You Become What You Think About

"All that we are is a product of what we have thought"
~Buddha~

This has got to be my all time favorite quote. I first heard it about it about 4 years ago when I first watch the movie THE SECRET. The words just sung through my mind like music and I began to ponder them. Since then I have read numerous books and listened to many audio programs that have reiterated the essence of that quote. It seems as though there has been a sort of global awareness sparked to the fact that our thoughts create our life.

It is believed that our current results are the product of our previous thoughts. The way to change our future results is to change our current thoughts. We become the essence of what we think about. Fill your mind with thoughts that make you happy and excited. Focus on the story of the life you want to live and watch your results change.

Do not spend another minute complaining about your current situation or worrying about your future. Just choose to be happy and focus on the story of the life you want. It may be hard at first to look past the current situation that you are living, especially if you are not exactly where you would like to be financially, relationally, or spiritually. But remember, dwelling on the negative will only create more of the negative.

The most effective way to redirect your mind is of course to write your vision statement. If you go to the archived posts from late 2008 you will find a handful of posts dedicated to vision statements. It is possible to redirect your thoughts with out writing a vision statement, but it is more effective if you just take the time to write down a little story explaining in details the life you want to live.

It is also effective to create a mental snapshot of something that makes you fell happy and lite hearted. Use this image whenever worry or fear enters your mind. When you catch yourself dwelling on something you don't want just pull up a visual of this mental snapshot and focus on it. It could be you and your spouse on a cruise ship, you could be washing your dream car, or you could be tending to your garden. It does not matter what it is, as long as it makes you feel good.

Just remember, your thoughts create your life and we become what we think about.

The Power of Giving & Sharing

About 3 years have passed since our friend, Ivy, decided she was done having children and no longer needed all her baby stuff. Since I myself was pregnant with our son, Ivy happily gave all her son's baby stuff to Rod and I. We were so grateful to receive such great gifts; clothes, blankets, toys, swing, exersaucer, basically everything we needed.

Right around the time our son turned 1yr old, we found out that baby #2 was on the way. This time it was a little girl. How exciting! Since our son was only a year old we still had almost all of the baby stuff that Ivy had given us. Once again we were so happy and thankful that we would be completely prepared for baby #2.

Our daughter just turned a year old on May 5th and my husband and I have both been anxious to get some of the "baby" stuff out of the living room, like the swing and the exersaucer. We contemplated what to do with it. Should we store it in the attic? Should we donate it to Goodwill? My brother and sister-in-law are having a baby in a few months, but they live 1,600 miles away. We both said "I wish we had someone to give it to."

Have you ever heard the phrase "ask and you shall receive"? Well, the next day at work I had to put a call into one of our co-managing retinal specialists, I was happy when my good friend Stacie answered the phone. I love her and she always makes me laugh. It had been a few months since the last time we spoke, so she had a lot of news to tell me. She told me that Ivy had had just had another little baby boy. I was excited to hear the news. I hadn't talked to Ivy in probably a year. Of course, I got Ivy's phone number from her. I called to congratulate her on the new little boy and to ask her if she would like her baby stuff back. She was so excited and thankful to hear from me. I told her to give me a few days to round up a bunch of stuff for her.

As soon as I got off the phone with her I called my husband and told him the exciting news, he was as excited as any man can be expected to be.

When I told my 2 1/2 yr old son that we were going to go through his and his sister's toys and give them to Ivy's new baby he wasn't very excited about it. Then I explained to him that Ivy was the one who had given him all his baby stuff. I explained how generous she was to let him have all of Austin's baby clothes and toys. I said "Now don't you want to be nice to her and share your stuff with her new baby?' and he said "Yeah, Mommy I wanna share."

