Tag Archives: true happiness

Size DOES Matter! Motivation Lessons From A Mosquito

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1197436_gods_bug1It is a frailty of the human condition that many people have. Perhaps it is lack of self worth, or a lack of self esteem that drives it – that “I’m just not good enough” persona. For example, how many times have you been to a party, social event or restaurant and felt that you were not up to the same level as all of the “beautiful people” there?

Maybe their suits or dresses were flashier.

Or they were slimmer.

Or their hair was less gray.

Or perhaps these people drove up to the front door and left the keys to their expensive, new Mercedes, BMWs and Cadillacs with the valet attendant while you “self parked” your tired, 10-year-old car w-a-a-a-a-y in the back of the lot so that no one would notice.

Does this mean they are any better or successful than you are?

Of course not!

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, determines the actions you make, impacts your physical health and regulates your life.

At this point many of you, especially those who are “set” in your ways, may ask: “How can I change the attitude of my mind? How can I, after months and years of discouragement and of going through the motions, suddenly conceive and carry out a plan for doing something that will change my current situation and make my life more rewarding?”

The answer is that it can be done, and others just like you have done it.

Even if you consider yourself of AVERAGE ability, you can be successful, independent, free of worry, and be your own master, from this point forward, if you can commit to do these two things.

1) Einstein once defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. How about what you are doing? If you are not getting what you want, when you want it become AND remain forever dissatisfied with what you are doing and your situation today. In other words, shoot for the moon.

2) Develop in your mind a belief that the word IMPOSSIBLE was not intended for you. Build up in your mind the confidence and courage that enables the mind to use its power.

Bette Reese once said, “If you think you are too small to make an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room”.

So in conclusion, here’s the moral of my story to you…

Size DOES matter. Within you, even at this very moment you have the power to take action and make an impact.

It is up to you…

Copyright © 2009 Mind Body Spirit Central, LLC

Keith A. Shaw, President of http://www.MindBodySpiritCentral.com is headquartered in Mount Laurel, New Jersey, Keith is an authority on motivation, success, self improvement, health and wellness.

Make Positive Changes For Your Health

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1210241_cyclingA Positive Attitude Can Lead To Positive Changes

I was browsing through an online magazine the other day and came upon a story that I thought truly illustrated how much our own positive thinking can lead to positive changes here .

The story goes like this:

Positive Thought- A Strong Tool Of Success

Once upon a time there was bunch of tiny frogs that arranged a running competition. The goal was to reach the top of very high tower. A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants.

The race began. Honestly, no one in the crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of tower. You heard statements such as, “They will NEVER make it to the top. Or: Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!”

The tiny frogs began collapsing, one by one, except for those, who in fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher.

The crowd continued to yell, “Its too difficult! No one will make it!”

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up, but one continued higher and higher and higher. This one wouldn’t give up!

At the end, everyone else had given up climbing the tower, except for one tiny frog. After a big effort, he was the only one who reached the top! THEN all the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal. It turned out…. that the winner was deaf!

Ignore Negative Opinions To Achieve Positive Changes. We all would like to think that we are above allowing others to influence our daily lives, including our goals and aspirations, whatever they may be. When it comes to getting fit , positive changes are the first line of defense.

Here are some great ways to begin to change your thinking:

Make a list of what you want to achieve and keep a journal of your successes. Allow for mistakes, if you slip behind, don’t procrastinate or worry, get up and fix it Listen to yourself, are you giving yourself thoughts that will hinder your goals? Get inspired, read books or watch encouraging stories of people who had similar goals and take inspiration from them. Surround yourself with people who will not bring you down, misery loves company and you could get consumed by that.

Don’t allow yourself to believe that the goals you have set to lose weight or get in shape are out of reach. Close your ears to those that want to bring you down, think positive and positive changes will follow.

Zach Hunt is a Positive Changes Spokane expert and the owner of Physzique, a personal fitness coaching company in Spokane, WA helping people to look and feel great. Go here: Spokane personal trainer for more info on these services and more great fitness tips.



Motivation & The Blues!

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960054_lilly_dot_comWhile I like to work swiftly with clients toward their outcome, I’ve never been one for what I call the ‘double jeopardy high-five’ motivational approach. Too much of the ‘wahooooooo!’ or ‘Yaaaay goferit!’ makes me want to puke.

I’ve certainly worked with clients who’ve come to me after seeing a ‘wahooo’ coach or attending a ‘wahooo’ seminar or training. And while the initial effect for them was ‘yay!’, like an old plaster peeling off round the edges, they soon plummeted down to earth with a rough bump.

I remember one corporate client telling me she felt more inadequate and unskilled than she did before the seminar. Clearly she was doing something wrong for the seminar not to have worked… which made her feel even worse about herself. Oh pleeeez!

Of course it hadn’t worked because her emotional, psychological and cognitive state was such that she was in a change process. Precipitous ‘wahooo-ing’ lays double-whipped cream over a cake that’s not yet been cooked. Pretty sloppy!

