Getting Negative? Try This!

I want to share this article by Anna Watkins with you today. Talk about turning the negative into the positive.

Substitute the solution "I Could If . . .", whenever you feel like "I Can't Because . . ." whenever you feel a negative self talk coming on.

Here is Anna:

I Could If . . .

Action expresses priorities. (Mohandas Gandhi)

Many of us could have graduate degrees in excuse making. We have developed it to such a fine art that we really should get an honorary doctorate.

Now you may be thinking that it would be terrific to have people calling you, "Doctor." However, all that excuse making skill will not cut it in the real world if we want to achieve our dreams and have an enjoyable life.

Let's try another approach.

Take your personal example and put it through this exercise.

Your current story begins, "I can't because blah blah blah."

Here are some examples:

I can't get a new job or promotion because my computer skills are not strong enough.

I need more clients but I don't have the time or money to work on my marketing.

I want to spend more time with my family (friends or hobby), but my work is too demanding.

Is that really true? Do you have so little control over your life that these things are beyond your reach? Ha! If you really really really want to make this happen, you can!

Your NEW story begins, "I could if."

Now start writing and list as many actions as you can think of - no matter how crazy some of them may appear. No judgment - just writing!

I could if I:

Spend 20 minutes a day using the Help function of the computer application I am using

Read the user manual

Take a class

Ask someone with more skills to help me

I could if I:

Attend one more network gathering each month

Follow up with current or former clients to see how they are doing and how I may be of assistance

Give prospective customers something of value - an article, free newsletter, etc.

Listen to my customers to learn how I can add more value for them

I could if I:

Schedule and keep an appointment for time with my spouse, my kids, my golf clubs, bird watching, painting

Look for events we can enjoy and mark them on the calendar or post them on a bulletin board

Buy tickets and commit to attending an activity together

Volunteer, making a commitment to support a cause that we can enjoy together

OK. Your turn!

What ever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now! (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

by Anna Watkins

Anna Watkins is a Career Coach with a special interest in group coaching and Master Mind Groups, networks of like minded people who support and help each other stay on track with their life goals.You can learn more about the resources she offers through her website: http://www.one-e-anna.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Anna_Watkins

Is Winning Everything? Depends On Your Definition Of Winning!

Picked up the following video from a tip from tkulser of Aweber on Twitter - Just had to pass this on, had me in tears.



WOW! How do I follow that? What an example of true winners . . .

Do You Always Feel Like Taking Action?

Sometimes I run up against this challenge of not following through on my tasks because I have changed my mind set since I wrote up my goals. (poor decision making probably at fault here)

Goals are tremendously exciting and stimulating at the time of writing them up, but sometimes my feelings change somewhere in between setting them and actually taking action on them. Could this be a fairly common challenge in people who are living their dream?

What Do You Do When You Don't Feel Like Doing It? (following your plan, taking action, etc.) You know, at those times when your negative self talk is overwhelming the positive feelings you had previously.

When you now keep saying you really should, all the while dreading and knowing in your heart that it will probably never happen for you, even though it needs to happen in order for you to realize your goal.

That haunting feeling that creeps in knowing you will not want to complete your plan as scheduled because you probably won't want to actually do what is required. Because you had been here before, and you didn't follow through on it that time either. That reluctance you began to feel even as you wrote it on your to do list.

Common examples might be: consistently exercising for fitness, following eating plans for weight loss, or salespeople making prospecting calls, etc. (I remember the last one being particularly challenging in the past).

Have you ever felt those feelings? I sure have, and I’m guessing that just about anyone challenging themselves with tough goals has them from time to time too.

What do you do when you can't seem to bring yourself to that action threshold which separates doing it from not doing it? What holds you back? What spurs you on?

Is it real or imagined? Can you control it? Is it fear (insert your specific fear here), lack of knowledge, low motivation or I hate to say this but laziness? (I don’t think there are any lazy people, just those lacking motivation.)

How do you get yourself to follow through when you overcome this reluctance in other things? What is the difference for you when you do it and when you don’t?

I’m sure there have been times that you would rather have been anywhere else, but you took action anyway. You did overcome the reluctance and everything went according to plan because you made a decision that this was important to blast through and get it done. And so you did.

So, what did you do to change your mind from not wanting to do it, to actually getting it done? (I’m thinking that an English major could pick this apart because of all the bad grammar, but so what?)

Some strategies I use to shift my mental state or attitude for taking action are:

Affirming my Power. Affirmations.
Asking myself better or different Questions.
Changing my Physiology. (Posture)
Use Momentum. Just start.
Increasing it’s Importance (making it non negotiable)
Renew my Commitment. Make it public.
Making it Fun or Exciting.
Break it into smaller, more manageable tasks.
Changing or resetting my goal deadline.
Calling a Mentor.

Are you using any other strategies that are working well for you? I’d really like to hear how others are consistently solving this all too common challenge. Anyone up for a discussion on how they have gone about overcoming this particular problem? Or how others could model what you are doing?

Al Smith

Brainstorming, Cultivating Belief In Your Goals

Following up on the last post, I have been asked how to create belief in your goal, if at first you are not sure you can do it. Yes, how do you create certainty for yourself? Or is it a leap of faith?

