Have you noticed we live in an instant world. We stand in front of the microwave and tap our feet waiting for the microwave to do its thing.

Also in business we expect to get results overnight, or we lose interest very quickly.What’s happened to the world we live in? Everything is at a fast pace, hurry hurry hurry. Sometimes we hear don’t worry it will come, but that doesn’t make us feel any better. We want it now!

But we must realise there are laws we must adhere to. As I sit here and watch the trees blowing in the wind, its interesting to note that the trees had to go through a cycle to get where they are now. Each tree started from a small seed, and then started to grow.

In life we must also follow the laws of nature, there is a season for planting and a season for harvesting. However you can not have the both at the same time correct?

If you are in a position now whether it be in business or your personal life, take one step back and remember its all a process and sometimes we can’t have the now attitude, or the instant gratification situation running our life.

This is not to say you can’t be passionate and focused about what you are doing,but remember everything takes time.

Live your Life by Choice, not by Chance.

www.selfimageimprovement.com

I have friends
I have fun
I have a house
I am thankful
I have a life
I am grateful.
Life is peaceful
Trees,grass and sky
It is beautiful
Just like my mum and dad.
I am happy
Like the singing birds
Chirp,chirp,chirp.
Life is beautiful
Life is sweet to me.

By James Mitchell.12 years old. Copyright.

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Feed Shark

“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted” David Bly

“If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y and Z, with X being work, Y play, and Z keeping your mouth shut.” Albert Einstein

“To succeed you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you” Tony Dorsett

“Success means doing the best we can with what we have. Success is the doing, not the getting; in the trying, not the triumph. Success is a personal standard, reaching for the highest that is in us, becoming all that we can be.” Zig Ziglar

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” Colin Powell

“The first step toward success is taken when you refuse to be a captive of the environment in which you first find yourself.” Mark Caine

“The road to success is always under construction” Lily Tomlin

“Success is doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” Jim Rohn

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” Winston Churchill

“For true success ask yourself these four questions: Why? Why not? Why not me? Why not now? .” James Allen

“The fastest way to succeed is to look as if you’re playing by somebody else’s rules, while quietly playing by your own.” Michael Konda

“Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose.” Tom Krause

“The greatest barrier to success is the fear of failure.” Sven Goran Eriksson

“Success is simple. Do what’s right, the right way, at the right time.” Arnold H. Glasgow

“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.” John Maxwell

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Feed Shark

This is a great article by Fiona.

By Fiona Taylor, mystic, consciousness coach former World Champion Windsurfer & Olympian
www.barakaya.com

The Law of Attraction has become known as ‘the secret’ since the release of Rhonda Byrne’s best selling book The Secret.

The Law of Attraction is not new to the Personal Development industry or to the spiritual seeker. For thousands of years the mystics, sages and spiritual teachers have known only too well the Universal Law of Attraction.

The early Jewish mysticism known as the Kabbalah, which is based on the teachings of Abraham over two and half thousand years ago talks extensively about reincarnation and the Law of Attraction.

Some of histories great philosophers and teachers including Gallileo, Da Vinci, Sir Isaac Newton, Leibniz, Pico della Mirandola, Sir Francis Bacon, Carl Jung and Plato studied the Kabbalah and understood the Law of Attraction.

The Law of Attraction basically means that what we think, feel and believe we create. What we broadcast out to the universe in the form of our thoughts, emotions, feelings and beliefs we ‘attract back’ to ourself. All thoughts, emotions and feelings are vibrations of energy. All vibrations of energy will be attracted to similar/like vibrations of energy.

If you think good, positive, loving thoughts you will attract those experiences into your reality. If you feel you are unworthy of making money or having a loving relationship, this is what you will create. If you feel you are worthy winning in sport that is what you create. If you feel that you never have enough money that is what you will create.

Is it really so simple?

It is not so much what we think, as thoughts float into and out of our awareness, but what is crucial is how we feel. Our feelings mould our reality whether we like it or not.

