How a Brain Dump Can Unlock Your Creativity
Science is finding what creatives have always known. You can be more creative when you don’t have a lot on your mind. Fortunately, with practice, you can learn to clear your mind so you can be more creative. For instance, meditation and mindfulness help to retrain your brain to be more focused on the task at hand. This article gives four other ways to clear your mind so you can be more innovative.
How to Take Action Every Day: 5 Powerful Habits
To change your life, you have to be consistent with your new habit. Unfortunately, after a few days, most people fall back into the old rut. Just think of any New Year’s Resolution. This article gives some common sense tips that work to help you stick to your decision to make a particular change in your life.
Office workers report increased job control after using meditation app
Stress is a major contributor to mental and physical ailments. It’s well documented that meditation can reduce stress, but many people don’t know how to practice this technique. Researchers decided to study if a meditation app could help people learn meditation and reduce the effects of stress. Not only did it improve the health and well being of office workers, it gave them a better sense of control at work.
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.
How to Construct an Empowering Reality
You create your reality by your beliefs which then prompt your actions. But your beliefs aren’t real. They’re just ideas you’ve accepted. This article has tips on how you take control of your beliefs so they help you create the life you want.
9 Mantras For Anxiety That Experts Use Themselves
Everybody experiences anxiety from time to time. But sometimes, it can become overwhelming. The secret is to nip it in the bud before it has a chance to reach that point. Mantras, intentional self-talk or affirmations can break the cycle of anxiety before it escalates.
Adult Bullies: How to Spot Them, and How to Handle Them
Unfortunately, the bullies we knew in high school grew up into adult bullies. For the most part, they’ve gotten more subtle in their behavior, so they’re harder to recognize. Appeasing them isn’t an option, because it simply encourages them. You have to be proactive to be aware of their tactics and address them in a way that discourages them.
~ 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.
How to Make Others Feel Significant
You want to appreciate others for their efforts and contributions. But there’s a big difference between appreciating people and making them feel significant. Because sometimes you don’t actually show them how much their support has meant to you. When you actually do things to show them how much they matter to you, then they feel significant.
How to Make Your Priority a Priority
Many times, you think you have a priority, but you don’t treat it that way. It gets shunted aside for something more immediate or convenient. It’s all too easy to get distracted and sidetracked. This article has 5 timely tips on how to actually make your priority a priority so you make sure you act on it.
12 Powerful Tips to Overcome Negative Thoughts (and Embrace Positive Thinking)
It can sometimes be difficult to maintain a positive attitude when there are other people around you who are negative. Or when you’re having a series of setbacks or obstacles. If you take just one of these tips and practice it, it will make it easier for you to be positive. They help reframe situations and thought processes to make a real change in your life.
5 Things You Can Do to Improve Your Mindset in 20 Minutes
Mindset is a set of attitudes, says Carol Dweck, a world-renowned Stanford psychologist. After years of research, she discovered that dedication, hard work and resilience are much more important to growth and success than brains or talent. When we change our mindset to one of growth, we change the course of our lives. Not only taking this time improve your mindset, it will improve your outcomes.
How To Do A 5-Minute Meditation In The Morning
It’s hard to fit something else into the morning. But what if it made your day go more smoothly and you’d be less stressed? Making the time would be worthwhile then, wouldn’t it? Here are the steps of how to take just 5 minutes in the morning to make your day, and life, go better.
How to Start Your Day on Purpose
Rather than reacting to your life, without giving it any thought, wouldn’t it be better to deliberately choose your course? You have the ability to change the direction of your life, but you have to commit to being intentional. Here are three things you can do to create a better life for yourself.
It’s sometimes hard to keep your priorities straight. You’re pulled in different directions, especially when other people want something from you. But your priorities are important and necessary if you’re going to achieve any goal. And the most important person to please is yourself. Here are 3 tips on how to respect your priorities and set them first in your life.
