Personal Improvement Guest Post

Have you noticed that the power of positive thinking has gone out of fashion? It’s been dismissed as poppycock in some quarters because too many people slammed it for turning us all into Pollyanna’s and daydreamers who’d all lost touch with “reality.” (Whatever that is!)

So I’d like to put the record straight.

Positive thinking is not about denying what is happening by deliberately thinking the opposite. In other words, if you’re broke it really isn’t going to change much if you run a litany through your brain that goes, “I’m wealthy, I’m wealthy …” In fact, that would be classed as downright deluded! And anyway, it’s pointless. Money will not magically appear in your bank account because you performed this ritual.

It isn’t positive thinking because even as you would say that to yourself you would know that it simply didn’t feel true. If your name is Harry and you kept on repeating in your mind, “My name is Jane” you would feel just as daft. Telling yourself lies just because they are couched in positive language was never intended to be the positive thinking instruction – but it’s what many people came to believe it was.

You need to feel good and you have no choice but to start from where you are, right? Now, if we can find a thought – or several – that meet those criteria you will have hit on the true power of positive thinking. Let’s stick with our example of an empty bank account and start again.

In that situation, maybe your habitual response would be to say to yourself or even out loud, “Oh, mother, I’m busted! What am I going to do?” (Or words to that effect). Those words would come from a place of fear and worry – even panic – would you agree?

The key to effective positive thinking is to identify that state of mind first and then to ask yourself what a better feeling state might be. Let’s try “confident.” What might a confident person say on discovering an empty bank account?

How about, “I’ll find a way through this – I always do.”

Hmmm. Does that feel a little better? Puts you back in control to some degree, doesn’t it?

It doesn’t solve the problem in the moment, but that’s not the goal. Positive thinking makes you feel better than before. From that slightly uplifted state new thoughts will spontaneously bubble to the surface. Your next thought might well be: “Yeah, I found a way to fix my car/pay my mortgage/help my son/you-name-the-situation…last time I was in trouble.” So now you’ve found an example of your resourceful self and you’ve climbed one more rung on the ladder out of your hole.

Allow me to give you a couple of pointers so that you can do this for yourself in any situation. First, stop, take a step back and remember that you’ve survived everything that’s happened so far in your life! Just allow that thought and if the “inner critic” wants to jump in with anything that begins with, “Yeah, but…” just slap its little wrist. It’s going to listen to YOU for a change!

You have survived – and so you can truthfully tell yourself that you have always found a way through all difficulties and adversity.

Second, if you really feel a situation is hopeless or beyond your control in any way, check that thought and ask yourself this: “Is that really, really true?” Your brain will want to say yes to begin with, but hold on just a moment. Can you prove, with a hundred percent certainty, that your evaluation is absolutely true?

Of course you can’t! Someone will always have found a way out of a tighter spot so there must be a way for you too! So now you can say to yourself that if it isn’t true that there’s no way out, then it must be true that there IS a way – and all you have to do is find it, or wait for it to show up.

The second thought is just as impossible to prove as the first one, but that one disempowered you, whilst the thought that there must be a way is empowering. Since you can choose what to think you might as well think the better thought!

If you’re still stuck, you have another resource available to you: prayer. No, I’m not suggesting that you put your hands together beseeching the Lord to put cash in your hand or to show you the winning lottery numbers for next week. What you do is simply send up a silent and heartfelt request which is simply this:

“I feel stuck/hopeless/helpless/(whatever). Please give me the resources I need to cope and get through this.”

That’s it. You don’t need to believe in God or be religious. Just ask unseen source energy or whatever concept you have of an invisible power. I have never known or experienced a time when this was not answered – often immediately and with some power too. Just be open to what shows up or pops into your mind.

Positive thinking is not poppycock. It is a powerful step towards self empowerment and taking charge of your life. I hope I’ve inspired you to give it a second chance – or maybe to try it out for the first time.

Trevor Emdon trained in psychiatry and psychotherapy, studied Eastern philosophies and metaphysics, went to the U.S. to attend Anthony Robbins’ “Mastery University” and one day discovered that he not only had been happy for a good while, but that he was pretty good at passing his wisdom onto others – and it was changing lives.

