It’s the end of week 5 – how is your resolve coming along? Any time from here on, until you have new habits and routines firmly entrenched, there may come a time when you feel inclined to let slip your new, positive thinking – sliding back into old ways.

Still going strong? That’s fantastic – but if there is a potential wobble on the horizon – well, bookmark this post because it’ll be here when you need it.

The heading is about developing an attitude of strength and commitment to your desired results.

“There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge.”Napoleon Hill – Think and Grow Rich

One of my favourite philiosophies is: ‘if the cap fits, wear it, and if it doesn’t fit – don’t’. I’ve always found that when someone speaks plainly and truthfully to me, and it resonates even if I don’t like what they are saying, I pay attention. Someone recognising and noticing those behaviours that were hiding or being denied can be uncomfortable, but remember that the acceptance of any such resonance – wearing the cap – is a good step forward in your growth; in fact it’s a leap!

With that in mind I shall speak plainly… if the cap fits, put it on for a while!

Struggle – why keep going?

Making changes in your life almost inevitably means stepping outside your comfort zone. What you know, are used to, can predict and control – everything that keeps you where you are – forms the ‘comfort zone’. However, the trouble with comfort is that it is limiting, and it does it actively – throwing up huge resistances which try to keep you where you are.

We can become lazy or fearful and reluctant to take what seem to be risks. Can you relate to this experience, past or present?

“If babies held the same tendency toward self-criticism as adults, they might never learn to walk or talk. Can you imagine infants stomping, “Aarggh! Screwed up again!” Fortunately, babies are free of self-criticism. They just keep practicing.” Dan Millman – Body Mind Mastery

To ‘go the extra mile’ means do more, put in extra effort; strive for your best outcome, not give up despite the resistance of old entrenched habits trying to keep you where they are comfortable. Why push through this? To borrow a well known phrase, ‘because you’re worth it’! And, hey, believe that because it’s true, and if you don’t think you are – chances are no-one else will! Whatever you want from others, it has to originate from you first. If you want your children to be happy and healthy, that begins with you leading by example. If you want happy and healthy relationships – yep, you’re in the driving seat there too. Whatever you want – be it first!

“The first step in changing reality is to recognize it as it is now. There is no need to wish it were otherwise. It simply is. Pleasant or not, it is. Then comes the behavior that acts on the present reality. Behavior can change what is. We may have visions of what will be. We cannot (and need not) prevent these dreams. But the visions won’t change the future. Action—in the present—changes the future. A trip of ten thousand miles starts out with one step, not with a fantasy about travel.” David K. Reynolds – Constructive Living

When resistance kicks in and tells you that you can’t possibly succeed – remember that you only need to take the next step.

“When motivation flags, your willpower takes over. You use your will when you stop waiting to feel motivated. Life has always come down to this: The ripest fruit grows on the highest limbs of the tree of life. To pick the fruit you make the climb, step by step, day by day.” Dan Millman

“I don’t feel like it…..”

Strength and struggle go hand in hand, and more often than not this is where many of us say ‘oh well…’ and start to decline; which can then be seen as another failure, whether a personal one or the fault of some outside tool, advice or support. Sound familiar? We’ve all done it!

Here’s a solid truth – you can only ‘fail’ if you give up. If something goes wrong, try again. Most successful people have ‘failed’ many times, but they ultimately succeed because they keep going.

“The mature human being goes about doing what needs to be done regardless of whether that person feels great or terrible. Knowing that you are the kind of person with that kind of self-control brings all the satisfaction and confidence you will ever need. Even on days when the satisfaction and confidence just aren’t there, you can get the job done anyway.” David K. Reynolds – Constructive Living

You are powerful, you are your own creator – you are constantly creating yourself. In that knowledge, you can choose how, when and what you do. Whenever resistance digs in – do it anyway and expand your comfort zone.

“There are no neurotics or geniuses or failures or fools. There are only neurotic moments, flashes of brilliance, failed opportunities, and stupid mistakes. But these moments, pleasant or unpleasant, can never fix us into rigid, immutable characters. We cannot help but change.” David K. Reynolds – Constructive Living

What Reynolds says is true. A mistake or a slip-up is just that, it doesn’t mean your stupid or incompetent. A failed opportunity is a learning curve – not who you are!. You are not fixed and immutable – you can recreate yourself at any moment.

Having been through this process myself, I can recognise laziness, lack of effort and resistance, and know they can be overcome. Push through it; give more and better service to yourself, and you will receive compound interest from your investment – in other words, the more you put in, the more you get out. It’s another universal law, and the proof lies in the doing.

“The end of the rainbow is at the end of the second mile.” Napoleon Hill – Think and Grow Rich

Keep your foot on the pedal, go the extra mile and master your life.

(You can take the cap off now…)

Extra happiness hugs today

Dawn

‘Ask and It Is Given’ – is it?

One of the greatest sources of inspiration and understanding that I have found on my journey to greater wellbeing has been the wonderful Abraham-Hicks. I find their perspective on life, and the power of the individual to create their own reality, hugely moving and uplifting – a true tonic for the soul!
If you’ve ‘met’ them before then you know what I mean, if not – then I am delighted to introduce them to you.

“From your state of balanced energy, you experience clarity, vitality, eagerness, physical wellness, abundance in all things you consider to be good, and an exuberant state of joy. This is the natural state of who-you-really-are.” Abraham-Hicks – The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent

As you may have noticed this Boot Camp is encouraging you to explore a multidimensional approach to Health and Wellbeing, and it needs to – because you are multidimensional, whether you’ve realised it or not!

We are so much more than we give ourselves credit for. Not only are we are physical, we are ‘energetic’ or vibrational beings too.

As previously highlighted, everything is energy, and all energy vibrates. The slower the vibration of that energy, the denser the matter; the higher the vibration, the lighter the matter. It’s the difference between, say, a chair and a ray of light – same energy, different vibration. It’s also the same with all the different constituent parts of you – physical body, emotions, thoughts etc.

It’s fair to say then, that we are each a vibrating mass of energy. When we feel good, we feel lighter; when we eat healthily, we feel lighter. When we take a walk in the country or by the sea, we feel lighter.

Vibration attracts matching vibration. We, as vibrational beings, attract a like-minded vibration. Everything we are is a manifestation of our thoughts, feelings and actions – our vibrations!

Have your thoughts, feelings and actions actually been pulling you away, like a vibrational
tug of war, from what you essentially desire? This is then an incredible opportunity for you to change that.

In fact, by taking a look outside your box – you will realise that you have far more choice about your life than you may have previously comprehended.

“Each and every component that makes up your life experience is drawn to you by the powerful Law of Attraction’s response to the thoughts you think and the story you tell about your life. Your money and financial assets; your body’s state of wellness, clarity, flexibility, size, and shape; your work environment, how you are treated, work satisfaction, and rewards—indeed, the very happiness of your life experience in general—is all happening because of the story that you tell.” Abraham-Hicks – Money and the Law of Attraction

When the Going Gets Toughs

When we experience challenges, it’s far easier to blame other people, circumstances or situations for ‘this and that’ happening to us, or using ‘it’ as the reason why ‘I can’t’ etc. But truth be told, it’s all part of the story we tell ourselves and others about our lives.

Contrast, however, is one of the keys to life – without the challenges and difficulties of our existence, we would not strive to create and enjoy the good, enjoyable, satisfying aspects of our life. Identifying what we don’t want and don’t like about our lives gives us the opportunity to define more clearly what it is that we do want, as Abraham confirms.

“When you acknowledge what you do not want, and then ask yourself, ‘What is it that I do want?’ you begin a gradual shift into the telling of your new story and into a much-improved point of attraction. You get the essence of what you think about—whether you want it or not—because Law of Attraction is unerringly consistent—therefore, you are never only telling the story of ‘how it is now’. You are also telling the future experience that you are creating right now. Abraham-Hicks – Money and the Law of Attraction

What tends to happen though, as we discussed earlier in the Blog, is we see what we don’t want and then fix on that – going on and on about it – not realising that we are creating more and more of it, by going on and on about it!

