Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

 

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you harness the power of your mind.

 

THE CHALLENGE

 

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What is the value of the questions that I ask myself?"

 

THE PROMISE

 

Ask yourself this question to boost your brainpower and to become better at solving your own problems.

 

 

THE TIPS

Whether you like it or not, you are destined to encounter problems during your lifetime, it is simply part of the experience of being human.

But for human beings, it is not the problem that is important, but how we go about solving the problem that matters most.

Whether you realized it or not, you are constantly thinking to yourself and solving problems in the form of self-talk.

Think about when you ran into that old friend from high school and you were struggling to remember their name.

When you ask your subconscious to get it for you, it will usually come back with the right answer, although maybe not at the time you are face-to-face.

When you ask your subconscious a question, it has no choice but to return an answer to you. You can use this fact to your advantage. Here's how.

First, make sure that your internal-dialogue is positioned to help solve problems. Monitor the discussion, will this conversation move you closer to what you want?

If not, then the quality of the questions you are asking yourself may be the first place you want to change.

What if you could change your life just by changing the questions that you ask yourself? Yes you can, you were meant to, and you can start training yourself to ask better questions.

The moment you wake up tomorrow morning, and before you begin thinking about your day, ask yourself:

"What is the value of the questions that I ask myself?"

This question will give you an idea of whether major changes are needed, or perhaps just a tweak here or there will do the trick.

 

"Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." --- Anthony Robbins

Half of your problem-solving power should always be devoted to clearly and accurately defining the problem. An accurate diagnosis is half the cure.

When you know exactly what the problem is, you are already that much closer to implementing a feasible solution.

 

Without knowing the exact nature of the problem, you will not very well-equipped to solve it, no matter what the situation. 

For instance, if you were unsure why a friend was upset with you, and never took the time to understand why, then how easily could you solve the problem?

 

Probably not very well. Luckily the ego will usually rectify this problem, so you don't have to worry about it, through its usual avenues such as justification, blame, denial, anger, etc... 

Some people would write-off the friends behavior as too weird or rude to be bothered with, some people even perhaps would ignore their friend until they "disclosed" the problem.

 

The problem with going this route is that by the time you two actually sit down and talk, there will be an emotional dam between you both that feels like it is about to burst.

Then, the best question from this lowered mind-frame and highly emotional vibrational state, would likely be: "What is your problem anyway!?" 

However, this question often doesn't solve the problem, in fact, it usually makes the situation much worst.

 

The real issue of why your friend is upset needs to be answered from a different level of thinking then what created the problem.

 

The real question is not what their problem is but, rather "How can you solve it?".

Which approach do you personally think would be more effective for you, or if it was used on you? Of course, knowing the problem is half the battle.

Therefore, you can immediately increase your personal effectiveness through the use of critical thinking questions. 

A good question will clearly define the problem, uncover any false assumptions, and help your mind focus on a solution.

When it comes to problem-solving, it is not the problem itself, but your perception of the problem that will make the most impact towards a solution.

 

For example, asking quality questions such as "What do I already know about this person/topic?", or "How have I solved problems like this before?" will help you tap into your existing experiences in order to better brainstorm solutions.

 

You must always focus on how you can be more personally effective, the moment you let up your lower-priority activities will start to consume all of your time, keeping you busy and burned out.

 

The key to personal effectiveness is the quality of questions that you ask yourself. You can take stock on the quality of your current level of questions by asking yourself:

"What is the value of the questions that I ask myself?" 

 

THE SECRET 

The power and affect that quality questions can have on your life is unquestionable. 

First, by thinking about quality questions you become more aware of the (normally unnoticed) conversations that you have with yourself.

 

This awareness will help you observe whether your self-talk is effective towards your goals or not. Are you treating yourself as an unconditional nurturing coach, or a conditional constant critic?

This will help you start to develop a less-biased opinion about whether your actions and self-talk are reinforcing your success, or in fact negating it.

Quality questions will also help you improve the quality of your inner self-talk, the conversations and commentary you have inside your head.  

  

When you master the anatomy of a quality question you become free to explore the future freely, and also where your past choices have taken you. 

When you are free to explore your self and experiences, you will now start to develop your natural navigation system, use this to hone in on your dreams.

  

The more valuable questions you ask, the more each quality answer will bring out the capable and confident person inside of you.

The goal of any quality question is to build a framework for success inside your brain, a process to use yesterday's and today's experiences in a positive way tomorrow.

With quality questions you can find a way to win, or at least walk away with one lesson to apply in the future, regardless of whether the experience was good, bad, or ugly.

Asking yourself quality questions is about finding better questions to bring about a better experience for all those involved.

Here is an off-the-cuff example. Imagine for a moment that you have this annoying habit that you want to break, i.e. you tend to talk too much when you are nervous.

You've determined that this isn't working for you and you want to change it, the first question you might ask yourself is: "Why do I over-talk when I am nervous?"

Again, all you need to do is ask your subconscious a good quality question, and then patiently sit back and allow for an answer.

 

Perhaps you will discover that you tend to talk more when you are nervous, because you feel uncomfortable with silence.

What happens when you are not sure what to do with an answer you receive? In this case, all you have to do is ask your subconscious another question.

Continuing with the example, you know that it's feeling uncomfortable with silence that is the problem, now you can ask your subconscious why.

The question you might want to ask now is, "Why am I uncomfortable with silence?" and then allow you sub-conscious to answer.

Maybe the 'reason' that returns to you is that you are uncomfortable with silence because you have low self-esteem.

What could you do at this point? Well you could continue to ask another question, i.e. "why you have self-esteem", and continue to go down the path of your problems.

However, consider now how much more empowering it would be to transport yourself into the realm of solutions?

How about instead of asking "why do I have this problem", you shift your questioning to "what can I do about it"?

