‘The quote: ‘Without a vision the people perish’ makes me think of the perished rubber band I found a couple of days ago. It had lost its colour, had completely lost its flexibility and elasticity, and was totally useless. I threw it away.
During January, I’ve met a few people with a vision like this rubber band. Their answer to ‘What plans do you have for 2009?’ is answered with “Oh, I don’t know. Probably just the same as last year. We’ll just wait and see what happens.” A perished vision for life.
Knowing about something, agreeing with that knowledge is one thing. Taking action on that knowledge is often quite another!
And when it comes to thinking about and writing up my vision for 2009 I have to admit I’ve been a little slow off the mark. I know the benefits of goal setting but doing it?
So when Peter, my husband, suggested that we make an event of goal setting for 2009 by going away for the weekend to the village of Montville, I eagerly jumped at the idea.
We agreed together that the focus of the weekend would be to nut out goals etc but the immediate rewards would be dinner at Poets, window shopping in the quaint shops - maybe a buy or two :), walks and relaxing in the cottage.
It was a great idea and by the end of Sunday, we both had our beliefs, values, goals and mission statements written down.
So, here’s a little video of our weekend away.
Perhaps it will entice you to do something similar if you also have a resistance to writing up your goals. It doesn’t have to be costly - perhaps go on a picnic, visit the beach, a day trip to a beautiful place. Make an event of it and enjoy!
‘You have two choices. You can choose to adopt and and adapt a positive, powerful attitude or you can choose to do nothing (yes, ‘not choosing’ is also a choice). If you choose to do nothing, you get the default results of doing nothing. The default results are, unhappiness, misery, discontent, depression, discouragement and more unfavorable outcomes. If you choose to do something and change your attitude, then there are favorable results that go with that.
Nonetheless, you have a choice’
by Michael Murphy www.positiveattitudes.com
I used to read statements like the above and think “It’s alright for you to say that but you have evidently never been in the place I’m in right now! Easier said than done to just choose my attitude!’
And not surprisingly, I got the default results of doing nothing. I have been through depression, unhappiness, frustration, discontent and the rest… Then one day, I read a book.
The book was ‘Out of the Blue… delight comes into our lives‘ by Mark Victor Hansen (coauthor of Chicken Soup for the Soul). It is dedicated to living with an attitude of Delight, to see the Sliver Linings in life no matter how dark the storm clouds may be.
And not surprisingly, I got the favorable results that go with making the choice to do something and change my attitude. Life didn’t suddenly become full of sunshine, but I was more aware of the moments when rays of sunshine broke into my daily living. And I was grateful for them.
‘Attitude is what determines whether or not you’re going to achieve your goals and live the life that you’ve always imagine. Attitude will determine whether you’ll be a whiner or winner in your life.’
by Michael Murphy www.positiveattitudes.com
For those of you on the coaching journey, the subject of goals comes up quite frequently. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em but really, we live with goals every day - they just might not be very challenging ones. Like watching a favourite TV program, going to a footy match, meeting friends for dinner. It takes an attitude of ‘I can do this’ to take action on goals that might be more challenging. Like exercising three times a week when you don’t enjoy exercising, arranging a special mum + teenage kids afternoon when the relationship is already crumbling, starting a new business when the last one was unsuccessful, or perhaps changing the negative thought patterns that circle like squawking crows in the head.
‘A positive attitude can engulf negativity much like light overcomes darkness. Go into a dark room. Turn on the light. The light immediately dispels the darkness.’
by Michael Murphy www.positiveattitudes.com
Be warned, today’s video is slow. It won’t stimulate your senses with quick moving screens but if you set aside about 5 mins of quiet time (which you deserve) there are truths in it that are worth contemplating.
‘Progress can only be made when you are moving forward in your life. A
positive attitude fuels that forward movement and gets you to your
desired destination.’
by Michael Murphy www.positiveattitudes.com
Do you want to move forward in your life? Perhaps the first step will be a new attitude. Do you have a story to share? Please leave a comment.
I was about to write a blog about goals, when the video below came to my attention. Captivated by the speaker, Dr Jill Bolte Taylor, I decided to share her amazing story with you instead.
As a brain scientist, Dr Jill Taylor had the unique experience of studying her brain during a stroke in 1996. While losing her mind, she gained incredible insight into the function of the left and right brain. It took 8 years for her to totally recover.
In May of 2008, TIME Magazine chose Dr. Taylor as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World.
This is the link to her homepage if you want to read more about her. http://www.drjilltaylor.com/about.html.
Listen to her story and learn how wonderfully we are made by viewing the video below.
She talks about accessing the right side of our brain anytime we want. How do you think we do this? I have an idea but would prefer to hear your thoughts.
One of the great things about Mental Toolbox is that it’s not just 3 days of information but it gives tools to use in daily life. One of these tools is meditation.
The term meditation has different connotations for different people ranging from chanting monks in Tibet through to ‘being present in the moment’.
I was introduced to meditation many years ago, but I have to admit that I’ve not done it regularly. It’s been one of those things that I’ve not bothered to fit into my daily timetable.
This weekend has changed that thinking…
I learned that my conscious mind operates in words (yes, I talk to myself too!) and is responsible for only 10% of my behavioural programs.
50% - 60% of programs that are guiding my behaviour are in my subconscious mind - which is also where my values and beliefs live. This part of my brain ‘thinks’ in images, and the more detailed the images, the more the subconscious mind grabs hold of the idea.
So, I can think with my conscious mind that I want to stop eating a chocolate bar every day because it’s unhealthy. I can say to myself “Today, I will NOT eat any chocolate”. But if my subconscious mind has a phrase programed over time that sounds like “I feel sad today and a chocolate bar will make me feel happy, and it tastes so good” then guess what I’m going to do as I pass through the supermarket check-out?!
Over time, this produces a pattern of behaviour….
What has been an “ah-hah” moment for me is, that for my behaviour to change, my subconscious mind must change its belief system. I need to reprogram it regularly. Rather like taking out a record from a Juke Box and putting in a new one - now I’m showing my age
And to do this, I need to replace these phrases preferably in a state of mind that is relaxed so that the subconscious can easily absorb these new programs. If I add images to match my new phrases, the subconscious mind learns even more quickly.
So, I’m taking time to mediate for 20mins before I start my day. The chocolate isn’t a problem but I do have other areas I’d like change in. I use ‘Beyond Success Affirmation CD’ because I like the phrases on it but there are many out there to choose from.
What changes would you like to make in your life that your subconscious mind needs to know about?
What are your thoughts about this process?
Before I go, I’ve hunted YouTube for a decent Affirmations video but I can’t find one. If you know of one, please put the link into a comment to this post.
but really, we live with goals every day - they just might not be very challenging ones. Like watching a favourite TV program, going to a footy match, meeting friends for dinner. It takes an attitude of ‘I can do this’ to take action on goals that might be more challenging. Like exercising three times a week when you don’t enjoy exercising, arranging a special mum + teenage kids afternoon when the relationship is already crumbling, starting a new business when the last one was unsuccessful, or perhaps changing the negative thought patterns that circle like squawking crows in the head.