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Moving from Motivation to Momentum

Moving from Motivation to Momentum

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Steam locomotive of train

I’m sure you heard of this natural law when you were in school. “A body at rest tends to stay at rest. A body in motion tends to stay in motion.” It’s not just applicable in science, it’s also true of your life in general. Inertia, which is the tendency to do nothing, can be challenging to break through.

When you have a task, goal or vision, sometimes it’s hard to put any effort towards it. You could want to tidy your desk, begin a project, clean out the garage, begin a diet or start a business. But it’s difficult to intensify your desire enough to take steps towards your goal. Any artist, writer or creative knows it’s intimidating to face the blank canvas or page. The Universe waits to help you, but you have to give It something to work with first.

Release the Brake

You may be waiting for inspiration or motivation before you get moving. If so, you could wait a long time. Frustration, and maybe guilt, will build up. The more they do, the more you’ll be stuck in that emotional cycle. You’ll attract more circumstances to keep you blocked and distracted, and the Universe will have a hard time guiding you. It’s easier for the Law of Attraction to draw good to you when you have opened the door.

Once you’re able to get up and get moving, natural law indicates that you will stay in motion. And when you have momentum established, you’ll continue on your way. The Universe can direct you and gives you what you need. It’s like a train pulling out of a station. After the engineer releases the brake, it takes great effort for the train to begin its journey. But once it does, it not only keeps moving, it accelerates until it reaches its desired speed.

You use more energy keeping your foot on the brake, than releasing the brake and beginning to roll. Allow your vehicle (you and your goal) to gather speed as you advance. You are in control of the whole process, and the Universe supports you. Don’t wait for motivation. Just get started by taking that first step.

The 4 Stages of Motivation

However, it’s hard to take the first step when you’re at rest. When you understand the 4 stages of motivation, they can empower you to move through them more quickly and develop your momentum.

1. Resistance. You may procrastinate getting started or just plain avoid it. Your subconscious mind is trying to keep you safe. You’ve probably heard the statement, “What you resist, persists.” Whatever you’re avoiding won’t go away. And trying to ignore it will just make it gain energy to get your attention. Anything you’re evading will always be at the edge of your mind, taking up mental space, and siphoning off energy from the rest of your life.

2. Action follows attention. Wherever you’re directing your focus will influence your conduct. “Energy flows where attention goes.” Spend time considering your task or goal, or gather information about how to accomplish it. Build excitement about it. This could be as simple as assessing what you need to do, and writing a list. Or you could bring together your materials, read articles about your goal or decide how to begin.

3. Action can inspire motivation. Once you’ve devoted time to examining your goal, take a baby step. When I have problems writing, I’ll start writing something, anything, to get in the flow. Taking a tiny action triggers the reward center in brain and you feel good. Even checking something off your to-do list will cause you to feel like you accomplished something. This sparks motivation to do something else, so you experience the mental high again.

4. Build momentum. Commit to dedicating five minutes a day to work on a tiny step of your project or goal. This amount is doable. Since it feels good to achieve something, you’re then motivated to take the next step or do more. Once five minutes becomes comfortable, increase your time or the number of tasks. again.

Philosopher Lao Tzu said, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the single step.” To put this into practice, take a step, no matter how small. Then, take another step, then another. With motion comes motivation, and that creates momentum. Putting one foot in front of the other will accelerate your progress until you’re unstoppable.

Affirmation:

I now release anything that is holding me back from taking action on my goal. It’s safe for me to take the first step. The Universe supports me, and makes my way smooth and straight. As I take a step, I’m encouraged to take another. I am Divinely guided and inspired to go in the right direction for me. As long as I’m moving, the Universe can guide and direct me. The Universe makes my path smooth and clear. Everything I need is now provided, whether it’s motivation, ideas, contacts, opportunities or anything else. I am now advancing in the right way to fulfill my potential.

Watch the accompanying video, Overcoming Resistance.