“When you focus upon lack in an attitude of complaining, you establish a vibrational point of attraction that then gives you access only to more thoughts of complaint. Your deliberate effort to tell a new story will establish a new pattern of thought, providing you with a new point of attraction from your present, about your past, and into your future. The simple effort of looking for positive aspects will set a new vibrational tone and the Law of Attraction will begin the immediate attraction of thoughts, people, circumstances, and things that are pleasing to you.” Abraham-Hicks – Money and the Law of Attraction

However, as I said before, we can instantly begin to change that habit. After all, beneficial thoughts feel better when you think them, whereas detrimental thoughts feel bad. So, when you create a thought – which you will, as every action begins as a thought – then you may as well think a good one!

Attraction vs. Reaction

This next quote briefly but wonderfully explains the difference between creating and reacting:

“The most important aspect of any journey is the emotional aspect, for if you are aware of how you feel, and are able to affect those feelings deliberately, then (and only then) will you have conscious control of all future outcomes of your life experience. We call this Deliberate Creation. On the other hand, if your dominant focus is upon the Action Journey – observing and responding to the things that are happening right now in your experience, allowing your feelings to naturally follow the patterns of your observations, and making no effort to guide your feelings but merely responding to conditions and circumstances… then you will have no conscious control of your own life experience. We call this creating by default.” Abraham-Hicks – The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent

Are you holding an image of yourself as a ‘victim’ in any way?

In post 10, The Power of TED, David Emerald described the pitfalls of adopting the role of a Victim. If you exercise ‘no conscious control of your own life experience’ then you could be setting yourself up for this experience.

And be careful, as being a victim can be as easy as sliding into a comfy pair of slippers. It can be quite a comfortable position to hold, inasmuch as you don’t have to ‘do’ much about it – but it can keep you completely stuck where you are, not being able to attain what it is that you truly want. Ah yes, the ‘poor me, I want this and I don’t have it and it’s not fair’ cycle.

Isn’t it wonderful then to know that a ‘belief’ about your role is only a thought – a well trained and practised thought that has just been thought for so long, that it is now masquerading as a belief.

Lots of empowerment to be had from that statement! The truth of those words gives you back your power to change a negative belief to a positive one – and why not? Why hold on to self limiting, negative beliefs that do not serve you in any way, shape or form? You are absolutely worthy of healthy, positive, self-serving beliefs and outcomes.

How to Change the Record?

Think a thought you want to believe in for long enough and often enough until you believe it. You will have acquired a new belief that is in line with who you really are and what you want. It just takes awareness of thought and practise.

“As you are beginning to train your perspective toward those better-feeling beliefs, we always encourage you to start with something easy. In other words, do not focus upon your most challenging relationship and use it as a test case to see how good you are at improving your vibrational relativity between where you are and where you want to be. Once you have shown yourself that you can easily, on most subjects, find improved perspectives, then you can focus upon those more challenging situations. In time, you will know that you have absolute control over the way you feel, over your point of focus, over your point of attraction, and over everything that comes into your life experience.” Abraham-Hicks – The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent

A final thought:

“You are where you are. What you have been thinking and what you are currently thinking has resulted in your creation, in your life experience, of what-is. And so, that’s that! However, we want you to turn your full attention to the vibrational relativity between where you are right now, and where you want to be–for that is where all your power is. That is where the thrill of creative genius lies. That vibrational variance between where you are and where you want to be is the creative arena that you have come forth to play within: the Leading Edge of creation. This is what you have come forth to experience and enjoy–and to never complete.” Abraham-Hicks – The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent

In writing this content I could not help but further investigate my own thoughts and beliefs. Rather than feeling ‘bad’ or ‘guilty’ for any that tended towards me feeling like a victim, I instead feel powerful and completely able to turn them around. I am thankful for the opportunity to discover another layer of myself that was getting in the way of who I am and what I want. It’s good work to do!

If you would like further information on the Abraham-Hicks materials, I have included some links that you may enjoy, and YouTube has many more film clips. I totally recommend any of their books and audios.
An Introduction to Abraham and the Law of Attraction

Think and Get Slim

Rampage of Wellbeing

Dawn

There are a number of recurring themes throughout the Blog, as I’m sure you’ll have noticed! Today we revisit ‘balance’.

Being in balance does not mean being static. Imagine a high wire artist – they are constantly moving from one side to another – to stay balanced.

Life is the same. We have different areas to our lives – work, relationships, hobbies, family etc. We constantly swing from one to another. With all that swaying – are you missing out somewhere?

The first thing to do is identify which segments of your life are being neglected – what have you forgotten about? Who and what are you missing out on? Who is missing out on your time and attention? What is it that you love to do – and haven’t done for years?

It can be easy to underestimate how much lack of balance can contribute towards feelings of unhappiness and dissatisfaction.

You may remember this quote which I gave you in the fifth post about Integrative Nutrition:

“Sometimes we are fed not by food but by the energy in our lives.
These moments and feelings demonstrate that everything is food. We take in thousands of experiences in life that can fulfill us physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
We hunger for play, touch, romance, intimacy, love, achievement, success, art, music, self-expression, leadership, excitement, adventure and spirituality.
All of these elements are essential forms of nourishment. The extent to which we are able to incorporate them determines how enjoyable and worthwhile our lives feel.” Joshua Rosenthal, Integrative Nutrition

“All these elements” make up the Wheel of Wellbeing, and they are all “essential forms of nourishment” that should not be neglected, so Rosenthal’s words are as relevant here as they are when we’re speaking of food.

The ‘Wheel of Wellbeing’ is a tool that can help you to identify where the imbalance in your life lays, which ‘elements’ are being left unattended. Once you know that, you can plan to make changes in your life that deal with the root cause, thus bringing your life back into balance, boosting your overall wellbeing, and providing all of that ‘essential nourishment’!

Completing your Wheel of Wellbeing

•  You can purchase a prepared Wheel of Wellbeing downloadable worksheet. Otherwise, in your Journal, draw a large circle and divide it into eight segments.

•  When you’re ready – at the end of each of the eight ‘spokes’ of the wheel, write a heading that describes an area of your life that is important to you.
Subjects may include:
- Family
- Relationship
- Job/career
- Hobbies
- ‘Me’ time
- Health
- Finances
- Spiritual
- Education
- Parents
- Children
- Leisure
- Community
- Friends
- Creative
- Self-confidence
- Eating well
- Travel

By looking back at your goals, you might have some categories in there that will be important on your Wheel.

•  Now, think about each of the areas you’ve included on your Wheel in turn, as you are going to score each area according to how satisfying you feel it to be.

•  Consider how satisfied are you with your participation in those areas and how much time you spend in them.

•  Then give each area a score from 0-10 – zero means completely unsatisfying, whereas 10 indicates total satisfaction and happiness.

For example, if your job is important to you, but you’re spending 12 hours a day there, then you might give it a low score.

Exercise is important – you get that, yet you’re not actually doing anything, that score will probably be a low too.

If your relationships with your family are happy and harmonious, and you see enough of each other then that might get a very high score.

•  Mark your scores on each of the spokes of the Wheel, remembering that zero is in the centre, and 10 is on the outside rim. The more fulfilled you are in each area, the closer the mark will be to the edge.

• Working clockwise, fill in the segment of the Wheel next to each label up to the mark you have made.

When you have finished, you’ll have a clear visual representation of the balance in your life in your eight most important areas.

Please be aware that most people do end up with a very lumpy, bumpy kind of wheel! How’s yours looking?

If your Wheel has shown up imbalance in your life – Great!

Because this exercise is simply a way of demonstrating where you’ve put your attention with regard to aspects of your life that are important but, for reasons only you can identify, not satisfying you. Now, with that further insight, you have more power to even out the bumps.

Once you know where those areas are, you can begin to draw up plans to make some changes, and thereby make your Wheel rounder and more even.

I have yet to meet anyone with a perfect 10 all round – but it does give us something to aim for! Just one adjustment could be all it takes to get a low scoring area in your life topped up.

