Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live with more fun and freedom.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"Is this conversation I'm having with myself encouraging?"


THE PROMISE

Ask this question to center yourself whenever you become aware of your self-talk.


THE TIPS

Did you have a conversation with yourself today?

The answer is yes because every body in the world talks to them self.

Day-in and day-out we humans exercise our unique ability to talk to our self.

This ability is unparalleled in the animal kingdom, meaning no other species on the planet uses self-talk.

However, the real question to ask is not whether you have talked to yourself, but when was the last time you encouraged yourself while talking?

How often did you encourage yourself last month? How often last week? How about today?

If you are like most people, you can probably use one hand to count how many times.

This is because most people don't encourage themselves on a regular basis.

Why this occurs is a mystery to science and psychology.

One thing is for certain, poor self-talk is certainly not the way that nature intended for us to use this gift.

For example, how would it appear if you walked up underneath a tree and caught it talking to itself the way humans do?

Imagine it saying "Oh no they're falling off again! I must be a bad tree, my own leaves don't even want to stay on me!"

This would be simply ridiculous wouldn't it?

The same thing would happen if any animal acted in this manner wouldn't it?

Yet day in and day-out we continue to have negative and pessimistic conversations with our selves.

It is absolutely incredible that we allow these crazy conversations with our self to continue.

The best way to change this terrible trend of self-talk is to become more aware of how you talk to yourself.

Ask yourself "Is this conversation I'm having with myself encouraging?" whenever you find yourself debating, or talking to yourself.

The more you ask this question, the more that you will become aware in future conversations.

The more you become aware of your conversation, the better you can consciously ensure that your self-talk is encouraging.


THE SECRET

In any moment any bodies life on this planet can end.

Nobody really knows when this moment could occur for them, only that it will occur.

The only person that will be around at that time for sure is you.

When this moment happens you will again have a conversation with yourself.

When you speak to yourself during these final moments will you be encouraging to yourself?

Will you be able to look back and reflect in peace with the feelings of joy, adventure and gratitude that you felt for your life?

Or will the dialogue be filled with guilt, anger and regret from having an unnecessarily miserable relationship with yourself?

The bad news is that sooner or later one or the other will inevitably happen.

The good news is that starting right now you have the choice to decide which one.

Every moment of self-talk is an opportunity to build a better relationship with yourself.

Ask yourself "Is this conversation I'm having with myself encouraging?" to check-in with yourself during the day.

Your goal is to become your own best friend and your own biggest fan.

Figure out ways that you can use self-talk to speak to yourself as if you were head-over-heels in love.

Your challenge is to do the following simple but powerful exercise.

Imagine that you are so in-love with yourself that you can only compliment and encourage yourself.

After you wake up tomorrow say to yourself "congratulations, I must be awesome enough to have another day to be me, what a joy!"

Then you walk to the bathroom, flick on the light and give yourself a mental high-five for hitting the switch your first try.

When you pick up the right toothbrush and turn on the tap say to yourself "another job well-done!"

After you pick out an outfit, how about saying "wow.. absolutely stunning, world watch out for me!"

Continue on throughout your day in this way, complimenting or encouraging yourself at every conceivable opportunity.

The more genuine and honest you are with yourself the more self-confidence and personal power you will gain.

Try it for one day and watch in amazement at the energy you have and the emotions you feel!

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you transform yourself into the person that you always knew you would be.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"Who am I becoming?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question as many opportunities you have this week and the promise is you will instill more pride, passion and purpose into your everyday living.


THE TIPS

First thing when you get up tomorrow morning ask yourself the question, "Who am I becoming?"

Relax and allow your mind to wonder freely while taking a few moments to ponder your answer.

When you picture your future self are you happy, proud or excited about the person that you are becoming?

As you reflect this question for some of you it may feel uncomfortable, you may feel the urge to pass judgement, or simply feel this is a question that doesn't seem to make any sense.

Some of you may not be able to answer the question, which is ok too, and if this is the case for you then it is important to realize that the asking the question itself is often more important than the answer.

"It's the question that drives us" --- Trinity (The Matrix, 1999)

We are all unique and the answers that each and every one of us comes up with will be different, however, as individuals there are a few things that we all share in common.

One such example is that regardless of what your race, height, weight, IQ, EQ, career, education, relationship or socio-economic status is we all have the same set amount of hours in a day to work with.

We each get 24 hours in a day, 60 minutes in an hour, 60 seconds in a minute and each second passes by at a constant rate of one second per second, no matter what!

Therefore the person you are becoming is becoming so at a rate of one second per second every day.

You might be tempted to dismiss the power of each second, after all you might think to yourself "what good could possibly happen in one second"?

Like for instance who would want a one-second massage, one-second marriage or one-second shopping spree right?

However when you stop to really think about it, this second right now, not the second that just past, or the second from now, is really the ONLY second we EVER have.

Every second that passes is part of yesterday, the second that has "yet-to-come" will always belong to tomorrow.

