• 417.599.2317

Category Archives: Achieve Your Goals

Older posts

6 Easy Ways to Be Kinder to Yourself

Posted on October 30, 2021 - 10:19 am by
My Body Is Healthy, Whole, and Strong - Affirmations

Are you kind to yourself?

Some of the most generous, caring, and wonderful people in the world forget to look after themselves too. However, if you’re not giving yourself the kindness you deserve, you can’t expect to enjoy a healthy level of emotional and spiritual wellness.

So, how do you show yourself some much-deserved kindness?

Like most things, the transition often starts with something small. You can start by simply recognizing when you’re having a difficult day and giving yourself permission to experience your emotions freely.

Consider these simple steps you can take to be kinder to yourself:

Forgive yourself. This might seem simple, but it’s often the hardest thing for many people to do. When someone we love makes a mistake, we’re keen to jump in and forgive them. Yet somehow, we’re often too hard on ourselves and refuse ourselves that same forgiveness.

  • Although you might not be able to automatically forgive yourself as quickly as you’d like, it’s important to start practicing as quickly as possible.
  • The next time you find yourself being angry with something you’ve done, said, or thought, take a step back. Ask yourself how you would respond to a friend who had done the same thing. If you would forgive someone else, try to forgive yourself too.

Nourish your physical health. Nourishing your physical health requires a constant commitment. However, it doesn’t have to be as complicated as it seems.

  • For example, the next time you have lunch, ask yourself if you can choose the slightly healthier option. If you’re too tired to make something from scratch, ensure that you have some frozen meals ready to go, instead of picking up some fast-food.
  • Think about how you can add small bits of extra physical activity into your day too. For instance, could you walk to the store rather than driving there? Not only will you get some extra exercise, but you’ll also save money on fuel and reduce your impact on the earth too.

Get help when you need it. It’s easy to assume that you’re on your own when it comes to dealing with difficult things. However, help is often around if you’re willing to ask for it.

  • If you’re struggling at work with a range of tasks that are too much for you to handle on your own, speak to your boss and ask for guidance.
  • If you’re worried about your anxiety levels or mental health, don’t hide in your room and try to “get over it” on your own. Speak to a therapist or talk to your doctor about your options. Getting the right help when you need it can save you weeks and months of pain.

Spend time with loved ones. Want to make being kind to yourself seem easy? Spend some time with the people you love. They’ll automatically treat you with the compassion you deserve and help you to see why it’s so valuable to look after yourself.

  • If you’re beating yourself up about something, your friends and relatives can also make it easier to look at the problem from a different perspective.
  • Human beings are naturally social creatures. Spending time with others is one of the best things you can do to make yourself feel good and nurture your emotional health. It’s also a great way to prevent yourself from isolating when you’re feeling down.

Add self-care to your calendar. We often find it difficult to carve time out of our busy schedules for self-care on a regular basis. If you’re struggling to find time to look after yourself, it might be worth adding a dedicated “self-care” day to your routine. Mark it into your calendar just like a meeting at work.

  • During your self-care day, you can do anything you like to make yourself feel good. This might mean having a nice bubble bath and reading a book or watching your favorite movie. Self-care can even involve exploring things like deep breathing and relaxation.

Sleep well. Ensure that you get enough sleep each night. 7-9 hours is an opportune amount for most adults.

  • Sleep quality counts too. The better you sleep, the more you’ll be able to handle the everyday challenges you face, without feeling overwhelmed and exhausted.
  • Have a relaxing bedtime routine, a dark bedroom, and a comfortable bed. Avoid screens, alcohol, caffeine, or a heavy meal shortly before retiring.
  • Finally, when you want to give yourself an emotional, physical, and spiritual boost, grab your blankets. Some extra sleep can sometimes be a crucial part of resting and recharging in your day-to-day schedule.

Being kinder to yourself comes with a host of benefits! Do something nice for yourself each day, and soon you’ll be enjoying it as a regular part of your daily routines.

Journaling and Writing for Personal Growth

Posted on May 9, 2021 - 10:57 am by
Journaling and Writing for Personal Growth

 

Journaling is a powerful tool that few people take full advantage of. It can seem like a silly waste of time to some. However, journaling provides a ton of benefits and a surprising number of highly successful people make journaling a daily habit.

You can learn a lot about yourself and gain a lot of insight into your life. There’s something magical about writing that thinking alone just doesn’t have.

