Improve Your Visualization Skills
Visualization is daydreaming with a purpose.
~ Bo Bennett
Visualizing is an important part of manifesting any goal. As with anything else, there are ways of using this technique that are more effective than others. This process may be a little more involved that what you’re currently doing to accomplish your objectives, but don’t let that stop you. Practicing will only require 5-10 minutes each day, and the results are well worth the effort. Let’s get started and make something happen!
Use realistic visions
First, be thorough. Envisioning yourself accomplishing your objective is just the beginning. To be thorough, visualize your life as a whole, including all the changes that would result from achieving your objective. By doing this, you make your vision real enough to have significant effects.
For example, imagining a big pile of cash on your dining room table isn’t enough to achieve greater wealth. If you really did have that much money, would you really have it piled up on your dining room table? That’s not a very likely scenario. You’d probably have a bank statement or brokerage statement that showed your huge balance.
Also, begin to consider everything else that would change in your life. Would you still be going to work every day? Would you be working in the same place? Would you be living in the same house? Drive the same car? Hang out with the same people?
Use the passion
Use whatever comes to mind. While visualizing, you’re likely to feel certain emotions. These emotions are the key to predicting your ultimate success. If you feel confident and excited during your visualization process, you’re well on your way. However, if you feel any negative emotions, you have more work to do.
Try to determine the cause of any negative feelings you have about your desires and deal with them. Keep a list of the issues that arise and make a plan to address them.
Practice
Visualize frequently. You can’t expect much if you only practice once a week. A good rule to follow is two times a day, minimum. The best times are while you’re in bed: first thing in the morning and just before you fall asleep. You mind tends to be more open and relaxed at these times.
Journal
Write it down. Avoid trying to keep everything in your head. At least once a week, write out your visualization and be as detailed as you possibly csn. What are your thoughts? How do you feel? What do you see, hear, taste, feel and smell? It is also worthwhile to read your visualization aloud at least once a day. The more senses and learning modalities you use, the better.
Imagine your dreams coming to life. Read them to yourself like a story. And read them out loud so you hear them, too. This is much more effective than just occasionally daydreaming about your goals.
Visualization is a powerful tool when used properly. If you incorporate twice-daily visualization into your routine, you’re bound to see some significant results pretty quickly. And remember, visualize your entire life with all of the new change in place, not just the change itself. The more complete the visualization, the better the results. Add this to your arsenal for achieving your goals, you will be amazed.
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Dealing with Emotional Eating
“You’ll never understand the reason, until you look deep enough
into the cut to see the emotional pain
that put it there.”
~ C. L. Bartholdi
Eating is a part of life. Your body gets its nutrients from food. Sometimes we can go overboard with our eating habits and it can result in gaining weight. One issue with food is emotional eating.
The problem of emotional eating may end with the scale but it begins in the mind. Stress can take its toll on your life. When your defenses are compromised, your health takes a hit as do your emotions.
Everyone has good days and bad days. How we deal with the bad ones is what usually brings emotional eating into play. You look for comfort for your hurts. People who turn to food for comfort find a coping mechanism that won’t judge them, hurt them or ever tell them “No.” To complicate the issue, eating pleasurable foods can stimulate the release of endorphins much like exercise does. So, after you eat, you feel better.
Look for Triggers
Emotional eaters use food to relieve stress. They hide behind the food rather than seeking solutions to the problems. This is not uncommon. But, how do you know if you are using food in this way?
The obvious sign is gain weight when you eat too much. In light of the weight gain, you should begin to examine other areas of your life:
* Have you been under stress lately at work or at home?
* Has anything traumatic or really unusual happened in the last year, six moths, or couple of weeks?
* Are you dealing with a problem but haven’t found a solution?
Answering “yes” to any of these questions could signal that you may be an emotional eater. You eat but you are not necessarily hungry at the time. The foods that you choose are what we most of us would agree that we call “comfort foods”:
* High fat foods like French fries, fried foods
* High carb foods like macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes
* Sugary foods like ice cream, donuts, cookies, cake
Get Help
There is help for emotional eaters. The first step is recognizing that you have a problem. You will initially experience feelings of helplessness and guilt. The guilt is over potentially ruining your health and the helplessness lies in the fact that you don’t see a clear way out.