The second known as "now" brings the gift of choice, and with it the power for any personal or life transformation.

This eternal second is shared by all, a gift, a present, the gift of the present moment.

When you ask yourself "Who am I becoming" do you notice that you are becoming someone who is increasingly friendly with, and passionate about the present moment?

Anything that you can ever do or anything that will ever be done to you will happen in the present moment.

The best way to give yourself the best chance of becoming a better you is to first learn how to stop looking at the old you as a reference point.

Your results today indicate your previous habits and your habits are a result of the accumulation of yesterday's choices.

The old you is a result of your old choices and decisions, and cannot be the result of the new choices and decisions that are available to you in this moment.

Even though you can see it with your own eyes, the old you is just an illusion, a fictional identity that only exists in our imagination.

It is fictional because we have the ability to change who we are, make our identities completely up, and start all over again if we want to.

No matter what type of person you think you were, no matter what your weight or age, and no matter what results you've gotten in the past you can use the moment that arrives in this second to become better.

Every second you have the opportunity to learn something about yourself, about other people and about life in general that can make the journey interesting and entertaining.

By choosing to learn about yourself, others and life you will inevitably become a better and brighter person.

The person who you want to be in the future can only become so if you choose to be that person now.

Every moment from now until your very last second you have the ability to choose to build a bigger future.

If you choose to do something new in the moment you set yourself up for something new and better in the next moment.

If you choose to do something that you've always done before, you will continue to get the same results you've gotten before.

Albert Einstein said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result"

Become the new you by deciding today to invite the new you inside your head for a chat.

Then ask the new you the question "Who am I becoming?" and allow your ideal self to imagine what it would be like to triumphantly live your dream lifestyle.

Do you picture yourself as confident, competent and cool. Can you imagine how it feels to be a bold and brave adventurer?

Make it a goal to increase the amount of times you "visit" with the new you, even go as far as to write down the conversations you have with your higher self.

Delegate the new you to make the important choices in your life, decisions like whether or not to go to the gym, smoke a cigarette or invest in some new education.

Remember to celebrate any and all decisions made by the new you, regardless of the outcome.

When it comes time to make an important decision again, allow the new you to choose.

Let the new person with the experience of holding off even just that one cigarette answer the question "Who am I becoming?"

Life is constantly unfolding second-by-second, moment-by-moment and with it you are becoming the person of your choice, so remember to choose wisely.


THE SECRET

Even though your worth is priceless you must still proactively and persistently build yourself to increase your value.

What are you consciously creating that is helping to grow yourself, your valued skills and your service to others?

What are you doing on purpose right now that will cultivate you towards being the person you aspire to be?

Take a moment to ask yourself what you are deliberately doing today that is increasing your value?

One way to accelerate your success is to create an intention for the day, a conscious daily intention.

Choose either an affirmation that inspires and excites you or pick a personal declaration that you feel passionate about fulfilling.

An example of such an affirmation might be: "I am a strong communicator"

An example of a similar declaration could be: "I choose today to become the very best listener in all of my conversations"

Do you already keep a success journal to record all the things you are grateful for, and all the reasons you have to celebrate?

If so, a journal would be a great spot to also record your affirmations and your declarations.

Feel free to refine, evolve and tweak your affirmation and declaration statements until they accurately reflect the power behind your personal intentions.

How will you know when you are reading the "right" affirmation or declaration?

While there is no right or wrong answer, a good indication you are on to something is you feel a surge of energy, a rush of exhilaration, or even a nervous fear of excitement just from reading it.

Your job next is to take that powerful personal statement and read it over and over as many times as possible with the enthusiasm.

Read it first thing in the morning when you wake up. Read it last thing at night before you go to bed.

Try this assignment for at least one whole week and at the end of the week ask yourself "Who am I becoming?"

You have the power to become the person you always dreamed, figure out first who exactly that is and then put in the effort by choosing to be like that person now.

Take today's tip to heart and the total effort required will be less than you imagined and the reward you receive will be beyond your wildest dreams!

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help sky-rocket your confidence and success.


THE CHALLENGE

The Mindset challenge I am proposing this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What did I learn?" or said differently, "How did I grow?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question after every activity or challenge you do every day this week and the promise is that you will gain insight, build self-esteem and celebrate more wins in the game of life!


THE TIPS

Self-talk is the name for the dialogue that all of us hear talking inside of our heads.

The voices can sometimes be encouraging in nature, however for most people their self-talk seems to be a negative chatter.

Some people call this negative chatter the "mono loco" or crazy monkey inside their head. Other people have used the analogy of an "Angel" and a "Devil" on your shoulder, whispering "good" or "bad" things into your ear.

How often do you recall hearing these voices? For most of us it is all of the time.

You will usually hear the voice try and stop you before you start a job, while you are working on the task and even when you have completed the work.

The voice will sound like fear, doubt and uncertainty which if listened to will leave you feeling weak, afraid and powerless.

The voice tends to take away our personal power from the situation, it will tell you what is missing and what you could have done differently instead to make it better.