While you can type your journal into your computer, most people find it more effective to use actual paper and write.

Use these tips to take advantage of journaling to gain insight into your mind and your life:

Review your day. Take a look at your day and make some notes.

  • What happened?
  • How can you use this in the future?
  • What did you learn?
  • What mistakes did you make?
  • How can tomorrow be better than today?

List progress toward your goals. Think about your goals and list the progress you made toward each. If you failed to do anything to make progress toward one or more of your goals, note that, too.

  • Be proud of the progress you’ve made.
  • Become more determined by the progress you failed to make.

Address your fears. Write about your fears. What are you afraid of? Why do you think you’re afraid of those things? How do your fears impact your life? What is your plan to address those fears?

Choose one way to enhance yourself. Pick something you want to work on and work on it. Write about it in your journal. Perhaps you want to lose 10 pounds or strengthen your communication skills.

  • Choose something that would enhance your life and write about your thoughts, plans, and progress.

List your goals each day. Writing down your goals each day is a powerful way to stay focused on them. Write your 10 most important goals each day and notice how they evolve over time.

List five things that make you feel grateful. What are you grateful for? Make a list of several items each day and notice how your perspective on life changes.

Write about the obstacles in your life. What’s standing in your way? List the obstacles in your life that you believe are blocking you from happiness or achieving your goals.

Make a plan for the future. Aside from your specific goals, what does your dream life look like? How are you planning on getting there? Think about it and sketch out a plan.

Write about what is causing you to feel negative emotions. What is getting you down? What are the situations, people, habits, and beliefs that are causing you the most grief? Why do these things bother you? What can you do about it?

List the best thing and the worst thing that happened today. What are these two things and what was so great or terrible about them?

Use journaling prompts. There are literally thousands of journaling prompts online you can choose to use at any time. Here are a few examples to get you started:

  • Make a travel bucket list.
  • List five things you appreciate about each member of your family.
  • Describe your ideal day.
  • If I could speak to my teenage self, I would say…
  • I wish that others knew I…
  • I wish I could say no to…

Journaling each day can take some time, but it’s time that’s well spent. Develop a routine that incorporates journaling into your life. It won’t be long before you begin noticing the benefits. Do what the most successful people in the world do and write about your thoughts and your life.

 

5 Steps to Overcome the Fear of Success

Posted on January 28, 2021 - 11:55 am by
5 Steps to Overcome the Fear of Your Success

 

Would you say you have a fear of success?

Most people do not understand that they fear their own success. Because they are comfortable with their situations, and rarely want to change their lives. We might not even like it, but it is comfortable.

We know what to expect daily and we might even be unhappy with ourselves, but we know we can deal with it.

Most people don’t like change. They also don’t like the prospect of failing or of even standing out.

How to identify fear of success:

  • Do you consistently ruminate or even make plans for your life and fail to follow through on them? Whether you want to start a business, read a book, or hit the gym five days a week, you just can’t seem to make it happen.
  • Do you finish all your projects or leave them uncompleted? This includes at work and in your personal life.
  • Do you take action or are you all talk?
  • Do you struggle to make decisions?
  • Does your life ever change for the better?
  • Do you self-sabotage yourself, especially when you’re nearing success?

This most-likely describes most of the people you know.
Does it describe you accurately?

Start utilizing these simple strategies to defeat your fear of success and make real changes in your life:

1. Imagine being ultra-successful. Imagine yourself being even more successful than you want to be. If your goal is to make $100,000 per year, imagine making $1 million. If you want to lose 25 pounds, imagine getting lean enough that you can see your abs. Do this each night and morning in bed.

  • Make the visualization as vivid as possible. Include all of your senses. When it feels uncomfortable, stick with it and just relax.
  • It will feel natural, in time. When this happens, achieving your goal will be much easier than you could ever imagine.

2. Practice standing out. Many of us fear success because we don’t want to stand out in any way. Fear crept in along the way, and you were self-taught o even decided that it’s better to keep our head down than to be noticed.

  • Every day there are a variety of ways you can practice standing out in your life. You can change your style. You might even put on a pair of green shoes and walk around the mall. Or you could wear your classy outfits to the store.
  • You could go out in public with your hair disheveled.
  • You can do something in public that you’re either really good or really bad at, like bowling. 

3. Reframe failure. Fear of success might actually be a fear of failure. Keep in mind that failure is just an undesired result. It says nothing about you. It simply means that you need more practice, more time, or a better approach. When you can view failure in this manner, there’s nothing to fear.

