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It’s All About Choice

It’s All About Choice

by Linda Ann Stewart

Every moment of every day, you are making choices, from the moment of awakening to the time you go to bed at night. Your strongest thought determines what you’ll do at any given time, whether it’s conscious or habitual. In the morning, do you get up when the alarm buzzes or hit the snooze button? Do you cook eggs or oatmeal for breakfast? Which route do you take to work? Every moment is a fork in the road, and you travel one way or the other.

Your attitudes and actions have been created by your past choices that have become automatic over time. As a youngster, you could either accept or reject your caregivers’ assessments of you. One person would believe it when a father accused them of being “worthless,” while another would consider the source and discard the label.

Sometimes, you don’t even realize that you have options. When you were young, other people made decisions for you. Or maybe you accepted the attitudes of those around you to be able to cope in your environment. After you grew up, you lived on autopilot without assessing those old ideas. This resulted in struggling through a life based on those outdated concepts.

There may have been times when you felt that you had no alternatives. That only meant that the other choices would have been harder to live with. A person in an awful job may feel they have to stay in it, no matter what. However, they could always find another job, even if it would be at a lower pay scale. Or even work two jobs to earn an equivalent income. Peace of mind and satisfaction may be worth having less or working more.

You choose what your thoughts are, even when they seem to be reflexive. If negative thoughts arise spontaneously, you can challenge them and change them. George Eliot said, “The strongest principle of growth lies in human choice.” If a situation doesn’t end up like you want, you can always change your mind and go in a different direction.

The key lies in recognizing that you were always the one who made a choice. You’ve done so even when you don’t like the outcome or feel stuck. Making no decision is a decision in itself. Going along with what someone else wants is also under your control.

By realizing you’ve always chosen your thoughts, beliefs and actions, even if by default, eliminates the feeling of victimhood and hopelessness. This puts the sense of power back with you, where it belongs.

Be aware that every moment of every day, you’re making choices. If they are made automatically, without thought, then it might be time to evaluate them to see if they’re still valid. By switching from habitual decisions to making intentional ones, you transform from being unaware to being more conscious. When you become aware that there are other options, you can then select a better way.

When you recognize you have choice, even if the alternative doesn’t seem to be of equal benefit, then you open up a wide range of possibilities. It’s the difference between always looking down at your feet and raising your gaze to the horizon. Doing so takes your power back and allows your subconscious to discover better opportunities.

Affirmation

I always choose my thoughts, beliefs and actions. Even when I’m on autopilot, I decided my direction long ago. Now I bring those automatic ideas out of the shadows to assess whether they’re still useful. If I don’t like my current situation, I know that I can make a different choice and improve my life. Realizing that I always have a choice, I reclaim my power and set my subconscious to search for better opportunities.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

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“When Self-Image Sabotages Positive Thinking”

“When Self-Image Sabotages Positive Thinking”

by Linda-Ann Stewart

Positive thinking, which powers the Law of Attraction, always works, as long as there isn’t anything that conflicts with it. Some of those sabotaging issues are ones you know about, such as focusing on what you don’t have (instead of what you want), verbally negating the positive, and old programming conflicts. But one of the main reasons it doesn’t fulfill expectations is due to having a self-image that contradicts your positive focus.

Self-image is a combination of self-worth, self-esteem and self-acceptance. If your self-image doesn’t agree with your conscious affirmative thinking, then your subconscious won’t allow it to manifest. Your subconscious makes sure that what you attract into your life is consistent with what you believe about yourself. If you try to change the outer experience before changing the inner attitudes, your subconscious will short-circuit your positive thinking efforts.

Here are three of the ways a negative self-image can undermine your constructive thinking:

1. Guilt.

There are a couple of ways this can express in your life. Both tie up energy and focus.

The first way guilt can affect you is if you’re acting or thinking in a way that violates your values. For instance, if you consider yourself to be diligently honest, but you cheat on your taxes, this could set up a niggling feeling of guilt. You’ve ignored your values, and your subconscious knows that. So you unconsciously punish yourself by not getting that raise you want. The solution for this is to find where you’re going against your values and change it.

The other way is outdated feelings of guilt that aren’t valid anymore. You could still be feeling bad for stepping on your classmate’s hand in kindergarten. If something happened a long time ago, and you’ve learned the lesson from it, then this type of guilt no longer serves you. It has fulfilled its purpose. Stop punishing yourself by forgiving yourself and move on.

2. Standards and values.

You may have standards and values that conflict with what you’re affirming. For instance, you consider yourself to be honest and generous, and believe the rich to be selfish and corrupt. If you want to be wealthy, that would mean that you’d have to become selfish and corrupt, which would be inconsistent with your values. Your subconscious won’t allow that kind of incongruity.

You could also have old standards that prevent your achieving more. For instance, you want to earn more money, but you feel you shouldn’t make more money than your father or your husband. Not only would this be putting an unrealistic limit on your goal, it could prevent you from achieving it at all. Assess your standards and decide if they’re appropriate for you and and your goals. Some of those values are holdovers from past generations and need to be adjusted.

3. False beliefs about yourself.

Do you believe that you’re unworthy, undeserving, or unlovable? That’s a false belief. Evaluate anywhere you feel bad about yourself, and track it back to where it began. Usually the feeling got rooted in childhood, and was never challenged. Challenge it now. Consider where you’ve been successful, complimented, or appreciated. Those times could be more recent and more objective than the original events. Instead of focusing on the past lies that tear you down, fill your mind with all the constructive opinions that build you up. Stand up to your own self-criticism and let your power unfold.

Although a negative self-image can short-circuit positive thinking, the good news is that your self-image can be changed. Affirmation, visualization, and action in a constructive direction will reap great rewards. When your self-image is consistent with your positive thinking, you’ll get the results you want.

Affirmation

I know that positive thinking works, because what thought has created, thought can change. My thoughts are now changing to be in alignment with my goals. I now release anything that sabotages the good that I consciously choose. I forgive myself for past mistakes. I now update my standards and values to reflect what I feel is important. I recognize my true worth, and  focus on the positive about myself. As I improve my self-image, and act accordingly, it becomes easier for me to achieve my goals.

Copyright 2010 Linda Ann Stewart
All Rights Reserved

A nationally known speaker, life coach, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart helps people rediscover their power and sense of self-worth. Visit Secrets To The Law Of Attraction to download your copy of this free ebook.

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Book Review – “The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence”

Book Review – “The Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence”

Total Self-ConfidenceThe Ultimate Secrets of Total Self-Confidence
by Robert Anthony

I was introduced to this book over thirty years ago, when I heard the author speak. It’s a wonderful book that covers many basic tenets of how the conscious/subconscious/superconscious minds work.

One of the chapters is titled, “Dehypnotizing Yourself.” As a hypnotherapist, I tell people that my job isn’t so much to hypnotize them, as to de-hypnotize them of their outdated beliefs. Dr. Anthony explains that very clearly in this book.

Other areas he covers are letting go of the need to conform, self-acceptance, how to treat yourself gently, how to get over feeling guilty, loving yourself, and THEN he begins to address the deep stuff. He explains about the subconscious, how to program it, setting goals, meditation, affirmations, and much more.

If you’re ready to really begin to transform your life, and want great, easy to read guidebook, check this one out.