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“Expand Beyond Your Comfort Zone, Part 2”

“Expand Beyond Your Comfort Zone, Part 2”

by Linda-Ann Stewart

What is it that causes people to remain in their comfort zone? Many people have a fear of the unknown. When faced with a new situation, they don’t know if they can handle it, doubting their abilities. Just like I felt about my move.

A person may have a fear of responsibility. I know of people that have done menial jobs all of their lives, and turned down managerial duties because they didn’t want the additional authority. They’re very comfortable doing the duties they know, and don’t want to learn anything new. A nine to five job satisfies them, and they don’t want to have to expand their horizons.

For some, moving out of their comfort zone means that they’re afraid that they’ll lose control. A woman I knew had been very ill for several years.  Her family catered to her, and she didn’t have to deal with running a household. When she recovered, she continued to be treated like she was made of glass and would break at any time. She did nothing to contradict this. Her illness gave her control over her family, and she wasn’t going to give up that control.

Though her family assumed she wasn’t well enough to take care of the housework or the cooking, she was healthy enough to volunteer as an aide in a charity hospital. She was comfortable believing that she was an invalid, because she avoided responsibilities she didn’t want. If she had given up her invalid role, she would’ve lost the ability to control her family.

Even remaining at the same income level can be a way of staying in your comfort zone. Or not being able to exceed a certain amount in your savings account. Accepting only so much good in any one area is a way of keeping yourself in a situation that you’re familiar with. By doing so, you don’t have to handle the anxiety of any uncertainties. You’re on well-known terrain, and know all the hills and valleys.

Copyright 2000, 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

“Gratitude: The Key To Cultivating A Positive Attitude” Part 2

“Gratitude: The Key To Cultivating A Positive Attitude” Part 2

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Research shows that nurturing a sense of gratefulness can:

1. Improve resiliency. It gives you greater internal resources to deal with the challenges that come up and allows you to bounce back faster. You’re better able to cope, more creative and have less stress overall.

2. Lift depression. People who are grateful experience less depression. By focusing on positive things in your life, you begin to change your mood. The pleasure circuits in the mind are engaged, which makes you feel better.

3. Make greater progress on goals. Those who regularly found things to be grateful for made better progress on goals, such as exercising more or getting better grades.

4. Have better relationships and more friends. Because you’re more at ease with yourself, people are more comfortable and open with you. You have a greater capacity for compassion, and tend to be more generous. This is a characteristic that attracts people to you.

5. Have improved job performance. Studies show students who practiced appreciation are more enthusiastic, alert, determined and improved their grade point average. That translates into having more resources to devote to work and greater success.

6. Experience better health. People who practice gratefulness have stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, reduced heart disease and exercise more. They also live an average of seven years longer than those who don’t express thankfulness.

7. Be more optimistic. Grateful people are 25% happier than those who don’t feel this positive emotion. This helps you to feel happier and more positive despite what upsetting circumstances you’re experiencing.

These benefits increased when people kept a gratitude journal. Improve your outlook on life by writing down three things you’re grateful for each day. This simple practice will break the habit of looking for the negative in your life, and replace it will intentionally seeking the positive. And don’t think they have to be big things, like getting a raise or the day going smoothly. They can be small items, like seeing a beautiful sunset or connecting with a friend.

Research indicates that expressing gratitude using this journal writing exercise can improve your attitude within three weeks, and the results remain for at least six months. It trains the subconscious mind to seek out positive outcomes. When you seek something positive, you tend to find it. And this then creates new patterns in the mind to be more optimistic. It gently trains you to be more positive.

Plato said, “A grateful mind is a great mind that eventually attracts to it great things.” By showing appreciation for what you have in your life, it instructs the subconscious to find more to be thankful for. When you find yourself wanting to complain, stop and remind yourself to look for some blessing around you. It will help to shift your outlook to be more upbeat and you’ll feel more empowered.

Read Part 1 of Gratitude: The Key To Cultivating A Positive Attitude.

Affirmation:
Whenever something challenging comes up in my life, I deliberately look for something to be grateful for. As I cultivate this habit, I find that I’m happier and more optimistic. My mind begins to seek things to appreciate. And the good I focus upon increases. So everyday, I remember to be thankful for all the good that’s in my life.

