Is Your “Altitude” Determined By Your Attitude?

Posted on August 16, 2009 by admin

Keith A. Shaw, of http://www.MindBodySpiritCentral.com is an authority on motivation, success, qigong, self improvement, health and happiness. For more “secret recipes” on how to win at any game, no matter how challenging, see my website to order my Powerful Motivation and Success Systems.

Are you currently where you want to be in life?

Do you have control over your life?

Are you getting what you want out of life?

Are you winning, (or losing)?

If you can not answer “YES” to any of the four questions above then perhaps you need to take a good look in the eyes of the reflection in the mirror (yes, I mean you!).

I will bet the problem is your attitude. Not just for today, but for tomorrow and the next day, and so on. It all comes down to what I call the “attitude of your mind”. The attitude of your mind affects many things including the expressions of your face and impacts your internal and external physical health – it controls and regulates your entire being.

And there’s more. Your attitude determines and fuels your actions. You must realize that every action you take, no matter how big or how small, defines everything that you achieve in life. If you want to lead a great life, you have to take great actions.

As you prepare yourself to take great actions and steps toward what you want everyday, you must begin to condition your self to always having and maintaining a great attitude.

Think how much better you would be at everything you do, if you had a great attitude toward life. For example, if you practiced being respectful to others, no matter how they treat you, you become more respected. If you practiced looking for the good in others, you would begin to attract more of the good in others. If you practiced smiling more often, you will see more people smiling back at you.

Anything you do repeatedly becomes a habit – either good or bad. There are some people that have conditioned themselves to be cynical and negative. They always question things and doubt things will work as planned. They tend to be very pessimistic and would be considered a naysayer.

At this point many of you, especially those who have painstakingly built your life around negative habits like those above may ask: “How can I improve the attitude of my mind? How can I, after months and years of crushing defeats and of going through the motions, suddenly develop and implement a plan for doing something that will create a positive change in my current situation and make my life more satisfying?”

The answer is that it can always happen, and others just like you have done so when they have taken action.

Even if you consider yourself just an average Joe (or Mary), you can taste the delicious flavor of success, become independent from your shackles, free yourself and loved ones of worry, and become the master of your own destiny, forever if you can commit to do these things.

1) Become forever dissatisfied with what you are doing and forget the things that have happened to you in the past. 2) Know that the word IMPOSSIBLE was not intended for you. 3) Build confidence in your mind that enables you to realize your full potential.

Instead of negativity, which is a reflection on your self, what if you tried these attitude adjustments? Imagine that every time you got out of bed to face the day, you said “YES” with an eager and enthusiastic attitude. Every time you met someone you looked for the good in them. What if you spent more time thinking about what you do want, rather than what you don’t want?

You must condition your attitude everyday for making it a great day. By doing this, you’ll soon develop great habits that will have a positive impact on both your personal and professional life.

Integrity: Essential to Effortless Creative Flow

Posted on August 15, 2009 by admin

“This above all; to thine own self be true.” – William Shakespeare

What is integrity?

What does it mean to be in integrity?

If you look up the word “integrity” in the dictionary you will learn that it comes from the Latin word, “integer” which means “whole”. Integrity is an unreduced or unbroken completeness, wholeness, totality, incorruptibility. It is an unimpaired condition and the quality or state of being complete and undivided. Integrity is found in a state of being who you are and, allowing others the same right.

When you are “in integrity” you are in alignment with who you are at your deepest core; your truth. In any area of your life where you struggle your thoughts and actions are out of integrity, you are not behaving in alignment with who you are.

“The voice within is what I’m married to. All marriage is a metaphor for that marriage. My lover is the place inside me where an honest yes and no come from. That’s my true partner. It’s always there. And to tell you yes when my integrity says no is to divorce that partner.” – Byron Katie

To live in alignment, in integrity with who you are you:

Speak what you know to be true even if it may cause conflict. Ask for what you need and want from others. Behave according to your personal values. Make decisions based on what is true for you, not the beliefs of others. When you are in integrity with who you are, life flows seemingly effortlessly. When you are acting in ways that are not in alignment with your truth you don’t feel good. You may be frustrated or upset. You may think less of yourself and beat yourself up over the choices you have made.

