Posts filed under 'Positive Thinking'
I enjoy motivational quotes and things which keep me mindful of staying on-track to improve myself and develop new skills.
At my office I had some dead space on a cork board since I use whiteboards pretty exclusively.
So I thought, “Why don’t I create some quick little motivational cards I can print out to pin up on my cork board?” I had a 4″ x 6″ photo printer and a little free time, so I whipped up a batch that looked reasonably good arrainged in a 3×3 grid.
Once the cards were up people around the office commented on them. Some asked where I bought them, some asked where the quotes came from. They became a little conversation piece. Hopefully they had a positive influence on others in the office.
So I decided to share them everyone.
(click to enlarge)
There are 9 cards in total and they’re sized to print and look pretty good on 4″ x 6″ photo paper.
I hope you enjoy them and I hope they have a positive influence on the people around you!
Click to download SuccessMinders-Motivation-Cards.zip for yourself.
May 24th, 2006
Everyday as I drive to and from work I pass a small house that’s been converted into an office. There is a sign in the front yard, right by the road, with the company name and below that a place for those gas-station-style letters.
There is always a positive quote or saying on the sign. Every three or four days there is a new saying.
The company isn’t a sales-training firm, marketing firm, dot-com venture or any of the other types of businesses you might think would do something unique like this. The company is Metzler Plumbing and Heating.
For the last three years I’ve driven past this sign - twice a day - and been positively influenced by it. The owners don’t know me, I don’t have any sort of business relationship with the company - yet they’ve found a way to reach me - and in a positive way to boot!
How often do you have an influence on other people? The answer is “all the time” unless you live a hermit’s life with no human contact at all.
But how often are you not even aware of the influence you have on other people? Everything we do and say speaks to others about the quality and content of our character and our beliefs. It’s up to us to choose to be mindful of our influence.
The truly enlightened are not only mindful of their influence, they go out of their way to make sure their influence is positive, uplifting, and constructive - even when there is no direct connection. This is certainly the case with the owners of Metzler Plumbing and Heating.
As I was writing this article, I realized that it applies to me too. If I’m going to promote SuccessMinders as a resource for success-minded people, I have to be mindful of my influence on people not only at this web site, but at any other web community in which I participate.
It’s the same philosophy as being nice to everyone with whom you interact, because you never know who you’ll meet. Have you ever realized - after an introduction and your first impression has been made - who the person really was? You probably spent the next few seconds racking your brain, trying to make sure your impression and introduction was positive (i.e. you had a positive influence).
Being mindful of your influence is the first step. You should know how you reach and touch people within your sphere of influence (as big or small as it may be). The second step is making sure that in that sphere of influence you’re a positive influence!
Being a positive influence can be easy or it can be difficult. It all depends on you and whether you have people who positively influence you. There is no such thing as “winning” the game of life - there is always another obstacle to overcome or a bigger goal to achieve, or a higher notch you can set when you raise the bar.
It’s easy when you have your own positive influence network building you up. There are people in my life that don’t just make small talk or complain about their latest defeat in life. They put the question to me and ask if I’m on track with my goals, how I’m doing in school, how this web site is going. They’re encouraging and supportive and have a direct positive impact on me. When I’ve spent more time around these people, I find it much easier myself to turn around and try to encourage and build up the other people in my life.
It ends up being a big circle, where each person is pulled up and built up by those that positively influence them, and then in turn they pull up and build up others in their sphere of influence. And think how powerful it is when you can pull up and build up people en masse.
Today’s message on Metzler’s sign was a good one and one that I was able to personally take to heart, so I am sharing it here with you; “Always keep your promises — to both your friends and foes alike!”
Remember to be aware that you always influence those around you even if you’re not aware of it!
February 26th, 2006
I’ve always been a fan of naps. They make you feel great (if you don’t sleep to long) and they’re easy to do almost anywhere you can get quiet for a short period of time (on your lunch break, etc.).
I’ve also been intrigued by self-hypnosis as a tool to enhance personal development. I dabbled in it years ago and was able to get to the point where I could - through relaxation and meditation - get myself into a light suggestive state. I never had any major break-through with self-hypnosis though, and because of that I let my interest in its possibilities wane.
I just discovered an interesting piece of software that promises to blend power-napping with subconscious suggestion and NLP to provide the refreshing power of a nap with the benefits of developing and improving yourself.
Is it a bunch of hooey? I don’t know…yet.
My plan is to use this system for a month and see if I notice any significant changes in my behavior, attitude, personal development, or just in how I feel.
The software is called Pzizz (download their free trial to check it out yourself). I don’t have any affiliation with this company, I found them while out surfing the Internet and their software piqued my interest.
I would be interested in hearing from any of you if you’ve used their software before and what experience you had with it. Please post a comment or use the contact form to get in touch with me.
Happy napping!
February 7th, 2006
Have you ever thought to yourself, “I can’t do that because…” - if so you might be letting your limiting beliefs hold you back from achieving your full potential.