Another corporate client was very clear about what happened. He said he realised he needed to stop papering over cracks and encouraging other people to do so too. When we worked with what he needed it was time out for reflection and chilling as a way forward from his blues.

Down time rather than high up time which, of course, could come later if he chose.

Times of aliveness and dormant times are in fact the rhythm of nature. To our cost, we’ve discovered we’ve impoverished soil by continuously growing on it with artificial fertilisers. Just like the earth, we need time out to reconstitute and develop our potential.

So, be sure your motivation isn’t the hype type which pops like a balloon at the first pin it comes across. Motivation comes from purpose, passion & power… and the process of growth within.

So, what to do if you’re motivation has got up and gone? Here’s some tips…

***Accept it for now!***

It’s normal to have ups and downs. It’s all part of being human… and I just don’t believe anyone who says they’re never down. What?! Never?! If you tell yourself it’s OK and it’s just for now, you’ll be surprised at the inner relief and relaxation you’ll feel.

***Nourish Yourself***

This is a time for pampering. So go for fragrant baths, massage, or listening to inspirational music, or visiting an art gallery. Draw, paint, walk, write, dance… Do whatever it takes for excellent care of you, to give yourself grade A nourishment during this fallow time

***Monitor Your Language***

It’s so easy to fall into talking with negativity and self-abuse language. So monitor what you say to others and, most importantly, what you say to yourself! When you’ve caught yourself at it, reframe what you’ve said. Like, ‘I’m learning to write more courageously’ rather than ‘My writing’s a pile of doo-doo!’

***Vision Buddy***

And, if you haven’t done so already, entrust your vision of how you want things to be to a great buddy. Ask them to gently remind you from time to time what you’re working towards with encouragement and love. Because even in the down time you need to be reminded you’re still moving forward however static it feels!

Then, as all things pass, so will the Summertime Blues. And, like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon, you too can spread your wings newly invigorated and motivated from within.

© Sharon Eden 2009 All Rights Reserved

With 30 years’ expertise in personal & professional development, Sharon Eden MA is a Certified Coach, Registered & Accredited Psychotherapist & NLP trainer, and founder of Women of Courage. Take just 20 seconds to sign up for her Ezine rich with tips & techniques to boost your purpose, passion & power AND get her ’5 Day Energiser Plan’ absolutely free. Sign up now at: http://www.womenofcourage.co.uk

The Thunder of Leaves

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1191092_oak_leavesThey say in Calgary that if you don’t like the weather out your front door, look out your back door. Well, it was one of those dynamic fall days.

I was standing on my front porch, absorbing the golden beauty of the aspen trees around our house and enjoying the cool fall air. The sky from my front door had a mix of cumulus clouds and a bit of blue. But a closer look at the clouds showed how quickly they were moving. I didn’t know that the weather service had predicted gusts of up to 100 kilometres per hour for that day.

Suddenly, a blast of wind sent every fallen leaf in sight into whirlwinds of movement. If I had looked out the back door, I would have seen the storm coming. Leaves filled the air making every movement of the wind visible in whirlwinds, eddies, updrafts, downdrafts and currents. It was an incredible sight.

Even more amazing was the sound. If leaves could sound like thunder, this would have been it. The sound of the leaves drowned out any sound of the wind. I stood on the porch spellbound.

Shuffling through fallen leaves on the sidewalk or in the yard in the fall has always been one of my favorite things. I love the sound! For me, it is the best part of the experience. I don’t think I have met anyone who didn’t like the sound of shuffling through fallen leaves or who carries a fond memory of jumping into a big pile of leaves as a kid.

When I thought about the sound of these leaves after the storm, it reminded me of white noise. White noise is like the “shhhhhh” you hear when you tune your radio in between the stations. Technically, it represents all frequencies, or a wide band of frequencies sounded equally together. It can also be a background noise that you ignore, like a fan running.

The brain has a response to repetitive noise in the background called auditory habituation. You may have heard of or know people who live near train tracks or a busy highway who no longer notice the sound of the trains or cars. The noise doesn’t bother them. Through auditory habituation, the brain also no longer registers the sound as important or creates an emotional response to the noise.

White noise in the background may help to mask distracting sounds you don’t want to listen to. For example, if you are in a hotel and voices from the next room are disturbing you, turning on a fan or playing a CD with recorded white noise may be helpful in blocking out the sounds. If you work in a busy office with cubicles and are distracted by noise making it difficult to focus on your work, a fan or recorded white noise may be helpful to block out the sounds. If you live by train tracks or a busy road and the sound disturbs you, white noise may helpful in masking the sounds. White noise may also be helpful for those who suffer from insomnia, tinnitus or ringing in the ears. If you are working with your doctor or audiologist for treatment of these conditions, you might ask him or her about the possibility of trying white noise.

Sounds in nature, similar to white noise, may also be helpful in masking distracting sounds. Do you enjoy sitting on the beach and listening to the waves? The sound of waves, a babbling brook, a waterfall, falling rain, rustling leaves are examples of nature’s version of white noise.