How do I Smooth my Wheel?

As you look at each area, remember all the tools you have now, and make good use of them.
• Do your Energy Management sheets show up blocks of time that could be used differently – and perhaps use to rebalance the wheel?
• Are you being held back by unhelpful beliefs? Are your conscious mind and subconscious mind working against each other?
• What visualisations or affirmations can you create to help to increase your scores – raising your satisfaction levels in a particular area?

Hmm, much to muse over – your Wheel of Wellbeing could become your ‘Wheel of Fortune’, and enrich your life!

Dawn

Welcome

When you catch yourself getting caught up in your head; analysing this and that, being critical or judgmental – or just plain old negative ( …it sneaks up on all of us!) it’s time to bring yourself back into your body. You can achieve this quickly and efficiently by performing the simplest of functions – breathing!

Conscious breathing and breath awareness is one of the most relaxing and soothing things we can do for ourselves. It just takes some ‘letting go’. In other words, doing less – calm the mind, think less, just be. You are, after all, a human being, not a human doing!
Many new medical and scientific studies now prove that our body’s cells respond to the ‘messages’ we express and they respond accordingly.

“I have devoted my professional life to better understanding single cells because I knew then, and know now, that the better we understand single cells the better we can understand the community of cells that comprise each human body. I knew that if single cells are controlled by their awareness of the environment so too are the trillion-celled human beings. Just like the single cell, the character of our lives is not determined by our genes but by our responses to the environmental signals that propel life.”
“I was exhilarated by new realization that I could change the character of my life by changing my beliefs.” The Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles

Hmmm – apparently not only is ‘you are what you eat’ true – you are also what you think, say and do!

As we tune-in, turn on and love ourselves we refuse to buy into the negative self images or perceptions we seem to adopt or inherit – we can begin to discover our true self.

Being able to open up to and accept change, embracing new habits and behaviours, such as a healthier food and lifestyle, is also about creating new ‘messages’. Talking affectionately to your self may come across as a bit odd at first, but it really works. Our emotions and our physiology are intricately linked and strongly dependent on each other. We cannot ignore one or the other – both emotional and physical wellbeing are essential to a healthy life.

Remember, the body never does anything to hurt us; ‘dis-ease’ comes when we are not mentally, physically and spiritually aligned.
On a practical physical level, breathing and affirmation exercises can assist digestion, blood pressure, bowel movements, back pains and other issues.

By focusing on your breath, you centre yourself and instantly bring about a feeling of calm and peace. Then, in that very moment, everything – all life and you – are perfect and perfectly aligned.

The greatest stock market you can invest in is yourself. Finding this truth is better than finding a gold mine. Katie Byron, Loving What Is

Simple Breathing Exercise

The way to achieve a peaceful state of mind is to spend a few minutes each day in a quiet place by yourself and just simply notice your breath.
It is the space where everything is perfect: where negatives, judgments, resistance, limitations and barriers do not exist. You just ‘be’ with yourself in peace.
Allow yourself to feel your breath flowing in and out slowly, as you quietly notice in peace. You need not judge it or think about it, just be with it. Purely breathe in and out.
And that’s the extent of a Simple Breathing Exercise. There is nothing else to it.

You can do this exercise anywhere you choose, at home or at work, even on the bus or sat in a traffic jam. If there is noise around you – go inward where you can create internal peace enough for you to focus on your breathing. The essential element here is that you do it every day with consistency so that you may calm your mind so that peace and positivity may surface.

“…breathing deeply and regularly is not only the key to remaining calm, but also instantly connects us to a higher vibration. When we’re stressed or fearful, we tend to hold our breath, which cuts us off from our Higher Self and our intuitive vibes.” Sonia Choquette, Trust Your Vibes

Combining Breathing with Affirmations

To take this breathing exercise a step further, find a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed, sit in a relaxed position, with your back straight and close your eyes. Take a deep breath through the nose and gently out through the mouth, taking the air into your stomach as best as you can, slowly and smoothly.

Breathe in for a count of three, and out for a count of five – do this three times, and you will feel calm and centred, as this exercise instantly soothes the nervous system.

Place one hand in the other facing upwards and say the following affirmations a few times:
I love and accept myself completely.
I open entirely and unreservedly to a healthier way of living.
I let go of everything that no longer serves me.
I appreciate all that I am and all that I have.
I give thanks for this day and for all of life.

Once you have finished saying this to yourself, take a couple more gentle breaths, breathing the truth of those words into your heart and allowing them to resonate though your body and then slowly open your eyes and smile!

“I’m just suggesting that when you’re faced with fear and anxiety, don’t medicate. Meditate instead.” Russell Simmons, Do You!

Whatever, whoever is happening around you – this technique is always available to you morning noon and night, no-one can take it away. Use it; it’s a great tool.

Peace and Happiness

Dawn

Welcome to Post number 11!

In the last few posts, I’ve highlighted the importance of positive thinking, recommended that you set goals to give you definite aims, talked of visualisation as a way to embed those positive intentions into your subconscious mind and emphasised ways to positively manage your time and energy.
The next tools to use are affirmations that reinforce your new thinking.

Creating Good Vibes!

Our body and mind are affected and controlled by what we think, believe and perceive. It’s a fact – every thought we think, every word we utter, and every action we take begins with our energy. Depending on the attitude and intention we have when we employ that energy, is either of a high or low vibration. The higher the frequency of the vibration, the better.

As you read more about self and spiritual development you will regularly notice references to ‘vibrational energy’ and the philosophy of humans as vibrational or energy beings. Science won’t discredit this theory either – as everything is energy in varying degrees; from the very fine vibrational energy of light or sound, to the denser variety of say, the human body.

The ancient and established practice of Eastern medicine has worked with human energy for many thousands of years, using the body’s meridian points or chakra energy centres for healing.

“Every thought vibrates, every thought radiates a signal…” Abraham / Hicks Ask and It Is Given

The energy or vibrations we put out affect our immediate surroundings and even the world at large – as the stone thrown into a pond creates ripples that radiate across the whole surface of the water. An ‘energetic’ example: you walk into a room, and you can feel that the couple in there has just had an argument. The atmosphere you can ‘cut with a knife’ is a result the dense, negative vibrations they’ve been generating!

Clearly then, we render our best service when we create the best energy and highest vibration that we can. Imagine how alive, awake and present you can feel – how healthy and vibrant if you adopted this as your everyday state? With that realisation, can you understand just how disconnected we have become from our true state?

How Do I Create High Vibration Energy?

We all appreciate recognition of our value from our friends, employers and family – but recognition counts most when it comes directly from your ‘self’. Recognise yourself – you are a vibrational bundle of energy waiting to be tapped into, expanded and set free. I am talking about releasing the loving, kind and compassionate you; the you who knows your value and worth. There’s no ego or arrogance involved – it’s a simple acknowledgement that you are a valuable, loved and loving person with a contribution to make – and you are alive!

Re-establish the connection with yourself. When you make contact with your inner self, you automatically become more deeply connected to all your loved ones, to all people, your surroundings, and to life. You are then in ’harmonic balance’ with your world.

Importantly this is about paying attention to yourself, your inner voice – to who you really are; what you feel, what’s important to you, the messages from within. We all have a natural antennae system that enables us to feel, hear, see and sense what is truly right for us. Call it ‘gut feeling’, intuition, instinct – it’s there, like gravity. TV, alcohol, toxic foods, smoking etc basically anaesthetise that inner connection and as a result, essentially, we lose contact with ourselves.

This is when we experience a disconnection … which can lead to feeling confused, lost in life – dis-ease!

“We’ve been looking outside us for our own peace. We’ve been looking in the wrong direction. Katie Byron, Loving What Is

Creating Harmonic Balance

Harmonic balance basically results in ultimate health in all realms.
There are three key elements in making contact with your inner self:
• Visualisation which we have already covered
• Using your breath which I’ll be talking about later this week
• Positive Affirmations which is today’s subject!