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

Empower Your Inner Strengths

Empower Your Inner Strengths

Most people criticize themselves for traits they don’t have, instead of focusing on helpful characteristics  they do have. What if you accepted and relied more on your strengths? They’d be able to support you in your goals and increase your sense of wellbeing. Uncover your strengths, and learn how to use them in a way that benefits you. Watch Empower Your Inner Strengths.

Transcript:

Welcome. Most of us tend to criticize ourselves for traits we don’t have in abundance, don’t we? We tend to pay more attention to them than we do to characteristics that are more natural for us. But what if we empowered those inner strengths? What if we accepted and relied on them more? Wouldn’t it enable us to use them more deliberately, and allow them to help us in life? In this video, I’d like to share a personal experience and help you accept your strengths and use them more productively.

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.

A while back, I was going to give the short presentation at a networking meeting. Before the presentation, the speaker was asked questions about him or herself to allow the audience members to learn more about them.

One of the questions the leader asked me was, “What characteristic do you have that has helped you?”

I thought a moment, and I said the one that popped into my mind. “Stubbornness.”

You could hear a collective gasp in the room. “Oh, you mean determination, don’t you?” the leader asked, and someone else said,  “You must mean persistence.”

“No, I mean stubbornness. It has literally saved my life.” And it has. More than once, by my stubbornly refusing to give in, has saved me in situations in which my life or limb was in danger. It went well beyond determination and persistence.

I know it’s controversial, but I consider stubbornness to be one of my inner strengths. I accept and acknowledge it about  myself.  And knowing that I’m stubborn allows me to recognize when I need to be more flexible. The self-knowledge also enables me to use that characteristic along a spectrum, from persistence to determination.

What about you?

What trait or characteristic has been important in your life? Think about it for a moment. Pick one that comes to mind.

How has it been important or helped you? How has it affected your life? Are there times when you may need to back off from it, as a situation might call for that?

And how can you use it to help you in the future, in a positive way? Think of ways you could use it to your benefit.

When you have those answers, you’ll be clearer about when you can use that strength, and when you need to balance it or soften it. By accepting and empowering your strengths, you’ll be more confident, resilient and have a greater sense of wellbeing.

How can you accept and empower your strengths?

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, Focus on Your Strengths for Greater Wellbeing and Success.

Focus on Your Strengths for Greater Wellbeing and Success

Focus on Your Strengths for Greater Wellbeing and Success

by Linda-Ann Stewart

If you’re like most people, you probably try to improve on your weaknesses. These are areas where you don’t do as well in life. Unfortunately, if they’re a weakness for you, you’ll never excel at them, because they’re not natural for you. You’re just able to manage them. As an individualized part of the Universe, there’s no way you can express all of Its attributes. One of my weaknesses is making small talk. With a lot of effort, I can hold up my end of that type of conversation, but it’s not easy for me.

The Alternative

Instead of working so much on your weaknesses, focus on your strengths. The Universe created you with a whole host of other positive attributes you can call on. Consider what’s right about you, what you do well, and depend more on them. Essentially, you’ll be cultivating the best parts of yourself.

When you keep trying to prop up your weaknesses, you’re likely self-critical about them and that doesn’t help to build you up. But if you highlight your strengths, you feel better about yourself and are more positive overall. You’re accepting your true self, the person the Universe designed. When you’re clear about your strengths, you’re able to utilize them more and be more successful. They also give you a sense of resilience and you start noticing how you use them in your life.

How to Shift Your Focus

To shift your focus from your weaknesses to your strengths, I suggest you make a list of your strengths. These could be positive qualities, such as: optimistic, self-reliant, organized, curious, thoughtful, and so on. List at least two or three of them, if not more. You might even consider the opposite of what you think of a weakness in yourself, especially in specific situations. For me, I began to cultivate a skill I already have that’s good for conversations. I’m a good listener.

As you look over your strengths, notice if you don’t feel more empowered and good about yourself. You may even feel more grounded and authentic. This allows a deeper connection to your Higher Self. Contemplate how you’ve used these traits in your life and how they’ve helped you. And think of how else you could use them going forward. Ask for Divine Guidance to help you utilize them in the best way.