“But what is happiness except the simple harmony between a man and the life he leads?” – Albert Camus

You continue to create your experiences through the thoughts, emotions, choices and actions that you take. Be mindful of your daily thoughts. Are they in alignment with who you are? Be mindful of what words come after your sentences beginning with “I am”. As an artist, for example, if you notice that you often say to yourself, “I’m not creative enough”, then you are out of alignment. You are not in integrity with who you are. And it is in this state of being out of alignment that you feel that you are not enough.

I’ll state it again because it is that important: You continue to create your experiences through the thoughts, emotions, choices and actions that you take. If your thought is “I’m not creative enough.” then you will create more experiences of not being creative enough. When you notice a thought that is out of alignment turn it around. Change “I’m not creative enough.” to “I’m a creative person in the process of creating.”. Truth is, you are a creative person – albeit a creative person holding herself back at the moment with a misguided, out of integrity, thought. Be mindful of what you say to yourself and others. Be mindful whether or not those statements are in or out of alignment with who you are. Think and act in integrity with who you are and observe how your life transforms from one of struggle to creative flow.

Every day you make a bajillion choices. Stay in bed for another few minutes or get up and greet the day? Start or continue to work on your project or act upon a distraction? Fries or Salad? Go to the audition or stay home? Promote your work or give up because of ‘the economy’? Plastic or Paper? Yes or No?

Choices require decisions. A state of indecision is a decision. Is there a decision you are about to make that might be in conflict with your integrity? How can you tell if a decision is out of integrity with who you are?

It’s simple, really. Just ask yourself a few questions and you’ll know whether or not the decision you made is in integrity with who you are.

How do I feel about the decision I just made? Do I think more or less of myself having made this decision? Is this decision based upon ‘should’ or ‘supposed to’ beliefs of others? Is this decision in alignment with my greater good? Who will I be having made this decision? “Through pride we are ever deceiving ourselves. But deep down below the surface of the average conscience a still, small voice says to us, ‘Something is out of tune.” – Carl Jung

If you genuinely care about what you create for your future and want to live in authenticity with who you are you must take responsibility for your thoughts, emotions, decisions, actions and outcomes, which result in your experiences. Honor your soul with choices that are in integrity, in alignment with who you are.

Make sure your words and your actions are congruent. Know what you know. Know that you know what you know. Know that you know what you know what you know. And be true to that knowingness. Your internal wisdom. Your intuition. The Wizard Within.

“Integrity is what we do, what we say, and what we say we do.” – Don Galer

Pay attention to what you say to yourself and others. Be mindful whether or not those statements are in or out of alignment with who you are. Think and act in integrity with who you are and observe how your life transforms from one of struggle to creative flow.

Valery Satterwhite is an Artist Mentor who specializes in empowering creative people in the visual and performing arts how to to create more profoundly, more prolifically, and more profitably. Valery spent years developing and implementing a proven unique “Inner Wizard” methodology to empower other creative people to express their full potential. To learn more go to http://www.InnerWizard.com . Get Free “Artist Resource/Marketing Directory” too!

Turbo Charge Your Life With The Power Of A Positive Attitude

Posted on August 13, 2009 by admin

Your Attitude Is Everything! When it comes to what you accomplish in life, your attitude is everything. It can be the reason for your success, or the cause for your failure. Your attitude can bring you down and take others with you.

Having a negative attitude can cause depression, and leads to lack of focus, and will ultimately cause you to do things you didn’t mean to do, simply because you may not even realize it was going to impact you or anyone else.

When you have a negative attitude you may have a tendency to lash out at people especially those you love and care about. Do you ever find yourself going on and on about something, and not getting anything accomplished. When you realize this, you’re even more negative because you’re getting further and further behind.

