Global Digital Store – Ebooks and Softwares

Tag: Attitude

Understanding the Laws of Success – Law of the Farm

[ad_1]

Success does not just happen; it is the result of the application of laws that have been proven over time. From the days of the Roman Empire, these laws have been shown to work. The key is to understand these laws and to work with them, not against them. One such law is the Law of the Farm.

The Law of The Farm

The Law of the Farm is based on observation of the world around us, namely the ability of a farmer to raise crops. The Law of the Farm says that success comes from the same process that a harvest comes to a farmer. First, as a farmer plows the ground, the person must be readied for success. The weeds of negative thinking must be cleared away, and the person must be fertilized with thoughts of abundance and possibility. Second, the seeds of success must be sown; these are the actions the person does to generate success. Those actions must be tended, supported by positive thinking, just as the farmer tends his crops. Then, when opportunities arise, they must be harvested, just as the farmer must harvest his crop. The harvest must be done at the right time, in the right way. Just as the farmer can lose his crop if he lets it sit in the field, so the person can lose success if he does not take advantage of the opportunities when they arise in the fullness of time.

Preparing the Field

For the farmer to reap a harvest, he cannot simply scatter seeds in a field. The field must be plowed, fertilized, and otherwise prepared before the seed is planted. For some crops, these may take years of preparation; as Stephen Covey points out in his book, “The Eight Habit”, a potato farmer must prepare his field for two years prior to planting. People must be prepared for success the same way. They need to have the weeds of negative thinking cleared away. They must be prepared for the planting by learning the attitude of expectation of success. A person must be fertilized with thoughts of abundance so that the seed has food to grow.

Planting the Seed

The farmer plants the seed of the crop he wishes to harvest. He does not plant corn seed to get a harvest of wheat. So, too, a person must plant the seeds of what he wishes to gain. This is where goal setting comes into the process. The person needs to decide what his goals are, and then create a plan for reaching those goals, so that he can plant the right seed for the desired harvest of success. A person wishing financial success must plant financial seeds, whether these be investments made or skills learned. The person must understand how the seeds being planted will grow to the desired harvest.

Tending the Crops

While the crop is growing, the farmer needs to tend and protect the growing plants. The field needs to be watered, treated to prevent insect infestation, fenced to protect the young plants from animals who would feed on the crop. A person working towards success must also protect his crop. Positive associations are needed to continue the growth of the ideas plants. Negative people and negative ideas must be protected against. Learning about himself and his endeavors (books, classes, further reading) can fertilize the ideas, making them grow stronger and faster. Persistence is needed to weather the storms of depression and impatience which can threaten the crop of success.

Harvesting at the Right Time

The farmer needs to gather in the crop when the time is right. He cannot do it too early, or the crop will not be useful; he cannot do it too late, or the crop will destroy itself in the field. A person working towards success needs to realize when the opportunities arise so that the efforts planted can be realized at the right time. Hesitation can cause the opportunity to rot away; the attempt to reach the absolute maximum can cause the right time to slip by. Act when your subconscious says to act; by listening to the small voice within you, you will know when the harvest time has occurred. The farmer doesn’t wait until the absolute peak ripeness occurs; he harvests the crop just before then, so that the ripeness will occur when the harvest is delivered. So, too, a person needs to act just before the maximum results, so that the results can mature during the act of harvesting. Particularly when it comes to investments, it is better to get 95% of the profit by acting early than to get 80% of the profit by acting too late.

The Most Subtle of the Laws

There are several laws of success, but the Law of the Farm is perhaps the most subtle. Just as a farmer gets better at raising crops as the years go by, so too a person gets better at using this law as he works it. Of all the laws, this one gets better the more you use it.

[ad_2]

Source by John Steely

Views: 0

January 23, 2020
The Single Sales Principle and The 8 Myths of Selling

[ad_1]

The Single Sales Principle states that:

‘People buy when a compelling need is met by a credible solution that offers perceived value’.

Simple. Too simple? Well, as Jim Collins claims in his book Good to Great, “Freud, Darwin and Einstein all had one thing in common. They took a complex world and simplified it.” And Single Principled Salespeople do just that. They understand that selling doesn’t have to be complicated. They simply make it easy for a customer to buy.

It’s one of the two things they have in common. They are customer centric, not sales centric.

The other thing that Single Principled Salespeople have in common is that they never follow the 8 myths of selling. Simply never.

The 8 myths of selling were taught by well-meaning sales managers, eager to pass on the wisdom and knowledge that their sales managers had passed on to them. Like a cult, however, no one had questioned whether they were true. The 8 myths may have worked in their day, but they simply do not work today.

Do you remember how you felt when you discovered there wasn’t really a Santa Claus? I remember it well. It was the 12th December 1971 and my (so called) best friend Johnny Harrison broke the fateful news to me over a Curly Wurly. I felt like I had been had. You don’t question what you are told as a kid; you just believe it to be true.

Well, that was also the way I felt the day that I discovered that everything that I had been taught up to that point in sales was a complete lie; all myths. They were theories that had no substance in the modern world.