Your strengths could give you a new direction to follow that will open doors for you. Doing this exercise can boost your optimism and sense of wellbeing. This isn’t to say you won’t work on your weaknesses, as I did to learn to make small talk. Just that you shift the majority of your attention to your strengths so that they support your success.

Affirmation:

The Universe created me with specific positive traits and characteristics to help me navigate my life. As I recognize and cultivate these strengths within me, I discover a deeper acceptance of myself. By embracing my strengths, I’m more authentic and connected to my Higher Self. I am now Divinely Guided about how to utilize my positive qualities in the best way for my satisfaction and success.

Watch the accompanying video, Empower Your Inner Strengths.

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

How to Turn Failure into Success

How to Turn Failure into Success

If you’re working to change a habit, learn a skill or build a business, you’re going to fail at some point. No one likes it, but it’s part of the process. This simple mindset shift will help you to overcome the disappointment and turn that failure into success. Watch How to Turn Failure into Success.

Transcript:

Welcome. In today’s video, I’d like to share a mindset tip on how to handle failure and cultivate success.

No one likes to fail, do they? But no one who succeeds hasn’t failed at their endeavor, at least once. Whether it’s changing habits, learning a skill, or building a business, everyone has setbacks, right?

It’s well known that while inventing the light bulb, Edison failed to find the right filament thousands of times. Instead of letting it defeat him, he said, “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways it will not work.” What a way to think about it!

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.

Inventors and entrepreneurs fail frequently, as do those learning skills and those who want to change habits. They fail before they find success. Any “overnight success” has been at work at it for a long time. Along the way, they’ve learned valuable lessons that they’ve built on. Ways they discovered didn’t work, or needed to be tweaked.

Anyone who has achieved a goal or learned a skill or changed a habit has had mistakes and setbacks. It’s part of the process of learning, growing and discovery. If you haven’t failed, it will be harder to maintain your success, because you won’t have learned as much. Failure encourages resourcefulness.

My mindset tip for you is that if you fail, at anything, in your personal or professional life, learn what you can from it. Integrate that knowledge, and then say, “Next.” Take your next step. Each step you take will bring you closer to the success you seek if you persist, keep learning and stay focused on your goal and vision. Learn and say, “Next.”

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, Failure: The Great Teacher.

Failure: The Great Teacher

Failure: The Great Teacher

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Have you ever fallen off your diet, not reached your monthly financial target, or had a relationship fall apart and felt like a failure? Most people have had some experience of not meeting their goals or expectations and feeling discouraged.  There’s no shame in not hitting your mark or having a setback. Everyone has disappointments when they’re making progress. You can’t have success in anything without a few mis-steps. Failure is a valuable teacher. The Universe obviously is using the situation to help you grow and expand.

Failure Isn’t Final

Author Robert Allen said, “There is no failure. Only feedback.” An infant falls many times before they finally walk. Each time they fall, they strengthen their muscles and improve their balance. An entrepreneur generally makes several attempts before their business is a success. With each failure, they learn more, such as where to focus their marketing efforts.

When someone is changing their eating habits, they’re going to have multiple slip-ups their new habits become permanent. They may discover that they need to have other tactics in place. No matter what you’re striving for, the lesson is to learn from your mistakes and apply that to your next endeavor. When you’re open to discover what the situation can teach you, the Universe provides you with inspiration and guidance.

How to Learn from Failure

Instead of viewing failure as the end of your quest, view it as feedback. Consider that there are still things for you to know, understand and implement before you can reach your goal or vision. The Universe has a greater vision for you. When you shift your perception from being dejected that things didn’t work out as you expected, to it being a learning experience, you take back your power and control. And when you reclaim control, you reduce stress and open up to having more resources to innovate. And more Universal Good can flow to and through you.

Once you’ve changed your position towards the situation from failure to experience, you can ask yourself some questions, such as:

* What tripped me up?

* What can I learn from this?

* What can I do differently next time?

These questions trigger your subconscious mind, which is a problem solver, to find the answers. You can then use those answers to formulate how to do better next time. Each setback is a step forward, if you use it constructively. When you choose to learn from your experience, there is no failure, only feedback.