When you have a positive attitude you can reap the rewards through success, happiness, and what you’ll be able to gain. A positive attitude will help you reach new levels in your job, your business, and in your life. If you have a desire to succeed, you’ll be able to reach for the stars as long as you have a winning attitude.

One way to reach your goals and dreams is to keep a positive attitude. When you do this and keep an eye on the future, you will reach your goals and dreams. But, the only way this will happen is for you to stay positive. Even when you think your goals and dreams are so far out there, that you will never reach them. Remember, its one step at a time. Baby steps if you will. When you look at it that way, it won’t look so far away and you will have the attitude of a winner.

One of the only ways to make sure you stay positive no matter what happens is to teach your mind to stay this way. It’s no different than remembering the multiplication table or how to read a book. You teach yourself to do that and then you don’t forget. You may have to do a refresher every once in a while, but you can do it.

Remind yourself that you need to stay positive, put yourself around positive people, and do things that are positive. This will help you stay out of the negative side of life. Granted this won’t always work, but it will help. You can’t always be around positive people, but if you stay positive even when they are around, you will be better off.

Staying positive and having a positive attitude will help you in more ways than you will ever know. You will have a better outlook on life, you will have things that you want, and you will reach your goals in life. When you are negative, more than likely, these things won’t happen for you. A positive attitude is everything and you should always have one. You will be a much happier person when you do.

Linda Hampton RN, MSN a Wellness and Stress Management Breakthrough Life Coach is the publisher of Transition Your Life, a free 5-part ecourse full of revealing information to help you deal with the stressful changes in your life. For your ecourse and complimentary newsletter, drop by http://www.transitionyourlife.com

Don’t Waste Your Time Setting Goals!

Posted on August 13, 2009 by admin

A currently popular idea in the fitness world is the whole business of setting goals. I believe that much of this stuff is filtering down from the corporate world. We’re told by books and trainers that we need to write down our goals and then break them down into sub-goals and then make sure that they’re S.M.A.R.T.(“specific”, “measurable”, “attainable”, “realistic” and “time related”) and all that kind of stuff.

I think ideas like this are good in certain contexts. They certainly work in the business world and other environments. But I personally believe it’s a waste of time when you’re starting an exercise program. In fact, I’ll go as far as saying that I believe that most of the popular “motivational stuff” like visualisations, affirmations and even goal-setting itself – is a waste of time. At best, it’s overrated.

When I was transforming my body, I did a huge amount of research, and that meant reading a lot of books on sports, health, fitness, self-improvement and nutrition. And I do mean a lot! I’m always thankful that I’m a speed-reader; it’s a skill well worth developing. Anyway, what I noticed about all these books was that the ones I liked the least were the ones with a lot of preparatory homework in the beginning. One diet book wanted me to spend a week writing down everything I ate before I even got to start the diet plan. A self-help book wanted me to spend that week writing down and analysing my thoughts and feelings and heaven knows what else. And an exercise book advised me to write out a statements like “I radiate health and happiness!” on a card every day and carry them around with me.

I didn’t want to do any of this; I just wanted to get started!

Perhaps for some people, this kind of preparation can be useful. But for many – myself included – it’s a sure way to get trapped in what’s known as paralysis by analysis: endlessly researching, analysing and planning stuff, but never actually, you know, doing it. I bet that most books like this end up gathering dust on a shelf, or being sold on eBay, having never been read beyond the first or second chapters.

The premise behind all the conventional fitness goal-setting and motivation stuff seems to be that we need to be, well, motivated. That we’re short on desire and we need to find ways to make ourselves want something. Personally, I think that’s nonsense. You may be reading this article because you wanted to look and feel younger, to become more attractive, or to have a better quality of life. Whatever. The point is, I’m sure that you already know what you want. You don’t need to spend days writing it down and analysing the hell out of it! And you don’t need to walk around repeating mantras to yourself either.

So does this article mean that I’m against having goals? Not at all. But just don’t go overboard. Don’t get S.M.A.R.T.; get smart. Just get someone to show you a good program, and then start it! That’s the only goal you need to set. The rest will take care of itself.