Transcript:
Thank you for watching. I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision strategist. Sometimes, it’s just so hard to keep your priorities straight, isn’t it? You’re pulled in different directions. You have competing agendas from yourself and other people.
For instance, let’s say you want to lose 10 pounds, but you also want a piece of your coworker’s birthday cake. It’s really a hard choice. One part of you wants to lose the weight, the other wants the cake. Future benefits vs immediate gratification, and the cake is right there in front of you. But if you don’t focus on your priorities, which are for your future benefit, you sabotage what you want to accomplish, don’t you? I mean, that 10 pounds will always remain because of all the temptations, unless you prioritize your priorities.
And it’s not just sugar that can be your downfall. When you want to accomplish some goal, it’s all to easy to get distracted by small tasks and other peoples desires, isn’t it? Being able to stick to your priorities is important if you ever want to achieve your goals. It doesn’t matter if your goal is personal or professional. You have to make it a priority above other things. This is what propels you forward so that you reach your goal or dream. And this is one of the things I help my coaching clients with.
I specialize in working with women service professionals and entrepreneurs, who spin their wheels and get stuck as their business runs them. Using my 30 years of experience as a hypnotherapist, I help them chart their course and develop the strategies that will accelerate their business to the next level and beyond. And I’d like to share a some tips that I share with my clients.
One of the things that gets in the say of sticking to your priorities is other people’s desires. They want something from you and it can be hard to disappoint them, can’t it? It’s hard to know when it’s appropriate to give them what they want and when it’s not. Especially for women. All too often, we put off our priorities to please others, don’t we?
But priorities are called that for a reason. When you prioritize something, and follow through on it, you’re establishing that it’s important to you. It’s more important than what other people want from you, or than the other tasks and minutiae that crop up to distract you. A priority takes precedence over all that, right?
How can you approve of your priorities, rather than seeking approval from other people? The most important person to please is yourself. If you constantly put your priorities aside for other people, you’ll never get them done. It may feel selfish, but, if you think about it, so is breathing.
By fulfilling your priorities, you’re committing to a certain course of action that will take you to a goal and you’re dedicating your time and effort to towards it. The priority of your goal comes first on the list of things to accomplish.
Life can get in the way, sometimes, and you can get sidetracked, can’t you? But if you establish your priorities, and respect them, you’ll stay on track to accomplish your goal. And your goal is a step towards your dream or vision. So how can you set your priorities first?
1. Set strong boundaries. Let people know what you’ll do and what you won’t do. When you’ll help and when you won’t. And don’t make exceptions, except in a true emergency.
2. Prioritize your priorities. When they’re they most important thing in your mind, that changes the way you think about them and how you respond to distractions and others demands. When you’re faced with temptation, remember that you’ve set your priority above anything else.
3. Take action on your priorities. Take 1 step, do 1 thing. Your brain and subconscious likes accomplishment, even if it’s small. Your subconscious and brain will use that to keep your motivation up and momentum going.
These are 3 steps you can take to make sure you fulfill your priorities. When you act on them, you’ll have more success in achieving your goal, dream and vision.
If you’d like some help in achieving your goals, apply for a complimentary Clarify Your Vision coaching consultation.
Thank you for watching. As you take care of your priorities, your goal will take care of itself.
Prioritization – More Important Than Any Productivity Technique
Productivity doesn’t mean to get more tasks done. That’s just a way of staying and looking busy and it’s neither efficient or effective. True productivity means to get the most important task done. The one that will drive you closer to your goal. To that end, you need to prioritize what is most important and do that task first.
How to Support Yourself When Your Emotions Don’t
Our emotions are valuable because they provide us with important information. But sometimes our emotions steer us down the wrong path, and we can make self-destructive decisions based on them. This article explores how to determine when our emotions aren’t being helpful and what we can do in that case.
