Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you stop worrying and start living.

THE CHALLENGE

Your Mindset challenge this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:
"What should I stop doing?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question at least once a day and you will reduce stress and get more done.


THE TIPS

At the end of your evening tonight, or first thing tomorrow morning, ask yourself the question:

"What should I stop doing?"

If you want to get more done it may seem a bit counterproductive to ask yourself this question, but stopping is actually an important part of the process of change.

Everything in our lives is like a door that can open new possibilities for us.

In order to fully move into any new part of life, or create a new reality for our self we must first close the door behind us that holds our old identity.

This is because in order to start one thing one must first stop doing something else, even if that something else was nothing.

For example, in order to be reading these words right now you are giving up the opportunity to do nothing.

You are also simultaneously giving up an opportunity to do something else like read a cartwheel if you were so inclined.

Some people refer to this as an 'opportunity cost', or what you have to give up when you commit to do something else.

Everything has an opportunity cost, the relationships we are in cost us other potential mates, our jobs cost us other opportunities to work somewhere else.

Subconsciously and consciously we are constantly trying to choose the best opportunities to take advantage of.

We decide what is most important in our lives by rewarding it with our time and attention.

Here is where the majority of us make a major error in judgment.

We mistakenly give up the opportunity to do what we "want/desire to do" in place of what we feel we "have to do".

Are you guilty of settling for less than you deserve in an aspect of your life? Chances are you have.

Answer 'yes' or 'no' to the following questions to see if you are spending your time wisely.

- Do you currently believe that "you have to do something", but realize that the something is draining your energy?

- Do you feel trapped by doing things the old way, pressured to perform a certain way, or have obligations that stress you out?

- Are you in a role you are no longer committed to, stuck in an unrewarding relationship, or working a jobs that is not fulfilling?

- Do you seem to find yourself "going through the motions" day in and day out?

If you have answered yes to any of the above questions then it might be time that you take something off your plate.

A great way to start the process of becoming more aware is in the consideration of the question:

"What should I stop doing?"


THE SECRET

Asking yourself "What should I stop doing?" is a great way to empower and enrich your current efforts.

Human nature is that we all want to get more done with as little time, money and energy as possible.

In life this is called 'Return on Energy' and in business it's called 'Return on Capital Expended'.

Whatever you call it at the end of the day the bottom line is that we all want to return more than we have to put out.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to be more effective and efficient in whatever you do.

After all, who willingly wants to waste their time, take longer than needed, or spend more money than necessary?

Absolutely no one. It's safe to say that 100% of the population would never consciously choose to do any of the above.

Yet how is it that most of us end up overwhelmed, frustrated or broke? What happened?

Were we that off base and delusional that we missed all signs of disaster?

Have you ever heard the old saying "It was the straw that broke the camels back?"

Its an old adage symbolizing a story upon which a camels back gets broken, seemingly all because of a single piece of straw.

Of course, we know it was the accumulation of straw over time that created those dire circumstances.

The same thing happens to us when we pile too many projects on the plate, the system is bound to breakdown.

Our when we take on projects, relationships, goals and jobs that are meaningless.

A part of the problem is that we say 'yes' to way too many things that we could be politely saying 'no thanks' too.

It doesn't help when we fail to see the pattern behind the mistakes that we repeatedly make.

If you are continually failing at something and not feeling motivated to move forward this is a sign to check your commitment.

Perhaps you are no longer interested in investing your time and energy into this, only you can tell. Be honest with yourself.

Every goal to be better, to reach higher, to obtain a new income level will require a new level of you.

You decide what experiences and memories you will fuse into the you that exists right this moment, and which aspects of your life to leave behind.

There is not enough time in our lifetime to spend it doing things that act in direct detriment to the loved ones in our lives.

Therefore it is a good practice to put only the things we truly value and the things we are really passionate about 'on our plate'.

Find areas where you feel over-stressed and discover roles where you are not 100% comfortable or committed.

Take time to record your roles and responsibilities every day. Be thorough and don't leave anything out.

Resolve to become more confident and committed to the roles you decide to keep.

Eliminate whatever roles that you can, and delegate whatever roles that you cannot eliminate.

Delegate and eliminate all the areas in your life that do not bring a good return on your capital, time or energy.

In a case where you have been attached to doing things a particular way for a long time, you may not be able to escape this separation pain free.

Unfortunately, sometimes when you finally decide to take your medicine you may have to amputate your foot in order to save your leg.

The best way to avoid a terrible situation like this is to ask yourself right now "What should I stop doing?" and then immediately begin to cut it out of your life.

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 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!