Dr. Nick Hallale created The Apollo Program after reviving the methods used by ancient Greek athletes to develop the perfect body. For more information on the program that transformed him from weak blob to Greek god, please visit the Apollo Program website: http://www.Apollo-Program.com

What Normal People Want

Posted on August 8, 2009 by admin

I know that people are constantly striving to get more out of life. I know that many people wish for, hope for, want for more success, more happiness, more wealth. But wishing, hoping and wanting something is simply a useless mental activity – a waste of energy – because the only thing that will get you what you want is beyond wishing, hoping and wanting – it’s believing. More of that later! For now, if you really look around and observe the behaviour of so-called normal people, you will discover what normal people really want – they want you to be normal too.

There is nothing more threatening to the normal state of mind than someone who’s different – in particular, someone who is abnormally happy and successful. It’s not so much that normal people are jealous of abnormal success – they actually want to take the abnormally successful person down.

One of the biggest issues that my clients have to face following my two-day personal development workshop is that, even though they have learned to become abnormal, even though they have learned (from a vast array of research stretching back over seventy years) that so-called normal people are actually totally and completely mad, when they venture back out into the ordinary, everyday so-called real world, almost everyone the encounter will be normal – will be insane.

A brief aside – because stating that normal people are insane requires an explanation! Here are some quick facts. About 96% of us are normal – we behave according to and conform to a variety of behavioural and social norms. Normal people control about 1% of their mind – in other words, they are only capable of paying 1% attention to what is going on in the present moment. Normal people’s reactions and behaviours are automatically created by their subconscious minds which were programmed through snapshot learning during their formative years. In other words, the subconscious mind controls the normal person – not the other way around. If you’re not in control of your own mind, surely that’s a definition of madness!

There’s more – societal norms tell us that we must work hard to be a success, that there are many outstanding things in life that only outstanding people can achieve – not normal people. Research proves that normal people only see what they expect to see, only perceive what they expect to perceive. In other words, normal people wander through life with their eyes closed, their senses dimmed, their life confined to the box created for them by their key influences during their childhood years and by a society that needs normal people to conform – whether that’s a society driven by organised religion, the nation state or global corporate interests is a debate for some other day).

Back to my point – normal people want you to be normal. A client emailed me a couple of days ago saying that he had no problem opening, clearing and focusing his mind each morning – in preparation for the opportunities that every day holds for all of us. But, then, he’d get into work and be assaulted by normal people. People wanting to gossip (one of the greatest draws on our precious mental energy), people looking for a fight (“I deserve promotion”, “Someone’s getting involved where they shouldn’t be”, etc.) – and then he arrives home and is confronted by his teenage children – and, having three teenagers myself, it can often be difficult to remain calm, focused and effective!! All these everyday scenarios drag the calmest of minds into the dirt so that we end up reacting automatically all over again – and when did reacting make anything better!?!

You need to stop being normal – and, if you’ve started on the path towards being abnormal, you need to protect yourself against all those normal people who, unwittingly granted, was to drag you into their little dramas – want more of your attention, want you to make them feel important or better.

Why take the path that leads towards abnormality? Well, for starters, given my albeit very brief description of the normal mental state, do you really want to be normal? But, more to the point, you need to realise certain truths borne out by all the research that I’ve already mentioned. Anyone – and that includes you – can achieve the extra-ordinary and the exceptional. Anyone – and that, again, includes you, can achieve effortless happiness and success. You do not need to work hard to be a success. You need commitment, vision and belief – if you’ve got those, no work is difficult, no effort a strain.

The commitment you need is to your own state of mind. You need to cultivate and develop a clear, present and focused state of mind – a state of mind that is completely at odds with the normal cluttered, distracted mindlessness of normality. You need to commit to developing your ability to pay attention – not to your goals and dreams, but to the only time and place we have – the here and now. That means you pay more than 1% attention – that means you’re already exceptional.