We spent a whole afternoon going through every toy box and toy bin. We got all the "baby" toys together and washed them. We dug deep into the closet and found blankets and burp cloths and cute little stuffed animals. We gathered so much stuff that Xavier's bed was completely covered. Once we got everything cleaned and bagged, Xavier kept saying "I want to go share now Mommy, I want to go share." I had to explain to him that we had to wait for Daddy to get home and then we would load up his vehicle and he was going to meet Adam (Ivy's husband) to give him the stuff. Xavier was very persistent and kept saying he wanted to "go share right now". Eventually I got the subject changed with the help of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The enthusiasm and joy that Xavier got out of finding the "good" baby toys to share with Ivy's new baby was worth a million dollars. And it felt good for me too. It just proves that when you give to someone else you not only help them out, but you also get an extra boost of happiness out of it. Xavier ran around the house all day and night on "cloud nine" talking about all the stuff he was going to share with the new baby.

I encourage you to help yourself to a jolt of "feel good energy", find some stuff you haven't used in a while and give it to someone. The feeling is great!

Quote

"Life has meaning only in a struggle. Triumph or defeat is in the hands of the Gods...So let us celebrate the struggle!"
~Swahili Warrior Song~

"When the student is ready, the teacher will appear"

Have you ever heard the saying; "When the student is ready the teacher will appear"? Today was an example of how that saying rings true. Many of you know that on the first and second Wednesday of each month I attend a 60-70 minute live teleconference with one of my mentors. A few days before the teleconference a group of us receive an email asking if we have any particular questions that we would like answered. The mentor selects 4 or 5 of the questions that are relevant to the day's topic of discussion and tries to answer them in detail.

One of the questions today was "How do I use the law of attraction to help me lose weight?" The funny thing about this topic is one of my very good friends, we will call him CW, has recently expressed his intention to lose 100.6 lbs making his goal weight 225lbs. My friend has struggled with his weight for the better part of his life, with an all time high of 364 lbs. I feel like this topic was discussed today for a reason and that is why I am sharing it. This post is dedicated to my good friend CW. You know you have my support, you are an awesome person and you deserve nothing but the best. The "best" includes being happy and healthy.

The first thing I learned today was that we set ourselves up for failure when we want to "lose" weight. When we "lose" something our subconscious mind will actually set forth motions for us to get it back. Our subconscious mind is so good at getting things back for us that we actually end up gaining back all the weight that we lost and then a few extra pounds for good measure. Instead of wanting to lose weight we should set a goal to achieve health and our ideal weight. It is better to have an actual number to focus on. So my friend, CW, should focus on his goal weight of 225lbs instead of the 100.6 lbs that he wants to lose.

Secondly, we must use the power of the conscious mind to trick the subconscious mind. From previous posts you may remember me telling you that the subconscious mind does not know the difference between fact and fiction. It just takes the info given and processes it all as truth. So how can this help with weight loss, or shall I say ideal weight achievement? Find an image of a person whose body you desire, a fitness or health magazine is a good place to look. Now cut the picture out and replace the head with a picture of your head. Hang it up in a place where you will see it often; your bathroom mirror, the dashboard of your car, or maybe even the ceiling above your bed. Focus on this image several times each day and feel the way you will feel when you reach your ideal weight. Try to get emotions involved, feel the lightness in your heart and joy it will bring you when you are truly healthy. The more you focus on the image and bring about these happy emotions the faster your subconscious mind will start presenting opportunities for you to make healthy changes in your daily habits.

Another thing that was recommended today was to take a piece of paper and write your ideal weight in bold numbers. Take that piece of paper and tape it to your scale. Every morning step on the scale and as you look down to see the weight you can only see your ideal weight. NO peaking under the paper to see what the scale "really" says, just know and believe that your ideal weight is there.

