Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts
Showing posts with label choices. Show all posts

Sunday, 29 March 2020

The Quest For Healthier Beliefs

As a child one thing my folks were consistent in saying was wait until you're older, then you'll understand life. I didn't understand life then and I don't understand life now.
I was like most children growing up. At the very top of my wish list was to have fun, be happy, and enjoy life. That's what I thought life was all about. Now in my adult years I wish I could start over with a clean slate because my distorted thinking has caused distractions to my inner being.
We do ourselves justice when we look back over our lives and see how our habits and beliefs have robbed us of the ability to see reality.
The crime we punish ourselves with is seldom seen. So often we hurt ourselves by stubbornly refusing to change our thoughts and reactions. We often search our exterior looking for solutions that only come from within. Because we become so commitment to our beliefs, the only possible way to experience a break through is through an honest self inventory. If examined closely, a self inventory will show how our beliefs affect our daily lives.
What I've found is my problems and their accompanying solutions stored away inside my mind buried deep within my beliefs. My thoughts and actions based on beliefs that provided a false sense of self. Because I cherished my unhealthy beliefs the pain I felt during the examining process was unbearable at times.
In my re-examine process I used a shovel of spiritual truth and began digging deep within myself eventually overthrowing anything that was contrary to spiritual truth. It wasn't easy and took great practice and courage, but I knew it was the only thing that could convert me from the walking chaotic being I once was into the man I am today.
Years of compressing my feeling with denial, rationalization and justification had come to light. Because of my ability of being honest.
In our quest for healthier beliefs it's important that we approach one belief at a time. If we try to attack them all at once we can become overwhelmed with anxiety. As we do this we experience the comfort that only patients can offer. We must remember our purpose is to become healthy mentally so we can become healthy spiritually and physically.
Our distorted beliefs will eventually become our reality. We began to make choices based on how we think things are instead of on what is. Wisdom has taught me to look at the evidences. Our responsibility is to start and finish a quest that can only be done by ourselves. A mentally and spiritual journey that bring a happier and joyful you, start by adopting healthier beliefs.
Article Source: http://www.streetarticles.com/mind-body-spirit/the-quest-for-healthier-beliefshttp://www.streetarticles.com/mind-body-spirit/the-quest-for-healthier-beliefs

Wednesday, 18 March 2020

10 Benefits of Knowing Your Purpose

"To love what you do and feel that it matters-how could anything be more fun?" ~ Katharine Graham

What is so important about having a purpose in life? Increasingly, people are looking for something more than just "making a living." They're realizing that there seems to be something missing in their lives and they're experiencing an inner sense of dissatisfaction. Many outwardly successful people describe feeling "off-track" in some way or a sense of being incomplete. That missing something is a sense of purpose.
Without purpose, we may drift through directionless and unfulfilled. According to business psychologist and psychotherapist Douglas La Bier, "The consequences of not finding your purpose include chronic, lingering dissatisfaction; an absence of inner peace and a sense of not being fully in sync with your inner self."
Here are some of the benefits of connecting with and pursuing your purpose:
1. It gives you control over your own direction in life. You stop following the "shoulds" of family and society and set your own course for what you want to do with your life.
2. You're more likely to have a healthier outlook on life and be more resistant to stress.
3. You have more focus in life, making choices based on what's meaningful to you.
4. You have a greater sense of inner peace and satisfaction as you align with what you were "made for."
5. You live more in the flow of life, rather than in struggle. This isn't to say there aren't challenges but when you have a sense of meaning and purpose the challenges don't seem as large and you get through them more quickly and easily. You're better able to handle the ups and downs of life. *
6. You enjoy more satisfying relationships. A 2009 study of over 1,000 adults found that those with a high sense of meaning in their lives spent more time and attention on their loved ones and communities. They were more engaged with their families, neighbors and colleagues.
7. It redefines what success means to you. It's not about climbing the corporate ladder, a particular title or how much money you make. This isn't to say you can't make good money. When you're doing what you love you are actually more aligned to everything you want, including financial abundance. It simply means that the usual markers of success in our society are not as important as the inner satisfaction of how you're spending your time. Success is defined by what brings you joy.
8. You'll love knowing what you're doing is making a contribution to the larger whole. When you're "on purpose" you'll be doing what you love and utilizing your talents in a way that adds more positive energy to the world. Serving more than your own self-interest connects you to your higher self. It opens your heart and summons your spirit.
9. Your overall happiness increases and you have more of a zest for life!
10. Having a sense of purpose can help you live longer! **
If you've connected with your purpose, congratulations! You're already reaping the rewards of "doing what you love and feeling that it matters." Whatever it is that you've found, if it is your passion and has meaning for you, it does matter.
If you're still wondering what your purpose is, I encourage you to explore the possibilities. What do you love to do? What talents and skills do you enjoy using? You may want to enlist the help of a coach to go deeper. The world is waiting for your unique gifts!
* From Ed Diener's research on the science of wellbeing.
** From researcher Patrick Hill of Carleton University, Canada. Published in "Psychological Science," a journal of the Association for Psychological Science
Estra Roell is a certified Law of Attraction Life Coach, certified Life Purpose Coach, Advanced PSYCH-K® facilitator and Happiness Generator Facilitator. Estra helps clients get in touch with their passions and purpose and assists them to uncover and remove any blockages or old patterns that may be holding them back from living a life of joy, purpose and abundance. Estra is also a co-author of the books "101 Great Ways to Enhance Your Career" and "How to Create a Rich, Successful and Fulfilling Life." She's the author of the e-book, "4 Keys to Living Your Life Purpose."
Visit her website at http://www.americaslifepurposecoach.com/ to receive her free report on "Visioning Your Purpose and Heading Toward it Today." Sign up for a free "Life Purpose Strategy Session" at http://www.americaslifepurposecoach.com/strategy-session.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10237778

