide what your priorities should be. And who wants that?

Having a focus means you also cultivate the behaviors, habits and skills you need. Maybe you need to stop procrastinating paying those bills until the last minute? Or you might want to develop the habit of scheduling social time with friends? Maybe you want to learn more about social media? All of these also take focus and attention, and help take you in the direction of your vision.

Focus is what keeps you on track and progressing. In addition to having heart, vision, and a plan, focus propels you to success. Are you lacking focus in an area? Are your priorities in order? Are you following your priorities? Do you need to establish a new habit or develop a new skill to take the next step? Take just one of these, and begin to act on it. Establish it as a priority and notice how you start making progress.

If you’d like some help in achieving your goals, apply for a complimentary Clarify Your Vision coaching consultation.

Thank you for watching. And I would love to know how you’re focusing on your goal. Take care.

Read the accompanying article, Align Your Heart with Your Vision.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Acknowledging Yourself

September 12, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

A lot of people have a strong inner critic that tears them down, no matter what they do. Instead of helping you, this can undermine your confidence and motivation. To combat this critical inner voice, build yourself up by appreciating yourself and what you do. Linda-Ann will share some specific tips that will cause you to feel better about yourself and accomplish more.

Transcript:

Thank you for joining me. I’m LAS. A lot of people have a strong inner critic. Do you? It’s a part of you who is always criticizing you and everything you do… or don’t do. It tells you that you’re not good enough, not doing enough, not accomplishing enough… just not enough.

Many of my clients have said that they just didn’t feel like they were enough. That was the way they put it, “I don’t feel like I’m enough.” Have you ever felt that way? You may think that always criticizing yourself can push you to do more, but the opposite is, in fact, true. It can actually sabotage you because it undermines your confidence and motivation. I mean, why try when it’s never enough, right?

Today, I want to give you some specific ways you can respond to the constant criticism you hear from yourself. These tips help to shift your attention to something more positive and build you up rather than tear you down. It’s something I do with my clients, both in my coaching and hypnotherapy practice.

Linda-Ann Stewart of Heartvision Consulting, vision strategist. Using my 30 years of experience as a hypnotherapist, I help women business owners and entrepreneurs align their heart with their vision, chart their course and focus on the strategies that will bring them greater success and prosperity on their terms.

When we talk, I urge them to pay attention to what has changed or improved since our last session. To what they have accomplished. Many of them first tell me nothing is different. But as they talk, they realize just how much has changed and what they have accomplished.

We focus on their progress, and by doing so, are able to build on it. It’s a simple technique of acknowledging what they’ve done, instead of focusing on what they haven’t done. When you focus on what you HAVE done, then you’re motivated to do more. You build up momentum, because you’re feeling successful. And success breeds success.

For instance, I once had a friend, Laura, who used this technique of acknowledging what she’d done. She had a strong inner critic that paralyzed her. Do you ever feel that way? She discovered a way to combat that inner critic. She’d acknowledge her small wins each day. In her journal, she’d list that she’d eaten breakfast, fed the dog, washed her dishes, etc.

These are all daily tasks that had to be done each day, right? And you might wonder why she’d write down these daily tasks shortly after she got up. But it made her feel like she’d accomplished something. It triggered the reward circuit in her brain and released pleasure chemicals into her body. It energized her to keep going and do more. It got her out of the paralysis. Sounds good, right?

I’m sure you’ve heard of a gratitude journal, where you write down things that you’re grateful for each day. Some research is now showing that doing the same thing with your accomplishments, no matter how small, can turn your mood around and make you feel more motivated. It can make you feel like you’re good enough, just like when my clients would start to acknowledge their changes. Acknowledging 3 small wins each day for 7 days can lift your self-esteem for 3 months. Wouldn’t that be great? And it’s simple to do.

Just make a commitment to recognize what you’ve done during the day. It can be in a journal form, or on your phone or calendar. You can acknowledge small achievements, like my friend Laura did, or bigger ones. But don’t just limit this to your accomplishments. Also recognize when you’ve made a small step forward. Not just that you’ve finished a project, but that you’ve worked on a small part of it. Give yourself credit for your effort, not just the results. What can you acknowledge yourself for today?

For instance, acknowledge when you declined that donut, or only had one bite of it, or had a salad for lunch. When you balanced your checkbook or paid down your credit card. Or when you made that one follow up call you’d been dreading. All of these are valid actions to celebrate.