4. Instead of thought focus on action. We can’t fear success if we don’t think. If you need to send 100 cold emails to find clients for your business, just sit down and get busy. The longer you think about it, the harder it becomes. Just decide and take action.

5. Have a real vision for the future. Enough motivation can overcome any fear. Create a possible future in your mind that is worth overcoming any obstacle. Fear doesn’t matter if you have a very compelling future in mind.

Do you fear success? It seems counterintuitive to fear success, but it’s a common obstacle to making sustained progress in life. Success brings attention, the unknown, and the possibility of failure.

Create a vision for the future that will pull you through any fears you might have. Learn to deal with discomfort. Remember, you only have one life to live. Avoid allowing fear to limit your life.

9 Ways to Harness the Power of Self-Contemplation

Posted on January 17, 2021 - 12:44 pm by
9 Ways to Harness the Power of Contemplation

 

There’s a time for work, a time for play, and a time for self-contemplation. This is a tremendous gift because we can use our experiences and knowledge to discover a more effective path through life.

We can learn more about ourselves, solve goals and challenges, and become more powerful versions of ourselves. Self-contemplation allows you to review the negative patterns in your life. It will help you to face and overcome your fears or even redefine your life.

Using self-contemplation as a tool in everyday life can begin to break old patterns that may no longer serve us. Here’s how…

Apply the power of self-contemplation to your life with these simple strategies:

1. Make self-contemplation a priority. You’re a busy person. You’re not going to spend time self-contemplating on a regular basis unless you make it a priority. You can learn a lot from each day if you take the time to examine your life on a regular basis. Decide that you’re going to spend some time alone each day to think things over.

2. Pick a time. If you don’t plan self-contemplation into your schedule, it probably won’t happen. You have a specific time for meals, going to bed, or watching TV. Include a specific time for self-contemplation, too.

3. Have a purpose. This isn’t a time to just stare out the window and daydream. This is a time that should be spent with a purpose. Plan how you’re going to use the time before you begin.

4. Examine your day. What happened today? What can you learn from it? What went wrong? What do you need to do to fix it? What went well? How can you make tomorrow better based on what you learned today?

5. Examine your challenges. What are the challenges in your life? What led you to this point? What was the genesis of the challenge? How is this challenge impacting your life?

6. Search for solutions. What are some possible solutions to the challenges in your life? What can you do right now? What can you do in the future to avoid a recurrence?

  • Rather than distract yourself from your challenges, seek solutions.

7. Search for answers. Maybe you’re not sure why you’re so insecure in your romantic relationships. Perhaps you have unresolved issues from your childhood. Why do you spend too much money? This can be a great use of your self-contemplation time.

  • When you focus your attention on solving that one thing, you’re more likely to find the answer you need.

8. Relax. Take a few minutes and catch your breath. If you have a busy life, it’s important to rest your body and mind each day. A little time alone can be better than any therapist. You do know yourself better than anyone else.

9. Use the time however you like. You might contemplate your childhood, the meaning of life, examine the last year, plan the future, or consider your spirituality. You could consider your mortality or practice your ability to focus. It’s your time to use as you like.

You can’t just go to work, watch TV, spend time with the family, and chase your goals. It’s important to be introspective and thoughtful, too. A regular session of self-contemplation each day will help you become the best version of yourself.

You can live a more successful life and continue to grow each day. Even just 1-10 minutes a day can make a big difference. Contemplate that.

10 Reasons Why Meditation Might Not Be Working For You

Posted on January 10, 2021 - 10:43 am by
10 Reasons Why Meditation Might Not Be Working For You

 

Meditation is simple, cheap, and highly effective, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. And to be honest, it actually is pretty easy, it’s just not what people expect it to be.

Beginners have all sorts of challenges when meditating, but most of them aren’t really problems. The complaints beginners have are simply part of the meditation process.

Meditation can work for everyone that puts in the time and effort.

Are these challenges holding you back?

1. Your mind is too active. Of course, it’s active. It takes practice before the mind quiets down, and it’s rarely silent even after years of practice. It takes about 20 minutes for experienced meditators to notice a slowing down of the mind.

  • This isn’t really a problem. Part of the purpose of meditating is to learn how your mind operates. This is how it operates.
  • Just return your focus to your breath.