The last thing I learned today was that often times we need to look inside ourselves to find the true reason for our weight problem. It is true that some people are just genetically predispositioned to be heavier, but sometimes there is a psychological reason for the weight gain. For example, if a woman was sexually assaulted as a teenager and is struggling with her weight in her 30's there may be a connection. When the assault happened she subconsciously made the decision to be less attractive to keep predators away. Now she is older and ready to find a mate, but the subconscious mind is still in defense mode and trying to protect her. The only way to overcome this psychological block is to address it and tell yourself it is okay to be thin. The past is in the past and it is time to let go and stop the cycle of self-sabotage. There are many reasons why people may be subconsciously using weight as a protection barrier, it is up to each person to look within themselves to find the answer and let it go.

CW, I hope you find this post helpful. You know I love you, you are my friend and I want nothing but the best for all my friends. Cheers to a journey of good health and ideal weight. A recorded version of our teleseminar is available for download for $10, if you are interested let me know and I will email you the link privately. And of course, I will still donated $100.60 to the charity of your choice once your have met your goal, but instead of focusing on losing 100.6 lbs we are going to focus on achieving your ideal weight of 225lbs. I love you, you have my support every step of the way.

First Quarter Review

Well, today is Thursday March 26th and it is hard to believe that the first quarter is almost behind us. I was always told that time would go by much faster after I had children and it is so true. Sometimes when time is moving at such a rapid pace it is easy to let our focus become scattered. Most of us start the New Year with a list of resolutions. We write the list with enthusiasm and feel very energized as we review it. We think to ourselves; "This is going to be the year that I get organized, live healthy, volunteer my time, paint the house, etc...". We write these resolutions with the very best intentions, but often times we get off track and miss place our list only to forget about it until the following New Year. This is why it is so important to do a quarterly review.

What exactly is a quarterly review and how do you do it? It is simple, find your list of New Year Resolutions and take a look at it. Have you crossed anything off your list? It is human nature to want to feel like we are accomplishing something. Go over your list and cross off or highlight anything that your have finished. This will give you a rewarding feeling and stimulates you to want to do more just so you can cross more off. It is funny how that works, but you can really trick yourself into getting more done by simply crossing stuff off your list.

Now, review the items that are left. Pick the three that rank highest on the importance scale and put a little star next to them. Take a clean sheet of paper and divide it into three sections and label them 1, 2, and 3. Write your top three selections on the page, one in each section. Now under each item write A, B, and C. Here I want you to list three things that you can do for each item that will get the ball rolling. For instance, if your top three items consisted of painting the house, signing your child up for karate, and spending more time with your spouse, your paper may look like this:

1.) PAINT THE HOUSE

A.) go to the paint store and select a few colors

B.) call 3 contractors and get estimates

C.) contact the home owner's association to get color approval

2.) SIGN KIDS UP FOR KARATE

A.) look in the phone book to see who offers classes

B.) visit the schools and meet with the instructor

C.) make arrangements for your child to have a free 1 wk trial

3.) SPEND MORE TIME WITH SPOUSE

A.) talk to your spouse and figure out what you would like to do together

B.) pick 2 nights per month as designated "date nights"

C.) call friends and family and pre-arrange baby sitting for these nights

Now that you have this sub-list you can eagerly get started. Try to do at least one thing on the sub-list everyday until you have completed the list in its entirety and of course you must remember to cross things off as you go. Once you have finished all the items on your sub-list it is time to review your resolutions again and pick the three that rank most important again and repeat the process.

You will find that once you get started you wont want to stop. You may even think of new things to add to your list of resolutions as you go and that is great. The more you do, the more you will want to do. Motivation definitely has a snowball effect and once you get started it is hard to stop.

It is time to get moving and get refocused. All it takes is a little effort. Lets make 2009 the year of accomplishment.

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

F antasized
E xperiences
A ppearing
R eal


Lets take a few moments and remember a time when we overcame a fear. It could be anything...the fear of public speaking, the fear of flying, the fear of water, etc... How did you overcome that fear? I will share with you a funny story about how I overcame my fear on snakes.