He is in his 50s, happily married, lives in a gorgeous rural English village, has great health, and makes some of his income from his self help books online amongst other success coaching activities. His free book, “The Wellspring of Success” which contains many more self improvement tips can be downloaded here.

How do you establish and maintain harmony and balance in yourself? Lack of harmony and balance, in my experience, is mainly caused by the imbalance between your inner and your outer.

Let me explain:

We all have a unique inner nature that we express unconsciously all the time. Let’s take a person who has a fiery, dynamic nature and this person is dressed in black. Others would find this person pushy and have arguments with them or avoid them altogether. But if this person were dressed in such a way that their clothes and hairstyle reflected their fiery, dynamic nature, others would understand them, recognise their nature and probably enlist their help with something that needs to get done swiftly.

Not only that: most people are aware of having a vague sense of constant unease. When your outer looks are not congruent with our inner nature, there is no harmony or balance between the inner and the outer. This often leads to doing things that compensate for this feeling of unease, not knowing that it is simply the imbalance between the inner and the outer that gives you this feeling of unease.

Here is where you can learn how to create harmony and balance between the inner and outer.

This course is, firstly, about discovering your true inner nature and secondly, about learning how to reflect this magnificent one-of-kind YOU on the outside.

This course is not about your changing your image. Why would you want to do that?

The beauty of this course is that nobody tells you that you are this type or that type. You, yourself, discover your true inner self. You will recognise your unique gifts and talents and then feel good about yourself.

Many women have a wardrobe filled with clothes that they don’t feel comfortable in. They wear the same few outfits all the time and the rest just hangs there. Consider, however, that every woman is naturally beautiful and every man is naturally handsome. But often we don’t appear that way because we become slaves to the fashion trends.

Once you have done the Transformation Inside Out course, you will know exactly which clothes to buy and your wardrobe will be filled with winner outfits. What’s more, clothes shopping will be a cinch.

Once your clothes and hairstyle reflect your true self, your inner and outer will be in harmony and balance and you will be able to maintain this harmony and balance. You will then embrace and accept yourself just as you are and you feel good about yourself.

One of the most interesting benefits of the Transformation Inside Out course is that many people lose weight. A woman from England wrote on my website that she had lost 4 stone in one year. That’s 56 lbs. or 25 kg. I too have lost weight – 13 kg since I discovered my true self and dressed to reflect the true me.

All her life Hedy Kalker has been observing people, trying to find out what made them tick and how they could be true to themselves. This search led Hedy to study psychology, sociology and anthropology. Since Hedy is also creative and artistically inclined, she studied fashion design and painting. She learned a lot about colours and finally put together a life-changing course called Transformation Inside Out (www.transformation-inside-out.com) which guides people to discover their true inner nature and teaches them how to reflect their magnificent true self on the outside in their clothes, hairstyle, etc.

Whether you want to reduce stress in your life and find more balance or you want to gain insight on behaviors or goals, meditation can help. Regular meditation practice can give you greater clarity about issues that are troubling you, can help you determine your priorities and set goals, and can help you become more focused and feel less frenzied.

Basic Practice

There are several types of basic meditation practice from which to choose. Choose the form that works best for your lifestyle and your personality.

Deep breathing. This meditation forces you to concentrate on the rhythm of your breathing. You can do this lying down, sitting, or even standing up – whatever feels most comfortable and natural for you. You can close your eyes or let them rest on a focal point. Breathe in deeply through your nose to the count of five. Your abdomen should rise, rather than your chest. Hold the breath for another count of five, then exhale through your mouth for another count of five. Continue this cycle for 10 to 20 minutes. If you are having a particularly stressful day, you can use this meditation for as little as five minutes to help you feel more centered.
This kind of meditation is called “mindfulness” meditation because it forces you to focus on the present. You should clear your mind and only focus on your breath. If thoughts arise, simply acknowledge them without judgment and clear them from your mind.

Walking meditation. This is another form of mindfulness meditation – only done in motion. While walking, you should take note of the way your body is feeling. Begin with your feet and move up through your shins, thighs, hips, belly, and so on. Notice how each part of your body is feeling. Pay attention to the movement of your body. Note your thoughts and your mood. Are you happy? Are you bored? As you walk, the key is to learn how to be present and to focus on your body and your mind in the moment.