Affirmation:

Every step forward brings me closer to my goal, even if it’s a step back. Any setback has the potential to give me better understanding and knowledge for my next steps. The Universe has a greater vision for me and is guiding and directing each step along the way. As I view setbacks as learning opportunities, I open to greater possibilities of good.

Watch the accompanying video, How to Turn Failure into Success.

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

The Amazing Power of Your Imagination

The Amazing Power of Your Imagination

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Imagination

A few years ago, I was making breakfast with my then boyfriend, now husband. We were talking and, not paying attention, I reached into a 450 degree oven with my bare hand to pull out a cookie sheet. Not very smart. As soon as I put it down (no, I didn’t drop it), I ran cool water over my scorched fingers, then sat down to use the self-hypnotic pain management techniques that I know. I imagined the pain shrinking.

As the pain began to reduce, I had a spontaneous image that the heat from my fingers should drain into an ice cube. Although I thought it was an odd idea, I complied, because I recognized my subconscious mind was instructing me on how to perceive the pain. Within ten minutes, my fingers felt nearly normal. That’s the power of visualization.

The Power of the Subconscious Mind

The mind cannot tell the difference between reality and the imagination. If you get angry at someone on Monday, and tell a friend about it on Thursday, you’re going to feel all the sensations of being mad all over again. The subconscious doesn’t realize that what you’re relaying actually happened three days ago. It thinks it’s happening again, because it’s so real to you.

The same thing is true if you begin to imagine something wonderful happening to you, as long as you can believe it’s possible. I’ve helped people stop smoking, reduce weight, improve their self-esteem, increase their income, be more successful and make many other improvements through the use of their imagination.

By forming a clear mental image, you’re giving the subconscious a picture to create in your world. The subconscious is already forming your life from the images you’re holding in your mind. Think about it. Are you visualizing lack and limitation, or health, abundance and harmony? The clearer the picture you have, the more often you mentally rehearse it, the easier and faster it will manifest.

How to Use Visualization

Many people complain that they can’t visualize or use mental images, but everyone does in some way. Visualizing is rarely as clear as watching a movie screen. Imagine you’re in your living room and describe it to someone. That’s visualizing. Some people imagine textures, how they feel, or hear in their imaginations before they will hazily see images. You can strengthen all of your visualization senses with practice.

When you use your imagination to improve your life, make a clear mental statement of your desire, as if you already had it. Do you want more income, if so, how much? Make it an amount that you believe you can have. Visualize that amount flowing into your bank account every month. Are you wanting to reduce your weight? Imagine yourself turning away from sweets, eating less, and imagine your body feeling more slender. Pay attention to any spontaneous images you get from your subconscious concerning your desire. Many times your inner mind will give you feedback as to what will best prime it to create.

Every time you think of your issue, substitute your mental picture and state the affirmation you created at the beginning. Visualize it as you’re going to sleep at night. Act in ways consistent with your goal. Take some action, even if it’s just symbolic or a ceremony, to show your subconscious that you really want your desire. If you want more business, place an ad, give a talk, or make contacts to start the energy flowing.

Although my grabbing that cookie sheet should have blistered four of my fingers, it didn’t. I had only momentary discomfort a couple of times that day, and used the ice cube image each time. The next day, I had only light red mark on the most affected finger, and nothing visible on the other three. Use the amazing power of  your imagination to create the life you want.

Affirmation:

I form a clear, mental idea of what I want. The Universe has already approved of it for me, so it’s up to me to accept it. I believe that I deserve it. I can feel its reality, see its completion, and recognize how it affects other areas of my life. My subconscious mind knows how to create it, and I trust my subconscious mind to fulfill my visualization harmoniously. I accept my desire, or something better, into my life now.

3 Powerful Ingredients for Success

3 Powerful Ingredients for Success

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Traffic light that signals both stop and go

When my friend Norah wanted to quit smoking, she threw away her cigarettes. Although she avoided them at home, when she was around someone who was smoking, she’d ask for one. To quit, she was using willpower to break the habit of smoking, but she hadn’t changed her attitude and feelings about cigarettes.