I think Belief is a critical requirement to getting what you want. I believe you must believe your goal is attainable or you will not make the efforts necessary to achieve it.

Here is how I generally start out.

Remember, I do believe that you have to have the Belief that you can do it and more importantly, that you will do it! Belief And Commitment combined . . . are unstoppable. This is why people with a cause are so persistent.

So first, give yourself a cause.

Choose one goal and commit to it's achievement. It seems that this is always the starting point isn't it? It must be something that you feel you can not live without, or you must develop that feeling for it to work. Remember, reasons first, then action.

Did you choose one?

Are you commited to making it a reality in your life? Did you decide that you must have it and absolutely will have it? Is it do or die? Are your reasons for having it, strong enough to propel you forward right now and compel you to action when you may not 'feel' like it?

If not, then choose another one, this is no time to waste your energy on something you are not serious about.

OK. Aggressively research and brainstorm all the ways you can get this goal.

Write them down quickly as you think of them. Use shortforms and abbreviations if you have to, but keep the flow of thought going for as long as it takes. This is a tremendously important part of the process.

Set out some quiet time for this, no interruptions allowed. Let others know that you are doing something of the utmost importance and you are not available for this time period. (Could be 1-2 hours)

Also, do not consider any negative thoughts while you are in the flow. Keep the positive momentum flowing and stay in the zone. There is plenty of time for exploring the negative after you finish with all of your positive ideas.

Finished? OK now, remember those negatives that kept coming up throughout the above?

What challenges or problems will come up when you start taking action? What do you see happening or preventing you from getting what you want? Are there any limiting factors or bottlenecks that may delay or stop your progress?

Write these down also. You have to know what may stand in your way, so that you can address it within your planning. It is not good or bad, just what is.

Be honest with yourself, if you think it, write it down. There is no such thing as unimportant thought. It is all important, vitally important!

Next, come up with solutions that will take care of these problems.

Write down multiple answers to each problem. Stay positive and focused on your target. Write down everything that comes to mind.

All those things that could keep you from succeeding, come up with tons of ways to deal with them. This will give you unstoppable confidence and belief in your ability to have what you want.

Break down your solutions into action steps, into small workable tasks that you can complete quickly. Break each step down into 5 smaller actions. Then break those down into 5 smaller ones. Keep breaking down tasks until you have absolute belief in yourself that you can and will do it, right now, today!

In fact, Break them down until they are ridiculously simple!

Small, simple actions are easy to accomplish, and when these particular actions are put together, they equal the goal result that you want. Again, together they equal the goal result you want!

Belief becomes automatic because you "know" that there is nothing standing between you and the next simple little step, and so on to your goal.

All that is left is to work your plan. You created it, you are commited to it, you must do it, so just do it, and go get your goal. Start with the first step and complete it right now, today. So what are you waiting for? Go For It!

Are you still here? Go get that goal! LOL!

No plan is perfect so there will inevitably be obstacles and distractions, little things which will stand in your way for temporary periods of time. When this happens, just break these down.

And start again . . . and again. Stay flexible and adjust your approach when these occur. Believe, and have faith in the long term.

Adjust your plans and actions as necessary until you have what you want. The result is in the bag, it is a sure thing, all that will change are the strategies, and the timing. You will prevail. This is true.

If this is a major complex goal, you will want to work it backwards through smaller goals, and then break them down into action steps.

Focus on the solution instead of the fear or doubt. This strategy will work for any goal you pick.

Focus on what you want continuously, with passion, and with absolute faith, knowing that you have absolutely done everything necessary and are entitled. Act with that level of belief, and certainty that causes miracles to happen!

Believe it! Now . . . go make your own miracle!

I hope that helps. See you next time.

How Do You Achieve The Impossible?

Well, How Do You Achieve The Seemingly Impossible?

Impossible is just a word for what we have never done before, and don't yet believe in.

I have a favorite quote over my desk in my office: "The Universe is full of magical things, just waiting for our wits to grow sharper." -- by Eden Philpotts

And just when I am ready to dismiss something as impossible, I remind myself that what was once impossible has in fact been proven possible by many people, many times in our human history.

The power of the human mind has no bounds, no limits, except the limits we accept or believe to be true. So, the first requirement is:

Believe

When anyone tells you that something is impossible what is your response? Not only your outward reaction, what are your inner thoughts?

Do you accept it and go on thinking to yourself, "Yeah! It's probably too hard" or "They're right. That could never work."

Or do you just passively go on with your existence never to give it another thought?

Well, listen. S T O P thinking that way!

Before you achieve anything that you think may be even a little difficult, you must, I repeat, “YOU MUST” own the belief that it is not only possible, it is probable.

Then, owning that belief, ask yourself some very focused questions.

- What do I want?

- What is the first 'possible' step I should take to be one step closer to achieve what I am after?

- Who can clear up any lack of knowledge that I need to achieve this? What do I need to research?

- What is my plan to get from Point A to Point Z? (and those points in between?) Evaluate each Point and write down what smaller steps you need to make in the journey.

Now it may become not just possible, but absolutely probable.