So to create what you would like to create in your life you must feel the feeling of what it feels like to already have what you desire. Do not assume it is in the future, but feel as though you already have it. The subconscious mind does not determine between past, present or future. That is why all self affirmations and visualization techniques for manifestation use the present tense. We must feel what it feels like to have what we want – not focus on not having what we want.

Why does the Law of Attraction not always work?

When we broadcast our thoughts, beliefs and feelings out to the universe we not only broadcast out what we are aware of (or conscious of) but we also broadcast out everything that lies in our subconscious and unconscious minds. The subconscious mind is where all our memories and experiences are stored since conception in the womb. The unconscious mind is also referred to as the Soul, and this is where all our memories from all the lives we have ever lived reside.

Our conscious mind (awareness) is not aware of what is being broadcast out to the universe from all the programs running in our subconscious and unconscious mind’s. So when we want something in our life, or we try working harder and harder to achieve something and yet fail over and over again then we need to go deeper and look at what is happening beneath the surface of our awareness. For example, in my windsurfing career unconscious themes sabotaged my conscious efforts to win more events. For five years I seemed to have ‘bad luck’, chaos or illness that prevented me from winning. It made no difference how ‘positive I was’, or ‘how many self affirmations I told myself’, or how hard I trained, the programs running in my unconscious mind simply sabotaged everything.

It was not until I retired from sport and was able to connect with my own unconscious mind – my own Soul Story, that I was able to determine the ultimate cause of the ‘bad luck’, chaos and illness. At the deepest level I had ‘created’ all of it. But in order for me to have realized that I had to take responsibility for Self and acknowledge that I create my own reality.

The entire Self Help industry is based on taking responsibility for our own thoughts, feelings and actions. However, for most people it is ok to take responsibility for all the ‘good’ things in their life, but if they are then told that they also create the ‘bad’ things, then this is a bit hard for their ego/rational mind’s to accept. Only when you connect to your own Soul (and God Self) does the ego finally feel the truth of this – that our consciousness creates our reality.

When we are stuck in the five physical senses we feel separated from everything. We believe that all events happen by random chance. That is the illusion of the five senses. When we tune into our own ‘6th’ sense or Spiritual Intuition we start to connect with All there Is (the God Force/or God/Goddess/All there Is) – Oneness. Only then can we feel the truth.

If we keep on attracting in the same terrible relationships, or losing our job, or over spending our money, or going into debt, or have recurring illness, failing to lose weight or keep it permanently off, or we are unable to increase our income we need to look at the ultimate cause.

The ultimate cause always lies in our own consciousness.

Does a past life affect this life?

Time ‘is an illusion’ according to Einstein, Stephen Hawking and the great scientists throughout history. Time does not exist beyond the perception of our fives senses. As physical beings we experience time as a linear concept with past, present and future. However all time is simultaneous. It is our conscious mind that perceives it in a linear fashion. The Kabbalah uses the analogy that time equals the distance between cause and effect.

All of ourselves that we have ever been (all of our ‘past lives’) are still in existence somewhere in our own mind – or hologram. For example when hypnotherapists work with their patients they realize that all of the memories in a person’s past are still there in their mind. All memories are recorded and present in our mind-field. For example the child part of me who was operated on in hospital at four weeks old is still somewhere in my consciousness.

So another ‘life time’ is happening in another Time-Space continuum (another dimension) and is happening right now. The emotions and memory of any lifetime can be accessed in ‘now time’ (in this life time) and they are what is called ‘lifehoods’.

The soul operates in an open system; it is connected to the universe (or universal mind) and all information that has ever existed and exists can be accessed at this level. The universal mind has also been called the Morphogenic Field by Rupert Sheldrake, a leading biologist and thinker on the human mind.