2. Your mind wanders. It’s not uncommon to suddenly realize that you’ve been daydreaming for the last five minutes. The solution is the same as the previous issue. Just return your attention to your breath and continue.

3. A lack of consistency. Meditation needs to be done daily to see the greatest benefits. It also needs to be done daily to gain a high level of proficiency. You can’t become skilled at what you don’t practice. Get as much practice as you can.

4. You fall asleep. It’s not easy to fall asleep if you have the proper posture. It should be impossible to stay asleep if you have the proper posture, as you’re sure to lose you balance and fall over.

  • The best position for meditating is to sit up straight. If you lie down, you may struggle to stay awake.

5. Body pains. Holding one position can be painful, especially when you’re just starting out with meditation. Over time, your aches and pains will largely go away.

  • It’s best to try to remain still. Shifting your position will only give temporary relief, and the process starts all over again. No matter how much it hurts, you’ll find the pain fades away and eventually moves to another location if you stay still.
  • Itches fall into the same category. Just leave them alone and observe them.

6. Boredom. Yes, meditation can be boring, especially if you’re used to significantly more stimulation. Learn to sit still with your boredom and just observe it. Boredom can be more fascinating than you might think.

7. Rationalizing that quitting is a good idea. Common thoughts include things like, “This is a waste of time.” “Why am I doing this?” “Is this all there is?” Again, just sit with your thoughts and notice them. Every thought is as meaningless as the next.

  • Just realize that it’s your discomfort with stillness that’s bothering you. You’ll come to understand that many of the things you do in your life are to avoid this feeling. This includes things like staring at the TV and overeating.

8. Finding time. This excuse is hardly a valid excuse. Go to bed 20 minutes early and sit in the corner. Or get up 20 minutes early and do the same. The truth is, after a little practice, you can meditate at your desk or on a bus.

  • If you had time to watch TV, surf the internet, or play on your phone, you had time to meditate.

9. Desiring perfection. Perfection in meditation isn’t achievable, but you don’t need to be perfect. Put in the time with your best effort. That’s all that’s required.

10. Expecting more. Meditation rarely involves earth-shattering insights. It’s a gradual process that brings understanding over time.

The problems above aren’t really problems per se. They’re simply misunderstandings of what normally occurs during a meditation session. Just keep at it and have faith that everything is as it should be.

5-Minute Guide on How to Speak to Yourself

Posted on January 6, 2021 - 11:13 am by
5-Minute Guide on How to Talk with Yourself

 

Do you want to make a big difference with your happiness and success in your life? The way you speak to yourself is a crucial component in achieving what you want in life. You can either create more obstacles in your life, or you can empower your inner self to achieve more in your life.

If you want to have an inner dialogue or relationship with yourself that is successful you must speak to yourself; you must be your best friend.

Your self-speech habits can be re-programmed to obtain different results in your life. Stop convincing yourself that you are inadequate and instead remind yourself that you have the potential to become exactly what you want to be. “Positive” self-speech will build your confidence and will make it possible to persevere in your life.

Learn how to take control of the way you speak to yourself. Try these strategies for becoming a better friend to yourself.

General Principles for Adjusting Your Self-Speech:

  1. Increase your awareness. The first step in changing the way you speak to yourself is becoming more familiar with the way you are speaking to yourself. Many of the messages that you send to yourself are so automatic that they can escape your notice. Keeping a journal may help you to pay more attention.
  2. Plan ahead. Have alternatives ready for the patterns you want to change. Write a list of creative affirmations to replace your old put-downs. You can browse online for ideas or use your own words.
  3. Identify your options. Negative self-speech can destroy your vision. Read self-help books from people that have achieved their goals or observe others to see different ways to respond to conflicts and setbacks.
  4. Depersonalize situations. Do you blame yourself for things that are beyond your control? Most events have multiple causes. You must become aware by taking responsibility for your actions and not beating yourself up.
  5. Develop compassion. Be kind to yourself! Imagine you are speaking to someone you love. Avoid harsh words or insults.
  6. Seek moderation. Distorted self-speech tends to become more exaggerated over the years. Check the accuracy of your statements and stick to the facts.
  7. Be patient. It often takes some time to replace your old conflicts with more constructive wording. You got this. Eventually, your new affirmations will become a reality, natural and authentic.