The most important objective to achieve anything on this planet (or out of this world) is to believe. Without belief there is nothing. Do what you need to do to believe that you can make it happen with a little time, effort, and good plans.

When the U.S. decided to go to the moon in the sixties, they said they would have a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Not very many people believed it could be done, that it was impossible.

Well it turned out to be possible after all, because they did what they said they were going to do and they did it within the time they had set.

Become

Become what you focus on. Whether you want to or not you will become what you concentrate your efforts on. If you concentrate on achieving wealth, you will become aware of opportunities to achieve that wealth.

If you allow yourself to become consumed with bad things that happen to you, you will become a person that bad things happen to.

You need to become just like the person you want to be like. This requires reading and diving into the lives of those who have already achieved what you are striving for.

You must become a filter for what you allow in and what you push out. Do this by reading what you want to learn. Listen to audio books that support your goals. Talk with people who build up your ideas.

Just remember you will become what you want to even if others say it's impossible.

Beware

Beware of the idiots. I have a friend who has a brilliant outlook on life. He is an entrepreneur and has many great ideas. Not only are they great ideas, some of them are actually making him quite wealthy.

There are plenty of people who would look at him and his ideas and tear down any effort he would make at trying to achieve.

Here's the part you need to adopt and adapt to your way of life.

To the people who tear down or do not support his ideas, they are automatically dismissed as idiots. Those who support him and his ideas are always geniuses.

This is a great way to win! Develop your genius tribe.

Totally ignore and dismiss the idiot pool. Your associations and support team are tremendously important to the success of your undertakings.

Now you don't have to be so raw about it calling people idiots (although it may help). You can still apply the same principle. Beware of the nay-sayers. Embrace the encouragers.

Surround yourself with geniuses.

Few things will kill a million-dollar idea faster than idiots telling you it can't work.

Be You

Another thing that will kill a million-dollar idea faster than anything is not being yourself.

Being yourself is the most unique thing you can offer anyone. Why would you want to rob yourself of the most valuable asset you can offer?

Trying to be someone else is a nasty habit that is so transparent it turns off everyone who sees it. Don't do it. No one likes a phony. But everyone loves those who love being themselves.

People are attracted to those who are glad to be themselves and are confident in who they are. These people understand that they are valuable being the only person they can be. Be yourself and don't be ashamed of you.

Once you have accepted that you are valuable and are sure in who you are, you will begin to notice in a very short time that people will begin to be attracted to you. They will want to be around you and unconsciously want what you have got.

Use your 'YOU' power. Be yourself and you will be on your way to successful living.

Successful living isn't easy. It's simple but it isn't necessarily easy. Stay tuned throughout the year for more valuable ideas and tools that will help you accomplish what others would call "The Impossible".

Al Smith

P.S. If you need to boost your "belief" factor, check out these posts:

Brainstorming, Cultivating Belief In Your Goals Program

Solution Oriented Problem Solving Strategies

Life's Treadmill - Easy To Get On, But Can We Ever Get Off?

Are You Bored With the Treadmill of Life?
By Gary Simpson

Every week for years and years you get up in the morning, go to work, come home, pay the bills, get up again, go to work, come home, pay the bills. Sound familiar? You're on what I call "the treadmill of life."

Unless you are happy with this existence you had better start doing something to change it. Because, if you don't, in ten years time, and with a few more wrinkles and some more gray hair, you will still be getting up, going to work, coming home and paying the bills.

You see, most of us get into this routine. Pretty much we fall into it, obliviously. Everybody else is doing it. It's just the done thing. Or is it?

Well, who wrote the script?

If this is "normal" for you then I can almost guarantee that after years and years of doing it you will one day wake up and wonder why you keep doing it.

Maybe it will be next year, maybe in a few years, maybe it will take another ten or twenty or thirty years. Hey, maybe you are wondering about it right now! Are you?

What are you going to do about it? What is the defining event that will allow you to jump off the treadmill? To answer that, you need to know why you are on the treadmill in the first place.

I can categorically state that 100% of people who are on the treadmill do it to pay those darn bills that seem to appear almost magically every day in our letter boxes.

Let me put you to the test. If you had no bills to pay and could exist comfortably without money would you still you get up every morning and tootle off to work? Well, would you?

Do you have something else that you would rather do with your time? Do you enjoy battling the highways and the subways with hundreds of thousands of other commuters?

What are you going to do about it? To replace your income will open up your life to a whole new spectrum of options. Think about it.

But how can you achieve such a thing? How can you replace your income? How can you get off the treadmill that will command your life until you retire?

Just think - when you "retire" with that nice little super-annuation and retirement benefit - then you can REALLY enjoy yourself. Heck, maybe you can even take that ski trip that you have spent all your youth waiting for.

Have I got you thinking? I hope so! Don't wait until all your youth and health has been spent in the system before you realize that there could have been so much more to life.

To learn how you can get off the treadmill click here.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Attitude, That Is What We Have To Work With - Quote

Charles Swindoll said,

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.

Attitude, to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.

It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home.

The remarkable thing is that we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.

We cannot change our past…we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.

And so it is with you…we are in charge of our attitudes.”

-- Charles Swindol