The rational mind (intellect and ego) operates in a closed system bound by time and space and the five physical senses. This is important to recognize as a ‘past life’ cannot affect this life unless there is an unresolved theme that needs healing and resolution in this life. It means that if you ‘killed someone’ in a ‘past life’ it does not mean that you will ‘pay for it’ in this life. There is no direct link between ‘cause and effect’ from past life to this life because all of our ‘lives’ are happening now. The eternal now.

There have been misleading teachings among all religions in relation to ‘cause and effect’ when it comes to ‘paying for our sins’ in past lives. This is incorrect. Once we take responsibility and realize that we are ‘at cause’ and create our reality we can find any part of us that is creating chaos or pain for us and change it. This is called ‘clearing our karma’. We all have the ability to do this.

We can transform those parts of us that sabotage our desire to make money, have a loving relationship or win a sporting event.

All lives we have ever lived are all happening in the eternal now. The soul is multi-dimensional. It can live in many different existences simultaneously. Quantum science is starting to understand the nature of multi-dimensionality by discovering parallel universes.

So if we dig deep into our own subconscious mind we may find ‘programs’ (belief systems) that are no longer serving us. We all can develop belief systems that are not conducive to success at the subconscious level. If however we have healed everything we can find (via therapy, hypnotherapy, time line therapy, counseling etc) in our subconscious mind and yet still there is no change in our life then it is very common to have a ‘past life’ theme, or several, that are unresolved.

All emotional wounds and unresolved ‘programs’ from other lives exist at the level of the soul – deep in our own consciousness.

These emotional wounds leave imprints at soul level and often have a ‘bleed through’ affect where they affect our current life. And of course we have absolutely no idea that this is in fact happening, unless we have well developed spiritual intuition.

The only way to heal these is to find the ultimate cause – original wound at Soul level.

The unconscious mind affects the subconscious and conscious minds. Our core and unconscious belief systems, perceptions and filters are all shaped by our past life experiences. These deep lifehood wounds and experiences affect our ‘lens’ of the world, how we see, feel and experience other people and events in our life.
So in order to change, heal and transform the unconscious mind we need to find ultimate cause – you cannot simply change these wounds by using the power of your own thoughts to change your thinking. You have to heal the emotional charge that still resides at Soul level. That is why self affirmations and some meta-programming techniques do not work at this level.

Meditation is a great technique to reduce stress levels in the body, however unless we do the emotional processing and transform emotional charges nothing fundamentally changes in our lives.

True enlightenment is the ability to hold more Light in the cells of our body. The only way this can happen is if we transform emotional charges that reside in every cell of our body. That means healing each ‘personality program’ one by one. These are also called ‘personas’. One by one we can transform personas that originated in this life or another life. The less emotional charge we hold in our cells the more room they have to be able to hold more divine Light – Love from the creator – God/Goddess/the universe.

To do this requires deep self exploration, but more often than not a good practitioner who can access this information for you.

A mystic is someone who is able to ‘vibrate up’ and access the information at Soul level, interpret it and then assist people in gaining new awareness. For example when I work with my clients I am able to ‘vibrate them up’ to access and feel this information. This information is downloaded into their conscious awareness so that they can feel the truth of the lifehood wound, or issue that is still unresolved.

All information is energy and all energy simply vibrates at different frequencies. For example the information at the subconscious mind level vibrates higher than our conscious awareness. The information that resides at Soul level vibrates even higher than the subconscious mind level. So it really is about being able to access this information. We all have this ability, however, most people have forgotten how to do this. Most people have under-active spiritual intuition and discernment.

Lifehood (or ‘past life’) wounds affect all of us at some time throughout our lives. In my client sessions and workshops at least 70% of people have a lifehood wound that needs to be addressed and healed that is underpinning all the other chaos in their lives, or holding them back.

In my books Spirit in Sport, and An Olympian’s Guide to Weight Loss I discuss in depth the nature of the Soul, lifehoods and healing emotional wounds. Both these books have an in-depth section on real emotional intelligence and the Sports book also has a section on Spiritual Intuition. For example I lost 18 pounds in 2 days after transforming a ‘past life’ wound at Soul level. My body literally morphed. (I share the details in my weight loss book in detail. You can download the free intro to my books on my website.)