You need to believe. Believing is not wishing, hoping or wanting. Believing is seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting the success you want, as if you already have it. Those five senses that you rarely pay attention to are the very tools by which you can enable yourself believe and, more importantly, the only tools you have at your disposal to pay attention to the here and now – to be present, to be “all there”, rather than “all over the place”.

Don’t want what normal people want – believe in the extra-ordinary.

Willie Horton’s acclaimed two-day personal development seminars have been running for thirteen years. He teaches that a clear and present state of mind creates extra-ordinary personal and business success. His vast expertise is now available in his Online Workshop at Gurdy.Net. His website also offers daily free personal development video seminars, articles and a Free Personal Development Ezine published every Monday morning.

How to Get Your Own Way

Posted on August 4, 2009 by admin

Are you an Action Man (or an Action Person, I suppose, to be politically correct!)? Because most of us are Reaction Men – and Reaction Women!! The normal mind is a highly-tuned, highly effective reactive mechanism. Evolutionary psychology proposes that we automatically react and behave to ordinary everyday events because we need to retain our key faculty of attention for the lion jumping out of the bushes to eat us! As if that was going to happen today!

The big problem with the manner in which our lives are driven by reactive behaviour is that, more often and not, that behaviour sets off an ongoing chain of events (a chain reaction if you will) that takes us further away from the kind of effortless happiness and success for which we all long. In other words, rather than getting your own way in life, you lose your way. Here’s how to ensure that you get what you want out of life, on your terms – because there is a wrong way to go about it (the normal way) and then, there’s The Way.

The Way (to get what you want out of life – in all its various facets, work, rest, play and pleasure) does not involve any form of habitual behaviour that saps your energy or distracts you from the important things you should be doing. Let’s take a simple example. There is no merit whatsoever in reading the inside pages of most daily newspapers that cover all the sordid details of domestic violence, sexual violence, robbery (the list is quite a long one) – because you’re simply wasting your time and energy when it could be far better spent.

The Way does not involve reactive behaviour at all. Generally speaking, when we react to something we make an already bad situation worse. Another couple of simple examples. Who amongst us has teenage children that, when screamed at (a reactive process), behave better? How many people spend their working lives “fire-fighting” when their energies would be better directed to preventing the fire in the first place? Indeed, how many people waste their time trying to put out fires that generally fizzle out on their own?

The Way does not involve entertaining or being entertained by useless thoughts. These thoughts come in all shapes and sizes – from wishing you were on the golf course (when you’re in a client meeting) to worry, frustration, self-doubt and anxiety.

The Way does involve: Meditation, A Clear and Focused Mind and Right Action. Each follows the other.

Meditation, like useless thought, comes in all shapes and sizes – from guided meditation to TM, from primordial sound meditation to unguided Vipassana. Indeed, I would contend that running or working out are forms of meditation if the mind is totally focused on the physical exercise involved. In fact, I believe that one of the most effective (but also difficult) forms of meditation is to simply sit and do nothing. The point is that “meditation” covers a multitude of all good things for the mind. Whatever form of meditation one cares to pursue, it calms the mind, diffuses the effects of useless thought and, most importantly, disciplines the mind for the rough and tumble of what follows – the normal everyday life.

Meditation’s discipline enables the practitioner develop a clarity and presence of mind that are simply not otherwise possible. This clarity and presence enables us to stop reacting and start acting – start, for perhaps the first time in our lives, to take real action, right action. With a clear and present mind, one immediately appreciates the difference between a constructive or creative thought, on the one hand, and the ravings of the normal mind, on the other. That same clarity and presence of mind enables us distinguish between time and energy wasters (both tasks and people) and those things to which we must devote our energies to be effective and efficient at what we are doing – at any particular moment in time.

Indeed, that’s what presence is – being fully (or more fully than the normal person who, research tells us, is only 1% present) present in the here and now, fully involved, fully engrossed in the task in hand – whatever the task in hand might be. This presence in the here and now doesn’t just enable us spot the important from the urgent or the vital from the superfluous – it enables us do the important and vital to the very best of our ability. That is what right action is – and there’s a world of difference between right action and reaction.