Even though she wanted to quit, she still viewed herself as a smoker. Cigarettes still had positive associations for her, and she wanted to fit in with her smoking friends when they were together. That lasted until she ended up in the hospital with pneumonia and almost died. Then, she finally changed her attitude about them and quit smoking permanently.

Ingredients for Success

To achieve your goals, you need to have your intention and beliefs aligned. Norah had a goal, but her beliefs and self-image weren’t in agreement with it. When your goal and attitude clash, your mindset will prevent you from meeting your goal. This is true for both your personal and professional lives. The Law of Attraction will act on your deeply held beliefs rather than your stated desire. For success, three powerful ingredients are essential.  

1. Willpower.

Willpower is a function of your conscious mind, which makes decisions and chooses your vision or goal. Although willpower will get you moving on a goal, it can only take you so far. After a while, your willpower wanes due to exhaustion and stress, among other factors. It then becomes hard to avoid distraction and temptation.

Willpower isn’t about forcing your desire into manifestation. It’s more about being self-disciplined and having self-control. You allow the Universe to work through you as you willingly take the actions necessary for your goal.

When you get tired or stressed, you become too overwhelmed to deal with the changes your goal requires and you return to familiar and known behaviors. It’s easier to be impulsive, and you may not make the best decisions. Rather than rationally deciding on the best course, you react from past beliefs and experiences.  

Use your willpower sparingly and realize it’s a limited resource. Instead, prepare for situations by making decisions ahead of time so that you can follow them automatically. Stay focused on small steps that will direct you towards your goal.

2. Mindset.

Your mindset has been programmed into your subconscious mind by your past ideas and experiences. To be successful, your thought patterns, beliefs and attitudes must be in harmony with your goal. Otherwise, the Law of Attraction will act on your deep beliefs and sabotage your conscious desire. When you want to achieve a goal, consider how you think and feel about it.

When you change your mindset to align with your new goal, you change your relationship to your goal and the actions you need to take. Changing the way you think about it means your actions come more naturally, and your willpower just implements them.  

When your mindset supports your goal, focus on the benefits of it and why you want it.

3. Imagination.

Your imagination is the creative part of you and also a function of your subconscious mind. A key to changing your mindset is imagining what can be accomplished. Use your imagination to visualize how your goal will look when it’s completed. The Universe will use your visualization as a model and bring you everything you need to achieve your goal.

When you imagine a situation, whether it’s choosing an apple over candy, making a follow up call, or working on working on your budget, you allow your subconscious to rehearse the motions of success. You familiarize your subconscious with your chosen actions and create pathways in your mind to make it easier to follow through.

Focus on the best outcome. When you do, instead of seeing the result as an observer, put yourself in the picture. Feel the satisfaction from accomplishing your goal. Then follow through with actions to achieve your vision.  

Align Your 3 Powers for Success

If your willpower, and mindset and imagination are in conflict, your mindset and imagination will win every time. However, when the three are in alignment, then success becomes almost inevitable. Once Norah changed her attitude about smoking, and imagined herself as a nonsmoker, it was easy for her to use her willpower to abstain from cigarettes. 

Your mindset and imagination fuel your willpower. As you change your thoughts and beliefs, and imagine the possibilities, your results change as well. Combine the drive of your willpower, the energy of your beliefs, and the power of your imagination to create the life you want.

Affirmation:

The Universe guides me to make the right decisions that support my goals. I set my intention to follow the ideas and steps necessary to fulfill my vision. I now align my thoughts, beliefs, actions, and mental pictures with my intended goal. When they are all aligned, the Universe can deliver everything I need to succeed. My desire to achieve my goal sustains me and assists me to stay focused. Each step I take makes it easier to stay on course and take the next one. I keep my mind focused on my direction and take the actions necessary to achieve my vision.

Watch the accompanying videos, Use Your Won’t Power to Strengthen Your Willpower and Visualization to Align Your Self-Image with Your Goal.