Another example of healing at Soul level is a sporting client who finally placed 3rd at the World Championships in her sport recently. She had not had a top 3 finish for 8 years. She had had a huge ‘past life’ wound playing out for her. Once we healed this wound she was able to get back into the top three in the world in her sport, a place she had been able to achieve over 8 years ago. But because the ‘past life’ wound had been affecting her current performance she was unable to attain such success. Once it was cleared she could get back into the top three.

So if The Law of Attraction is not working for you then it simply means that you still hold unconscious beliefs and emotional wounds that are sabotaging your conscious efforts for change in your life.

The other reason you may not be creating the life you really want as quickly as you want is that your ego wants something for you, yet your Higher Self and Soul wants something else. Many people spend their lives listening to the rational, logical solutions from their ego and society and they ignore their own heart and Higher Self’s will.

Eventually we are all forced, either consciously or unconsciously, to follow the will of our Higher Self. The universe will set up events and situations to mirror back to us what we need to heal and learn from. Often we can experience more chaos before we achieve what we really desire. This is the breaking down of the ‘old’ reality to make way for a ‘new reality’. Often the only way the ego, in its ignorance, can learn, or wake up to what it really needs to know will happen via chaos or crisis. When things are rosy and fine the ego does not grow much. So chaos and change force us to grow to new awareness.

Divine Timing.

If we are not receiving what we think we want then it can often be because our ego has not yet learned what it came into learn. Spiritual lessons are part of why we incarnate. This is difficult for the ego (rational mind) to fathom. However, until certain events happen in our lives, or we meet certain people, or we succeed or fail at something we do not ‘get the spiritual lesson’ that we came to learn. Things are divinely timed for us. They may not happen in the time frame that our own ego wants. Our ego can feel impatient and despondent if it does not get what it wants fast enough.

So when chaos is happening in our lives it is important to remember that it only means the universe is shaking us up for future growth in consciousness. We will always learn from chaos. We simply cannot get attached to it, but trust that we will get through any challenge we face.

One way to get through chaos faster is to completely surrender. Surrender to the Higher Self and ask for inner guidance. Only when the ego surrenders will it be able to grow to new awareness.

The ego thinks it is in control of everything in its life – however that is the illusion of the ego. I discuss the nature of surrender and control in Spirit in Sport and this is discussed in depth at our programs.

Raising consciousness

The way to inner peace, love and joy is to heal those subconscious programs that are holding us in emotional bondage. The emotional highs and lows from elation to depression, resentment to infatuation are the ego’s emotional journey through life. It is only when we connect with our Higher Self – our Soul that we can access true divine love and joy. Living with joy and love is our natural state of being – beyond the ego. In challenging times the ego gets stuck in the emotional pain and forgets the true loving state of the Soul Self – our True Self. Our evolution in human form is to heal those personas/programs (the Negative ego) in our mind that are emotionally charged and wounded.

The Barakaya programs and coaching assist people to heal those parts of their consciousness that are no longer serving them. This includes transforming limiting beliefs that hold people back from achieving the joy, wealth and loving relationships in their lives.

©Fiona Taylor, www.barakaya.com 2007
(If you wish to use a part or whole of this article please contact Fiona for permission.)

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Remember Live your Life By Choice,Not By Chance.

Feed Shark

Dare To Be Yourself, There’s Nobody Like You

By Ineke Van Lint Van Lint

There’s no need for you to imitate anybody else; they already exist. Do you want to be just like your colleague? If the Creator wanted two identical colleagues, then He would have created a copy of the first. If the Creator needed another person just like your neighbor, then He would have immediately created two of them. He never cloned somebody, so why would you? Every snowflake is different. Creation is not duplication.

Instead of copying an existing model, He created a whole new YOU! Why? Because He needs you to be just the way you are! Why bother and try to be somebody else?