I hope you find a few moments to playfully shuffle through the leaves this fall. Maybe we will meet as we zigzag along the sidewalk shuffling happily.

Sharon Carne has transformed a successful 30-year career of teaching and performing the classical guitar to teaching within the wellness programs of corporations. She is asked to speak for numerous groups on the power of healing sound to reduce stress, create deeper meditations, ease emotional release, create focus and concentration and ease the symptoms of illness and disease. http://www.mountainrosemusic.com

Photo: Chris Martin

Easy and Natural Ways to Raise Low Serotonin Levels

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414163_blue_flower_2Research indicates that in the United States 60-80% of the people, especially women, have low serotonin levels. You don’t have to get caught in the low serotonin cycle of hopelessness and despair. You can alter your low serotonin levels by carefully orchestrating your foods, activities and daily routines and habits.

You alter your brain chemistry, manipulate your neurochemical profile and affect your body’s physiology every day by what you do and don’t eat, what you think about, and how and where you spend your time. Through your daily behaviors and the environments in which you spend your time, you create your biochemical profile and this is reflected in the emotions, energy, thoughts, actions, and psychological states that either bring you into peak performance or that block your best functioning.

You have an enormous power to shape your inner world – your experience of life. What you do every day, what you eat, when you eat it, what activities you engage in and when you engage in them, what kind of environment in which you live and work – everything you do and do not do – shapes how you feel, think and how you experience your life.

You can create the range of emotions, energy levels and intellectual and creative functioning that you want. You can learn how to use what you do and do not do everyday and how you do it to create inner strength, hope, joy, mental alertness, and enthusiasm. By designing a life that keeps your biochemistry in balance you can maintain a state of optimal wellness, vitality and performance. When you understand the optimal physiological requirements of your body operating at its best, you can design your lifestyle to provide the diet, exercise, behaviors, thoughts, scheduling, and environment to support and nourish this optimal state of functioning in your body.

1. Serotonin levels are increased by a carbohydrate rich diet.

When you eat carbohydrates it results in a rise in insulin levels that acts to usher the amino acid tryptophan into the brain. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin. One and a half ounces of carbohydrate food (1/4 cup of oatmeal or a piece of sourdough bread) will significantly boost brain levels of serotonin. The healthiest carbohydrates to use are whole grain, low glycemic index carbohydrates such as barley, oats, buckwheat and carbohydrate rich vegetables such as yams, sweet potatoes and squashes. Fruits and most other vegetables have a neutral effect on brain chemistry.

2. Eat the kinds of protein that favor serotonin production.

These proteins are high in the amino acid tryptophan: chicken, white flakey fish, lean cuts of pork, veal, cottage cheese, lamb, low fat cheeses, low fat milk and dairy products, soy and legumes.

3. All meditative activities raise serotonin levels.

Spend time in a natural place such as a forest, park, mountains, or seashore.

Prayer, meditation, positive visualization boost serotonin levels and your feelings of well being, relaxed concentration and peace.

Engage in low arousal, highly meditative and internal spiritual practices that relax you.

Try relaxing activities such as hobbies or crafts.

4. Engage in exercise that increases your heart rate somewhat but not significantly.

Strolling, yoga, non-aerobic swimming, bike riding when done at least 4 days in a row a week will over a period of 60 days increase your baseline serotonin levels.

5. Have a regular wake sleep cycle.

The production of serotonin for the next day requires at least 7 continuous hours of sound high quality sleep the night before.

6. Get out in the sun at least 30 minutes in the morning and for 2 hours throughout the day.

Sunlight burns off melatonin produced the night before. The presence of high levels of melatonin consumes serotonin. Sunlight suppressed the production of melatonin and allows your serotonin levels to rise during the day. Without the exposure to adequate natural light your melatonin levels will be higher and your serotonin levels will be lower.

7. Eat a meal with high level of proteins that contain tryptophan and follow that by a carbohydrate snack two hours later.

This will act to drive the lingering tryptophan into the brain and set up the production of greater amounts of serotonin the next day.

8. Do things that revitalize you and let you feel good.

Take a low activity, high relaxation vacation with your family or by yourself with plenty of time to slow down.

Listen to classical music, light rock, folk or easy listening music.

Visit a museum, go to the theater, the symphony, or watch TV or films about love stories, comedies and other feel good movies.

Engage in long, deep conversations with one or two other people.

Clean and organize your environment.

Read: Self-help books are especially complimentary.

Copyright © 2009 Mary Ann Copson; Mary Ann Copson is the founder of the Evenstar Mood & Energy Wellness Center for Women. With Master’s Degrees in Human Development and Psychology and Counseling, Mary Ann is a Certified Licensed Nutritionist; Certified Holistic Health Practitioner; Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician; and a Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Coach. Discover ways to positively affect your neurotransmitter profile at http://evenstaronline.com/brainchemistry