Copyright 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Open Mental Pathways To Strategize Better

Open Mental Pathways To Strategize Better

When you’re stressed, overwhelmed, or anxious, your brain blocks access to both the rational and intuitive part of you. Essentially, your wires have gotten flooded with too much stimulus and nothing can get through.

This can happen in sports or in life. Your emotions can keep you from being able to think clearly, or you ruminate too much about an issue. Your mind gets into a negative feedback loop and you can’t move forward.

In Christopher Bergland’s article, “No. 1 Reason Practice Makes Perfect,” he writes about how we create grooves in our mind when we do things repetitively. He talks mainly about athletics and muscle memory, but it also relates to life in general.

“You become super fluid in sports – and in life – when you have freed up the working memory of your cerebrum [conscious mind] to strategize and keep tabs on the more cerebral aspects of everything that’s going on while completely trusting your gut and the intuitive powers of your cerebellum [subconscious mind].”

To clear away the mental debris, he describes a simple exercise. This allows your conscious mind to figure things out while opening up to the wisdom of your inner mind. He suggests, “relaxing the backs of your eyes, taking some deep breaths and ‘letting go.'”

Practice this several times a day when things are going smoothly. Then the process will be automatic when you really need it.

Avoid “Hardening of the Attitudes”

Avoid “Hardening of the Attitudes”

I know that many books on success and mindset suggest you avoid negative people. It’s true that it’s so much easier to maintain a positive attitude when you’re around people who are also positive. Unfortunately, some people interpret that idea to mean that they should only associate with people who agree with them.

I recently had an experience that illustrated how limiting that could be. I had a short exchange with a businessman who believed that everyone wanted to improve themselves and be better at their jobs. His business was based on that assumption and he worked to improve employees’ skills.

From my experience with clients, I felt that although people might want to be better, they didn’t always want to do what was needed to get there. As soon as I expressed that concept to the gentleman, he ended the discussion. By turning away from a contradictory opinion, he refused to open his mind to different viewpoints. If he had, he might have been able to use them to improve his business.

When you avoid opinions that conflict with yours, it indicates that you’re not really confident of your position. If others’ ideas can affect you that easily, you’re not grounded in your own. Listening to what others think, and why, broadens your understanding so you can modify your ideas and help them grow stronger roots. It can also open the door to inspiration, which will allow you to reach greater heights.

So when you encounter someone with an opposing opinion, listen with an open mind. This is true in business, politics, relationships, and life. Avoid “hardening of the attitudes” and consider what they’re saying. It may change your ideas or strengthen your position. Only by associating with people who have varying opinions and experiences can you have a broader and deeper perspective.

What Are You Holding Onto That’s Holding You Back?

What Are You Holding Onto That’s Holding You Back?

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Kay had been unsuccessfully searching for a job for over a year. Unfortunately, her choices were limited because she had only minimal computer skills and didn’t want to learn any more. Finally, one night she capitulated. “Fine. If I have to learn to work with computers to get a job, I’ll do it.” Within a week, she’d found a job and needed only minor computer skills for it. But she didn’t find the job until she let go of resistance that was limiting her choices.

When you’re stuck in place, and not making any progress, you may need to release something that you’re hanging onto with all your might. It may be an idea, belief, attitude, role, relationship or outdated image of yourself. You may not even be aware of what it is. But it’s blocked the flow of your life. Here are some things to consider if your life isn’t moving forward like you want it to.

1. Is your image of how a situation “should” or “ought to” be constricting you? Have you placed conditions on what you will and won’t do? As long as you’re trying to direct the way circumstances unfold, you’re blocking the flow of energy. It can be scary to release your preconceptions, because you don’t know what the results will look like. But you can’t control them anyway, and trying to do so is getting in the way.

2. Many times, you need to release a lesser desire for a greater reward. For instance, it’s easier to lounge on the sofa than it is to get up and exercise. But the outcome from the activity has so many benefits. To receive them, you have to let go of your short-term comfort to achieve long-term goals. Or you may need to cut an old friend loose if their negative attitude is affecting yours thus making room for someone who is more positive.