Other items you can appreciate about yourself are your strengths, your values, and your talents. For instance, you are consistent in sending out an ezine every month. That’s something to acknowledge. Or when you fulfill a promise, to yourself or someone else, like being on time for a lunch date. Or if you’ve been wanting to draw, and finally put a pencil to paper, that’s something to be proud of.

When you begin to focus on what’s good about you and what you do, instead of what’s negative, you’ll feel better about yourself. You’re praising yourself for being who you are in your life. You’ll feel like you’re making progress, which is important. Because progress means you’re moving forward. It’s encouraging and inspiring. And isn’t that a better way to motivate yourself?

If you’d like some help in achieving your goals, apply for a complimentary Clarify Your Vision coaching consultation.

Thank you for watching. I hope to hear from you that acknowledging yourself has made you feel more motivated and enough. Take care.

Read the accompanying article, 3 Reasons to Acknowledge and Appreciate Yourself.

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3 Reasons to Acknowledge and Appreciate Yourself

September 11, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” William James, pioneer in psychology

Most of us tend to be hard on ourselves. We’re highly self-critical, paying more attention to what we haven’t done than what we have. Although we think this helps push us to be better, to achieve our goals, it actually does the opposite. Criticizing yourself is demoralizing and discouraging, and it undermines your motivation and productivity. It makes you feel unworthy and like you’re never good enough. Being self-critical can paralyze you rather than boost you to get more done. It also disconnects you from your inner self and the Universe, making it harder to access your intuition or activate the Law of Attraction.

We’re also taught not to blow our own horn or shamelessly shout our own praise to the world. That’s considered to be prideful and self-centered. So we tend to hide our accomplishments and brush aside compliments. At the same time, we secretly crave acknowledgement and appreciation. These are normal and appropriate desires. It’s only when we abandon ourselves to seek approval from others that these natural impulses can become toxic.

What It Means to Acknowledge Yourself

But how can you find the appreciation you crave, when seeking it from others is disempowering? And how can you drive yourself without making yourself feel insignificant for not doing enough? The way you find this satisfaction is by acknowledging yourself and your accomplishments. When you do, you’re not being conceited or vain, but being honest about your efforts. Acknowledging yourself has nothing to do with building up your ego to feel better than someone else. It has nothing to do with anyone but you and what’s right about you. This is the way the Universe has always seen you.

By acknowledging yourself, you are simply recognizing your authenticity and accomplishments. You give yourself credit for what you do and who you are. This connects you with your center and the Universe, which has always believed in you. You also have more clarity to direct the Law of Attraction. As you support yourself with this kindness and honesty, you validate yourself and accept that you have value.

The Reasons to Acknowledge Yourself

One of the things I do with clients is to have them acknowledge themselves and celebrate their accomplishments. Most of the time, they don’t realize how much they’ve done or how things have changed until we do this exercise. The following are tangible benefits of acknowledging yourself.

1. Raises your self-esteem. Your self-esteem derives from your sense of how much you respect yourself. When you begin to notice what’s good about you and what you have attained, your self-worth rises and you self-image improves. You believe more in yourself and your abilities, which mean you are willing to expand out of your comfort zone.

2. Increases your motivation. Don’t you want to do more when you feel like you’re making progress? For instance, you start to go through a pile of papers, filing things, and once you see how much you’ve whittled it down, you want to do more. The same is true when you pay attention to even the small wins in a day. It energizes and inspires you. You feel encouraged and to reach for more.

3. Improves your mood. Don’t you feel good when you check off tasks that you’ve completed? It activates the reward circuit in the brain and triggers the release of pleasure chemicals. The same is true when you celebrate your efforts. You feel better about yourself and life, and have more resources to deal with challenges.

Give yourself permission to celebrate who you are and your accomplishments. Consider your good qualities, your efforts, and your progress. By making this a daily practice, your life will be richer and happier. You’ll be meeting one of your deepest needs and empower yourself to fulfill more of your potential. The Universe would approve. What can you do today to acknowledge yourself?

Affirmation:
The Universe appreciates me just as I am. It believes in me and knows that I can achieve whatever I desire. I now give myself permission to acknowledge what’s good about me and the good that I do. I know that the Universe approves of and supports me in this activity.

Watch the accompanying video, How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Acknowledging Yourself.

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Empowering Your Mind

Mindset, Motivation and Empowerment

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Tag: goals

Are You Living on Autopilot?

November 1, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

Align Your Heart with Your Vision

October 18, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

Key Elements for Your Success

October 17, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Acknowledging Yourself

September 12, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart

3 Reasons to Acknowledge and Appreciate Yourself

September 11, 2018 Linda-Ann Stewart