In our over-talking example, how about switching from why you are uncomfortable with silence, to "what can I do to not be so uncomfortable with silence?"

Or, instead you could ask yourself, "In what ways can I communicate more confidently and concisely?"

Now you have shifted the emphasis off of diagnosing the problem, and switched on to finding a solution for the cure.

This works better because now you don't even need to solve your low-self esteem, because if when you find a way to be a more powerful and confident speaker, your self-esteem will have to match right?

Can you see how this little shift in thinking can make a huge difference. If not, go back and read it again until you get it!

By asking your subconscious questions you can begin to tap into your true power.

Stuck in a situation right now and still not sure where to start?

How about asking yourself a quality question such as: "What does success look like for me?", or "How can I turn my current situation around to best suit me?", or "What question have I not asked myself, but if I did, would lead to the greatest increase in the quality of my life?"

The better questions you ask yourself, the better answers you get, the better results occur, and better quality of life you will live.

Ultimately, quality questions add balance to your way of thinking, nurture your way of doing, and help to discover the consciousness behind being.

You can get a start to discover the power of your questions by asking yourself: "What is the value of the questions that I ask myself?"

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

 

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help see that the hidden truth behind your existence.

 

THE CHALLENGE

 

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What are the miracles in my life?"

 

THE PROMISE

 

Ask yourself this question and you will start to appreciate all of the intricate and inherent beauty of life.

 

THE TIPS

When you wake up tomorrow morning ask yourself the question: "What are the miracles in my life?"

Take a moment to think about what in your life is so incredible that it makes you want to shout at the top of your lungs?

Ok, ok, if you are like most people then you probably came up with the answer "nothing".

Yet if you knew there was a miracle in the making of your life wouldn't you shout for joy or scream with excitement?

Certainly you would appreciate it right? Because after all, if you didn't appreciate the miracles in your life then why would any one (or thing) give you more of them?

In fact, could it be the case that perhaps your life is already chalked full of miracles and you don't even realize, or appreciate, them now?

When was the last time that you stopped to account for, and appreciate, all of the miracles in your life?

If you still cannot see miracles in your life, then perhaps it is just that you can't see the forest for the trees.

There are miracles right in front of your face, all around you, and surrounding you.

Consider the miracle of your existence and how many sets of grandparents had to physically exist to create you.

How many millions of your ancestors had to pass through the same "event horizon" that you came through?

If anyone of those people were "not in the mood", or choose to do anything else than exactly what they did to procreate, you would not be reading this.

Your genealogy is a miracle unto itself, but put that aside for a moment, and now consider the complexity behind your birth.

When you were first conceived you were a double strand of DNA in a fertilized ovum.

It divided 50 times, and after only 50 replications you had over 100,000,000,000,000 (trillion) cells. 

To give you an idea of how much that is, it is bigger than the number of all the stars in our Milky Way galaxy.

Every second there are about 25 million new cells that are being produced in your body.

Each and every one of those cells does over 6 trillion things per second and has enough power to illuminate the world.

What is even more amazing is that every new cell, just like every existing cell in your body, is instantly aware of what the other cells are doing.

The essence of a human being composed of 60-70 kilos of flesh and a mass of bones was originally contained in a drop of fluid. 

It certainly is a wonder that an intelligent, emotion experiencing human being, with a remarkably complex physical structure, could come into existence from a drop of fluid.

This development was certainly not the result of a random process or the operation of chance, there is an inner intelligence in your body.

It is this inner intelligence that allows the human body to simultaneously think thoughts, listen to music, remove toxins, fight germs, and make love in rhythm all at once.

The rhythm of your heart will beat 3,000 million times during your life, every and every time without you ever having to ask it too. Have you thanked your heart lately?

Day in and day out your blood travels almost 100,000 kilometers round trip from various places around your body back to your heart, without you having to give any directions.

Every year your eyes close, clean, lubricate, and re-open over 13 million times without you ever having to consciously "bat an eye".

Each day your lungs take approximately 23,000 breaths, they do this automatically without your instructions.

Every one of the cells within your nervous, skeletal, respiratory, digestive, and immune system operate with a miraculous intelligence.

If your cells and body is able to do all of these things easily without your instruction, can you imagine what type of miracles could be created if you consciously intended them?

Miracles are in more shapes and sizes than you realize. The more you stay aware and look for them, the more you will find them.

You can begin to increase your awareness about the miracles in your life by continually asking yourself the question: 

"What are the miracles in my life?"

THE SECRET

The truth about miracles is that the most significant miracle is you.

Each and every one of us is a unique living and breathing miracle in the flesh.

and infinitely smarter than you give yourself credit for. 

Yet for some reason the majority of us don't usually recognize this fact in our daily lives.

It is almost funny when people think that there are no miracles, because as long as you live you are a miracle.

However it's not funny to realize that people who don't believe in miracles, or don't see miracles, probably are not living miraculous lives.

It doesn't make any sense why anyone would choose to live anything less than a miraculous life.

Yes believe it or not, no matter who you are or what your situation is, you are entitled to limitless miracles.

We don't have to do anything to earn them, we don't have to be anyone to deserve them, because just our BE-ing qualifies us.

You are perfect as you are, unique as a snowflake, and so important that world would not be complete without you.

As long as you exist there are miracles occurring, miracles to be made, fantasies to be fulfilled, and destinies to be discovered.

Best of all there is only one thing that you have to do differently in order to immediately attract, and experience, more miracles in your life.

All you have to do is choose. Your intention must be set on seeing the miracles in your life versus the misery.

This is important because what you focus on in the mind expands in the physical realm, and will eventually attract more of the same. 

If you spend your time and attention focusing on fear, it only makes sense that you will become fearful, or full of fear.