3. If you’re stuck, consider what idea, belief or attitude might be holding you back. Just as Kay was attached to her hatred of computers, you may be reluctant to let go of some long-held idea. The concept may not even be about the area you want to move toward. But it’s some unreasonable condition you’re clinging to that you’ve placed on your life. It could be a role or self-image, such as “Managers don’t do filing,” “I can’t lead meetings” or “I’m not good enough.” Whatever it is, the idea isn’t serving you any more, and you need to let it go to move forward.

4. Ask yourself, “What am I holding onto the hardest?” or “What am I resisting letting go of the most?” It may not be the idea itself that’s restricting you. It’s the energy you’re using to hold onto it that’s created the block. Kay didn’t need computer skills for the job she got, she just needed to open her mind to the possibility. If you refuse to move forward in one area, other areas have a hard time expanding, too.

The Universe is about expansion and flow. It’s like a river, always trying to move you forward. However, if you want to go “tubing” down a river, but you’re hanging onto a rock, you won’t get very far, and you’ll never flow downstream to a greater good.

Affirmation

The Universe always wants to expand through more good into my life. I open my mind to be willing to recognize what’s holding back my progress. I now release any self-imposed obstacles to greater good. They’re old ideas that no longer serve me. I let them go easily and smoothly, knowing that better things are on their way to me now.

Copyright 2011 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

Fulfilling A Goal By Working A Plan – Hiking The Grand Canyon Rim Trail

Fulfilling A Goal By Working A Plan – Hiking The Grand Canyon Rim Trail

Jeff and I visited the Grand Canyon again, recently. On this trip, we hiked the last three-mile section of the rim trail that we hadn’t done before. It took us four trips to complete the thirteen miles of trail. This accomplished a goal I set over twenty years ago.

Even though I’d wanted to hike that trail, until a little over a year ago, I hadn’t made any plans or taken any action. You can have a desire or a goal, but unless you decide to do it, nothing will happen. Your inner mind won’t consider that you really want it unless you start taking some steps in that direction.

Whenever we had an opportunity to visit the National Park, we arranged to go. It’s a day trip for us, including about six hours of driving, hours of walking and Jeff taking photographs. Because of that, we set aside two days. One day to spend on the trip and one to recover at home.

I could have just enjoyed the scenery on our first visit and not returned, but I had a goal. So we decided to take advantage of every chance we had to visit the Canyon. Because of this, I was able to achieve my goal in just over a year.

Before each trip, we planned which part of the trail we’d hike next. We also checked the weather, and made sure we carried enough water, snacks, and the right kinds of clothes (jackets and gloves for winter, neck coolers and hats for summer).

A goal is only as good as its plan. Then you have to work the plan. The opportunity for me to fulfill my goal came up unexpectedly. But once it did, I took advantage of it. I planned for it and worked the plan. You can accomplish your desires in the same way.

A Positive Mindset Is More Important Than Skillset In Business

A Positive Mindset Is More Important Than Skillset In Business

Even with incredible knowledge, abilities and skills, your beliefs and attitudes can hold you back in all areas of life. This is especially true in the work arena. If you have a negative mindset, it can cost your job or a promotion.

In a recent study, Harvard lecturer, Paul Stoltz and recruiter, James Reed surveyed thousands of employers. They discovered an overwhelmingly majority of employers, 98%, considered mindset to be the most important thing in hiring.

81% of employers considered it more important than skillset when granting a raise. And a whopping 91% chose it as vital when giving a promotion. Employers would trade 7.2 normal employees for 1 with a winning attitude.

So create a strong winning, positive attitude and mindset to find, keep and excel at your job. You can always develop better skills once you have this foundation.

Stress Management Through Relaxation & Chinese Power Healing Techniques, Part 2

Stress Management Through Relaxation & Chinese Power Healing Techniques, Part 2

by K.P. Rajagopalan

Another very effective stress management method has been developed by Chinese Doctor Zhi Gang Sha, an MD in Western Medicine, presently practising traditional Chinese medicine in the USA & Canada.