Mantra meditation. This form of meditation relies on the repetition of a particular mantra to create mindfulness. Many use a mantra from Buddhism for their meditation, but you can easily create your own mantra for your practice. Simply repeat the mantra while closing your eyes and maintaining awareness of your words and your body. Clear your thoughts and practice mindfulness and being in the moment.

How Often to Practice

Opinions vary on how often you should practice meditation. Some suggest 25 minutes twice a day. The most important thing is to find what works for you. If you can only squeeze in five minutes a day – or even every other day – you will reap some benefits from the practice and will learn to become more mindful.

Benefits

Meditation can help you learn to better manage stress and to have a greater understanding of your self. You can learn to focus on the present and not dwell on past harms or worry about future problems. You can also cultivate greater positivity and loving kindness.

Some experts note that regular meditation can also have physical benefits, as well as helping with a number of conditions, such as depression, sleep problems, and addiction. It has also been shown to help treat fatigue, heart disease, pain, high blood pressure, and much more.

Maria Rainier is a freelance writer and blog junkie. She is currently a resident blogger at First in Education, researching various online degree programs and blogging about student life. In her spare time, she enjoys square-foot gardening, swimming, and avoiding her laptop.

As an emotion, faith is among the strongest and is a state of mind that most effects the subconscious mind. This is important when it comes to putting your thoughts into action in everyday life. If you set yourself a task but are lacking the faith in yourself to complete it then subconsciously you are accepting defeat as inevitable. However, if you are able to convince yourself subconsciously that you can achieve what you set out to do then your efforts will be boosted and the results will reaffirm your self belief and strengthen your faith.

It is difficult for people to strengthen faith if they are lacking it. However, it is achievable and is done by a process which involves encouraging positive thoughts and emotions in the subconscious mind rather than negative ones. This can be more clearly understood if you take a moment to think about how people fall into negative habits such as alcoholism. When a drinker remembers their first ever drink they will more than likely say they did not enjoy it. After becoming accustomed to drinking regularly and enduring the bad side effects they eventually start to embrace alcohol and eventually begin to rely on it. This example suggests that if thought impulses of any kind are repeated and encouraged then that person will seek to express those thoughts through their actions. If the thoughts are positive and result in constructive actions then faith may be strengthened.

If thoughts are backed by strong emotions such as faith and love then they have more chance of being expressed through actions. Therefore your actions can be affected by any strong emotion whether it is positive and productive or negative and destructive. If you are to become successful in whatever goals you have set yourself in life then you need to avoid negative emotions and encourage positive ones. As a consequence you will acquire a subconscious mind that will start to act upon all the positive emotions including faith.

One of the most common causes of a lack of faith is low self confidence. This can be over come through a similar process to the one just mentioned. If you take the time to write down all your positive experiences and attributes and then read these to yourself daily, you will find that the repeated positive affirmations will reassure you of your accomplishments subconsciously and restore faith. The following few principles outline methods to help with faith and self confidence.

Firstly you need to realize that you have the ability to meet your main objectives in life. This means you need to be persistent at all times in chasing your aims even when there are signs of initial failure.
Secondly you must spend some time in the day just thinking positively about yourself and where you want to go in life. A mind dominated by positive thoughts will eventually express desirable physical actions

Thirdly you should have your ultimate dream goal written down and you must promise yourself that you will never give up trying to achieve that goal even if you are not, at that time, confident enough, you will be eventually.
Fourthly you should take advantage of others to achieve your goals. You will be able to succeed by putting the hard work in yourself which will make the rewards all the more sweeter. A negative attitude to people will not bring success. However, by making others believe in your ability you will reaffirm your self belief.

Repeat these principles and you will find that you are able to increasingly influence your subconscious mind. This process of positive thinking has been called auto-suggestion and is a key to the success of many. In short if you think that you will fail then it is likely that you will, but if you convince yourself that you will succeed then you have more chance of doing so. The people that win in today’s world are the ones that know they can.

If you enjoyed this article you can visit Wealth Success Library where you will find a free five day e-course and an introductory video which explains not only the principles in this article in more detail, but more methods of finding success. Please click the link above right now to find out how you can achieve future success.