Secondly, seek counseling. There are many types of counselors that can meet your needs. Emotional eating has little to do with dieting or changing your eating habits but a great deal to do with gaining control over your emotions. A counselor might suggest things like visualization, practicing problem solving skills, relaxation techniques and family support. Visualization helps you to see your problems in a realistic way and not let them get blown out of proportion. You will also learn again, how to see food as nutrition for the body and not as an emotional crutch.
Thirdly, your family can learn your triggers for stress and help you keep alert to changes in your eating habits. They can help you be aware of the foods you are eating, assist you in making healthier food choices and exercise along with you. Proper diet and exercise increases immunity, blood flow and positive thinking. Yoga enhances the mind/body connection so you don’t eat when you aren’t hungry.
Finding new ways to solve your problems and deal with stress will push food out of the equation. You will feel good about finding solutions which will replace your dependence on food.
Thoughts?
Related Posts
1. Know Your Stress, and Defeat It
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Migraines And Women
Migraines occur far more frequently in women than men. In fact, in adult women the rate of frequency is roughly 15% – 17%, where in men it’s only about 5%.
Menses and Migraines
Studies have shown that it is the withdrawal of estrogen that is a key factor in migraine headaches which are related to menstrual cycles. 25% -30% of all women in their 30’s experience at least an occasional migraine. Menstrual migraines generally last longer than non-menstrual migraines, and often are much more difficult to treat effectively. 60%-70% of women who suffer from migraines have menstrual related migraines. 10%-14% of women with migraines have them only during menstruation. These types of headaches are known as “true menstrual migraines.”
Pre-Menstrual Migraines
Pre-menstrual migraines may in fact be part of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS). Another disorder, Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD), is considered by many to be the most severe form of PMS. PMDD affects 3-8% of women. Symptoms of PMS include but are not limited to: fatigue, irritability, depression, bloating and headaches.
Pre-Menopause and Menopause
Two-thirds of women who have suffered from pre-menopausal migraines find their condition improves with menopause. On the other hand it has also been found that surgical menopause (removal of ovaries before the age of menopaus3e) may worsen migraine conditions.
Treatment options for menstrual migraines
When choosing to treat menstrual migraines with medication, the drugs used most often are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory or NSAIDs. The NSAIDs most commonly used in treating menstrual migraines are ketoprofen (Orudis), Ibuprofen (Advil & Motrin), fenoprofen calcium (Nalfon), naproxen (Naprosyn) and nabumetone (Relafen).
For best results when using NSAIDs to treat migraines, the medication should be started at least 24 hours before menstrual flow actually begins. This therapy should be continued throughout the menstrual period. This of course assumes that your periods are regular and predictable. Gastrointestinal (stomach) side effects are the most frequent problems. However, these are generally not serious enough for most women to discontinue the medication because it is used for such a short period of time. If the gastrointestinal side effects are an issue, consult your physician.
For patients who suffer more severe menstrual migraines or who are able to continue taking oral contraceptives (birth control pills), your doctor may also recommend taking NSAIDs along with these.
Some women find that anti-nausea (anti-vomiting) medicines and pain relievers such as, aspirin, ibuprofen, acetaminophen (Tylenol) are effective enough to dull the pain. Others place their trust in algesics or serotonin agonists like Imatrex, Zomig, Amerge or Maxalt. When using any medication, it is extremely important to be aware of the potential side effects of your medications. You should become aware of the dangers of avoiding a repetitive pattern of medications or re-use of medications as this can cause rebound headaches. Rebound headaches occur when your headache returns or worsens after you have discontinued your medication.
Your physician may also consider using an estrogen skin patch. This treatment is usually utilized on the days leading up to your period and may help either delay, or in some cases prevent, the onset of the menstrual migraine.
A few small studies have found that daily doses of magnesium may help menstrual migraines in certain women. Additionally, vitamins and herbal treatments have been found to be affective for some women. The herb Feverfew or Vitamin B2 when taken on a daily basis may reduce either the severity or the frequency of the headaches, though research has none been done for menstrual migraines in particular.