Dr. Sha has been able to bring considerable & sustained relief to long-standing sufferers of migraine, asthma, back pain and even serious diseases like multiple sclerosis and cancer. It is of interest to note that Dr. Sha has also worked as the personal physician of the Dy. Prime Minister of China.  He calls his system of healing as “Power Healing” which is a combination of 4 techniques namely, Body Power, Soul Power, Sound Power and Mind Power which can be adapted for healing of any abnormal condition of  the  body, quickly and easily.

The procedure adopted for ‘stress management’  in  the “Power Healing” system of therapy is based on the discovery/understanding that stress is any energy blockage in the head & removing the same will reduce your stress right away.

The following practice is a simple & effective one for reducing stress.

Body Power

Sit in a chair.  Keep your back straight & don’t lean back against the chair.  Use the One hand near, One hand far Body Power technique i.e. point your near hand at the crown chakra at the top of  your head.  This hand should be held about 4” to 7” above your head.  Place your Far hand 15” to 20” away from your lower abdomen, with the palm facing your body.  The near hand creates a high density field at the head, while the far hand creates a low density field at the lower abdomen. Energy will flow from high-density ( the head) to low-density ( the lower abdomen)
dissipating the energy blockages in the head and reducing stress. At the same time, your fundamental energy centres will be nourished and strengthened.

Soul Power

Say “hello” : Dear Soul, Mind & Body of my head, lower abdomen, near hand, far hand, ee-joe (one-nine) & the bright golden light, I love you.  Please give me a healing to reduce my stress.  Do a good job,  Thank you, The combined Soul Power of your head, abdomen & hand combined with ‘ee–joe’ & the brightest golden light, can offer incredible healing to reduce your stress.

Sound Power

Chant the healing sounds of number one and nine in Chinese “ee” & “joe” respectively. ‘Ee’ stimulates cellular vibration in the head. ‘Joe’ stimulates cellular vibration in the lower abdomen. Chanting ee-joe repeatedly will move blocked energy from the head to the lower abdomen, reducing your stress.

Mind Power

Visualize the brightest golden light flowing from the head to the lower abdomen. The intention of your mind, coupled with the vibration of the cells in your brain & head, will move blocked energy from the head to the lower abdomen. Visualize and imagine yourself in perfect health & being completely calm and relaxed, full of inner joy and peace.

Do this practice for 3-5 minutes.  Repeat several times a day as needed.  You can use it to prevent stress as well as to reduce it.

Copyright 2011 K.P. Rajagopalan
All Rights Reserved

The author is working as Deputy General Manager In-charge of the Unit office of Steel Authority of India Ltd, Bokaro Steel Plant (A Govt of India Enterprise) at Chennai, INDIA and can be contacted at Phone: 91-44-9444397294 / 9791071534  and  at the e-mail ID: www.sundararajagopalan@yahoo.com.

Stress Management Through Relaxation & Chinese Power Healing Techniques, Part 1

Stress Management Through Relaxation & Chinese Power Healing Techniques, Part 1

by K.P. Rajagopalan

The term ‘Stress’ when related to human physiology refers to the body’s responses to everything from viruses and cold effects to emotions such as fear and anger.  Dr. Hans Selye, the foremost exponent of the effects of stress, has defined stress in the following manner i.e. stress is the body’s non-specific response to any demand placed on it, whether that demand is pleasant or not.

All of us have a stress “Savings A/c” deposited in our body as our life force. The object is to spend it wisely over the longest time span possible. The difference between our stress savings A/c and the normal bank A/c is that we cannot make any more deposits into the stress A/c. We can only make withdrawals.

The reason most people age at different rates is that our society is full of “big spenders” who over-react to harmless circumstances as if they were life or death matters. We see it everyday on our roads and on buses when we are on the way to work.