But even more than that, clarity, presence and right action lead us to a place where out abnormally high input of energy elicits a response from those around us (people positively respond to people with presence) and from the universe at large (quantum physics proves that this is very far removed from wishful thinking or fanciful hocus-pocus!) In other words, our clarity, presence and right action lead us in the direction of all the things, events and people we need to bring us towards the goals that our hearts desire. Now, that’s The Way!

Willie’s work in the area of self-improvement and meditation has been described as “life-changing” and “phenomenal” by clients from every walk of life. His acclaimed two-day personal development workshop is now available online at Gurdy.Net

The Motivational You

Posted on July 30, 2009 by admin

How does one self-motivate? Are there two parts of us – one that is the motivator and the other which needs to be motivated? Why does research suggests that most so-called “normal” people do not achieve their goals, dreams and ambitions? Why do the majority of people continue to do work that they dislike? Why does the World Health Organization believe that stress will be such a big 21st. Century killer? If you’re “normal” and you’re worried and stressed, feeling unfulfilled at work, how can you actually motivate yourself? And what would you be motivating yourself for? Why bother?

Lots of questions – but they all boil down to the key issue of the extent to which we need to be motivated – and that most of us are not! Even many of my own clients, who should know better, who own their own businesses and whose future is so much more in their own hands than the normal employee, tell me that they’re de-motivated, that they go into work knowing the key things that they have to do and yet they waste their time on doing things that they either shouldn’t be doing, or things that are downright destructive (like worrying about where new business will come from, like getting involved in the downward spiral of gossip about the economic environment, like gossiping about their competitors) – things that lead them away from their hopes and dreams. As a result, they end up more de-motivated than ever.

But back to that one key issue – the need for self-motivation and, in particular, one of my very first questions above – who is doing the motivating and who needs to be motivated.

Everyone needs to get a kick out of life – if at all possible, every day. Years of psychological and market research that most people only rarely experience any high in their lives and that, generally, it is short lived. As a result, the majority of us, so-called normal people, trudge through our regular routines wishing for and hoping for our next high – whether that’s looking forward to the weekend, the next night out or holiday. But in our ordinary everyday routine lives we are less than happy – less than fully motivated.

The truth is that there are two parts of us – our inner pure energy and our personality – and these two internal elements are locked in battle. As a result, we strive for, hope for, wish for a better life, more success and happiness, but we actually trip ourselves up in the pursuit of our hopes and dreams. It is our personality – the part of us with which we are all so familiar – that holds us back, that stops us being fully motivated, that disables our true inner abilities to achieve great things, to live our ordinary lives extraordinarily. As I said, we’re all very familiar with our personality – our strengths, our faults and our failings.

However, when my clients explore their self-perceptions, many of them find that they can actually recollect the first time in their lives when they actually felt a particular – perhaps of inadequacy, self-doubt, anxiety, fear, even self-loathing. That is because our current self-perceptions that make up our personality are merely a compilation of the events that stand out in our subconscious mind from our formative years, our childhood. Many years work indicates that we perceive ourselves to be who we think we are based on a series of “snapshots” taken whilst we were young and impressionable. In addition, years of research indicates that normal people are pre-disposed to being negative – both about themselves and their chances of success.

Add all this together and you will realise that the perceived you – your personality – is a phantom-like creation of your subconscious mind. As it is created from events that most impressed you during your formative years, your personality simply could not be the real you. However, your personality feels very real – your self-doubts, your perceived inadequacies all manifest themselves in your daily life, in your behaviour and in what you get out of life. That is why you need to be motivated – and the bizarre thing is that the part of you that needs motivation (your personality) is the very same part of you that is preventing you being all that you can potentially be.

You need to stop pandering to your personality. Ignore it (it might eventually go away!). By-pass it by focussing your attention in the here and now. In doing so, your subconscious mind’s obsession with your personality will begin to be broken. In focusing in the here and now, you will be less likely to waste your energy on the old, useless, self-defeating thoughts that regularly distract our minds from the task in hand, making the task in hand more difficult or frustrating. In paying attention to the present moment, in engrossing yourself in whatever you’re doing, you will be better at it, more absorbed, more effective, efficient, more likely to get the key things done that will lead you towards living that ordinary everyday life – extra-ordinarily.

