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Optimism: The Key Ingredient for Success

Optimism: The Key Ingredient for Success

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by Linda-Ann Stewart

Your attitude determines your direction

When I first began my hypnotherapy practice, I was in a depressed emotional state. After I opened, some people said that hypnosis wasn’t in demand in our area. That belief lodged in my already disheartened mind. Although I advertised, spoke at clubs, networked, and gave seminars, my attitude was such that my efforts did very little. Not surprisingly, I had a hard time paying my bills. The Universe and my creative mind were just supporting my negative conclusion that there were few clients available.

One day, I decided to change my mindset about the number of people who wanted to use my services, and just see what happened. I began to market myself by giving talks about hypnosis, and promoting these talks with fliers and through press releases. This time, I held the attitude that I would reach the people who were interested. Almost immediately, my practice began to grow.

The Role Optimism Plays in Success

How many people do you know who begin a project, a hobby, or a new business with stars in their eyes? They have the ability, the desire to make it a success, but after the first couple of bumps or setbacks, they give up and quit. These folks lack one ingredient they need to be successful – optimism. This concept gives them the attitude that with a bit more work and perseverance, things will get better.

A person can have incredible gifts, but if they don’t do anything with them, because they don’t believe in themselves, they won’t achieve anything. That same person can have all the motivation and desire to get ahead, but if they lose heart and get discouraged when things don’t go their way, they will begin to give up and stop doing what’s necessary to create a success. In Learned Optimism, by Martin Seligman, it states that talent plus desire, but without optimism, will result in failure. Therefore, optimism and belief in oneself is absolutely paramount to succeeding in any venture.

Your Attitude Helps or Hinders You

When a person has a belief that things won’t work out, the Universe fulfills that concept. When an obstacle comes up, we need to seek out new avenues of expression rather than just giving up, or just going through the motions. It’s been said that, “God can’t steer a parked vehicle.” As long as we’re moving in a direction, we can be guided, if we believe we will be. If we figure, “What’s the use?” then the Universe has no opening to help us. We’ve blocked It out. We then sink into a swamp of despair of our own making.

If I hadn’t changed my attitude from being pessimistic to optimistic, my practice would never have thrived. I altered the way that I perceived the public and my marketing methods. In so doing, my more positive attitude unconsciously communicated with people. Telemarketers are instructed to smile as they call, because the person they talk with can hear it in their voice. Having an optimistic attitude, in addition to ability and motivation, is essential to success in any area of life. The Universe flows into the positive attitude to create new possibilities, making it a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Affirmation:

I have the talent, ability, desire and motivation to achieve my goals. Negative beliefs that I won’t be able to reach my goal can be self-fulfilling. I examine those concepts to identify what may be holding me back, and change them to more positive ideas. As I move in the direction of my desire, I remember that the Universe is guiding me. I open myself up for that guidance, recognizing it when it comes, and following it. I now have all the attributes I need to be a 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 You can contact her at LAS@Linda-AnnStewart.com or 928-600-0452.

Defuse the Power of Negative Thinking

Defuse the Power of Negative Thinking

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by Linda-Ann Stewart

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

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

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

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

Thought Is Creative

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

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

Your Subconscious Programs

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

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

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

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

How to Deal with Negative Thoughts

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

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

Affirmation:

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

As a focus mentor, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart motivates women entrepreneurs and small business owners to focus and transform their business through deliberate actions that break through distraction and overwhelm to greater success, wellbeing and prosperity.To achieve your goals with confidence and ease in 4 powerful steps, register for her FREE training video and accompanying action planning guide at www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/setyourcourse.html. You can contact her at LAS@Linda-AnnStewart.com or 928-600-0452.

Train Yourself to Be Positive

Train Yourself to Be Positive

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It’s normal to pay more attention to negative situations than positive. But if you view everything in your life through this filter, you could become anxious and depressed. Fortunately, you can counterbalance this attitude so you’re more positive, happier with greater well being. Learn 2 tried and true methods to train yourself to be more positive and better deal with distressing situations that occur.