Positive Affirmations – see your true potential

The use of affirmations, spoken positive messages to ourselves, is an important part of liking and loving ourselves and moving toward the goal of harmonic balance.
Louise L. Hay author of the world famous book ‘You Can Heal Your Life’ believes one of the most powerful ways to re-condition our minds is to look, with love, into our own eyes and repeat “I love and accept you exactly as you are.”
She says “I ask my clients to pick up a small mirror, look into their own eyes, and say their names and, “I love and accept you exactly as you are.” This is so difficult for many people. Seldom do I get a calm reaction, let alone enjoyment from this exercise. Some cry or are close to tears, some get angry, some belittle their features or qualities, some insist they CAN’T do it…”
So a small immediate task – without any hesitation, look into a mirror or anything that reflects well, look straight into your own eyes and repeat after me “I love and accept you exactly as you are.” Yeah – quite right too!

“I love and accept you exactly as you are” is an affirmation. Everything about it is healthy, positive, and it’s true. Even if you feel far away from easily saying it – you know you want to, because on a deeper level it is the truth – and the energy, vibration of truth shouts louder than that of untruth!

Negative messages create low vibrational energy, whereas positive messages are high vibrational energy. Your body – organs, cells blood and bones – is tuned in intently to what your inner messaging service is saying. By using positive affirmations will ensure yours is leaving healthy high vibration messages!

Reprogramming your inner dialogue becomes easier once you start employing positive, conscious affirmations. Have faith in them and say them often enough that you believe them. Begin by writing them with a conscious hand, and etch them into your subconscious mind.
Here are some examples of affirmations to encourage you to find and create those that are pertinent to you and to your goals. You may decide on just one or two affirmations, whatever works for you!
• I eat healthily everyday and I feel wonderfully energised, vibrant and alive
• I love all of me, I love who I am
• I love and accept myself completely
• I am committed to being the best version of myself
• I am constantly moving towards my true self
• I am happy, healthy, wealthy healed and whole
• I easily let go of *habits / thoughts / foods / people * that no longer serve me
• Life is easy
• I live to love and love to live
• I happily release all old core beliefs that no longer serve me
• I see with love and compassion
• I choose to move into the T.E.D. and become a Creator* / Challenger* / Coach*
• I am living life joyfully, abundantly and successfully
• I am authentic with myself and others
• My life is filled with love
• I am attracting great health, wealth and happiness
• I am limitless
* Use whatever feels right for you.

Here are a few from one of the world’s most respected authors on the subject:
• I am totally independent of the good or bad opinion of others.
• I am beneath no one.
• I fearlessly handle any and all challenges in my life
Deepak Chopra The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire

Key Points for creating Affirmations:

• Always frame your affirmations in the ‘now’, use present tense.
• Remember your affirmations are for you – don’t just toss empty words into the air, say them clearly and firmly to yourself. State your affirmation powerfully and with conviction. Say the affirmation until you feel the power of belief in those words vibrating through your body and mind.

There are ready-made affirmations available to begin with, but the strongest ones are those that you create for yourself and which are pertinent to you. Borrowed ones are a great start and a good example of structure and wording.
Once you’ve created your affirmations, say them out loud and write them down – this increases power, definiteness and new beliefs. Stick them on the fridge door, bathroom mirror and bedside or even around the computer monitor, anywhere where you will see and repeat them. State your affirmation/s at least every morning upon waking and every evening before bedtime.

See them, speak them, feel them – and be them!

“The word mantra comes from two Sanskrit words man, (‘to think’) and tra (‘tool’). So the literal translation is ‘a tool of thought.’ And that’s how mantras are used in Buddhist and Hindu practices, as tools that clear your mind of distractions. Because when you focus on repeating that mantra over and over again, soon the noise will die down and all you will hear is your inner voice.” Russell Simmons – Do You!

Wishing you happy affirming and high vibe health!

Dawn

POST 10

The inspiration today is taken from David Emerald’s -The Power of TED*

*The Empowerment Dynamic

Welcome to week 4 of the Boot Camp Blog!

I have left most of the talking in this particular post to the author David Emerald, author of ‘The Power of TED’. His information is a revelation. If you recognise yourself in any of the roles within the following ‘Dreaded Drama Triangle’ keep reading through to the wonderful ‘Empowerment Dynamic’ and beyond, where the key to conquering the Dread is revealed!

“Your life is a kind of laboratory where you’re constantly experimenting with your own higher knowing, always increasing your capacity to design the life you choose. Human beings must create; it’s hardwired. The question is, are you consciously creating or only sleepwalking through your human life?” David Emerald

It’s a fact that we all create our own lives, whether deliberately and consciously, or unknowingly and unconsciously. One of the major aims of this Blog is to give you an increasing awareness and understanding of how much control you have, and an important part of that awareness is recognising the roles that we ‘tend’ to adopt within our lives. Realising this will give you much more understanding and freedom in your creations.

There are two very different orientations from which we can choose to live, and roles we can adopt within them: ‘The Dreaded Drama Triangle’ (DDT) is the home of the Victim, the Persecutor and the Rescuer, whilst ‘The Empowerment Dynamic’ (TED) houses the Creator, the Challenger and the Coach.

Understanding ‘The Dreaded Drama Triangle’

“When you inhabit any of these three roles, you’re reacting to fear of victimhood, loss of control, or loss of purpose. You’re always looking outside yourself, to the people and circumstances of life, for a sense of safety, security, and sanity.” David Emerald

‘The Victim’

“Victims may be defensive, submissive, over-accommodating to others, passive-aggressive in conflict, dependent on others for self-worth, overly sensitive, even manipulative. They’re often angry, resentful, and envious, feeling unworthy or ashamed about their circumstances. Have you ever felt or acted this way?” David Emerald

My hand is up!

“Every Victim requires a Persecutor. But the Persecutor isn’t always necessarily a person. The Persecutor could also be a condition or a circumstance. A persecuting condition might be a disease or a heart attack, or an injury. A persecuting circumstance could be a natural disaster, like a hurricane or an earthquake or a house burning down.” David Emerald

When I was living an unhealthy lifestyle I was, oddly enough (!) also in an unhealthy relationship. Both of these were my persecutors. I used to ask myself how it could be my fault that my partner was ‘x’, ‘y’, or ‘z’? Or I’d be thinking ‘poor me’ for being unwell and therefore overweight. It hadn’t yet occurred that my life was rooted in fear – of loss and the unknown – and I certainly didn’t understand that change needed to come from me – not to me!

“There’s nothing so delightful as being aware. Would you rather live in darkness? Would you rather act and not be aware of your words? Would you rather listen to people and not be aware of what you’re hearing, or see things and not be aware of what you’re looking at? The great Socrates said, ‘The unaware life is not worth living.’ That’s a self-evident truth. Most people don’t live aware lives. They live mechanical lives, mechanical thoughts—generally somebody else’s—mechanical emotions, mechanical actions, mechanical reactions.” Anthony de Mello – Awareness

‘The Persecutor’

“These people are often authoritarian and rigid in their views, exerting power over others in an effort to keep others from having power over them. Persecutors may act grandiose and self-righteous to mask their own insecurity. Persecutors, like Victims, act out of fear. The may seem fearless, but actually Persecutors are almost always former Victims.”David Emerald

When I began to resist being a victim, I became more of the aggressor – angry and frustrated that things weren’t changing according to how I wanted them to. Still not understanding that it was me that needed to be the change I wanted to see - and trust that.

‘The Rescuer’

“A Rescuer isn’t always a person. Addictions to alcohol or drugs, sexual addiction, workaholism—all the ways we numb out—can rescue the Victim from feeling his or her own feelings.”David Emerald

Yes, the anaesthetics of alcohol, TV, over-eating etc, may temporarily numb out the feelings, like a quick fix – but the problem will still be there, gnawing away…

Where the Rescuer is a person, they themselves tend to lack purpose or self-esteem. Rescuers are generally attracted to those who are needy (a Victim) so as to ‘rescue’ them. Not a winning combination!