My first real job was as a kennel tech at a large pet store. I was in charge of taking care of all the cute furry animals and somebody else was in charge of the reptiles and fish. One morning I received a phone call from the owner saying the guy who took care of the reptiles was going to be sick and they needed me to also clean and feed the animals on the reptile side of the store. I figured it would be no big real and I happily agreed. When I was done taking care of the puppies and kittens I went to the other side and started with the iguanas. Next was the snakes. We had 2 farely small ball pythons. I figured I would quickly give them some fresh water and that would be the end of it. But, that was not the case. When I opened the cage I noticed the cover seemed loose. Then I noticed the snakes were not in the cage! Of course I got a bad case of the eeby geebies and started looking on the floor for them. I had a dust pan in my hand and figured I would scoop them up and toss them in the cage and call it a day. I could not find those 2 snakes anywhere! I pulled their cage out and as I glanced up, there they were! They had wrapped themselves around the fluorescent light bulbs above their cage. I was almost delusional with fear and panic. I just knew they wanted to bite me. But I was the only one in the store and I had to get the store ready to open. I took a few moments to regain my composure and then I did what I had to do. I basically had to prey them each off of the light bulbs and put them back in their cage. Of course neither of them bit me and I survived. When it was all said and done I actually felt bad for them. I figured they must have been cold if they broke out of their cage to wrap around the light bulb. Anyways I am no longer scared of snakes. I would never want one as a pet, but I am no longer scared.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said "Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain." And it is so true. Fear is really a figment of our imagination. The best way to make fear vanish is to look it in the face and just do it.

Attracting Better Relationships

We all know that the Law of Attraction states that "like attracts like". This means we are attracted to people who match our vibrational field. Knowing this, how do we use the Law of Attraction to "attract" better relationships into our life?

There are a few simple strategies we can use on a daily basis that will raise our vibration and raise the quality of our relationships. Lets start strategy #1 by making a list of all the qualities we would find in our perfect friend. By make a list, I actually mean make a list and write it on paper. We may want to be friends with somebody who is honest, loyal, ambitious, smart, passionate, friendly, motivated, etc... Now take a look at the list and see how many of these qualities you already posses. Which areas could you use a little help. The best way to attract people into your life with the qualities your looking for is to practice refining these very qualities in yourself. Remember "like attracts like". So if you are snobby, materialistic, and self-centered what type of friends do you think you will attract? On the other hand, if you are kind, loving, generous, and friendly what type of friends do you think you will attract?

Strategy #2 involves using James A Ray's strategy of aligning attention with intention. This is like tending to a garden. Whatever you give attention to grows and flourishes. If you are constantly complaining to yourself or other people about the quality of your friends, you are in turn giving attention to how bad the relationship is and in return you will get more of the "bad". On the other hand, if you focus on the great qualities each friend has while over looking the bad you will notice that you will begin to see more of the good. Everybody has at least a few great qualities within them. Once again, like attracts like, so the more you focus on the good the more good there is to focus on.

Strategy#3 calls for you to evaluate where you are spending your free time. Where do you like to hang out? Are you spending a lot of free time in bars, finding friends there, and later complaining that they are too rowdy and drink too much? If you want to find friends that are inspiring, you must first figure out what inspires you and find a group of like minded people to hang out with. If you are interested in art, join an art club. If you are interested in politics and community relations start going to your local city council meetings. If you are interested in helping others, find a charity that inspires you and join their fundraising committee. I am not saying that it is totally impossible to find good quality friends sitting at a bar at 2am, but your chances are better if you look somewhere else.

Using these strategies may feel a little uncomfortable at first and that is okay. Growing is supposed to be challenging. When we chose the comfortable route we do not grow and we all know that "if we're not growing we're dying". Again think of a garden, when the gardener stops tending, the plants stop growing, and soon they begin to die. It is a simple fact of life. We must stay challenged to evolve and grow. Challenge yourself to fit your "perfect friend" profile, challenge yourself to stop complaining and focus on the good, and challenge yourself to join a club, commitee, or group that inspires you.