Specific Strategies for Adjusting Your Self-Speech:

  1. Be present. The only time you can take action is right now. Make sure to keep your self-speech focused in on the present moment instead if rehashing up your past or even trying to anticipate your future.
  2. Speak with your name. When you address yourself by your name it is often more effective than using pronouns. It will encourage you to be more objective and it defines your relationship with yourself.
  3. Look in the mirror. Reinforce your messages by looking yourself in the eye. Repeat affirmations while gazing into a mirror in your bathroom or in your car.
  4. Create reminders. Stay on track by surrounding yourself with cues to speak to yourself with kindness and respect. Spend time with family and friends who boost your spirits. Write inspiring quotes on sticky notes and put them on your office phone or closet door.
  5. Try to speak out loud. Repeat your affirmations out loud when you have privacy. It may be awkward to tell yourself that you’re amazing in the middle of a coffee shop, but you could record a message on your phone that you can listen to anywhere.

When you transform your self-speech you’ll be happier and have a more meaningful life. That friendly voice can be a powerful tool you can use to reduce stress and reaching your goals in your life. Make sure you take the steps necessary to lift yourself up and guide yourself to success.

The Miracle of Small Wins – Get Better Today

Posted on December 17, 2020 - 10:17 am by
The Miracle of Small Wins - Get Better Today

 

The pay off of small wins can be HUGE! Scientist and experts agree that major inspiration happens with the smallest of victories.

Have you heard of the progress principle? Researchers at Harvard Business School conducted a multi-year study of what makes employees happy and productive. They found that reaching progress on meaningful work daily was the most crucial factor by far.

Take a look at the general principles behind this foolproof formula for success, along with practical examples about how you can apply a small wins strategy to your life.

General Principles Behind Small Wins

  1. Keep a journal. Writing in a journal will help you recognize and celebrate miniature milestones that you might otherwise overlook. You’ll also be able to track your progress and understand the conditions that affect your performance. 
  2. Create catalysts. According to the Harvard team, there are two kinds of actions that encourage small wins. The first, catalysts, are related to how you work. Set clear goals, budget your time and resources, and practice open communications. 
  3. Seek nourishers. The second kind of action is called nourishers, and refers to interpersonal support. Surround yourself with friends and colleagues who provide validation and constructive feedback. Participate in groups that share your interests, whether it’s a faith community or professional association.
  4. Set intermediate goals. Lofty goals can be overwhelming. Break any project down into tiny tasks. You’ll feel invigorated each time you check something off your to-do list. 
  5. Learn from setbacks. The flipside of small wins is the discouragement that can follow running into an obstacle. Acknowledge your feelings. Turn mistakes into valuable lessons. 

Practical Examples of Small Wins Strategies

  1. Eat more vegetables. Sticking to a healthy diet may be easier than you think when you focus on only one change at a time. Work your way up to 9 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. Mix spinach into your eggs at breakfast. Snack on baby carrots and hummus.
  2. Cut down on sugar. If you like sweetened coffee, use half your usual amount of sugar. The savings will add up.
  3. Go to bed on time. Adequate sleep keeps your body and mind in top condition. You’ll probably accomplish more even if you shorten your waking hours. 
  4. Exercise for 5 minutes. Are you tired of lapsed gym memberships? You’ll be exercising for more than a half hour by the end of the week if you start with 5 minutes and add just 5 minutes a day to your home workouts. 
  5. Memorize a few lines. Maybe you’d like to speak Russian or recite poetry, but your busy schedule gets in the way. Ty practicing just 5 vocabulary words or one stanza a day. 
  6. Extend your network. Whatever you do for a living, networking is essential. Introduce yourself to a new contact or reconnect with a former colleague. 
  7. Dazzle a customer. Similarly, you can make any work more meaningful by focusing on those who use your products or services. Give someone a sneak peek at your new line and ask for their feedback. 
  8. Listen to your child. Show your child how much you love them by giving them your full attention. Empathize with their struggles in Algebra or congratulate them on making the soccer team. 
  9. Surprise your spouse. Brighten your partner’s day with a fun surprise. Take out the garbage when it’s their turn. Put a love note in their briefcase or pick up a carton of their favorite ice cream on your way home from work. 

Grand visions are the sum of many small wins that help you translate your dreams into action. Taking a small step forward each day will bring you success and happiness.

Methods to Help You Overcome Social Anxiety

Posted on December 14, 2020 - 11:46 am by
Methods to Help You Overcome Social Anxiety

 

If you find yourself getting anxious at the thought of meeting new people or speaking in front of a group, you may be suffering from social anxiety.