“Persecutors fear loss of control. Rescuers fear loss of purpose. Rescuers need Victims—someone to protect or fix—to bolster their self-esteem.”David Emerald

Enter the change – ‘The Empowerment Dynamic’

‘The Creator’

“One of the fundamental differences between the Victim Orientation and this one [Creator] is where you put your focus of attention… For Victims, the focus is always on what they don’t want: the problems that seem constantly to multiply in their lives. They don’t want the person, condition, or circumstance they consider their Persecutor, and they don’t want the fear that leads to fight, flee or freeze reactions, either. Creators, on the other hand, place their focus on what they do want. Doing this, Creators still face and solve problems in the course of creating outcomes they want, but their focus remains fixed on their ultimate vision.” David Emerald

“The focus in the Creator Orientation is on a Vision or an Outcome. You orient your thoughts and actions toward creating what you most deeply want to see or experience in life.” And: “A Creator is vision-focused and passion-motivated. To really live into your Creator self, you are called to do the inner work necessary to find your own sense of purpose—whatever touches your heart and holds meaning for you.” David Emerald

“Living from the Creator Orientation is actually more challenging. In the Victim Orientation, I didn’t have to exercise conscious choice; I just reacted to my circumstances.” David Emerald

‘The Challenger’

“All of life’s experiences are teachers in some sense, challenging us to grow and evolve. Although the Persecutor certainly provokes a reaction, the Challenger elicits a response by encouraging the Creator to acquire new knowledge, skill, or insight. Both roles provoke change, but in different ways.” David Emerald

‘The Coach’

“The Coach is the antidote to the Victim’s Rescuer in the DDT… Mainly, a Coach supports, assists, and facilitates the Creator in manifesting a desired outcome. A Coach holds others to be whole, resourceful, and creative… They help you dig deep inside yourself to gain clarity about what you want to create in your life.” David Emerald

The major difference between the Persecutor/Rescuer and the Challenger/Coach dynamic is that they respond to those around them with a view to their ultimate freedom and independence, rather than as a crutch to support their own inadequacies.

Shift Orientation

“The way you talk about yourself and your life—your story—has a great deal to do with what shows up in your day-to-day experience. Your thoughts create filters through which you view your life. If you think of yourself as a Victim, you filter all that happens to you through the lens of DDT, and you find plenty of evidence to support that viewpoint. That’s why the orientation you adopt is so important: it exerts a powerful influence on your life direction.” David Emerald

The above paragraph reinforces the importance of the work we have done on positive thinking, definite purpose, visualisation and affirmation – almost everything I’ve touched on in the Blog in fact! Everything has been deliberately designed to help you ‘see and change your story’ which may well have been keeping you stuck in a place you don’t want to be – an unrealised self fulfilling prophecy!

So, if you recognise yourself playing a DDT role, you have all the tools you need to help you shift into the ‘Power of TED’!

“God turns you from one feeling to another and teaches by means of opposites, so that you will have two wings to fly, not one.” Rumi

Creative Tension

“The way you create any outcome in your life is to hold the vision of your deepest desires. At the same time, though, you must honestly and accurately assess your current situation and how it relates to your greater vision. By doing this, you engage tension between what is and what can be. This tension is the primary creative force behind the manifestation of any outcome. It’s as natural and powerful as the force of gravity.
In the case of dynamic tension, you can resolve the tension in either direction. You can let go of your vision and snap back toward your current reality, or you can move from your current situation toward your vision.” David Emerald

This is a running theme throughout the Blog; identify your desired outcome, and move towards it. Yes there is a journey to be had between the two points – and that is the fun part! Therein is the discovery of who you truly are and what you can achieve.

“Some of the steps you take may end up being detours or out-and-out mistakes. By staying focused on your vision, though, you’ll find even those steps useful in the creating process.
It is the Baby Steps you take, the everyday things you do, that eventually lead to the manifestation of your outcome” David Emerald

Task

• Journal anything that has come up for you in this post

• Consider the DDT roles, have any resonated with you? If so, write down how you can convert to TED.

• Are you taking your Baby Steps, positive, everyday things that move you towards your outcome?

This post’s tasks require honest self investigation which may be revelatory or uncomfortable. If you find it to be the latter, just acknowledge it’s part of the growing pains of change.

A shift is taking place and that is a good thing. Be willing to go further down the rabbit hole, it’s full of surprises!

You’re doing brilliantly…

Encouragingly yours,

Dawn

POST 9

Welcome to the ninth Post and the end of Week 3!

A more traditional approach would mean this post might be called ‘Managing your Time’, but time isn’t ‘managable’. We all have 24 hours in a day, seven days in a week – it passes by at the same steady rate for everyone, and no amount of ‘management’ can change that…. at least not unless you reach the speed of light!

It therefore pays great dividends to turn your attention to, and manage, your energy and your actions. In post 3 there were some tools for building up your energy reserves – breathing consciously, drinking more water to hydrate yourself, getting plenty of sleep and eating healthily. Today is all about ensuring you are able to use those reserves in ways that best serve you and your goals.
Napoleon Hill, in Think and Grow Rich, has some pointed words and sage advice to offer about this subject, in the Principle he calls ‘Budget your Time and Money’.
• Tell me how you use your time and how you spend your money and I will tell you where and what you’ll be in ten years from now.
• Take regular inventory of yourself to learn how and where you are spending your time and money.
• The secret of getting things done is: DO IT NOW!
• Time is too precious to be wasted on arguments and discontent.
• Some mistakes can be corrected, but not the mistake of wasting time. When time is gone, it’s gone forever.
Time and energy are just like money in one respect – if you don’t keep an eye on where you’re spending it, it will run through your fingers with nothing to show for it.
If we waste our time, then we are wasting our life!
This post is about giving you the means to ‘take regular inventory’ of how you spend your energy, your time, and your life.

TASK

For the purpose of this task you can purchase the Energy Management Sheets or make notes in your journal. Carry out the following points so that you can build your awareness about what is happening – or is not happening – in your life.
• Record how you spend your time, in as much detail as possible, throughout the next days and weeks.
• Because this is more about managing energy than time, remember to note how you feel as well.
• Are your activities draining or energising? Would changing your perspective on certain activities have a better effect on you? For example – housework?
Perspective A: I hate housework, it’s boring – you have to do it again by the time you’ve finished it.
Perspective B: I enjoy the process of cleaning my home; using the time to listen to something uplifting, whilst appreciating the things I am cleaning. And I feel great when I’ve finished, as there’s a fresh flow of energy about the place, which helps to clear my mind and gives me a sense of space.
Keep a log of your time and energy expenditure for the next few weeks. You’ll be revisiting this later in the Blog – in the meantime use the notes you make straight away to start planning and streamlining your energy use.

What am I looking for?

Your time and energy is used up in three major ways:
• Things you HAVE to do.
• Things you CHOOSE to do.
• Things you do because OTHER PEOPLE want you to.

Analysing your Energy Management

Think about the things you feel that you have to do – maybe going to work, feeding the kids, shopping, cleaning the car… the list can seem endless. How many of those things can you, with some conscious thought and appreciation, shift into the group of things you choose to do?
Remember that choice empowers you and puts you in the driving seat, whereas the ‘having to’ dynamic feels more like it’s dragging you reluctantly after it.
Almost everything you have to do will have a satisfactory outcome at the end of it, and can be made a choice. What remains can be turned into routines and rituals that are so automatic that you barely spend any ‘energy’ at all doing them.
Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, who’s first Principle I gave you in the third post, have another on this very subject:

“Positive energy rituals – highly specific routines for managing energy – are the key to full engagement and sustained high performance.”

They expand on this as follows:

“We use the word “ritual” purposefully to emphasize the notion of a carefully defined, highly structured behavior. In contrast to will and discipline, which require pushing yourself to a particular behavior, a ritual pulls at you. Think of something as simple as brushing your teeth. It is not something that you ordinarily have to remind yourself to do. Brushing your teeth is something to which you feel consistently drawn, compelled by its clear health value. You do it largely on automatic pilot, without much conscious effort or intention. The power of rituals is that they insure that we use as little conscious energy as possible where it is not absolutely necessary, leaving us free to strategically focus the energy available to us in creative, enriching ways.” Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement

Another way to analyse how your day is spent is to use the Time Management Matrix devised by Steven Covey as part of his 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit 3 is “Put First Things First”, which involves prioritising your ‘to dos’ and sorting them into four groups.
Covey’s Matrix forces us to decide which of our activities are important or unimportant, and which are urgent, and which not urgent. You’ll find a free download on the resources page that gives you a blank matrix and explains how to use it.