If you spend your time and attention complaining, whining, playing a victim, you will be provided with more reasons to continue.

In order to attract more miracles you must begin to see and appreciate the miracles that are already in your life.

There are many miracles unfolding right now for everyone, it's just a matter of choosing to see them.

It is a miracle that you awoke this day and with eyes and that can see and a brain that can comprehend. 

Can you commit to starting your day tomorrow by not taking this miracle for granted?

Just the fact that you can and are reading requires further miracles to happen.

Besides being blessed with eyes, you are reading these words because you have a computer, an Internet Service Provider, and a roof over your head.

Although it may not seem like much of a miracle to you, but the majority of the world today does not even have that.

In fact, if you are reading this then you are ALREADY living a miraculous life that millions of people in less fortunate countries are praying to have.

People would literally do anything to have the opportunity to make the mistakes you do, and to experience your failures.

If you are guilty of getting yourself caught up in the mania of the mind's judgment, criticizing, or blaming, then ask yourself this question:

How can I get out of my own way and allow myself to experience the miracle that I am each and every day?

How about committing to telling your loved ones that they are miracles today? How about gently reminding yourself?

When you are feeling low, the ultimate pick-me up is for you to seriously contemplate the question:

"What are the miracles in my life?"

Write down your miracles, share your miracles with a friend, and teach others how to find miracles in their life.

Be the miracle you want, feel the miracle you are, and celebrate your miraculous future.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

 

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you see things more clearly and live with more clarity.

 

THE CHALLENGE

 

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What else could this mean?"

 

THE PROMISE

 

Ask yourself this question in every instance you are searching for meaning and you will gain new perspectives.

  

 

THE TIPS

Have you ever got confused, angry, sad, hurt, frustrated, nervous, stressed, anxious, or upset?

If you are human then you have definitely have experienced at least one or two of these negative emotions.

Chances are, you may even be experiencing them on a daily basis.

If you want to reduce the amount of those feelings in your life a great question to ask yourself is: "What else could this mean?"

Human beings see the world first through our brains and then use our eyes to generate a matching perspective.

We see whatever we believe, i.e. seeing is believing... We also ignore what we don't want to believe... i.e. ignorance is bliss.

In general people underestimate their natural abilities and overestimate their weaknesses.

This means that your situation is probably not as bleak as you imagine, and you're more strong and talented than you give yourself credit. 

Yet we tend to think that everybody thinks, feels and acts the same way, or at least they should in most cases.

You think this way if you have ever got upset at someone with a different approach to doing things than you.

If you traveled with 12 of your closest friends on a trip for a month you would quickly spot exactly just how different you are.

But if during that trip you were faced with a problem that took all of you to solve, you may walk away more appreciative of our differences.

Our perspectives are by design as unique as our fingerprints, with no two being the exact same.

There is a beautiful and divine purpose as to why we all think, feel and act differently.

The truth is that it takes all sorts to make the world go round. 

The sooner that we appreciate and believe this then the sooner the conflicts and wars around the world will end.

You can make a big difference in your life and the lives of others simply by asking one question:

"What else could this mean?"

Answering this question will help you gain perspectives, feel empathy and increase awareness.

When was the last time you stopped to consider that there might be another way at looking at the situation?

Here is your challenge for the next week...

The next time you are frustrated, confused, angry or upset ask yourself this power question.

Try asking it the next time that you are stuck on a problem or arrive at a dead-end.

Ask it to yourself the next time you are in the middle of a so-called crisis.

Ask a friend this question the next time they are emotional and distraught over something.

The more that you ask yourself this question the more easily you will be able to come up with alternative ideas.

Remember, the answers that you come up with are not the most important part of the process, rather it is simply the awareness of all your alternatives.

To change anything in your life requires that you choose a new path, because you cannot change what you don't know.

A great question to ask yourself to gain awareness and perspective is: "What else could this mean?"

THE SECRET

We live in a world that is infinitely filled with all sorts, shapes and sizes of information.

Our ability to recognize, access and change information creates endless potential and possibilities for our species.

From cloning mammals to Cuban missiles we have the power to use information to both create and destroy life.

However we must always remember that information itself is neither inherently good or bad. 

For instance the Ying and Yang symbol tells us there is a little bit of good in evil, and a little bit of evil in good.

Information will always make the world go round and it will forever just be information.

Ultimately it is the person who uses the information that applies the purpose and meaning to it.

We can use information to empower and improve our lives, or we can use the same information to hinder and hamper our progress.

This choice is entirely up to us and is determined on the basis by the type and quality of questions we ask our self. 

For a specific example of how this might play into your life consider the following scenario or one like it:

You have arranged to meet your partner or good friend for dinner and you arrive on time at a restaurant. 

After about 10 minutes and the person still hasn't shown up you begin to dialogue with yourself and say “typical, she is always late, she simply has no respect for other people”. 

Stop! Wait-a-minute, immediately taking up a position like this is not going to prove very useful for your emotions is it?

Also, think about the type of evening you are setting yourself up for if and when the person does show up. It's not likely going to be a fun and friendly night will it?

Before you are temped to take your next shower in negative emotions, how about if you asked yourself "What else could this mean?"

Just by asking the question you have now given yourself some choices.

Start brainstorming from the other person's perspective and put yourself in their shoes.

Do you think they are doing this to intentionally hurt or upset you? If so, then perhaps it is time to find some new friends or even family to hang around.

If you realize that they probably didn't do it on purpose, then perhaps you could change the internal dialogue in your head to reflect something more understanding and empathetic.

For example you might think "she must really care about me because she is obviously taking the time to look her best”, or “How thoughtful of me was it to pick a restaurant that is notorious for no parking."

Coming from a perspective like this you can see how you can eliminate the build up of negative emotions and free yourself from "reacting" when they finally arrive.