Recent research indicates that our ability to be happy and successful is correlated to our ability to pay attention to the here and now. It has nothing to do with self-motivation – because self-motivation involves pandering to a part of you that isn’t really there, your personality. Get over yourself, get on with the present moment – your true ability to achieve your dreams and desires will then emerge – effortlessly.

40 Key Questions to Identify Your Stress Levels

Posted on July 30, 2009 by admin

Answering just a few simple questions can tell you how stressed you are – and what causes it. Of course, everyone is subject to stress at some time or other, and certainly the current economic climate is providing plenty of stress for many people.

But the economy aside, there are some events that are common throughout our lives and are easily recognised as being potential sources of stress; pressure of examinations, work, family and personal relationships, illness, moving house, death, separation and divorce.

Any one of these is a stressor, but it can depend on how many of these events come upon us, and in what sort of timescale. We all have very different responses to a stressful situation; some people are more resilient and better at dealing with stress than others, and there are some simple questions which can help you identify just how vulnerable you are to stress.

Stress Vulnerability Assessment: This is a simple questionnaire and each question requires a simple yes or no, and there are no wrong or right answers. It just is a way to try and identify how robust, or vulnerable, you may be to the effects of stress. Try to answer the questions to reflect how you are feeling right now, rather than how you may have felt in the past or what is your usual pattern of behaviour.

Read and answer the questions, then add up how many you said yes to:

1. When you are upset or annoyed do you find it difficult to hide your feelings from others?

2. Do you feel very strongly about other people’s situation or emotions?

3. If you get bad news do you feel as if you have been punched in the stomach?

4. Are you slow to take action when something is stressful for you?

5. Do you spend time worrying about what other people think of you?

6. If someone else is speaking do you often interrupt them?

7. Are you in the habit of finishing other people’s sentences?

8. Are you irritated by indecisiveness in others?

9. Are you a demanding sort of person with high standards?

10. Can you ‘switch off’ at the end of a busy day?

11. Would you say you were an argumentative sort of person?

12. Does ‘anything for a quiet life’ describe you?

13. Do interruptions to your normal routine upset you?

14. If someone disagrees with you does it make you anxious?

15. Would you describe yourself as indecisive?

16. Do you feel as if you are a failure?

17. Do other people’s opinions really matter to you?

18. Do you make your own needs a priority?

19. Are you happy to let others take the decisions?

20. Do you get easily frightened or confused?

21. Do you worry that something terrible is going to happen to you?

22. Is it hard for you to say no to others?

23. When you do say no are you usually ignored?

24. Do you feel you are not fully appreciated by others?

25. Are you feeling overwhelmed by what you have to do?

26. Have you lost your usual sense of humour?

27. Are you comfortable around new people or situations?

28. Are you a perfectionist?

29. When you start something do you often not finish it?

30. When doing simple everyday tasks do you feel exhausted?

31. Are you having problems with concentration?

32. Do you bite your nails?

33. Are you regularly getting a good night’s sleep?

34. Has your interest in sex and intimacy declined?

35. Do you ever feel as if your heart is racing, and you don’t have a heart condition?

36. Are you physically restless, fidgety, drum your fingers?

37. Do you get frequent headaches or neck pains?

38. Are you ever breathless or dizzy when you haven’t exerted yourself?

39. Are your symptoms of stress usually physical, eg headache?

40. Do you put work before relationships?

Now total up the number of times you could say yes and check your score with the following results.

Over 20 This means you are well into the danger zone and need to take immediate action. Do the answers you ticked yes to fall into a pattern? Are they around self esteem and confidence, are they predominantly physical signs or emotional responses? Once you know, you can start to begin to make changes. With a high stress level, it is also sensible to talk to your doctor about having a thorough check up.