Choosing Well

Having increased the list of activities that you choose to undertake, ensure that you are making good choices! You can ‘choose’ to buy a takeaway and sit on the sofa in front of the TV all evening, but would your new conscious and aware self really call that a ‘good’ choice? An evening out with friends and foods that support who you are now would be better.
When making those choices, bear in mind Loehr and Swartz’s second Principle:

“Because Energy Diminishes both with overuse and with underuse, we must balance energy expenditure with intermittent energy renewal.”

‘Balance’ is the key word here. You have to rest and replenish your energy, but too little activity can be as tiring as too much. That’s why a note of how you feel at the beginning and end of each day is important for monitoring how you are truly affected by what you do. If you’re being drained of time and energy by poor choices, it’s time to change your routine.

‘Have to’ or Choice? There’s only one answer!

The next group to deal with, are those you have done because other people have asked you to do.
Review those activities as you note them down – if you’ve genuinely chosen to help a friend, do the school run, or eat what your partner wants to eat then that activity is in the right group. If you resent time spent on this group, if you have missed important opportunities because of it, or if you are not being true to yourself, then consider carefully why you choose to spend your time and energy here. Do you have trouble saying no?

You know what is good for you – balance your time and energy – give great service to others when you can – learn to say no when you suffer from it.

“The quality of the service rendered, plus the quantity of the service rendered, plus the mental attitude in which it was rendered, equals your compensation” Napoleon Hill.

Mind the Gap

Unless you are highly organised and efficient, there will be gaps in your energy log – they will result either from your being really busy, or perhaps from procrastination. How true is the saying ‘procrastination is the thief of time’? Just ‘getting around to it’ often takes far longer than the task itself – I’ve lost count of the times I or my friends have put off a task or decision or action, suffering the energy draining consequences for ages, only to dive in and come out the other side thinking ‘well, that didn’t take anything like as long…’ or ‘that wasn’t so hard’ – and almost always – ‘boy I feel better now that’s done!’

Planning and Actioning your way to Balance

Knowing where your energy comes from, and where it goes, and whether you waste too much of it, gives you back control as you progress towards your goals, and through everyday life.

“People who successfully navigate change take action. They have a plan and know how to take care of themselves. Actions come in many forms. Some are big and obvious; some are so small you may think they are irrelevant. But any good action you take is a choice to move forward.” Ariane de Bonvoisin

Setting goals gives you a reason to organise your time – you have things to achieve! You have a plan, and you are learning how to take care of yourself.

Pacing your Energy Expenditure

I love this analogy from Loehr and Schwartz again, comparing sprinters with long-distance runners:

“Think for a moment about the look of many long-distance runners: gaunt, sallow, slightly sunken and emotionally flat. Now visualize a sprinter such as Marion Jones or Michael Johnson. Sprinters typically look powerful, bursting with energy and eager to push themselves to their limits. The explanation is simple. No matter how intense the demand they face, the finish line is clearly visible 100 or 200 meters down the track. We, too, must learn to live our own lives as a series of sprints—fully engaging for periods of time, and then fully disengaging and seeking renewal before jumping back into the fray to face whatever challenges confront us.”

Keep your goals – your milestones – your finishing line – within sight, and whatever you have to do to get there – DO IT NOW!
A marathon of a post today!

Dawn

POST 8

Welcome to today’s post

Napolean Hill has a very important Principle taken from the renowned Think and Grow Rich entitled “Control Your Attention”, the first point of which is an instruction to “keep your mind ON the things you do want and OFF the things you don’t want!”
Keeping your mind fixed ON what you want can be the biggest challenge to face when starting out on a journey of self awareness, and change.
The next three posts will therefore include a set of accessible, proven and practical tools, supplying you with the ways, means and how’s to keep yourself on track and focussed on your goals.
In the last post I asked you to make your goals so detailed that you could actually see them. Why? Because pictures are recognised as powerful tools in training the inner mind, which is the reason we are working on Visualisation techniques today. These techniques are used by successful people in all walks of life, who know that visualisation is absolutely necessary reprogramming the subconscious and aligning heart and mind. You must believe in what you are doing to make it work!

“If you have the ability to imagine it, or even to think about it, this Universe has the ability and the resources to deliver it fully unto you.” Abraham-Hicks, Ask and It Is Given

Developing your visualisation ‘muscle’ is important. Your physical body and your emotional and mental fabric listen and respond to every word you say and think, and to every scene that you imagine. NEVER underestimate the power that you have! Your thoughts generate emotions, your emotions create chemical reactions, then those reactions ripple through your body right down to a cellular level.

What is visualisation?

So far we have looked at everything in positive terms; visualisation is now a step up from just imagining the results. It involves mentally immersing yourself into the situation or outcome you are thinking about; feeling the feelings, smelling the smells, experiencing and being in the scenario you are creating. It’s about placing your physical, emotional, sensory and ethereal self into the situation as if it is happening to and with you right now. The more you practice it, the better, more vivid and more powerful the effects.
In fact, so powerful are the effects of excellent visualisation that it is impossible for them not to be made real!

VISUALISING YOUR GOAL

Which of your goals excites you the most? What goal has the strongest calling?
Find a quiet place to sit for a few minutes and visualise the results of achieving that goal. Be there! Throw yourself into all the feelings you receive as a result of that achievement.
You manifest your goals by practicing the feelings of the end result.

“Every thought vibrates, every thought radiates a signal, and every thought attracts a matching signal back. We call that process the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction says: That which is like unto itself is drawn. And so, you might see the powerful Law of Attraction as a sort of Universal Manager that sees to it that all thoughts that match one another line up.” Abraham-Hicks, Ask and It Is Given

For example:
You want to be eating more healthily and enjoying a sense of wellbeing.
So first you take out the ‘want’ and instead be in it as if it is happening right now. This strengthens the energy. Say “I enjoy eating healthy foods – I feel alive and vibrant. It feels good to be making better choices for myself”. And then, using visualisation, see it all play out with all your senses.
You see yourself listing the right foods to purchase, then in the shop and going down the aisles with the right ingredients. Watch as you pass the cake aisle with zero interest. See yourself totally disinterested in sugary, fatty, low energy, dead foods. Instead you are joyfully choosing from the fruit and vegetable section, the organic display, or the herbal teas. You love the feeling of this healthy shopping experience. It feels revitalising, liberating and enjoyable.
The healthy foods smell good, they look vibrant and feel energetic – you even have a smile to everyone walking around in the aisles. Continue to visualise your superior food choices going through the till and witness yourself happily and gratefully paying for your shopping, which you can easily afford. When you are at home, as you unpack your carefully, consciously selected shopping, you experience a deep sense of joy and self love within you. You feel great about the healthier choices you have made and it is all happening right now.

“When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”   Paulo Coelho

Create a visualisation that is specific to you – make it as detailed and complete as possible and use it often. Be there, experience it. Touch the fabric of the curtains in your dream home, and experience the bounce of the carpet under your feet, or the sand between your toes on that tropical beach, experience getting onto your new bike and feel your feet pushing down on the pedals, feel the water flow around you as you swim easily up and down the pool, feel yourself running the race and crossing the finish in a good time. Set your imagination free and feel it with all your senses.
Repeat your visualisation every day, and as many times as possible. And there’s an extra bonus to this – a great ‘feel good factor’!
Visualisation techniques have far-reaching implications in all aspects of your life. It might apply to the new job that you seek, a car you wish to buy, or a relationship.
Whatever you desire – visualise it. Create the picture in your minds eye, and embody the full essence of the experience.
Visualising on a regular basis is the key element; doing the practice will serve you well in the long term.