With that perspective how much easier it would be avoid any arguments, make sure you put in a real effort, and try your best to salvage the rest of the night.

Think and reflect for a moment on the last time that you had an argument with a loved one. 

Try and briefly regain those feelings by seeing what you saw, hearing what you heard and feeling what you felt. 

Now take a moment and recreate the dialogue that was going on inside your head at the time. What are you saying to yourself?

Are you asking questions that are helping or are you asking questions that are likely to exacerbate the situation and lead to an argument? 

At times like this we often disappear inside our heads and look for ways to justify our feelings and support our behaviour.

Would you like to put a hugely positive spin on the situation instead by changing your state and outlook?

The alternative is to ask yourself the question "What else could this mean?" to contemplate new and more powerful perspectives.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live with more purpose.

THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"What do I want to change in the world?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question everyday until you find an answer, and then ask it everyday after that to make sure you stay the course.


THE TIPS

Everywhere in this world there is change.

We exist in a world where change is the only thing that is constant.


So if change is the only constant, then ask yourself, is it a good idea for you to have a constant approach to life?

Said differently, does it make any sense to try and stay the same in a world that is forever changing?

Of course not, yet isn't that exactly what we do when we spend all our time and attention thinking, feeling, and doing things the same way?

We call the preference to view life from the perspective of the mind our "identity".

Our identity is a collection of attitudes, biases and beliefs systems that we construct our view of the world with.

Some peoples identity is compatible with their reality, while the majority of other people's paradigms hold them hostage.

The desire to maintain our identity can keep us from fully embracing change.

However when it comes to accepting, handling, and dealing with change, including our ability to change our identity, Henry Ford had the best answer when he said...

"Whether you think that you can, or think that you cannot, either way you are right".

Is your current view of reality getting the job done?

Are you happy with the world that you live in?

If you are not happy, a great question to ask yourself is "What do I want to change in the world?"

Humans have all been given unique problem-solving powers beyond any other biological being on Earth and yet still we complain.

Out of all the unnecessary things in this world, nothing is more annoying than a person who continually grieves and grumbles about their problems.

Why? Because we have been given a mouth to vocalize opportunity, eyes to seek out solutions, and a body to bring us forward into action.

Our ability to reason, analyze, interpret, intuit and imagine are unprecedented and unparalleled in the animal kingdom.

These gifts have been bestowed upon every one of us living on this planet and far too often these go unnoticed and unused.

Everyday we have a choice, to either become part of the problem, or choose (even by default) to become part of the solution.

Not many people are prepared to do what they need to do today, in order to make a better tomorrow possible for them self.

In order to be the change you are meant to be in the world you need to follow your passion, find your power and live your purpose.

"You must be the change you seek in the world." --- Mahatma Gandhi

Now is the time to speak your truth, create your community and be good to each other.

Do not look outside yourself for your leader, become a mentor to your self and to others, lead by example.

As U.S. President Barack Obama suggested during one of his inspirational presidential candidate speeches, "we must become the difference that this world needs."

The Ancient Hopi Prophecy tells us that "We are the ones we've been waiting for."

There are many opportunities to get involved in your area, community, country or even continent.

One possible way to get started is by visiting http://www.change.org/ where there they ask the question "What do you want to change in the world?"


THE SECRET

Change does not happen by itself. You cannot change the world without first changing yourself.

We are all connected and no person can exist independently as an island unto themselves.

Yet for some reason we tend to think we are alone, isolated, and independent from the need of others.

But if you become sick, get hurt, or have an accident, don't you need some one else to take care of you?

A lot of people have grand intentions to save the world who cannot even save them self.

If you want to change the world you must change the view of your self.

The ancients taught us that "In order to heal others you must first be healed yourself, that "Healing Yourself IS Healing others".

Incidentally like all good things in life, this must be practiced to completion in order to understand it.

When you have completed healing yourself there will no longer be a world in need of healing rather a world of absolute perfection.

Free to live your life without fear, guilt, regret, or shame. Now you can reconnect with the purpose of why you are here in the first place.

Each one of us was born for a reason, whether that is to be an answer to a question, or a solution to a problem.

The next time you are alone ask your heart the question: "What do I want to change in the world?" and see what comes up for you.

Have you recently stopped to reconsider Where you are living, How you are living, Why you are living and What you are doing with your life?

What could you begin to change today that would result in the largest improvement to the quality of your life and/or those surrounding you?

Changes can happen on many different levels such as in social institutions, in the social behaviour or the social relations of a society, community of people, and so on.

When behaviour pattern changes, in large numbers and is visible and sustained it results in what is referred to as social change.

Among many forms of creating social change are theater for social change, direct action, protesting, advocacy, community organizing, community practice, revolution, and political activism.

What would you change if you knew you could make a difference?

Would you change the way people eat, work, play, think, feel, act, laugh, live, love?

You might wonder if you, your friends or a small group of people can possibly make a difference in such a large and complicated world.

"Never underestimate the power of a small group of committed citizens to change the world. Indeed, it has never been done otherwise." - Margaret Mead

You have the power within you to be the difference that makes the difference.

Even though you may not be aware of it, at any given point in time you may literally be the proverbial "straw that breaks the camels back", or the deciding factor.

An example of such simple things that can make a difference are: a smile, a warm hug, a candy, a toy, a note, a poem, a tune, an encouragement, a meal, gift, or gesture.

It is these small and seemingly unimportant things that add up to make significant changes in the overall outlook of the people surrounding us.

This is important because a significant deviance from culturally inherited values may result in a rebellion against the established system.

Isn't it amazing to think that your efforts could ultimately lead to the change in society that we have been looking for?

If you choose to, you can, and do, make a difference.