As mentioned previously, about two-thirds of women report improvement in their migraine condition with the onset of natural menopause. However, two-thirds of women report a worsening of their headaches with surgical menopause. This means that neither a hysterectomy nor ovarian removal (oophorectomy) is recommended as treatment for migraine headaches.
As always you should consult your physician for proper diagnosis before beginning or discontinuing any kind of new medication, including the treatments that you buy over the counter without a prescription. Every person has a unique health profile that includes aspects specific to their physiology and family history and that may keep them from taking certain medications.
Finally…
There are many, many different migraine triggers. The most important recommendation that I can make to you is that if you have frequent migraines, keep a trigger diary that includes a record of foods you eat, the weather conditions, medication you have taken, stressful events, menstrual activity, etc.
You will also benefit by developing a plan around your periods, if you have menstrual migraines. Reduce stress as much as possible, like planning work and leisure commitments around your cycle, so you can try to decrease menstrual related triggers as much as possible.
*Medical Disclaimer: The information in this article is to be used for general informational purposes only. It should not be used in place of professional medical advice. If you have further specific questions, you are urged to consult with your personal physician for additional information.
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Leaderless teams? Hogwash!
The very essence of leadership is that you have to have vision.
You can’t blow an uncertain trumpet.
~ Theodore M. Hesburgh
One of my passions is “Business and Leadership.” It affects every area of our lives. I was in a discussion recently centered on leadership, developing leaders and how to deal with those who do not lead naturally or lead well. How do we develop those people?
How do we grow leaders?
The best method for growing people’s confidence in general, as well as growing the next waves of leaders is by giving them opportunities to grow and to shine. We can either create mock scenarios for them to work through or we can give them pieces of projects with increasing demands and responsibilities as they rise to each challenge.
We give people opportunities to show us “what they’ve got.” We let them do more things on a limited, but expanding basis. The counter argument to this was that, “We do things as a team. There is no us and them.” This will not be a popular sentiment, but hogwash!
The myth of leaderless teams
Imagine if you will you want to start a rowing team. Everyone on your perspective team is strong and committed. Each person has put in time training, hard. They have studied films and are ready to get in the water together and learn and compete. Everyone that you have invited comes to the first “official” meeting, brimming with ideas. Ideas about how to train, where to train, how often to train, picking out the proper boat and which races or competitions they want to enter first.
Together you can sort out who is going to be the stroke master-or if this is going to be done in some sort of rotation. But eventually, you must choose a captain for the team. The captain, in order to be effective, must be a strong-willed, capable, organized person. But, I would contend that the most important attribute of the captain is to be able to harness everyone’s energy and opinions, have the final say, have it respected and then executed.
No matter how much we like the idea of team collaborative effort as the way we get things done, without a leader, a vision cannot be pursued by the team.
Every person can caste a vote and have an opinion which will be respected, but someone must decide. They must decide when there has been enough discussion. They must decide if there is going to be a vote. They must decide, communicate and enforce the final decision that the team will follow, and move forward. They must then decide this is how to move forward. They must keep everyone accountable.
And, so it is with business. If you are a member of a team within a larger organization or running your own shop and have a small team, there will always be one voice that speaks and is heard above the rest. There will be one person who see the vision more clearly, who sounds the certain trumpet of the way forward. This is the leader.
A leaderless team is an illusion, a matter of semantics. A leader must lead. The leader may not have the biggest title or may possess a quiet demeanor, but they do the one job that no one else does, they lead.
Thoughts?
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Enlightenment and Positive Thinking
“The positive thinker sees the invisible,
feels the intangible,
and achieves the impossible.”
~ Unknown
I am certain that you have many “bright” ideas rolling around somewhere in the back of your mind that you just can’t wait to try out. Of course, you’re not the only one with a bright idea. So what is your motivation to keep churning out creative or even inspiring ideas? An idea takes time to form in your head and is always being worked on by your subconscious mind, even when you’re busy sitting. Having a bit of positive thinking can help you bring more of these ideas into reality.
What are the steps to making that happen?
1. Action
Take passionate action toward living your life by design rather than by default. Talk is cheap. But, by taking some action you make deposits into the bank of your passionately authentic future. Without it, without action, passion is void. Action is how the dreams that are made in your mind are moved to your heart and your hands.