The crazy monkey is never satisfied and it usually looks for perfection.

Winning first place, breaking new ground, shattering new personal records and undertaking new adventures do not matter to the crazy monkey. The mono-loco wants you to fail so it can remain safe and unchanged inside of you.

Listening to the monkey's self-talk will leave you weak, tired, frustrated and feeling like a failure no matter if you just finished winning a Gold in the Olympics.

Next time when the monkey comes to chat regarding your experiences, ask yourself today's question... "What did I learn?" or "How did I grow?" and it will help you find the "wins" in your world.

Finding and celebrating the small victories helps ensure you are focused on the elements of an experience that will allow you to grow.

Even if the only thing you figure you have found out is a new way of doing something "wrong" then asking yourself today's question will help find a way to reframe the situation so that you feel good about it.

The more you ask yourself these questions the more you will develop a mental database of memories in which you are a winner.

The more instances and examples you have in the back of your mind where you learned something the more you will feel like you are growing with each new experience.

Self-esteem is basically how you like, trust and respect yourself, and in life the more you build a base of learning and growth the more you feel confident to handle new situations.


THE SECRET

The secret to instilling today's habit to build a life of confidence and adventure is by keeping track of your progress.

You can keep track of your progress many different ways such as:

Writing it online such as a web blog or video blog. Keeping track by e-mailing yourself or recording a video to your blog whenever you come across a win.

Do you carry a cell phone with you most of the time? Why not try to text message yourself notes as they happen? You could also use the "notes" feature that is found in most mobiles.

You can also use good old fashion sticky notes or can create a special "winners" journal for yourself to record all your victories.

Feel free to experiment to find the method and combination of tools that work best for you.

Your job is to log all instances of winning and answers to the questions so that you will have a diary or record of your achievements.

If you ever feel like a loser all you need to do is revisit your journal for a whole history of wins.

After asking yourself the questions and recording the answers your final job is to party!

Celebrate your growth along every step of the way because your growing should be the adventure of your lifetime not the destination.

Are You Well-Versed In Positive Self Talk?

This might come as a bit of a surprise but what you project forth into the world reflects back.

If you express love, you will receive love. Be respectable and gain respect. By becoming aware of our own internal dialogue or “self-talk” we gain choice. Choice over what we want to see in the world, choice over what we want to manifest in our reality. This is because our inner world creates the outer circumstance and events that we experience, only allowing an expression that is consistent with our inner most thoughts and beliefs.

Every time we possess a thought – of any kind- we have chosen it. If we chose to think negatively, to roll in garbage, to not monitor our mental thoughts – then we have chosen to be a product of bad thinking. Holding onto a thought is a choice, just like it’s our choice to insert a new one.

Like the original water that overflows because it’s being displaced from its container, the human mind can only hold one thought at a time. (Although we believe it holds more because it functions so rapidly). Therefore we displace the unsupportive thought in the conscious mind with a productive or positive affirmation. We can change our life by monitoring and improving the quality of our thoughts.

Become aware of the silent conversation you have with yourself. Listen to your self-talk, that is, what you are saying to yourself inside your head.


Are you a nurturing coach or a alarming critic?

Do you reinforce your own success or negate it?

Does your internal dialogue help grow your results or shrink your potential?

Do your thoughts magnetize or de-magnetize your ability to attract success?

If you find yourself using the "b" words in the first column, try substituting the "a" words instead:

Negative Self Talk Positive Self Talk
b. What if I try and fail? a. This will work for me!

b. This is difficult… a. Challenges are made to overcome!

b. I can’t do that… a. I’ll do that and to the best of my ability!

b. If only I were… a. Because I am smart I will do this

b. Why does this always happen? a. Good things always happen to me

b. I never get anything right… a. I always have what I need when I need it

b. I’m stuck in this rut… a. Now is a great time to get in the groove!

b. I’m such a screw-up a. Mistakes or only human and I like myself

b. I wish I had that… a. I have everything I need and more is on its way!

b. There goes another mistake… a. Things always work out for the best

b. I’ll never get there… a. I am reaching towards my inner most goals

b. I am cursed a. I am blessed

b. He’ll / She’ll never change a. I will change me today

b. Nobody cares as much as I do a. I want to do my best

b. I can’t lose weight a. I can eat healthier

b. My boss ignores me a. I will strive for excellence

b. Why don’t I ever get a break? a. I am not a helpless victim

b. I have no time to exercise a. I will make time to exercise

b. I’ll never get out of debt a. I take small steps each day towards my financial goals

b. He / She never listens a. I need to better understand him/her

b. My kids don’t respect me a. I will work to become a more effective parent

Hopefully these positive affirmations will give you some verbal ammo the next time stinkin' thinking gets a hold of your mind. Try them out, you'll be surprised at the immediate difference you will feel about the situation. If you have a powerful affirmation you would like to share with others, e-mail me at: successsensei@hotmail.com

Onwards, Upwards, and Forwards!