Once you decide to make that choice the next question to ask yourself is: "What do I want to change in the world?"

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will alter the world you see and how you see it.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"What new thing did I notice today?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question and it will help you find new possibilities and potentials.


THE TIPS

Before you close your eyes tonight ask yourself the question: "What new thing did I notice today?" and see what kind of answer you come up with.

Noticing something new is the first step in learning something new, which is a prerequisite for growing.

Everyday you are given the choice to either learn and grow or else recede and die. What do you want to do?

If you want to grow then it is important to stretch yourself and step outside your comfort zone as often as possible.

A good way to measure the growth on a daily basis is by asking yourself "What new thing did I notice today?" and recording your answer.

Everyday there is something new to learn, and sometimes even someone new to learn it from.

The world is constantly providing you new teachers to learn from and grow if you are open for it.

The problem is that far too many people are plagued with closed minds that don't allow them to grow.

You can recognize a person who is afraid to grow by the way they talk about new things.

They will use phrases like "I know that/this/them" and "I already heard about that/this/them" no matter what the subject.

People like this act as though they have discovered everything there is on Earth and know everything about it.

The truth is that these people are attached to a belief-system that equates their knowledge with their worthiness.

They are afraid of looking dumb if they don't know what you are talking about, so they overcompensate by pretending to know-it-all.

Since no one can ever know-it-all their efforts are usually always in vain and they end up looking foolish.

Amazingly, the irony is that looking foolish is the exact thing that these people wanted to avoid in the first place.

You can avoid feeling stupid for being ignorant by excusing yourself as an adventurer who is learning as they go.

Everyday you are journeying further on your adventure, learning things you didn't know before and growing in ways you never thought you could.

When you come across something that you don't know, make it a point to learn it and don't be afraid to ask questions to strengthen your understanding.

There are no stupid questions except for the ones inside your had that you don't ask.

Commit to becoming an adventurer today, and start discovering the world all over again.

Abandon ideas that aren't working for you and find out new ways of doing the same thing.

Make it a point to uncover as many new things you can discover about an old friend.

Fall in love with your spouse, or your loved one all over again and notice what qualities made you fall in love with them in the first place.

Noticing something new in your life can change your world literally.

A great question to keep track of your observations is by asking "What new thing did I notice today?"


THE SECRET

Asking yourself "What new thing did I notice today?" is a great way to notice change.

Noticing something change is important, because it is the visual representation of growth.

If you noticed something new existing without, it can only be due to the growth that took place within.

Growth on the exterior, or outer world is always a reflection of the growth that has taken place inside.

These shifts of growth inside are represented by changes in our attitudes, preferences and perceptions.

Here is an example that you can probably related to:

You pick up a new car, get a new dress, or buy a new cell phone and the moment you got it you started noticing everyone else who had one like yours.

All of a sudden, you see your purchase everywhere you go but can't recall seeing it around even a day before you bought it.

The growth that took place was in a part of the brain called the Reticular Activating Cortex, sometimes referred to as the Reticular Activating System (RAS for short).

Whenever you notice something new, it is because of this part of your brain that acts like an operator switch board for your perception.

Your RAS acts like your personal secretary, a gatekeeper that decides what goes "in" to your awareness and what stays "out".

Before you had your new car your RAS didn't know it was important to you, but now since you have one, your RAS is trained to point out more of what you are looking for.

It searches for more of the people, situations and circumstances that you desire and filters out what it feels is unnecessary.

Your RAS works subconsciously in the background by tirelessly filtering your experience based only on what you programed, it will never let in anything you didn't ask for.

This is important enough to state again, your RAS never lets in anything that you don't ask for.

If you want more happiness, joy, prosperity, friendships, peace, love in your life then you first ask for what you want.

Attracting something new in your life is as easy as imagining it was already there.

Your job is to tell your RAS that these things are important to you and that you want to see more of them in your life.

The way to program your RAS to show you more of what you want in the future is by consciously intending for more of it now.

Your consciousness is the program writer for your RAS, it does this through a number of things including the way you feel and act, and the self-talk that you have with yourself.

For example you can program your RAS by feeling as though you had it, acting as though it was already yours, and talking to yourself as if your desire is now a part of your life.

As the world begins to respond to your desires your next immediate goal is to become aware of the signs and evidence of possibilities and potentials manifesting.

A great question to train your RAS to search for new things is to ask yourself "What new thing did I notice today?".

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help lead you back to a balanced lifestyle.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"How am I spending my attention?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question as often as possible to become more aware of your thoughts, emotions and actions.


THE TIPS

Time is our most precious resource.

Time cannot be replaced, renewed. or reversed.

The wealthiest person on this planet is one who has "free" time. Time to spend on what he or she desires.

The only thing that we can use to create, build and change anything in this world is time.

The only currency that we spend our time with is attention.

The next time you are about to devote any time or energy into a situation, a great question to ask is:

"How am I spending my attention?"

The only way to solve a problem is to give it some attention.

The only way to show love to someone else is to devote your undivided attention to them.

The only way we ever do anything in this world is through spending attention.

Yet were you aware that how everybody spends their attention is different?

Attention isn't a single unit of measure, rather it is broken up into three different but related "modes".

The modes in which people spend their attention is by either thinking, feeling or doing.

We spend our attention by choosing to feel some way, think some way, or do some thing.

Throughout the day we relate to the information around us by using one of these modes, usually a combination of two.

Picture three separate "dials" sticking out of your back with the values 0 to 10 on each of them.

A persons' thinking-dial might be turned up to 10, their feeling dial to 7, and their doing dial at 3.

When given something that requires our attention, let's say a problem to solve, we always approach it using our preferred mode.

A person with their thinking and feeling dial turned up like in the example above would be inclined to sit and think about the problem.