Don’t imitate others. Observe them, learn from them, but don’t try to be like them. Learn their skills but then implement them in your own life and move forward on your own road. Because you are walking your own road, you cannot follow the footsteps of somebody else, nor can someone else walk your road for you. They have their road, you have yours.

Why did the Creator give all of us different fingerprints, different ears, different noses? Wouldn’t it have been much easier for Him to make all of us out of a single mold? One model; no differences, no comparisons. He could have done it, but He didn’t. Why not? Apparently He needs us to be individual. He needs us to be different. Certainly this fact adds to the pleasure of the game. If all the characters in the play were alike, then it wouldn’t be much fun to watch. He surely likes us all to be different. And He surely needs us all to be different!

Given the undisputed fact that we are all different, why would you try to be like somebody else? Why change your looks or your body with plastic surgery? Why not be happy with the way you are? I’m not just talking about appearance, but also about talents. Character. Everybody is unique. While longing for talents you don’t have, you are neglecting those talents that you do have. This is rather counter-productive, no? You have been gifted with a unique set of talents, so find out what they are and develop them.

There is no coincidence. Everything in the universe exists for a reason. You are not talented by accident! Neither is it haphazard that you don’t have some talents you would like to have.
If you don’t have a nightingale voice, you were not meant to sing. You can do something else with your life according to the talents you do have, and leave the singing to someone who is naturally equipped for that. If you have no acting talents, you should not act. If you weigh too much, you’d better start dreaming about something else than being a fashion model.

Another undisputed fact is that everybody is gifted with his or her own unique talents. Make no mistake! Talents are not only about activities like singing, acting, dancing, painting, writing or excellence in sports. Your unique talent could be your spontaneity, your enthusiasm, your connection with animals, caring for the disabled, your generosity, being a good teacher or public speaker, being a loving community member, or being a good problem solver. It could be your capacity to love, your natural joy, your brilliance, intelligence, easily assimilating new languages, radiating beauty, having a funny way of expressing yourself, making others laugh, kindness, tenderness, and many more. The list of possible talents is very, very long indeed…

What matters in the end is for you to be yourself, right? To be yourself is to find out what your unique talents are. Unique, you say? Others are spontaneous too! Plenty of people are generous or friendly. True, but your uniqueness lays in the combination of your key talents. Find out what your prominent talents are and how you can put them together. In the synergy and alignment of your key talents lies the beauty of your uniqueness.

It would be a big waste of time trying to be someone else. You are at your best being yourself! The world needs you as you are, exactly as you are! Dare to be yourself. The more you dare to be yourself, the more freedom you will feel. The more freedom you feel, the more you will dare. Daring and freedom support each other to re-create your unique self in an ever expanding celebration of Life. Your life.

About the author:
Written by Ineke Van Lint, psychologist. I help you to find your purpose and realize your goals. You are a unique, wonderful person! Grab your two free e-courses on http://www.theenthusiasm.com.

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Feed Shark

By: Karen Hastings, Hertfordshire

In any therapeutic intervention that is designed to achieve change, it is important to have an understanding of the beliefs and values held by the person wishing to change. NLP therapists are able to work with clients to eradicate limiting beliefs. NLP therapists are available to provide NLP in Herts.

Have you ever taken the time to stop and think about your beliefs and values. Ask yourself – where have my beliefs originated? How do they guide how I live my life? Do my values and beliefs serve me?

Beliefs and Values form the essence of your identity and you should ask yourself these questions for the following reasons:

Beliefs are like a pair of glasses:
Put your glasses on and they filter how you view the world. Beliefs act in the same way. You will have beliefs about yourself, your skills and capabilities, how others see you and what type of person you are. You will also have beliefs about other people, how they operate, how to communicate with them, what drives them. Basically, you have beliefs about everything, including the world, politics, social issues, concepts, and religion. Beliefs underlie your internal representations, which is your map of the world. Your beliefs also filter sensory data that you take in from the environment and favour sensory data that supports and confirms your beliefs. We know form NLP models that the internal representations people hold effect their emotional state and behaviour. Therefore, beliefs have an influence on your emotional state and behaviour.