Transcript:

Did you know humans have a natural tendency to pay more attention to negative situations than positive? It’s called the Negativity Bias. It’s purpose is to help you survive and keep you safe. But if you view everything in your life through this filter, it no longer is being helpful.

Fortunately, you can counterbalance this ancient attitude so you’re not as affected by it. When you do, you’ll be happier, have greater well being and be more resourceful in dealing with the upsetting situations in your life.

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

I’d like to share two ways to change from being distressed to having a more positive frame of mind. By practicing these tactics each day, you’ll begin to inoculate your mind against dwelling on the negative.

The first tactic is to shift your attention from a negative mindset to something more uplifting. Write down positive things that have happened to you during the day. It could be as simple as traffic being lighter than expected, finding a close parking space, or a phone call going well.

Think of the small things that went right, such as your victories and what you accomplished. Do this every day and soon it will become a habit to notice them as your day progresses. This trains your brain to seek out the positive.

A second tactic is slightly different from the first, though they could be combined. Write down five things you’re grateful for every day. This is a tried and true method to begin to train yourself to be more optimistic overall. Studies have shown multiple benefits from consistently keeping a gratitude journal.

The  items you’re grateful for could be more general than the specific things that went right in your day. For instance, it could be that you’re grateful for your health, how the day was productive, or for the friends in your life. But, like I said, gratitudes could combine with thinking about what went right in your day and then being thankful for each one.

Either, or both of these tactics together, will improve your life in multiple ways. They will help from seeking out the positive becoming automatic, to being less affected when negative things do occur, to just being more productive. You’ll notice that you feel better about yourself and have a better outlook on life.

Thank you for watching. If you enjoyed this video, please like my YouTube channel and click the bell to be notified of future videos. Stay focused.

Read the accompanying article, Find the Good in Your Life.

Find the Good in Your Life

Find the Good in Your Life

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Linda-Ann Stewart

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

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

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

The Negativity Effect

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

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

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

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

Why It’s Important to Overcome This Tendency

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

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

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

What You Focus on Grows

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

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

The One to Five Ratio

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

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

Creating a New Brain Pattern.

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

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

Affirmation:

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

Watch the accompanying video, Train Yourself to Be Positive.

As a focus mentor, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart motivates women entrepreneurs and small business owners to focus and transform their business through deliberate actions that break through distraction and overwhelm to greater success, wellbeing and prosperity. Register for her FREE guide to Design Your Best Day at www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/guide.html. You can also contact her at LAS@Linda-AnnStewart.com or 928-600-0452.

What Are You Training For?

What Are You Training For?

by Linda-Ann Stewart

woman with balloon

There’s an old saying that “You get out of a project what you put into it.” This means that however much energy you put into an activity, project or talent, you reap the benefits in equal measure. Athletes wouldn’t dream of attempting to “go for the gold” without training mentally and physically. An artist knows that their talent grows the more they exercise it. They recognize there will be hurdles to overcome, but those obstacles simply make their abilities stronger. 

The same is true of every aspect of life. If you focus your energy in the direction of prosperity, you’ll reap abundance. However, if you expend your thoughts in the area of fear of not being able to pay the bills, that’s what you’ll manifest. It’s like a bank account. Think of what thoughts you’re depositing in your mind. Whether those thoughts are positive or negative, you’ll earn interest based on the contents of you “account.”

It takes concentrated practice to be aware of what thoughts you’re thinking. And it takes even more attention and discipline to transform those ideas into ones that are positive and beneficial. Are you putting in ten thoughts of fear for every single thought of faith and confidence? If so, you’ll draw out whatever it is that you fear. When you practice focusing on the good each day, you’re exercising your confidence in the Universe. If you come up against an obstacle, you’ll have the strength to handle it. 

Whatever kind of energy you’re putting out, you’ll be experiencing that in your life. Are you depositing thoughts of an expanded, more abundant life? If not, begin to become aware of what kind of thoughts you’re depositing in your emotional bank, and start to train for a better life.