2. Commit
Commit to yourself, as well as to those you love, to create a powerful life that you can love living. Instead of reacting, commit to creating from your heart and soul. Create out of a place of love rather than fear. Yes, the dream will always be there. But a dream will always remain a dream without any activity applied to it. You will be amazed as you witness the transformation that will take place once you have committed yourself to action.
3. Perfect moments
Begin to recognize and embrace the thought that each moment of your life is perfect, regardless of the outcome. Whenever you stumble across an idea that may seem too extreme, why not give it a trial run and see if it will work? If you’re not pleased with the outcome, don’t give up too quickly. Use the moment to learn from and make the appropriate shifts and adjustments.
4. Gratitude
Dwell completely in a place of gratitude. Learn to utilize what you have at your hands and make use of it in the most constructive way possible. By doing this, slipping into a sense of neediness will become less of a habit. You just have to remind yourself to repeatedly shift toward thoughts of gratitude and away from a poverty consciousness.
5. Passion formula
Use the passion formula of recognize-re-evaluate-restore in place of the shoulda-woulda-coulda sink hole. The former is based on increased knowledge and abundance, while the second focuses on a position of scarcity, lack and fear. As you face people and tasks that may seem a little difficult, allow yourself to remain focused on the fact that the task is important to you.
6. Lighten up
Keep humor at the forefront of your thoughts. Laugh at and with yourself when possible. You will often find yourself quite entertaining if you can loosen up a bit. Life has so much to offer. You can choose to allow yourself to mope around in a self-pity party, or you can inject humor, which is much more attractive, passionate and life giving.
7. It is always in your hands
Believe with all your heart that you are the architect of your destiny. No one can take your passionate future from you, except you! Continue to create your life authentically. As long as there is still breath in your body, there is no end to how much you can still accomplish in your lifetime. The concept of thinking bigger is all about enjoying your life.
The choice is yours to make. Instead of subjecting yourself to negative-thinking, make a brighter path by taking the first steps with a positive attitude. Then watch as things flow into place with perfect passionate precision.
Thoughts?
Related Posts
1. Gratitude: Not Just for Holidays
2. Have a Great Day. Its A Choice.
3. Take Your Life Back! Live Consciously
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Goal Setting: Journal
The important thing is to strive towards a goal which is not immediately visible.
That goal is not the concern of the mind, but of the spirit.
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Why you need to get a plan?
Arranging your goals lets you achieve more comfort in life. The chief error individuals make is that they set goals to accomplish happiness. Happiness isn’t the real object of your goal. Happiness is something you already have within you all the time. Perhaps you have not completely attained it yet, but it’s already in there.
So today we want to get organized around moving you from considering your goals to accomplishing them. Don’t forget, these are only suggestions. Take what makes sense to you and try it out for a while to see what works best for you.
First, don’t make your goals “oughts” but “wants.”
Goal Journal
Use your journal to track your goals journey. Here you may want to keep a daily or weekly record of your progress including things like affirmations, celebrations, wins, appreciations for your hard work, honors, resistances, obstacles and so forth. Use your goals journal to write goals first and then to re-write them over time. Use it to break your goals into manageable, actionable and do-able steps. Critique your progress on a regular basis and make some notes.
It is absolutely crucial that you get yourself into an inspired, positive and relaxed state of mind, prior to writing your goals. A few ideas for getting yourself into the best state possible include:
- Meditation
- Listening to inspiring music
- Reading something fun or funny
- Watching an amusing movie
- Taking a walk in a beautiful place
- Exercise
- Prayer
After getting into the proper mental and emotional state, begin your brain storming. Write all likely goals quickly with no editing and no criticism. You can review and prioritize them later. Right now you want to be as original, creative and loose as you can be.
Break your list down into categories
Here are a number of areas of your life to consider when you are developing your goals list:
- Job
- Financial
- Relationship
- Loved Ones
- Home
- Friends
- Personal Development
- Wellness
- Appearance
- Possessions
- Fun and Recreation
- Travel
- Spiritual
- Self Respect
- Service/Community
Goals also fall into variable periods of time.
- Immediate goals
- 30 day goals
- 6 month goals
- 1 year goals
- 5 year goals
- 10 years or more goals
Make sure you can achieve what you want in the time frame you have arranged.