Social anxiety causes one to avoid social situations. Many people rely on self-medication or the abuse of drugs and alcohol to get them through these situations.

Luckily, there are methods you can use to find relief in healthy ways!

Try these effective strategies to overcome social anxiety:

1. Put yourself out there. It can be a daunting prospect, but try to accept any invitations you are given, even if you don’t particularly want to go. With a positive attitude, the more you practice, the easier it becomes.

2. Get help from a professional. Of course, talking to a close friend about your anxiety may help, but remember that they aren’t trained for this. Make an appointment to speak to a professional therapist. They may be able to suggest some customized coping mechanisms that would work for you.

3. Strengthen your overall health. Poor health can leave you feeling anxious. Eat nutritious foods and exercise regularly. Healthy food and exercise both uplift your mood and can decrease stress and anxiety. Exercise also helps to release feel-good hormones.

  • Besides getting some exercise, joining a local fitness class would also allow you to practice meeting new people while those feel-good hormones are in full effect. This will make it easier for you to cope with meeting them. Plus, who knows – you might meet your new best friend!

4. Write it down. List the times that you have managed to overcome your fears. What did you do to overcome your fears in this situation? How did you feel when this happened?

  • Whenever you encounter an event where you are feeling socially anxious, write that down, too. How does this situation compare with the ones on your list?
  • Regular reflection of the times you were successful in combating your fears can help with current situations.

5. Congratulate yourself. You may not be confident in public, but you have plenty of other things that you can be proud of! Recognize and remind yourself of any achievements you have made. This will help boost your confidence, which will help you overcome social issues as well.

6. Practice your social skills. Learn how to make introductions and give compliments. Practice making eye contact and remembering names. Listen to what others have to say and keep the focus on them – not you.

  • These few skills will not only help you through a social situation, but the other person will walk away from the conversation feeling like a million bucks!
  • Remember – others will not always remember what you said, but they will remember how you made them feel!

7. Join a support group. Talking to others who are undergoing the same challenges as you are can be comforting. Plus, you will all be able to encourage each other and offer support and advice from your own experiences.

8. Try going somewhere new. When you go to new places, you’ll meet new people. Using your new skills to interact with them will give you more practice and confidence in dealing with social situations

9. Remember that you don’t need to be perfect. Those with social anxiety have a tendency to think that they need to be perfect. Yet, perfection isn’t attainable for anyone! Instead of trying to be perfect, try and enjoy the moment and have a “that’ll do” attitude.

10. Read a self-help book about overcoming social anxiety. There are many inspiring stories about others with social anxiety who have transformed their lives after overcoming their social fears. These stories can inspire you to keep trying as well.

Breaking the cycle of social anxiety will take some time and practice, but you can do this! Reward yourself for each small step you make.

Focus on the journey ahead and the steps you can take that will bring you success. Before long, you won’t have to worry about social anxiety again!

Are Your Beliefs Keeping You From Succeeding?

Posted on December 13, 2020 - 10:15 am by
Are Your Beliefs and Keeping Your From Succeeding

 

Your beliefs color your perception of the world and your experiences. Many beliefs are true only because you believe them to be. If your beliefs aren’t congruent with excelling in life and receiving abundance, it’s very unlikely you’ll ever live the life you deserve. When your results are falling short of your desires, your beliefs are the logical place to make a change.

Many of the beliefs you hold most strongly are inaccurate. Most of our fundamental beliefs are formed at a young age. We often learn these beliefs from sources that aren’t operating at the expert level. It’s easy to see why we have beliefs that hold us back from experiencing all the abundance we deserve.

Choose a negative belief and begin the process of elimination:

  1. Challenge the belief. Suppose you held the belief that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Where did the belief originate? What was the source? Did you read it or experience it first-hand? Was it something you learned from a parent, teacher, or peer?
  • Is the source reliable? Has this source been wrong about other things in the past? Is this person an expert regarding the belief? You wouldn’t take long-term relationship advice from someone that’s been divorced 5 times.
  • Do you have proof that your belief is accurate?
  • Could the opposite be true?
  • What if your belief is wrong? What would change?
  1. How has this belief limited or harmed you in the past? List all the times this belief has steered you in the wrong direction or stopped you from taking action. Visualize your past and re-experience the pain and disappointment this belief has created. Realize that releasing this belief is a positive and necessary step.
  2. Create a new belief that serves you. It’s not enough to let go of a belief. It’s important to replace it with a new perspective. What is a more useful alternative to your current belief? For the previous example, you might choose the belief, “Anyone can attract wealth and abundance.”
  • Make a list of alternative beliefs and choose the one that feels the most empowering.
  1. Search for evidence that your new belief is possible. Do you know any wealthy people that started with little money? Seek out examples of successful people that came from humble beginnings.
  • Have there been instances in the past you’ve proven your new, desirable belief correct?
  • Make a list of all the times you’ve been successful in congruence with your new belief.
  1. Get excited. Visualize yourself living your new belief. How would your life change? How would that make you feel? What would you accomplish? Stick with this process until you feel a high level of excitement and enthusiasm.
  2. Reinforce the new belief. Repeat your new belief to yourself 100 times each day. This will only take a few minutes. Make time in the morning and evening to complete this task.
  • Beliefs are most easily formed through strong emotional reactions and repetition. The previous step provided the emotion. This step provides the repetition.
  1. Continue until your new belief is rock solid. It’s easy to slip back into old patterns of thinking. Continue the process of visualizing your new belief in action and performing the 100 repetitions until your new belief is unshakeable.

Your beliefs shape your results and your future. If you’re dissatisfied with your life, begin by addressing your limiting beliefs. New beliefs are easy to install. Consider how easy it was to install your previously held beliefs without intention. The key is to find evidence for the new belief, surround the new belief with enthusiasm, and remind yourself daily.

9 Ways to Stop a Panic Attack

Posted on December 8, 2020 - 10:08 am by
9 Ways to Stop a Panic Attack

 

A panic attack can feel terrifying. Those that suffer panic attacks often feel as if they’re going to die. While highly unpleasant, panic attacks are harmless. A panic attack is something you created. So, you also have the power to lessen and eliminate the attack. If panic attacks are controlling your life, you can regain that control.

Stop a panic attack quickly and effectively with these techniques:

  1. Remind yourself that you’re going to be okay. Your body chemistry is slightly off-kilter when you experience a panic attack. Panicking will only intensify the attack. The sooner you can relax, the more quickly the attack will pass.

  2. Focus on deep breathing. Breathing is the only part of human physiology over which we have complete control. Anytime you’re awake, you can choose to breathe faster, slower, deeper, shallower, or hold your breath. Control what you can control.
  • Slow, deep breathing will slow your heartrate, and you’ll begin to feel better.
  1. Get a massage. This might not always be practical, but get someone to rub your neck and shoulders. Most importantly, massage your scalp. You can even do this yourself. Massaging your scalp will move a greater volume of blood through your brain and will help to relax the muscles of your head and neck.
  • The effects of a massage can last for days. Try to get a massage regularly. Even a family member can perform the service if the cost of a professional massage is too high.
  1. Use your imagination. Imagine something pleasant and relaxing. It might be hard to think of something positive in the moment, so have a few ideas before a panic attack strikes.
  2. Get moving. Movement will help to eliminate the chemicals that are creating the feeling of panic. If you’re in a place that makes jazzercising impractical, roll your head, wrists and ankles. You could also do a few rounds on the company stairwell. Everyone else is using the elevator anyway.

  3. Warm your hands. Have you ever noticed that your hands get cold when you’re stressed? Warming your hands can help reverse the biochemical storm happening in your body during a panic attack. Run warm water over your hands or hold a cup of warm coffee in your hands.
  4. Listen to music that relaxes you. Few things can change your mood and biochemistry faster than the right music. Create a song list of at least 10 songs that you find comforting and relaxing. Begin listening to your music as soon as a panic attack begins. Take slow, deep breaths.
  5. Get some magnesium. Magnesium has a profound calming effect on the body. Take a magnesium supplement. Dark chocolate contains high levels of magnesium and is more fun than swallowing a pill. An Epsom salt bath will also cause your body to absorb high levels of magnesium.
  6. Be proactive. If you suffer a panic attack, you were already stressed about something. Calming yourself before the panic attack is much more practical than waiting until you’re having a crisis. Take control before you lose control.

Panic attacks are frightening and uncomfortable. The symptoms can include: pounding heart, sweating, shaking arms and legs, and difficulty breathing. You can control your panic attacks and return to a normal physiology. Do your best to prevent panic attacks from occurring in the first place. If a panic attack does strike, use these strategies to help subdue it.

Older posts