Beliefs and Values are your motivators:
The core beliefs you hold are your motivators, they are the basis from which you function in the world. People tend to works towards things that they value. For example, if you value having a high-powered career this may take priority over other aspects of your life such as time with your family.

Beliefs distort how you view the world:
Every belief and value is basically a generalisation that you have made abut the world. Generalisations are distortions. Often when a client presents with a problem, there is a distorted belief or value behind it. For example, “my partner doesn’t phone me enough, this means he doesn’t love me”. Once you are able to become more aware of the distorted beliefs you hold, it is possible to begin to question them and challenge them. NLP therapy has a specific tool called the meta-model that is able to uncover the troublesome distortions and generalisations that people are making.

Beliefs and values determines what happens to you
Beliefs about the world and yourself can actually determine what happens. They are not just thoughts but effect what you focus on. We know in NLP that what you focus on your more likely to get. This is because your unconscious mind cannot understand negatives. So for example, if you focus on not being in debt, your unconscious mind will be on the lookout for debt in the environment and various ways to bring debt to your attention. NLP therapy teaches people the importance of communicating in the positive when you are thinking. This means saying what you do want not what you don’t want. Most people have heard of the placebo effect. This is a phenomenon in which a pill is given which contains no active ingredients. There are many studies that show that people given a placebo will experience a therapeutic benefit and in some cases get well based on the belief that they will be well.

Changing your beliefs:
As an NLP therapist, people often come to see me at my OT, NLP, CBT and hypnotherapy practice in Herts because they are having problems with limiting beliefs, e.g. “No one could find me attractive”, “I cant lose weight or give up smoking”, “I’m useless in social situations”, “I’m bad at presentations”. Of, course, they are often not aware that their belief is the source of their unhappiness when they initially come to see me. Limiting beliefs hold people back and prevent them from doing things they want too. When we believe we cant do something our behaviour will usually confirm this. As discussed above, you will act in a way and look out for evidence to confirm your beliefs. NLP and CBT therapy has effective techniques for changing illogical and limiting beliefs that can allow you to move on and experience the world through a new pair of glasses. There is no excuse to let your limiting beliefs hold you back any longer!

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Karen Hastings has worked in the NHS with people with mental-health problems. She also practices occupational therapy, CBT, NLP and hypnotherapy in Hertfordshire. More information is avaliable at www.karenhastings.co.uk

by Marsha D. Egan, CPCU, ACC

To have a more fulfilling life, it is helpful for you to try to run your life rather than having it “run you.” Here are some tips to help you do that.

Know and Live your Values

First of all, it is important for you to know what your values are. Values drive the way you live your life. They are the backbone that will help you make decisions when there is no roadmap. Values are personal, and they should be yours alone. Take some time and write them down.

It’s a challenge to continually live your values. That’s why it is important to write them down and review them regularly. It has been said that people judge you by your actions, while you judge yourself by your intentions. Make sure your actions and intentions match!

Have Goals

Once you’ve articulated your values, it’s time for you to think about your life goals. Some of these are long term, and some can be short term. The harsh reality is that only about 2% of everyone in the world has goals. Yet goals are instrumental in helping people achieve what they want. But even more than that, it is important to have goals that are BIG. It’s true that if you write goals down, you’ll be much more likely to accomplish them. So try it. See what happens!

When you have goals, you have focus. They will give you direction and purpose. They enable you to work your plan, rather than planning your work. They give you a greater sense of control and excitement for your life.

Live in Balance

Values and goals are lived best when you have balance in your life. Fulfillment in one area fuels each other area. Too much emphasis in one area can drain the others. It’s important to assess your balance, from time to time, and to take steps to assure that your life is well rounded physically, emotionally, intellectually, attitudinally and purposefully.