“Over the years, thousands of successful people have been asked, ‘What do you think about most of the time?’
Their answers tend to be the same worldwide. Successful people think about what they want and how to get it most of the time. As a result of this mental focus, they accomplish much more than the average person, even though they may have started with no particular advantages. Unsuccessful people, on the other hand, tend to think and talk about what they don’t want most of the time. They think and talk about who they are mad at and who is to blame for their problems most of the time. They don’t understand why their lives don’t improve even though they have been working as long as others. They slip into the habit of thinking and talking even more about their problems and who is to blame, thereby making the situation worse.” Brian Tracy, Focal Point

Be the Change You Want to See: a Visualisation for Health and Wellbeing Goals

Sit somewhere quiet and peaceful, and listen to your breath. Remember the calming, centring and reconnecting effect of the breathing exercise – simply allow yourself to be in your body and at peace.

When you are relaxed, see yourself moving purposefully through your everyday life, seeing your goals before you, reaching the next milestone and feeling the sense of achievement that represents. Know that the push / pull of everyday life simply isn’t going to take you off track, because your healthy eating and wellbeing lifestyle ARE everyday life.

As you move in that moment, you know that all choices, actions, drive and determination come from you. You have the tools, and the knowledge to take yourself onward. You have all the power within that you need to succeed; you are born to succeed, you are born to win – the infinite in you cannot fail. Feel that power coursing through your arteries, your veins, your organs, your blood, your bones, your cells; the whole of you. Feel it. (I can feel it from here!)

Return to simply breathing, keeping connected to the power inside you, and feeling connected throughout your whole body. Be with your breath.

“So, for an observer, the better it gets, the better it gets; or the worse it gets, the worse it gets. However, one who is a visionary thrives in all times.”Abraham-Hicks, Ask and It Is Given

Picturing you in health and happiness,

Dawn

POST 7

Welcome to the third week of Bootcamp Blog

Every single business or personal success guru would advise that you write down your goals. All the truly effective business and personal coaches will most certainly want you to consider carefully what it is that you really want in life.

I once heard someone describe the importance of setting goals by saying “You don’t want to spend your whole life climbing the ladder only to find it was leaning against the wrong wall”.

Lots of goal-setting advice is generally given to help people further their careers or do well financially – and it’s been proven time and time again that it works! ANY endeavour in life can be the focus of a goal, including losing weight, getting fit, or living a fuller, healthier life. Writing down your goals begins to train your subconscious to work for you. As we found in the second post, your subconscious mind pulls you towards what you show it, and far too many of us continually visualise what we’re afraid of, what we don’t want. Focussing on the positive – on what is wanted – is key, and drawing up your goals, clearly and positively, is a terrific first step.

What is it that you truly want to achieve in life? What are your goals?

For the purposes of this Blog, perhaps concentrate mainly on your health or wellbeing goals – and once you get the hang of it, you can set goals in any area of your life.

To quote one of the best known and longest established busines gurus, Brian Tracy, “Only 3% of adults have written goals, and everyone else works for them”.
He also has something to say that’s very appropriate for this blog:

“Fully 80% of the reasons that are holding you back from achieving your goal are inside yourself. They are the lack of a skill, a quality or a body of knowledge. Only 20% of the reasons you are not achieving your goal are on the outside. Always start with yourself.”
 Brian Tracy – Goals! How to get everything you want faster than you ever thought possible.

Setting your goals

If you have purchased the worksheets you’ll find Goal Setting Sheets which you can print out and use to record your goals. There is also a downloadable Goal Setting Guide on the Resources page which you can refer to when you are composing your goals. If you’re stuck and are not sure where to start, take a look at the free ‘50 Power Questions’ PDF – it asks some great questions to help you focus and identify what you want.

In order to make your written goals truly effective, there is a great framework that you can use to compose them, and the initials that describe this framework are ‘S.M.A.R.T.E.R.’
What it means is that your goals need to be:
• Specific
• Measurable
• Achievable
• Realistic
• Timed
• Enjoyable
• Recorded

To explain each of these:

Specific – It’s important to make your goal clear and specific. For instance, “I am going to lose weight” is a great goal – but it’s a bit woolly. Add some detail – how much weight do you want to lose? Do you have a target in mind, or some clothes you want to fit into for a special occasion perhaps? Make your goal as detailed as possible – so detailed that you can see it!

Measurable – How are you going to be able to measure your success? Clearly, if the clothes fit you, that’s your measure of success. If you complete a 6-week beginners Pilates course, that’s measurable.
If you’re looking to improve your wellbeing, you might want to set some less tangible targets, such as finishing your day with energy to spare – that’s harder to measure, which is where your Journal will come in handy. By noting down now how you’re feeling, noticing consciously what it is that you want to change and recording how you are now – you give yourself a comparison for the future.

Achievable – Is your goal truly achievable? Don’t be afraid to aim high as virtually any goal is achievable with enough determination! You don’t need to limit yourself but at the same time avoid setting targets that are going to outstrip your ability to keep up with your timetable – taking part in a marathon is achievable for most people in good health – doing it next week… well, that brings us to the next point!

Realistic – This is different from ‘achievable’ – it acts as a balance. Finishing that marathon is entirely achievable for most people – doing it next week – not very realistic! It’s the same with weight loss, you can lose loads of weight in a short time if you crash diet, but when you’re setting long-term, life-long goals, daft diets and unsustainable weight loss just isn’t realistic.
I really mean it when I say that almost every dream and goal is achievable, and a realistic approach will mean that you see steady and sustained success.
Timed – Another important aspect of setting successful goals is to give yourself a clear timetable. By setting deadlines you motivate yourself to move towards your goal, and have that success firmly in your sights. Deadlines encourage you to make progress, and if you go off course, just review where you’re at, and reset the deadline.
If it’s quite a big goal you’re setting then it is a really good idea to set yourself ‘milestones’, or mini-goals that break it up into steps. This can be as simple as dividing up your desired weight loss over a period of time – it may be easier to think of losing a couple of pounds a week, say, than it is to just aim at losing three stones over six months.
What milestones can you set for your goals?

Enjoyable – Well, you are going to struggle to keep up a course of action you’re not enjoying it, after all! Find ways to make any goal you set enjoyable to work on, fun even! If the thought of leaving the house on a cold night to venture out to the local swimming pool seems more like torture than fun – then remember to envisage how much you will enjoy the result of going. Plus you will shift your energy from, perhaps, tired to energised, you will feel pleased with yourself for going and you will have done good work!
I stopped going to yoga and tai chi for a while once during a really busy patch in my life. Wow, I felt the difference in my strength and energy levels! Going again felt like hard work, but I remembered how good I felt every moment when I was going regularly, how strong and flexible I felt, and that got me out of the door and back in the class!

Recorded – Written goals work best, it’s a fact! Whether you use the downloads, or write them in a notebook, keep your goals somewhere that allows you to refer back to them regularly. Simply writing them down and imprinting them on your subconscious will work wonders!

Not just SMARTER – Positive and Present too!
Your subconscious will always believe what you tell it repeatedly and with conviction. In fact you can trick it into working better for you quite easily, by framing your goals as if you have already achieved them, and you should always, always use positive language.
For instance, rather than saying “I want to lose weight”, use “I am slimmer”; rather than aiming to be “less tired” be “more energetic”.

Positive and present make your goals more powerful.

“It’s amazing what happens to your self-confidence when you get eyeball to eyeball with yourself and you forcefully tell yourself what you’re going to do. Whatever your dream is, look at yourself in the mirror and declare that you are indeed going to achieve it—no matter what the price.” Jack Canfield

TASK

• What are your goals? Spend some time thinking about what you truly want in life? Is your Statement of Definite Purpose a goal, or just the beginning of one? Can you make it SMARTER?

• When you identify a goal, sit with it in mind for a while – flesh it out, give it detail, really think about what it would mean to you to achieve it and how it is going to feel to reach it.

• Write it down, in positive language, in the now, and using the SMARTER framework. Remember to add milestones where they are appropriate.