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

Use Your Won’t Power to Strengthen Your Willpower

Use Your Won’t Power to Strengthen Your Willpower

by Linda_Ann Stewart

Transcript:

Welcome. In this video, I want to share a way that will help strengthen your ability to use your willpower to stay on course to your goals. My mother used to say that a major component of willpower was won’t power. Won’t power is choosing to avoid one thing, and instead do something else. When I facilitated tobacco cessation classes, as well as in my hypnotherapy practice, I found this to be very true.

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.

In my tobacco cessation classes, the group would discuss various tips, tactics and techniques to quit smoking and abstain from cigarettes. There was no one idea that worked for everyone, so the individuals would find one, or more, that would work for them.

Many of them discovered that telling themselves that “smoking is not an option,” when they were tempted, worked well to stop them from lighting one up. And then they could transition to one of the other tactics to keep them on track. But their won’t power of “not an option” was first. It cemented their commitment and motivation to quit smoking.

Won’t power can reinforce your willpower. Once you have decided what you “won’t” do, the decision is made. There is no second guessing of it. It helps to eliminate the temptation before you shift to what it is you do choose to do. It can make it easier to stay on course to your goal.

How could you use it in your personal and professional lives? Wherever you know you’ll encounter temptations, you can decide they aren’t “an option,” at least for a certain amount of time.

For instance, in your work, we know that distractions and multitasking are time sinks, right? So you could decide that you check your email only three specific times a day, or never before 10am. Checking at any other time, “isn’t an option.”

Or, during your focused work periods, you won’t answer the phone or check into social media. It just isn’t an option when you have set aside time to work on a project or make follow up contacts.

In your personal life, let’s say you want to reduce weight, the donuts in the break room are off your menu. They just “aren’t an option.” To be more present with your family at dinner, answering your phone then is “off the table.”

Think about your goals, and what might trigger you to detour from them. Where or when might you be tempted. Then decide what “isn’t an option” for you, so that you remain on track. And then choose what you do want, and how you want to proceed to your goal. What positive actions do you want to take to support your goal? Use your won’t power to reinforce your willpower and you’ll find it a lot easier to achieve your dreams.

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, 3 Powerful Ingredients for Success.

Achieve Your Vision One Step at a Time

Achieve Your Vision One Step at a Time

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Steps to Success

Grace’s desk was piled high and deep with paid bills, papers she needed to file, old mail to go through, and current projects she was working on. Because of the disorder, when she looked for something, she couldn’t find it. But every time she considered wading through it all, she felt overwhelmed, and would do something else.

Eventually, she decided to set aside 10 minutes a day to work on her pile. The was all the time she could handle at one time. It took a couple of weeks, but by chipping away at it, the pile slowly diminished. Finally, one day, it was small enough that she felt she could spend more time on the project. 90 minutes later, the disorder was gone.

What’s Your End Result?

It’s important with any goal, vision or intention to keep the end result in mind. But sometimes, you don’t have the necessary belief that you can accomplish the goal. Grace knew she wanted an organized desk, but couldn’t face going through all the papers in one sitting. So she started with the amount of time that was comfortable, what worked for her, and what she believed she could reasonably commit to.

When you have a goal, make sure that it’s reasonable and you believe it can be achieved. If you don’t have that necessary belief, then your subconscious mind will make sure it won’t be accomplished. Your subconscious works on the level of conviction you have that your vision is within your grasp. If you don’t have that belief, then start with what you do feel is possible.

How to Accomplish Your Goal

Keeping your outcome in mind, create a series of steps that will take you to your goal. Your first step should be one that you know you can handle. If you want to begin exercising, start with taking a 5 minute walk, if you know you can commit to that. To lose weight, work on the goal 5 pounds at a time.

Make sure the steps are within your control. For instance, if you want to dig yourself out from a mountain of debt, hoping to win the lottery is an unreasonable solution and subject to chance. Instead, address your current budget, which is within your control. What can you eliminate or reduce? Can you increase your income, either through a raise or creating a side business? What actions do you know you can take? Focus on the impacts you can reasonably make towards your goal and work on them. You have the power to find the solution, but you may have to take it a bit at a time.