Live in the Moment

When you believe that only YOU control your attitude, and you combine it with recognizing your ability to live in the moment, you can truly control your enjoyment of life. Too many people live in the past or the future, and it inhibits their abililty to enjoy the actual moment they’re experiencing. You have a CHOICE to be happy or sad, a CHOICE to worry or anticipate, a CHOICE to be positive or negative. What is yours?

Be Passionate

Lastly, it is important that you fill your life with passion. Be passionate about who you are, what you have, and what you do. If you don’t have passion for these things, you are just walking through your life. Knowing that your attitude is your choice, you can also have a choice about being passionate.

Be Willing to Change

When some part of your life soesn’t seem to be working, you should be willing to make changes. Changing is difficult, but a lackluster life may be even more difficult over the long run! Figure out what it is you want to change, set a goal to do it, work that plan, then celebrate your new fulfillment!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How to determine Your Values:

When you write your values, write them in the present. Here are some examples: “I am financially secure,” “I add value,” “I am physically fit.” Here are some areas that you might consider for articulating your values: finances, community, family, relationships, work, education, health, and attitude.

The best way to set about articulating your values is to take some private time, and write down as many of your values as you can. They will start to fall into groups or categories with a major value defining them. They’ll fall into values with clarifying statements. Here’s an example:

I am financially secure

–I pay my bills in advance

–I save x% of my income

–I have X% of my salary in reserve

–I review my insurance annually

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

How to Write Goals

Goals should describe the result, or what success looks like, rather than the way you will get there. Don’t say, “I will be on the ABC diet for 3 weeks,” because that describes the means, rather than the end. Goals should also be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound. Instead of saying, “I want to lose weight,” it’s more effective to say, “I will lose 10 pounds by May 1. By giving yourself definite targets with specific dates, your chances of meeting or exceeding your goals will increase.

Some of the goals might drive directly from your values; as an example, if your value is to save x% of your income, and you are not there yet, That could be one of your goals.

I like to have my clients vision themselves at age ninety, sitting on their front porches, rocking happily, thinking back on their lives, smiling over what they’d accomplished. If that were you, what would those accomplishments be? To put a child through college? To run a marathon? To visit every state in the US?

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Feed Shark
—————-

COPYRIGHT:
Copyright, Marsha D. Egan, CPCU, PCC, CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., http://marshaegan.com . Marsha is a certified executive coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development and positive change. You can reach her at marsha@marshaegan.com

Designing a Future Marked by High Self-Esteem

By: Dr. Joe Rubino

Studies show that more than 85% of the world’s population suffers from some degree of diminished self-worth. For most people who lack a positive self-image, the future looks like a mere extension of their troubled past. Their expectation of what is to be is consistent with what has been — with a slight and predictable level of improvement. Because of their lacking self-esteem, most are resigned to a life that lacks the excitement and passion that characterizes the lives of those who feel worthy of tapping into the best things life has to offer. People who possess a positive self-image typically have an optimistic expectation of what is ahead of them and as a result, they realize this expectation as a self-fulfilling prophesy.

In contrast to the state of resignation that typifies those with diminished self-esteem, consider the possibility that the future lives as the realization of a promise — a promise you make to yourself and to the world. The future will result from your expectations and the quality of your future will be impacted by the commitment you have for it. It lives as a possibility. In other words, you get to invent it. In fact, you are the sole designer and architect of what is to be and the result will be entirely consistent with your expectation and your self-image.

In other words, our future will be directly related to what we expect for it to be. If we doubt our self-worth and expect our future lives to be worse than our current situation, we will sabotage ourselves into making it turn out in alignment with this self-fulfilling prophesy. If we limit our expectations and plan on more of the same results we have experienced to date, our apathy will generate a future consistent with this expectation. To the contrary, if we believe in ourselves and our expectation is that our future will be better than our present situation, self-motivation will lead to actions that will bring about the positive outcome we envision.