Limiting beliefs are negative thoughts and images that have been drilled into our heads by friends, foes, loved ones, and society. Our brains are big computers, so we install them right along with positive or empowering beliefs.
Once a limiting belief has taken hold you don’t notice it often, but when it shows itself it’s power is surprisingly strong.
So how do you let limiting beliefs get installed and what can you do to uninstall them?
Many of our limiting beliefs don’t come from ourselves, they come from well meaning people who don’t realize they’re setting up a negative association. A parent who cautions a child, “If you don’t get a college education you’ll never get a good job!” is well meaning, but without follow up and support they can inadvertently install a limiting belief that there is no good job available for the person who didn’t attend college.
A friend might install a limiting belief by telling you, “You can’t make a living selling your artwork.”
A spouse might install a limiting belief by telling you, “Are you crazy? You can’t quit your job and start your own company. We can’t lose your steady paycheck!”
Pretty soon, if these statements are reinforced over and over, you’ll start to believe them whether they’re true or not!
You might even self-sabotage if you find yourself in a situation that isn’t congruent with your beliefs. If you do quit your job and start your own business, but you believe that it’s crazy because of a limiting belief, it’s possible you’ll subconsciously work against yourself so you eventually get back to a place where your situation is congruent with your beliefs.
If you do something when a limiting belief is telling you the exact opposite of what you’re doing, one of three things is going to happen:
1) You’ll self-sabotage your success and when the business fails it will reinforce your limiting belief, creating a self-sustaining feedback loop which makes the limiting belief even stronger!
2) You’ll get sick because your reality and your beliefs are not congruent. You will get yourself into a state where you’ll physically be ill and you will work to get yourself out of this state.
3) You’ll realize that your liming belief is self-imposed and not really such a limit after all. You’ll break through your belief and be successful. You might even install a new belief that says, “Working for myself is great! I don’t have to be chained to someone else’s schedule and I decide when and how I can earn money.”
Number two is the worst option above; I speak from personal experience. About three years ago I was presented with a business opportunity that looked great on the surface. It involved spending nearly 100% of the partners’ time on the phone, selling. I had done cold-calls in the past, and I wasn’t uncomfortable on sales calls; it looked like a good product and a good business idea. So I started calling, and calling, and calling.
But I had a limiting belief that said, “People don’t like to get bothered with sales calls.” I certainly didn’t like receiving sales calls, and I figured no one else would either. In this case I had a self-inflicted limiting belief.
I was uneasy the first two weeks of making calls, but I told myself that I just needed to get used to dialing and hearing, “No!” all day long - I would get better. By the fifth week I knew I was in trouble. I still wasn’t comfortable with 8 hours of rejection and I wasn’t okay with making sales calls; my reality was way out of line with my beliefs! I was physically sick to my stomach at the thought of getting out of bed and facing another day of making calls. I would sit at my desk and my hand would shake a little as I reached for the phone. It was awful. The business which looked so good on paper wasn’t working out quite like we thought it would, and I wasn’t able to mentally rectify my beliefs with my reality and it was making my ill.
My partners and I talked about it, and I told them I couldn’t do the job. They asked me to step out and I did. The moment I was “out” I felt a huge weight lift, my life was once again in balance. I no longer had to struggle with my reality out of line with my beliefs.
With this opportunity I wasn’t able to make the break through, step out of my comfort zone and realign myself to overcome my limiting beliefs. You can also see that in this case my limiting beliefs completely held me back from achieving my goals.
What limiting beliefs do you have that are keeping you from realizing your potential? I know you have some, everyone does. A better question is, how do you get rid of these limiting beliefs?
A belief is any cognitive content held as true. Beliefs can be based on fact and truth; I believe I will not fall off the Earth because I believe in gravity (which has been proven scientifically). Beliefs can also be based on conjecture and feeling; I believe in a supreme being because it makes me feel “good” inside (which cannot be proven scientifically).
So to change a belief you just have to change how you view that cognitive content; simple right? If only it were! Our brains are computers, but they’re pattern-based computers. Our brains love to find patterns in everything, numbers, shapes, beliefs. You name it and we pattern it. Our brain physically changes as these patterns get reinforced; new neural pathways are formed and our beliefs are literally hardwired into our brains! Our beliefs become habits and just like it can be difficult to change a habit; it can be difficult to change a belief.
Logic can help a little. Take for example the belief some have, “If you don’t get a college degree, you won’t get a good job.” Really? If you have this limiting belief, I can guarantee you know someone with a good job, maybe a great job who doesn’t have a college degree. So it’s not true in reality that you have to have a college degree to get a good job. Logically this belief is flawed - why not just get rid of it?
Logic isn’t nearly as powerful as emotions to humans. We tie emotions deeply to everything we do and experience. We also want to avoid pain and gain pleasure. If you have a belief you want to eliminate, logically knowing it’s false is a good start, but if you can tie emotional pain to the belief you stand a much better change of eliminating it.