• Think about the actions you can take that will move you towards your goal, and plan when you will take those actions.

• Keep your goals handy, and read them regularly to keep reinforcing them. I use a print out by my bed – reading them before going to sleep and upon waking, I have also been known to put them on the fridge door, bathroom mirror – anywhere where they get maximum attention.

Later in the Boot Camp Blog, there will be a post about ‘Growing your Goals’, where I’ll go into more detail about identifying the resources you’ll need, and the obstacles you’ll be asking yourself to overcome.
Until then, enjoy setting your goals, making them SMARTER and keep moving towards them.
Wishing you increasing health and happiness,

Dawn

POST 6

Welcome to today’s post.

Exercise is a fantastic way of shedding weight, toning up, creating flow, releasing stress, and connecting with yourself, the whole person. Your body is your personal, unique, amazing vehicle to experience and live your life with. I think that deserves a ‘Wow’!

I’ve taken a lot of the inspiration for this post from the book Strength for Life by Shawn Philips – he has this to say about the human body:

“Your body is an amazingly adaptive machine. Ask it to be stronger and stronger you will be. Challenge it to go further and further you will go. Coax it to be more limber and more limber it will be. Allow it to mold into the seat of a recliner and, you got it, a recliner seat it will become. Stretch it, push it, pull it; your body is like cellular Play-Doh waiting for you to be the sculptor.”

I love the idea that we can all carve out a healthier body from the raw material we’ve been given. I remember hearing a friend say that he ‘was hardly aware of his body’. He was very slim and, due to his physical job, was also strong and supple. Movement and exercise were so easy for him that he hardly felt it to be any effort.

I also have a friend who is overweight to the point of immobility – who finds every movement a struggle and for whom the thought of any physical task or effort verges on dread.

The contrast in those states is so huge it’s breathtaking, and in both cases is down purely to lifestyle and dietary choices.

“Your body, the only one you will ever have, is the foundation of your life. And it’s either an anchor limiting your freedom and potential or a source of radiant energy, vitality and joy, elevating your life and the lives of those around you. It’s your choice… will yours be a source of strength, from which you will impact the world, or an obstacle, preventing you from your dreams and desires? Shawn Phillips – Strength for Life

Our bodies will never do anything to hurt us – they constantly strive to survive and protect us, despite the conditions we impose on them.

You might ask about illness or disease, or shall we say ‘dis – ease’. Often a descent into dis-ease is the body’s way of saying ‘hello – notice me, I need some help in here!’ It’s a call for attention. There are many external factors that can lay us low and affect the healthy functioning of our bodies, but it stands to reason that the stronger we are and the better we are nourished, the better the chance we give our own system of beating the bugs, whatever they are.

Yet we so mindlessly just go to the doctor to get fixed without even considering ‘why am I feeling unwell, and what can I do about it?’

Please understand, I am NOT saying that you shouldn’t consult your doctor if you feel unwell, but I am asking you to consider how you can also help yourself. What is your body asking of you? What is going on emotionally for you? What is your lifestyle?

“The evidence is strong and science validates what millions of Transformation success stories have revealed: “typical signs of aging” are more the result of how you live than how long you’ve lived.” Shawn Phillips – Strength for Life

The more we do ‘consciously’ with our body, the more we begin to feel it, hear it, fully connect with it and with ourselves.

The Health and Wellbeing Formula : Desire x Commitment = Rate of Change

The word ‘exercise’ comes loaded with many perceptions, some of them negative, so it is important to create a meaning of ‘exercise’ that works for you. It shouldn’t feel like a chore, but rather something you actively want to do and enjoy.

Be ‘in joy’ when you do it. For instance, acknowledge to yourself that what you are doing is good for you. Remind yourself that it’s fun, maybe saying an affirmation to yourself, for instance: ‘I consciously take time to move my body in specific ways which are pleasing to me’. Rather long winded perhaps, but you get the picture!

“People need to exercise. Our bodies thrive on movement, and quickly degenerate without it. The challenge is to find the types of exercise you enjoy most, and then build them into your life. Physical activity can take simple and modest forms, like getting off the subway or bus one stop earlier or walking to your destination. It can be taking the stairs, instead of the elevator, to your office or destination. It can be taking your dog for a walk or your children to the park. A 30-minute brisk walk every day may be all you need to keep yourself in shape. It’s good to find something you can do every day without altering your schedule too much. Making physical activity a simple, daily habit greatly increases your chances of staying active.” Joshua Rosenthal, Integrative Nutrition

When I first started to exercise I was impatient, eagerly wanting results, comparing where I was to where I wanted to be, or even myself to someone else – so wrong!

I learnt that it’s a mistake and that I was setting myself up for disappointment by aiming to be someone other than who I was. It’s great to have a role model, but honour the role, not the model. You are you. Own it and love it. The sooner you embrace this thinking, the sooner transformation begins.

I also found that setting small, achievable intentions kept me more ‘present’ with increased awareness of my progress.

Intentions, or goals, are a conscious clarication of why you are doing what you are doing. Clear intentions will help heighten awareness of your progress because you’re able to check in with your body, mind and spirit with regard to a very specic goal. Outside thoughts and ideas that don’t support your goals are easily identied and discarded when you keep your intention clear and remain present with it. It’s what you might call ‘cutting out the dead wood’!

We’ll be talking about goal setting very specifically in our eighth post. As I said earlier this week: “committing your thoughts and desires to paper is… a very powerful first step to achieving them”. Research has proven that people who define and write down their goals are much more likely to achieve them

Watch out for ‘expectations’ too, as they can throw the whole process into disarray. Honour where you are now, not where you want to be. Be present, stay here, not there. ‘Here’ will get you ‘there’!

Since changing my lifestyle for a healthier one, I have spent many years practising Tai Chi, which was a fabulous and gentle start to ‘exercising’, I later incorporated yoga into my schedule. As they say, once you start, it’s easy to want more. Another favourite of mine is the amazing ‘Tibetan Five’ exercises. I can do them every day and it only takes about 15 minutes, during which I am working every part of my body – and I love the fact that it has been know to ‘make you look younger!’

All of these practises were, and still are, great ways to gently move my physical body in ways which are powerful and transformative. I learnt how to use my breath –not just the very shallow regular breathing that we all do unconsciously, but deliberate deep cleansing breath, and I finally understood how to feel my ‘energy body’.

As I said above – it’s important that you find ways of exercising that work for you. It might be a walk to work, swimming, sports, dancing, gardening or a celebrity Get Fit DVD – you might actually enjoy the gym! Whatever your preferred way of getting moving it’s important to listen to your body.

* Remember to consult your medical practitioner before embarking on any weight loss or exercise regime, especially if you are not used to much exercise. If you have any concerns at all, your doctor will be able to advise you about the best ways to begin for you.

There’s no ‘task’ as such today, other than to start choosing what exercise you want to include in your week. Check out the links supplied and perhaps explore others until you find something that appeals to you, then diarise days and ways to include more exercise, jotting any ideas you have down in your journal. Begin to think about when you can do it, and who with, if appropriate.

This is a brilliant time to bring your ‘Mastermind Alliance’ into play – a friend or partner who will go swimming or to a dance class with you, will make it more fun, and you’re less likely to duck out of it on a whim.

If you do feel you need to start gently, I have spent some time looking through YouTube to track down some information for you. Below are some links for you to have a look at. As the titles show they range from breathing to stretching, even chair exercises and some of the aforementioned Tibetan Five.

I’d like to point out that I have used film clips which include people of older years because I want to highlight that anyone of us can do something!

What I do hope to achieve is imparting some inspiration. It worked for me, because I immediately after watching the film clips I went off and did the ‘Five Tibetans’ routine! Hmm, think I’ll go and do it again!

Relaxation Breathing Exercise

Stretching Relaxation Exercise

Easy Chair Exercises

Easy Chair Exercises 2
Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

Tibetan 5 Rites 1
Tibetan 5 Rites 2

I would love to hear you comments, or perhaps you have found further links that you would like to share.

Wishing you strong and flexible health today

Dawn