If we feel good about ourselves and expect to live happy, fulfilled, and successful lives, we will take the actions consistent with realizing that expectation. We will therefore generate the opportunities that will result in rich relationships, abundance, and joy being attracted to our lives – because we believe we deserve it and act on this belief.

We get what we expect and attract prosperity or lack, joy or sorrow, rewarding relationships or angry, frustrating ones all as a result of whether or not we feel worthy. Just as we can doubt our abilities to succeed and our worthiness of attracting rewarding friends and intimate relationships, we can also instead choose to take full responsibility for expecting all aspects of our lives to be the way we want them to turn out. When we come from this positive mindset and commit to manifesting our dream lives, we put forth an energy that attracts all the things we desire to us.

Realize that you have consciously or unconsciously attracted everything that shows up in your life to you. If where you are in life, the relationships you have attracted to you, your physical, financial, emotional and spiritual states are not what you desire, decide now to alter your course. Decide that you deserve better. Get in touch with the erroneous decisions you made at an early age that impacted your self-esteem. Reframe how you see yourself and resolve to act from a declaration of who you are (just because you say so) instead of the unlovable, somehow defective or unworthy image you made up or bought into long ago.

Change your expectations. Design a life plan consistent with your new expectations. Make requests of those who can support your efforts in some way. The future exists for each of us as a possibility. When we do the necessary work to complete our troubled past and put the self-interpretations that do not support us behind, we can courageously decide to design our future lives deliberately to be in alignment with joy, abundance, fun, fulfillment, and self-love. When we train ourselves to first expect positive results and then to act in accordance with what we expect, we set the stage for a bright and promising tomorrow. We have the personal power to create our future on purpose. The future can unfold out of our declaration of how we see ourselves and what we expect it to be like. To the extent that we take responsibility to expect great things in our lives, ensure we give off positive, attractive, loving energy and then get into action to bring about our expectations, we will be the force behind the realization of a rewarding happy future characterized by soaring self-esteem.

So, my challenge for you today is to write out a clear and specific vision of exactly what your life will be like in every area including your relationships, health, wealth and finances, occupation, recreation and social life, and personal and spiritual development. Commit to resolving any past issues that continue to erode how you feel about yourself. I wrote “The Self-Esteem Book” and the accompanying “The Self-Esteem Workbook” to support you to learn the tools that will allow you to reinvent your life and how you see yourself. When you realize that you have the power to transform your world and enhance the quality of experiences you attract to you, you will begin to act upon opportunities for manifesting joy, fulfillment, abundance, success, and meaningful relationships. There are no accidents. You are reading this article now because you have attracted the opportunity to take a significant step forward. Seize the chance and begin to look for the countless opportunities to impact your life all around you on a daily basis. Transformation begins with the intention to look for opportunities that can make a difference in your life and then taking bold, focused action in the direction of your vision. All that it takes is courage to begin the process of restoring your personal magnificence and a commitment to consistent awareness and effective actions.

Making decisions can be the one thing that can turn your life around quickly.Making decisions has the potential to solve problems for your business and personal life.

Making the right decision can send you down the right path.

The world’s most successful people seem to have one thing in common, they make decisions fast, and then move on to the next part of their life. People who struggle with making decisions seem to just go along with life not achieveing their dreams.

People that make decisions also with out being influenced by other people tend to rise to the top as well, and earn large sums of money. Bob Proctors says ït’s not only your income that is dominated by decisions, it’s your whole life.

The health of your body and mind, the well being of your family and your relationships are all depend on your ability to make sound decisions.

Decision making should be a major subject at every school in the country. I have two teenagers and I can see that they are also at the stage of struggling with making decisions. Now this is a common thing as they want to make the right decisions going forward. However to do it more often will not only increase their self confidence it will build their decision making museles

Decide today, that when you are facing some decisions, act quickly and fast and watch your life turn around from ordinary, to extraordinary.

You can develop this yourself, if you want to live a full life start now.

Winners make great decisions.Remember decision makers are great thinkers.

We become what we think about.

www.selfimageimprovement.com

Feed Shark