Where as the person with their "doing-dial" turned up would be inclined to do something about the problem and think or feel later.

There is no right or wrong way to give your attention in a situation, although the most beneficial way will always stem from being aware.

The next time you are giving attention, considering options or problem-solving ask yourself: "How am I spending my attention?"

When you answer, try to be more aware of the effects of what you are thinking, feeling or doing about the situation.


THE SECRET

What is your default dial?

Do you have a tendency to think, feel or do too much?

People tend to become very dominant using one particular dial, and support that strength with a secondary dial.

When we spend our attention primarily in one or two modes, naturally the third one becomes neglected.

There is no getting around the fact that we make our decisions with two of the three dials turned up.

People will therefore always have a "strong" dial, a "support" dial, and a "weak" dial.

As time goes on this leads to an over-compensation of two dials and an under-utilization of the third.

It is important to focus your attention on all three and avoid overlooking the importance of the dial you tend to ignore.

This is important to be aware of because we are only as strong as our weakest link.

For example, a person who acts primarily without thinking will not see the bigger picture behind their actions.

A person on the other hand who thinks and feels without action, will inevitably run into problems with procrastination.

You can tell which is your strong dial and which on is weakest by observing how you tend to react to new situations and potential problems.

Do you dive-in head first and figure things out along the way? If so, you are a do'er.

If you tend to be more reserved and analytical about the situation then you are a thinker.

Do you wait and see what your gut feels like before responding? If this is you then you are a feeler.

The goal is not to change your mode of spending attention, as that will only result in frustration.

Awareness is the main goal, for only once you have become aware of something can you decide to change it.

Become aware of what dials you use, how they affect your life, and how you can benefit from using your weakest dial more often.

A great question to gain awareness of your behaviour is to ask yourself: "How am I spending my attention?"

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you ensure you are using your imagination the way it is supposed to be used.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"How will I use my imagination today?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question for awareness into the way that you use your imagination.


THE TIPS

When you wake up tomorrow ask yourself the question "How will I use my imagination today?"

The moment you begin to ponder an answer to that question you will begin using your imagination.

Each answer that you "think" of is visualized as a picture or symbol inside of your mind's eye.

These pictures and symbols trigger other pictures and symbols because they are linked together by "emotional association".

This means that when you think of the picture or symbol you also simultaneously experience emotion.

The combined union of thought and emotion produce what is known as our feelings.

The feelings that we have either enable or dis-enable (disable) our success.

This is because the way that we feel determines the way in which we experience the moment.

When we feel a low-energy, non-confident, confused emotional state we hold ourselves back, reserve our energy and tend to withdraw from life.

When we feel a high-energy, confident and enthusiastic emotional state we will always give more of ourselves, succeed easier and be more connected to life.

This is why it is so important to choose to only empower emotions that enable you to experience the moment as "authentic" as possible.

We experience life authentically when we are fully in the moment without judgment or reservation.

Feeling authentic means feeling purposeful, passionate and playful.

We all live to experience more of these moments in life, so why does it appear to be so difficult?

Because we are confused about what we can control and what we cannot.

We spend to much energy trying to control the things we can't, for example other people or foreign countries.

While we fail to try to control the things that we can, for example our attitude, belief system, and most importantly our imagination.

Imagination is the starting point of success, if you don't understand how this occurs you need to re-read this from the beginning.

When you actually understand how important your imagination is, you will ask yourself "How will I use my imagination today?" everyday.


THE SECRET

Take time and ask yourself the question "How will I use my imagination today?"

Each one of us was born with an imagination despite the popular belief that people think they are not creative.

Even though the way that each on of us uses our imagination is different, we all have been using our imagination every single day.

However, despite the diversity in ways that we use our imagination, the standard measurement boils down to two things:

We either use our imagination to enable (empower) our lives, or we use our imagination to disable (dis-empower) our lives.

We imagine by associating certain pictures and symbols together and grouping them together based on the way they make us feel.

For example, when you think of the word "Love" you probably picture the word first in your minds-eye.

After picturing the word you then associate that word with a memory, in this case of something that you love.

This picture of what we love then has an emotion associated with that picture.

This emotion embodies the feeling that is associated with the word love.

Providing that we do not have any negative associations such as the experience of heartbreak, before we know it we are fondly reminiscing over memories of a loved one.

Each time we think of the word love this emotional association triggers the memory of the experience almost as if we were experiencing it for the first time.

You only have to picture a loved one in your mind and have the feelings of "butterflies" in your stomach to confirm this happens.

What is amazing is that this process happens in the blink of an eye and we can repeat it over and over again.

Imagine how great you would feel if you took time every day to only think about joyful, passionate, loving experiences you've had?

Recalling cherished memories and re-living positive experiences are just a couple ways that we can benefit from our imagination.

Unfortunately, the same process of re-living the experience occurs for all other emotions including negative ones.

For example, have you ever found yourself in a bad mood just because you pictured someone who makes you mad?

You don't even have to be in the same room as that person before your blood starts to boil right?

Good, bad or indifferent your imagination acts like a switch board, whose job is to summon experiences that support the picture we hold in our mind.

Therefore, your only job in each moment is to consciously create the type of experiences and emotions that will be worthy of re-living in the future.

If you only picture great things coming into your world and learn to see them as great when they appear, then you will create future memories that will be fondly remembered.

You will either use your imagination to empower the creation of positive new experiences or not, the choice is entirely yours.

When you wake up tomorrow ask yourself the question "How will I use my imagination today?"

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will inspire you to reclaim the confidence to move forward in your life.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"What is really keeping me from accomplishing what I want right now?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question and it will help you breakthrough tough mental roadblocks and limiting-beliefs.


THE TIPS

Ask yourself the question "What is really keeping me from accomplishing what I want right now?" to help you move forward whenever you feel stuck.