Tuesday, 3 March 2020

How Changing Your Mindset Can Change Your Life

If you have been struggling to lose weight, improve a relationship, find a new job or just have more fun, the answer may be in your mindset. Mindset is a concept developed over a decade ago by Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck through her research to understand how people cope with failures. Dweck defines mindset as the view we adopt of ourselves and proved that it can profoundly affect how we live our lives. She found that people generally fall into two categories, those with a fixed mindset and those with a growth mindset. A "fixed" mindset suggests that our intelligence, ability and personality are carved in stone and do not change much over our lifetime. An example of this mindset might be "I am not athletic"" or "I am a math person" which suggest that these traits can't change. The downside to a "fixed" mindset is these kinds of beliefs limit personal growth. By contrast, a "growth" mindset suggests that individuals have basic abilities but can develop and cultivate these and other abilities or intelligence and talents through effort and strategies. This view allows for potential to grow and opens us to greater possibility and success. Adopting a growth mindset can improve all areas of life from personal to professional. Changing from a fixed mindset to a growth can be accomplished through three steps.
Three Steps to Grow Your Mindset
According to Dweck, a growth mindset is based on the belief that we can change throughout our lifetime. While changing our beliefs can be challenging, the growth mindset can be developed in small steps.
  1. Awareness of how we think. The first step is to become aware of our behavior. When we tune into our thoughts and start to notice our reaction to challenges, criticism and setbacks, we can notice patterns where we are stuck. Challenges, criticism and setbacks are roadblocks with a fixed mindset. For example, a fixed mindset reaction to a difficult challenge is to question whether we can succeed. If we don't think we can, why would we try only to fail. For instance, the thought "I am not going to volunteer to help my boss with that project because I am not sure I have all the skills. If I fail, I will look like a fool in front of my co-workers" is limiting the possibility for growth. In addition, constructive criticism is taken as an affront and a typical "fixed" mindset response is to become defensive and feel like a failure. "I can't believe she told me my paper needed work. I am a horrible writer." Setbacks can be a reason to give up because they reinforce our belief that we did not have the ability in the first place. "I auditioned and didn't get a part. I knew I wasn't a good singer."

  2. Choice, The second step is to take this awareness and begin to see each of these is a choice. While it is comfortable to stay with our habitual responses, growth occurs when we make choices to change our limiting beliefs. A limiting belief keeps us in a safe zone but also keeps us from growth. For example, if my limiting belief is "I can never lose weight because my parents were overweight", why try at all? This choice is to default to limiting thoughts. Or in the setback example of not being selected because of lack of natural ability, the response is a choice to give up because I "failed" and my ability is fixed. The growth choice requires more effort to stretch our abilities or maybe change the strategy.

  3. Challenge the belief. The final step is to challenge the belief as it comes up. To challenge these beliefs, it is important to see challenges, criticism or setbacks as opportunity for growth. For instance, in the above example of the audition "although I did not get this part, I learned about the audition process and I will continue to take voice lessons because it is important to me and I enjoy it. I might not get a part the next time I will keep trying new strategies. I can ask for feedback and see how I might improve." The shift from focusing solely on the result to enjoying the process to critical with a growth mindset. In addition, being open to feedback helps us develop much more than seeing it as a failure. Dweck suggests incorporating the phrase "I am not there yet" instead of "I failed" to stay encouraged to keep trying. As Henry Ford said "whether you think you can or think you can't - you are right!"
Liz Brown PCC is a Certified Life, Wellness, ADHD and Recovery Coach. As the owner of Be Well Life Coaching LLC she helps individuals and groups navigate life changes through coaching and workshops. Visit http://www.bewelllifecoaching.com for more information.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9763032https://ezinearticles.com/?How-Changing-Your-Mindset-Can-Change-Your-Life&id=9763032