Take a Mindful Moment: 5 Simple Practices for Daily Life
From frustrating to impatient, your experiences each day give you opportunities to practice mindfulness. And it doesn’t need to take much time to reclaim your calm and reason. It just needs a bit of consideration and practice. Explore these simple practices to breathe more peace into your day.
7 Practical Tips to Achieve a Positive Mindset
Studies have proven there are multiple physical and mental benefits to positive thinking. But it’s sometimes easier said than done to get into a positive frame of mind. These tips show you how to prioritize your mental well-being
How to See (Clearly) What You Want to Accomplish
As you begin your workday, it’s all too easy to get dragged into dealing with the immediate, instead of what your priorities are. Focus is key to get done what’s important to you. Visualization is a helpful tool to allow you to keep your focus, rehearse for challenges, and practice the steps you need to take to get to your goal. This article gives you specific steps for your morning focusing routine so your day goes more smoothly.
Discover the 7 Key Traits of an ‘Abundance Mindset’
In life, you can choose between viewing the world as abundant or limited in terms of love, relationships, wealth and resources. Your mindset determines your choices. When you choose to view the world as abundant, you have a greater experience of life. And you always have a choice.
Becky lived in an apartment with a couple of roommates, and she wanted a space of her own. Faced with all the options available to her, she kept saying, “I’m so confused.” She was afraid she was going to make the wrong decision, get trapped somewhere she didn’t want to be, or miss out on something better. The confusion left her paralyzed. So she didn’t choose anything different and even when her roommates changed, she stayed where she was.
Clarity is vitally important for you to know what you want. Once you are clear on your goal, you can focus on it and move in that direction. Clarity is necessary for you to have success in any area of your life. If you don’t know what you want, you’ll just drift along and receive the results of the average of your thoughts.
Without clarity, you’re in a perpetual state of confusion. This causes insecurity and stress, which simply creates more turmoil. You run around in circles and don’t get anywhere. You might look at one option after another, and all the possibilities you face produces more chaos for you.
But the only person who is generating your confusion is you. By affirming that you’re in this state, refusing to commit to a path, or allowing yourself to get overwhelmed by choices, you’re contributing to the challenge. You’re giving your subconscious mind the message to keep you scattered. The underlying issue may be that you’re trying to avoid responsibility, afraid you’ll make a mistake, get stuck in a situation, or fail.
Believe it or not, uncertainty is a choice. It’s a decision not to decide. Once you whittle down your choices, and choose a direction, it clears away the mental fog. It may become evident that you don’t want to go that route. That’s fine. You can stay open to other possibilities and change your mind. But don’t change it too much, or you’ll find yourself back in the mists that clouded your mind in the first place.
When you pick a track and determine to continue on it, the haze clears away, and you can see a little way ahead. Take one step, then another. At this point, you don’t need to know where you’re going to end up. It’s enough that you’ve chosen to move in a direction. Because when you’re moving, the Universe can guide you.
Initially, any direction is better than being stalled. So even if you’re not certain about what you want, choose a path. As you’re moving, you’ll discover what you want and don’t want. Write down your goals or intentions. This prompts you to be more specific in what you desire. Then read them every day. Ask yourself, “What can I do today that will move me in their direction?”
Once you’ve made a decision, don’t second guess yourself. If new information comes your way, or circumstances change, then you can reevaluate your choice. But don’t be distracted by a shiny, new idea or opportunity that leads you in a different direction without some reason. The diversion is a mirage and simply an old habit trying to prevent change. If you become uncomfortable, it’s just the old habit of confusion trying to lure you back into its lair. Stay on track, and confusion will fade away.
As you build your commitment to your decisions, you’ll gain confidence that you can make wise ones. The Universe and your inner self will guide you to make ones that take you on your optimal path. Trust yourself, because you do have the knowledge within to make the right choices for your greatest good.
Affirmation:
I am always being guided and directed by the One Life within me. I pick a direction, make a choice and take a step. As I move forward, the next step is made clear to me. My path is made smooth and straight. Each day, I take action to propel myself towards a greater good.