You have to reach a point where you get your belief and reality so incongruent that the pain of keeping the belief is more painful than not keeping the belief. You need to use visualization and logic and experience and other, positive beliefs to build up this pain around your limiting beliefs. You really want the limiting belief to fester and boil just below the surface of your conscious, and you want to keep pressure on yourself that the belief is invalid and needs to be replaced.
And you need to be ready with a replacement belief that’s positive and uplifting! When you finally apply enough pain to keeping your limiting belief and you finally get incongruent enough your brain will just let it go. It wants to experience that relief you get - that weight lifting - and the only way to get it is to remove the belief. When this happens, you’ll have a void where your belief was and your brain will be ready to stick something into that void.
If you’re not ready with a positive and beneficial belief to fill that void, chances are you’ll end up with a new limiting belief!
You have to get clear on what you want before you get rid of what you don’t want. Your replacement belief might be, “I use my unique talents to make myself attractive and valuable to employers.”
Because beliefs are installed just like habits, you need to keep reinforcing your new belief. If you only plant the seed your new belief will probably not take root. If you spend time for at least thirty days reflecting on your new belief as you review your goals, you’ll not only plant the seed, you’ll water and fertilize it too!
Steps to remove a limiting belief:
1) Identify how the belief is flawed. It’s only a belief because you think it’s true. Figure out a way to think it’s false.
2) Tie emotional pain to keeping the belief. By nature we move away from pain as quickly as possible. Make sure that keeping the belief will trigger large amounts of emotional pain for yourself!
3) Be crystal clear on a replacement belief! Once you’ve tied enough pain to your limiting belief and your mind lets it go, it will be looking for a new belief to replace the pattern. If you’re not clear on a positive belief to fill this void you can end up with another limiting belief!
4) Constantly review your new, positive belief. Just planting a new belief isn’t enough, you need to spend time (at least a month) reviewing your new belief on a daily basis to make sure it “sticks.” A good way to do this is to write your belief on an index card and read it aloud twice a day; in the morning when you get up and in the evening before you go to bed!
January 5th, 2006
There is a fancy sounding term I like; reticular activator. You have one, I have one, everyone has one. It’s a little part of your brain that focuses in on the things you tell your mind to pay attention to. It’s your mind’s filtering mechanism. When you consciously (or subconsciously) think about things, it’s your reticular activator that filters out examples of what you’re thinking about and brings them to the front of your conscious.
If you’re thinking about buying a new car and you’re really drooling over a new VW Beetle, you’ll very likely notice them everywhere you go. If you just bought a new leather jacket you really wanted, you’ll very likely notice everyone else seems to be wearing leather jackets too.
If you’re sitting at home reading in your living room, you’re probably aware that your kids are playing with the dog, that you wife is in the kitchen and that the TV is on in the den, but you’re not really focusing on any of these inputs - they’re filtered out. Though if your daughter falls and starts crying you’ll be instantly aware of it.
This is your reticular activator at work. It can not only help filter in, but it can filter out as well. If you understand how it works, you can use literally use what you think about to shape yourself.
Years ago there was a sign hanging in the computer lab of my high school; it read “Garbage In, Garbage Out” and was there as a reminder that a computer was only as good or as “smart” as the person putting data into it.
We don’t think about it much, but our brain is really just an incredibly powerful computer running software we call our mind. If we ask the right questions we’ll rarely fail to get a good answer from our mind. If we input bad data, our mind will process it and produce bad results. We too can be the victims of “garbage in, garbage out.”
And this garbage will literally drag your personal performance into the trash (no pun intended).
How? When you put in bad data you mind starts to setup limiting beliefs. When someone tells you, “You can’t start your own business, you’re too young.” or you hear, “You can’t get a promotion, you don’t have a degree.” you’re getting garbage as an input. If you don’t use your reticular activator to focus on other, positive inputs your mind will happily work on processing the garbage.
Then it spits out a result - a limiting belief - and suddenly you believe you really can’t start a business because you’re too young!
So how do you use your reticular activator to focus on good inputs to your mind and eliminate bad inputs?
The first step is to start “feeding” your mind with positive material; information that will help you develop new skills or reinforce skills you already have. For me, the easiest way to “eat” this positive material is through books. Audio programs are a good way to bring positive and useful material into your routine. I usually alternate between talk radio (I’m an NPR junkie) and audio books when I’m in the car.
The second step is to be aware that people will feed you “garbage” without meaning to. You need to be aware that this negativity exists out there and be ready to stop listening to it when you notice it. Again, use your reticular activator to tune out negative inputs.
The third step is to create positive inputs and suggestions that you constantly review. There are a lot of books out there that will tell you to write your desires over and over or to use positive talk to achieve your goals. I don’t believe that either of these processes alone will cause you to succeed, but when used in conjunction with good (written) goal setting and the regular input of positive material these positive suggestions can help you enhance what your achievements already are telling you.
Using these tools, and being aware that your mind will readily work on any input you let your reticular activator focus on, you can “think” yourself into becoming what you have outlined in your goals and focused your mind towards.
January 3rd, 2006