It is impossible to be truly creative when we are tense & nervous.  When one is tense, he works at a greatly reduced level of efficiency.  Some of body’s warning signs that stress is beginning to seriously affect us are:

(1)  Intestinal Distress
(2)  Insomnia
(3)  Nail biting
(4)  Memory lapse
(5)  Hunger for sweets
(6)  Frequent illness
(7)  Rapid Pulse
(8)  Persistent fatigue
(9)  Irritability
(10) Lack of concentration
(11) Increased use of alcohol

The best way to overcome this state/situation is the practice of conscious relaxation techniques which lead to a condition of relaxed alertness i.e. the body going to a totally relaxed state but the mind remains alert-the ideal state for super accomplishment.  The more often these exercises are repeated the more they will become a part of our habitual thinking.  We shall begin to think habitually of relaxation, rather than pressure and strain.

Relaxation can be easily achieved by deep breathing followed by rolling the eyes upwards & counting backward from 50 to 1.  By this process, there is a reduction in our brain wave frequency (as measured by EEG) and we reach the ‘alpha’ level where the brainwave frequency is 8-14 cycles/sec— found by research to be the most productive level for impacting the sub-conscious mind. We can deepen the relaxation by visualizing/imagining peaceful scenes like being in a garden or at the beach or watching humorous scenes or listening to humorous stories which make you laugh.

There are long relaxation techniques and short relaxation techniques.

If you lead a really hectic life, or if you are currently in a period of increased stress, the long relaxation procedures are recommended.  However, most people can turn on their mental computer in a few seconds and do not need minutes to get into a state of  physical and mental relaxation.  For them, the short relaxation techniques work fine.

Three long Relaxation Techniques

1. Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes. Relax your scalp. Relax your forehead. Relax your cheeks, mouth, neck, chest, back, thighs, legs, feet and toes. Take your time—-visualize  each body part.  Move each part, also mentally “talk” to it and  ask it to relax.

2. Sit in a comfortable position.  Close your eyes.  Take 3 deep breaths, exhaling slowly after each breath.  Now, count backward  from 100 to 1. Mentally visualize each number before going onto the next.

3. Sit in a comfortable position.  Close your eyes & imagine you  are in an elevator that is about to descend.  It could be an elevator in a department store, in which case you can “hear” the automated voice recite “Seventh Floor, Women’s clothes etc.” When you reach the 1st floor, you are ready to begin programming your mental computer.  Or the elevator can be in a mine shaft.  See signs stating each 100 ft down.  When you reach 2000 ft, you are ready to begin mental programming.

A short relaxation technique

1. Sit in a comfortable position. Close your eyes.  Take a deep breath & exhale slowly. Do this again. Do this a third time.  Now, visualize several peaceful scenes you are familiar with.  Enjoy each scene as if you were there being sure to recreate the colors you saw. You are now ready to program your mental computer.

Copyright 2011 K.P. Rajagopalan
All Rights Reserved

The author is working as Deputy General Manager In-charge of the Unit office of Steel Authority of India Ltd, Bokaro Steel Plant (A Govt of India Enterprise) at Chennai, INDIA and can be contacted at Phone: 91-44-9444397294 / 9791071534  and  at the e-mail ID: www.sundararajagopalan@yahoo.com.

Abundant Reasons To Release Clutter In Storage

Abundant Reasons To Release Clutter In Storage

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Recently, Jeff and I worked to consolidate my two storage units into one. The unit I was cleaning out was created when I sold my mother’s house, the other one was inherited from my mother. I brought several boxes home, went through some of them, and have a small hill of items to be donated to Goodwill.

Organizers say eliminating clutter and outdated things helps to lighten the mental load and clear the mind. According to them, you take less time to look through the clutter for things you want. I did find several items that I’ve spent hours looking for in the house. I didn’t realize they were in boxes in storage.

A feng shui practitioner once told me that going through piles of stuff released stuck energy. She said this stagnant energy could create difficulty in life, obstruct advancement in your career, and block money flow. Releasing that energy creates more of a flow in your life.

In spiritual circles, it’s said that if you want more good in your life, go through your attic, basement and closets and eliminate what you don’t use anymore. By releasing possessions you no longer need or want, you create a vacuum to draw more of what you want to you.

Whatever the reason, I’m glad to have been able to eliminate one storage unit. I still have a lot to go through in the unit I still have. But one great advantage of doing this is that it will definitely be nice to have a smaller payment each month.