This naturally does not feel good because being stuck is the opposite of the reason we were born on this planet to begin with.

Human beings are born to express themselves and they primarily do this two ways.

First, all human beings aspire to accomplish something that they value.

We want to contribute to something meaningful that we can be proud of.

Second, humans also desire to feel valued by the people that they value.

We want to feel like important members within our circle of influence.

No matter what tribe, community, race or culture you belong to, these two yearnings are universal.

There is a very specific reason that we are hardwired this way.

When we are contributing (being valuable) to something we value, the human body rewards us by generating feelings.

The feelings that people most commonly experience when doing the above are peace, passion, enthusiasm and joy.

When we accomplish something of value the human body rewards us with favorable emotional states.

Some of the common terms that people use to describe these emotional states are: bliss, fulfillment, happiness and success.

So if everyone wants to contribute to some thing of value and also to feel valuable, then what is the problem?

There are two reasons why the majority of people you know are not expressing the feelings or experiencing the conditions:

1. We cannot uncover or discover what we wish to contribute.

2. We know what we wish to contribute but cannot uncover or discover a way to contribute it.

Ask yourself the question "What is really keeping me from accomplishing what I want right now?" and see what category you fall into.

The more you give yourself permission to ask yourself exploration questions, the more of yourself you will uncover.

The more of yourself that is uncovered, the more informed you are about yourself and what you are meant to do.

The more informed you are about what you want to do, the more informed you can become on how best to do it.

Start your path to success by simply asking yourself: "What is really keeping me from accomplishing what I want right now?"


THE SECRET

Just because you ask the question: "What is really keeping me from accomplishing what I want right now?" doesn't mean that you will give yourself an honest answer.

The mind is known to be tricky. This trickiness can sometimes be described as if there were a little angel and little devil on your shoulders.

Sometimes the angel answers and sometimes the devil, the universal question that plagues us all is how to tell them apart.

For example, you have an important goal to manage your weight but somehow you just aren't going to the gym.

This would be a great opportunity to ask yourself the question: "What is really keeping me from accomplishing what I want right now?"

However, the little devil on your shoulder may answer the question before the little angel and it might say something like:

"You shouldn't exercise (even though you know you should) because... [insert cleaver excuse here]"

The excuse might come in the form of a reasonable sounding thought like, "what if the people at the gym make fun of you?"

Entertaining a thought like this may hinder your confidence to move forward and sabotage your desire to go to the gym.

The next time this happens and you aren't sure whether it is the little devil answering ask yourself this follow-up question:

"How do I know this to be true?" and give yourself time to debate both sides of the story.

In the example of the gym excuse, asking yourself "How do I know this to be true?" is a great follow-up question.

If you insist on believing that whatever is holding you back is true, the next best question to ask yourself is " What would happen if it wasn't true?"

In the going to the gym situation you might discover through simple brainstorming that other possibilities exist.

For example, you might see the possibility that you could befriend a work out buddy or even better, a future mate that understands your unique challenges.

The excitement of this possibility might even help you breakthrough the limiting-belief about people at the gym that held you back in the first place.

Give yourself permission to explore your roadblocks and belief barriers, and with practice the mind will become your greatest problem solving ally.

If you need help getting started, asking a honest friend or hiring a coach that you trust is your best bet to get a realistic view of your current results.

When you have determined a realistic view of your situation ask yourself the question: "What is really keeping me from accomplishing what I want right now?" to take yourself to the next level.

Be open with process and honest with your progress and you will eliminate any barriers that stand in your way.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live guilt and regret free.


THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"Will being offended solve my problem?"


THE PROMISE

Ask this question at every minor and major case you find yourself offended and you will be able to better respond to those situations in the future.


THE TIPS

The next time something or someone rubs you the wrong way, and before you give it too much of your energy and attention, stop and ask yourself:

"Will being offended solve my problem?"

The universal answer to that question is... Never!

Ask yourself "How many times has being offended solved anything in my life?"

And the universal answer to that question is still... Never!

Yet being offended, passing judgement and criticizing situations is something that we all do, many of us on a daily basis.

Being offended does nothing to satisfy the situation, and it certainly doesn't benefit the person or thing that offended you.

It is good to detach yourself from these situations because many times the offender doesn't even know they committed the crime.

Asking "Will being offended solve my problem?" is the first step in effective problem solving.

Instead of focusing on the reasons to be offended, or justifying your revenge, take a look at what is really bothering you here.

Becoming and staying offended cannot help you, but challenging yourself to look at the reason why you were offended in the first place can help you tremendously.

Anytime you are "overly opinionated" about anything it is reason for you to explore deeper.

There is no shame, guilt or regret involved with getting to know what offends you.

In fact there is nothing wrong with being offended, the problem becomes when we don't know or don't care why.

To know why you are offended is a chance for you to get familiar with your values.

Everybody must strive to put our values and motives under the microscope of truth.

Why not? After all we expect to keep our Government and Elected Officials in-check.

Why shouldn't we take the same approach of scrutiny and standards to the main motivator behind our own behaviour?

Ignoring the reasons why you are offended will not shed any insight whatsoever into what to do about it, or how to get over it.

Whenever you feel emotion about something or someone it is more a reflection of yourself than of what you think caused the feelings.

You are responsible for self-governing your feelings and asking yourself "Will being offended solve my problem?" will help you put your thoughts, feelings and behaviour into clearer perspective.


THE SECRET

Asking yourself "Will being offended solve my problem?" helps remind you that being offended is not at all productive.

If you want to be productive one of the first questions to ask yourself whenever you feel offended is "what does this situation say about me?"

What do the thoughts and feelings that you have towards this situation say about you?

Being offended in a situation only shows people the way in which you judge others.