When authoring your goal, state it as if it has already occurred. Put your goals in words that presume that you have already accomplished them. For instance, “I have a new car.”
To get you passionate, invested and motivated, add emotional language to your composed goals. For example, “I absolutely adore and am energized about my beautiful new house in the hills!” Which is much more passionate then “I like my new house.”
As your subconscious continues to manifest things literally, you need to compose specific detailed goals. Use language that’s clear in describing exactly what it is you wish. Pose the goals in favorable terms rather than negative ones.
Check in with yourself to make certain that you are considering what you truly want. Everyine has times when they spend too much time trying to please other people at their own expense. You fall into a trap of wanting be successful by attempting to reach the goals your parents, partner, other acquaintances or relatives wish for you. Think about your own most crucial values and beliefs when developing your goals. For instance, if you value freedom, your goal might be to be self-employed.
Pick goals that you can actually reach in a fair amount of time. Using a point system after you’ve brainstormed is one way to prioritize. Give the peak, primo priority goals a score of 10 out of 10 and the less crucial ones a 1 out of 10.
Break every single goal down into manageable blocks, producing a step by step plan to accomplish it. For instance, if you require a new automobile, first decide precisely what color, model, year and brand you need. Write this down in your goals journal. Then write the particular and specific steps you need to get to your goal line.
Most of the goals we imagine are attainable. Everything in life is best achieved with a plan. Try this system of goal journaling. It’s a good system for those of us who are tactile learners.
You want to use everything you can bring to bare and everything at your disposal to help you achieve your goals. You want to keep your goals fresh in your mind and constantly available to your subconscious working mind.
Now let’s get to work!
Thoughts?
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1. Life is What You Make it: Make a Plan
2. Self-Discipline: Building yours up
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Keep Your Mind Active and Engaged
As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind.
To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again.
To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.
~ Henry David Thoreau
There is little doubt that aging gracefully affects our mental ability and agility. However, studies have shown that people who engaged in actively “exercising” their brain often do not suffer from the same mental decline. And exercising your brain is fun! Here’s how to keep your mind active and engaged:
1. Read
Reading actively engages many levels of your brain’s functions. You have to view the words, understand them and in many cases apply them to areas of existing knowledge or experience. You are also learning new things. You’re thinking on many different levels when you read.
To amplify the profound effects, try reading different things. Read the newspaper, fiction and non-fiction and read online information, too. This all combines to strengthen your mind.
2. Meditate
As more and more research is done on meditation, doctors and scientists are realizing the amazing power it has to strengthen the brain. It helps your brain relax and it teaches you how to focus. Try meditating for five to fifteen minutes each day.
3. Puzzles
Grab a word puzzle, like crossword. If you prefer math, get a Sudoko. You can also use brainteasers, jigsaw puzzles and other problem solving exercises. They all force the brain to think critically and to problem solve. They draw on past knowledge and ask you to not only locate that knowledge, but to actively use it and apply it in a different way than you are accustomed to.
4. Learn a new hobby
What have you always wanted to do? Now is the time to do it. Garden, dance, take pictures, write, learn to sew, rebuild an engine for an old car, go rock climbing or white water rafting. There really is no limit to the new things that you can do and try.
5. Exercise your body
Your brain benefits from physical exercise too. And it doesn’t have to be any thing crazy or outrageous. Start simply with a daily walking routine. Join a Yoga class or Zumba. Dance or play tennis. Find a physical activity that you enjoy and get your blood pumping.
6. Feed your brain.
Nutrients found in green tea and salmon can help strengthen your brain. Omega 3 fatty acids found in cold water fish are great for facilitating brain function and keeping your brain healthy. And the caffeine and antioxidants found in green tea are good for brain development and optimal health.
7. Listen to music.
Music engages your brain. Classical music in particular provides several brain health benefits. But Jazz and other forms of music are great, too. And if you really want to amplify the benefits of music, sing along, even if you can’t sing.
Conclusion:
There are many ways you can strengthen your brain. Have sex, laugh more, express gratitude, drink less and have more fun. A strong brain can last you decades and make your later years fulfilling and pleasurable.
Thoughts?
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