Between 20-11 This is a wake up call for you to look at your overall life and the nearer you are to the higher end of the scale then the more you will be showing stress on all levels. Start self-help measures and take some action to start bringing control back into your life by addressing the everyday stressors you are prone to.

Between 10-4 You are more resilient to stress the lower your score, but keep an eye on where your stress triggers are and look at making yourself less vulnerable. For instance, if you know that confrontation or emotional pressure is a problem for you then look at improving your assertiveness skills and self-confidence.

Between 3-0 This is the score of someone who handles stress very well and is resilient in the face of change and challenge. If you want to improve even further check which questions pressed your stress buttons so you can address this last bit of imperfection!

Wherever you are on the stress scale, it helps to know exactly what’s not working so you can start to put it right.

AnnA is the author of the practical ebook full of tips and resources called ‘How To Handle Stress.’ For more information and news of her special bonus on Attitude and Illness, visit http://www.sortingstressout.com If your stress comes from procrastination, then email AnnA for your free report on 52 Ways to Deal with a habit that can damage your health, and happinesss. Contact AnnA via her main website at http://www.catalystonline.co.uk

Right Thinking – Not Wishing – Is Your Key To Success

Posted on July 26, 2009 by admin

Recently, there has been a resurgence in the trend for positive thinking and creative visualization. “The Secret” is the best known example of what is often referred to as The Law of Attraction.

This theme originated in the late 19th century, when one of the most prolific authors on the subject was Orison Swett Marden. Marden’s life mission was to inspire ordinary men and women to believe that they were capable of outstanding success. His message wasn’t the modern-day mantra of “just ask and it shall be yours”. He taught that any one of us can achieve great things – but only through persistent, directed effort.

He was convinced that “Every human being on this earth could be living in comfort if he knew the powers locked up within himself and were willing to work and make the best use of them.”

He wrote about the achievements of people from humble backgrounds who had risen to prominence without sacrificing either honor or integrity.

His books included short biographies of great men from lowly beginnings. He detailed their initial disappointments, their repeated failed efforts and their eventual successes. Marden himself had been orphaned at a very young age and had a harsh childhood, being hired out by his guardians to help on farms where the work was more suitable for grown men. This background made his later business achievements all the more remarkable and gave him a special status in the eyes of his readers.

Although Marden had a knack for making huge amounts of money in the catering and hotel businesses, he turned away from this to concentrate on writing. His aim was to help inspire others, in the same way as he had felt inspired after reading Samuel Smiles “Self Help”. After the runaway success of his first book, “Pushing to the Front: Success under Difficulties”, he established “Success” Magazine.” The magazine was to concentrate more on the quality of its reader’s lives, rather than their income – it gave ideas and encouragement for “making a life as well as making a living”.

Marden’s books encouraged a positive, cheery outlook, with an expectancy of achievement, prosperity and happiness. He taught that the starting point of a successful life was control of the thought process.

It is first essential to eradicate anxiety, jealousy and bitterness. This is done by substituting these types of poisonous thoughts with their opposite – charitable, loving, optimistic thoughts which will inevitably brighten your mood and increase your well being. Spending time thinking about what you want to achieve, rather than the barriers in your way.

But his message continued – just thinking about all the goals you have for your life is not going to make them come about. You need a detailed plan of action and you need to work towards their achievement, one step at a time. This is the part of the message which has been missed by some people, and why they consider that “the law of attraction doesn’t work”. The point is that yes, you must visualize the future that you want for yourself – but then you must also take advantage of all the opportunities that then open up to you. You create the future you desire through your own efforts – you simply need to know the most effective way to direct your energy.

Claim your free copy of the “Marden’s Keys to Success” mini email course and download a complimentary chapter from Brendan McKeogh’s latest book at http://www.MardensKeysToSuccess.com – the website based on Orison Swett Marden’s philosophy where you can read a biography of Dr Marden, plus other pages devoted to “Masters of Success” including a Barack Obama biography and an Arnold Schwarzenegger biography.

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