Continuing to remind others of how and why you are offended can only bring you more of being offended.

This can be summed up by the saying "you get out what you put in". Putting in complaints doesn't grow roses.

If you had a banana and you continued to cut it up into pieces, no matter what at the end of the day you would still have a banana.

You would never cut up a banana and expect to have orange slices right?

Being able to see why you were offended and what that insight reveals about what you are made up of on this inside is priceless.

With humility and practice you will develop the ability to respond better and offer a more balanced perspective.

A well-balanced perspective comes from being able to ponder yourself in the equation, both as the problem and as the solution.

This detached state of being is called introspection, or reflection and is generally accomplished through meditation.

With gentle introspection you will see reflections of both the conscious and subconscious programs that operate your world.

Yet for some strange reason many people fear stillness and shy away from taking a serious look inward.

Maybe because unless you grew up with a Yogi next door we were not taught how to meditate or exposed to the value of it.

Whatever the reason, it is an illusion that we can some go through life and avoid getting to know our self.

It is in our best interest to get to know the person we are stuck with no matter what.

No matter where you go, there you are, so the faster you get to know all aspects of your self the better.

Keeping the above metaphor of a self-government in mind, wouldn't you like to know if your elected "body" was doing a good job?

If you wanted to keep things accountable you would definitely require studies and analysis.

Don't be afraid to study your self, your motives, your behaviours, your thoughts and your habits.

Be your own best friend, become tag team partners with your self and together you will wrestle the challenges of life.

The better your relationship with your self, the better results that you will get.

When you are not getting the results that you are looking for, or find yourself emotionally attached to something, ask yourself "Will being offended solve my problem?" to move forward faster.

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will pump up your problem-solving muscles.

THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What don't I already know about this?"

THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question whenever you come across a road block and you will solve your problems faster and more easily.


THE TIPS

Whenever the path before you appears blocked, or you come across a mental block, try asking yourself "What don't I already know about this?".

This will help you shift from seeing the problem in the same old ways and tap into the power of your creativity.

The next time you reach an apparent dead-end you must first realize that you have reached this block even though you know what you know.

Therefore, even though you know what you know, what you need to know is what you don't know already.

The best information in a solving a problem that has been plaguing you is by approaching it from a completely different angle.

Asking yourself the question "What don't I already know about this?" will help you uncover some strategic solutions.

Often we make the mistake of believing that we have all the information necessary to deal with a situation, or form an opinion, when we haven't taken the time to dig deeper.

When this happens we tend to make assumptions that eventually hinder our growth and keep us feeling frustrated.

An example is if you have struggled with something like weight management throughout your life.

What you already know about the situation is the gamut of diets, programs, exercises and training systems that you've gone through that don't work.

What you also likely already know is how many months and years you have been trying to lose those last pounds.

The problem with knowing what you already know is that by studying the things above, it won't move you closer to a solution.

Instead, chances are likely that studying what you know has probably lead you to ask yourself something along the lines of "What's wrong with me, how come I just can't get past this?"

You might be tempted to compare your result to others and wonder why "Tae Bo" or the "Atkin's Diet" worked for your best friend but not for you.

Instead of asking yourself a question based on a problem, your challenge is to shift gears by asking yourself a question based on a solution.

By asking yourself "What don't I already know about this?" you will find out new areas and angles to approach your weight management.

Repeatedly asking yourself this question will automatically enlist the help of your creativity in order to try and solve the problem.

You might discover that what you don't know already about your weight management is why you want to manage the weight to begin with.

You might uncover that what you don't know already is how your personality plays a role in your weight management.

You might find out that what you don't know already is why you have chosen to approach the problem in the way that you have.

The more that you ask yourself "What don't I already know about this?" the more easily that you will be able to come up with new empowering answers.


THE SECRET

To really turbo charge your results, when you sit down to ask yourself "What don't I already know about this?", write down your ideas on paper.

You might want to start with listing all the things that you already know about the problem you are trying to solve.

The more you can understand your problem and the better you are able to formulate the question, the better answers you will come up with.

It has been said that a problem well-stated is a problem half-solved.

The best way to solve a problem that has been challenging to you for a while is to make a "creative map", "concept map" or "mind map".

A concept/creative/mind map is a diagram used for linking words and ideas to a central key word or idea.

It is used to visualize, classify, structure, and generate ideas, as well as an aid in study, problem solving, and decision making.

A concept map is a great way to come up with ideas that you may not have otherwise thought of.

Use your creative map in conjunction with the question "What don't I already know about this?" for a very powerful problem-solving combination.

However, you can apply this question and creative-map technique to many other areas of your life, not just problem-solving.

Some areas that are great to apply this question to are your Judgements, Justifications and Tolerations.

When it comes to judging people, places or things, asking yourself that question that might prove helpful before making any false assumptions.

For example, you might be tempted to form an opinion about someone because of something that recently happened.

Before you cast judgement on another, put yourself in their shoe's and ask yourself "What don't I already know about them?" to better understand where they may be coming from.

When it comes to justifying thoughts, feelings and behaviours, asking "What don't I already know about why I do them?" might provide some critical insight.

When it comes to areas in your life that have been continually tolerated, such as a bad relationship, poor organization, work stress, etc, asking yourself "What don't I already know?" might help change your mind about why you are doing it and what you can do about it.

The key is to use the information that you discover to help you re-frame the situation in a more beneficial and positive light.

After you have discovered what you don't know, ask yourself "how can I use this new knowledge to get better results?".

If you are still drawing a blank or feel blocked then keep in mind that you can always ask a friend to be an objective mirror for you.

As long as you are open and willing you can stand on the shoulders of giants, mentors, coaches, heroes and sheroes to overcome your problems.

The more you practice asking yourself the hard questions in life, the more easy your life will become.