Affirmation:

I become aware of the thoughts that I think that might not be in harmony with the Universe. I train myself to transform them into the kind of idea deposits that I desire. I know that my thoughts manifest their equivalent in my life. I keep my thoughts positive and focused on the Universal Good. Even though I might not see the good in any situation, it is there awaiting my recognition of it. The more I practice this, the stronger and more empowered I become.

Will I be optimistic in 3 weeks?

Will I be optimistic in 3 weeks?

Question about affirmations

Question: If I say an affirmation for three weeks, will I see results and think only positive thoughts by then?

Answer: If you begin saying a positive affirmation, and say it consistently every day for three weeks, you’ll notice an improvement in your attitude. However, you’ll need to catch each negative thought and idea and change it to a positive for the results to be most effective.

And you won’t have a permanent change in your thoughts after just three weeks. You’ll need to keep up with the affirmation, and transforming your negative thoughts even after that. But the negative thoughts will be fewer and you’ll be more positive overall.

This isn’t something you can do for a few days, weeks or months and then stop doing. It’s a focused change of thinking that must continue. You won’t have to be as diligent later on, because you’ll be more aware of your negative thoughts and automatically change them to positives. Affirmations aren’t magic. You have to use them consistently for them to work.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Sparks of Insight

Your subconscious mind acts on the overall direction of your thinking. If you’re 51% positive during the day, then that tendency overrides the 49% of the negative thoughts you’ve had. The converse is also true. The good news is that you only have to be a little more positive than negative to experience the benefits and have the negative of that day be erased. So every time you catch yourself having a negative thought, deliberately find something to be grateful for or insert an upbeat thought. It takes discipline and awareness, but it’s worth it.  

~ Linda-Ann Stewart

How One Small Technique Can Improve Your Attitude

How One Small Technique Can Improve Your Attitude

by Linda-Ann Stewart

When you’re in a bad mood or feeling down, it seems like nothing goes right. If you can shift your attitude to being more upbeat, life flows more smoothly. There is a simple technique you can use to improve your mood and attitude, and it just takes a minute. Here are 3 tips on how to use it to feel better and be happier.

Transcript:

Thank you for watching. I’m Linda-Ann Stewart, a vision empowerment coach. Everyone has bad days, right? When you’re having one, it’s hard to get anything done, isn’t it? You feel like you’re wading through molasses. You know you’re fighting an uphill battle with your attitude and it seems that anything that could go wrong, does go wrong.

You realize that if you can shift your mood to a better one, everything flows more smoothly, right? What if I told you there was one small action you could take that could boost your attitude, lower your stress, and be happier? Would you try it? I certainly would.

Believe it or not, it’s something as simple as smiling. Please, bear with me. I know, when you’re feeling down, the last thing you want to do is smile. But smiling, whether you mean it or not, will make you feel better. It stimulates your brain into a more positive state, fooling it into thinking that you are actually feeling good. The old cliché, “Fake it until you make it,” is true in this situation. The brain can’t tell if your smile is real or forced. 

My first tip is going to look silly, but try it. You have nothing to lose, except your dignity. When you’re not feeling like smiling, but want to feel better, take a pen or pencil and put it between your teeth. [DEMO]

Looks silly, right? But notice how it activates the same muscles you use when you’re smiling? The muscles of the corner of your mouth turn up. Your brain doesn’t know that you’re just pretending. Hold it for a minute or so, and then take it out. Try smiling on your own, and see if it isn’t easier. 

My second tip is to start the day by deliberately smiling for 30 seconds to a minute. That will set your day up to be more productive, and you’ll approach your work with a more positive attitude. When you’re more positive, your day goes smoother, doesn’t it?

My third tip is to do the same thing when you hit a slump or start to feel stressed during the day. Smile for 30 seconds to a minute, again. It will cause you to be more upbeat, lower your stress and energize you.

So, “Turn that frown upside down.” Yes, I know, it’s corny. But smiling will encourage your brain to shift into a more positive state. You’ll look at your life differently. And when you change your attitude, then your responses, and your life, changes.

Please subscribe to my YouTube channel to receive more mindset coaching tips to improve your life.

Thank you for watching. And remember, smile.

Please read the accompanying article, How Simple Actions Improve Your Attitude.

~ Linda-Ann Stewart