Some people have a hard time believing they can find another job. If that’s the case, just take it one step at a time. First, work on your resume. Then, start looking for jobs in your area of expertise. Set up interviews. Make sure that each step is one that you know you can fulfill. Once you’ve completed one, move onto the next. Every day, spend a few minutes on some action that moves you in the direction of your goal.

Your Belief Plays a Part

Unless you believe you can accomplish the steps on the way to your goal, your subconscious won’t help you. Instead, you’ll discover that you’re sabotaging yourself. When you commit yourself to take action that’s within your control, it convinces the subconscious to support you. Succeeding steps may be easier, or important information may come your way. Create your intention and start working towards it from the location of your current belief.

The subconscious follows your focus. As you accomplish each step, your belief that you can ultimately achieve your goal will grow. Each completed step builds your belief in yourself and in your abilities. Moving towards your goal, step by step, will take you to your goal.

Affirmation:

My goal is within my grasp. What I can believe, I can achieve. Each step I take brings me closer to the fulfillment of my vision. As I move towards it, the Universe brings me everything I need to accomplish it.

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

Manage Your Priorities to Achieve Your Goals

Manage Your Priorities to Achieve Your Goals

How many times do you get sidetracked in a day? This often happens when you put other people’s priorities ahead of your own. When you prioritize your priorities, then you get so much more done with less stress. In this video, I talk about my struggles with this issue and what I’ve done to deal with it. Learn the 3 questions I ask myself and that you can use to find clarity about where to put your attention. Watch Manage Your Priorities to Achieve Your Goals.

Transcript:

Welcome. In this video, I’d like to give you a tip on how to improve your productivity, progress and effectiveness. I’ve struggled with managing my priorities over the years, and want to share a tip about how I’ve learned to handle this area so that you may get more done, and have less stress.

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.

There are times when I’ve gotten sidetracked in a day. Before working on my priority for the day, I’ve checked my email and found a client’s message asking a question, and decided to answer it right then. Or my work flow was interrupted by a follow up call from someone I’d met networking. Or my phone would notify me of a message on LinkedIn, and I’d immediately answer it.

And of course, each of these led to other demands on my attention from other people. Has this ever happened to you? You fall into the trap of satisfying other people’s immediate demands, and not your urgent concerns?

Each time, I mistakenly thought that if I took care of all of these other details right then, I’d be free to focus on my priority task for the day. But what generally happened was that I found myself scrabbling with distractions from others all day long, paying attention to other people’s priorities. Not my priorities.

I learned that if I started out my day scattered, the rest of the day would often continue that way. I would be running all day to catch up with myself and what was important for me and my business.

Unless you pay attention to your intention first, and prioritize your priorities, you’ll fall victim to someone else’s agenda. This is true in your personal and professional lives. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t deal with those folk and what they request of you. Just that you do it in your time frame, when it’s convenient to you, after you’ve worked on what’s important to you and your business.

So here’s the tip. There are 3 simple questions you can ask yourself so you know if you’re working on your priorities or someone else’s.

  1. Will the distraction interfere with your priority for the day, such as your task or project? Yeah, I know, this sounds really simplistic. This is the basic question to ask for you to realize you’re being distracted. If the answer is yes, the next couple of questions will help you decide if the interruption can be dealt with now or later.
  2. Can the distraction be delayed a few hours? Whether it’s a message, a phone call or something else. If it can be delayed, set it aside, focus on your priority and respond later.
  3. Is it imperative for you to deal with right now, such as, will it bring you money or customers immediately? Now, that would be a good reason to interrupt your flow and respond, right? But if not, set it aside and focus on your priority and respond later.

See the theme? If you can respond later, set it aside and focus on your priority first. These questions can help you gain clarity about where you need to put your attention and what to do in each one.

When I started using these questions, I was much more productive, and less frustrated. When you manage your priorities, by prioritizing them, you’ll get a lot more done, with a lot less stress. 

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, Develop Self-Mastery by Managing Your Attention.