Walk onto most sales floors and you’ll see the 8 myths of selling proudly displayed on the wall (probably next to the target and the ‘Inspiration’ poster):

“Attitude Sets Altitude”

“People Buy People”

“Always Be Closing”

“Customers Like to Talk about Themselves”

“It’s a Numbers Game”

“Sell the Sizzle not the Sausage”

“Money Talks”

“Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail”

Be honest, you believe in at least half of the 8 myths yourself, don’t you? You are not alone.

Most salespeople will quote them as the ‘sales gospel’. Suggest that they are myths and they will think you have gone mad.

On the surface the 8 myths look perfectly reasonable. In fact, set inside a picture frame, each one looks positively motivating. And I am sure they made a lot of sense, at the time. But things change. And so has selling.

Myth 1: Always Be Closing

If you need to use closing techniques to get a sale, you clearly haven’t demonstrated that your product meets their needs. Rather than force the customer into a decision they will regret, simply go back to where you lost them in the buying process, and start again from there. If you apply the Single Sales Principle® you don’t need to close… the customer should be asking you to buy.

Myth 2: Attitude sets Altitude

Abraham Lincoln asked the question: “How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Four. Calling a tail a leg doesn’t make it a leg”. No amount of looking in the mirror and telling yourself ‘you’re a tiger’ will work if you don’t believe in your product.

The better the value proposition, the better the attitude of a salesperson. Single Principled Salespeople ensure that they have a deep, genuine belief in their value proposition.

Myth 3: People Buy People

People buy when the product/service cost-effectively meets the customer’s needs. No amount of schmoozing with a client will make up for a poor product match.

Being personable is, of course, important in sales. But isn’t it important in all vocations? Friendly plumbers are more pleasant to deal with than unfriendly plumbers. Friendly bus drivers are more pleasant to deal with than unfriendly bus drivers. Friendly lawyers are more pleasant to deal with than unfriendly lawyers (unless they’re on your team of course!) Ken Hubbard, the American writer said “Beauty is only skin deep, but it’s a valuable asset if you’re poor or haven’t any common sense!”

In the good old/bad old days, salespeople would use their charm (‘beauty’) to cover up for this lack of a credible solution (‘common sense’). Today’s professional buyer can see through that. It’s what is underneath that counts most.

Myth 4: Customers Like to Talk about Themselves

We have sat on thousands of sales calls. Some were good. Some were bad. And some were downright ugly. The bad ones were those where the salesperson doesn’t ask any questions at all. They launch into their features and benefits without any consideration for what the buyer may actually needed.

And then there were the ugly calls. The salesperson knew that they had to conduct a fact find, and gain as much information about the customer as possible. So they launched into a ‘Spanish inquisition’, asking a list of meaningless questions that did nothing but bore the customer.

Yes, there is a certain amount of information that needs to be identified in a sales intervention, as without it it is difficult to make a recommendation and know whether the opportunity is worth fighting for. But this is all for your benefit, not theirs. Needs make sales, not customer biographies.

Myth 5: It’s a Numbers Game

Average salespeople get a long way by putting in long hours and running around contacting a lot of people. They then submit ‘phantom forecasts’; over-optimistic sales projections based on a pipeline of proposals that never convert into actual business. This is because the needs identified in the sales call were not compelling needs.

Just having a need doesn’t mean that the customer will act upon it. Many of the deals on a salesperson’s pipeline remain unclosed because the customer keeps procrastinating over the decision. Playing the numbers game doesn’t help them deliver more sales. It just creates more work for themselves and everyone around them.

The Single Principled Salesperson ensures that the needs are compelling prior to presenting the solution. Why? Because only then are they assured that the customer will be motivated into action.

Myth 6: Sell the Sizzle, not the Sausage

We love the concept of making presentations sizzle. Our issue with the myth of ‘selling the sizzle’ is with how salespeople think that they can bamboozle a customer with fancy presentations that are high on show but low on substance.

At first sight, ‘selling the sizzle’ seems to make perfect sense. The sausage sizzling away on a griddle is much more likely to sell than an uncooked sausage sitting in the fridge. But this is because the sizzle fired up your senses bringing attention to the fact that you are hungry. The sizzle satisfied your compelling need.

Ever smelt a sizzling sausage when you have food poisoning? It would probably make you feel even worse. This is because this time your need isn’t hunger. In fact, food is the last thing you need.

Myth 7: Money Talks

Listen to buyers and you’d think that they really do believe that money talks. Buyers are a brutal species, taking sheer delight in making a salesperson sweat on price. They trick them into thinking it is all about cost, and if the salesperson doesn’t drop their price they will find a supplier who will. Indeed, some buyers actually believe in this hype themselves.

But customers actually want value, not the cheapest price. If people wanted cheap we would all be driving around in 10-year-old cars and shopping in charity shops. Products are only perceived as expensive if the value is not appreciated by the customer. You’ll never lose a deal on price, only on value.

Myth 8: Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Salespeople tend to fall into two camps: those who plan too much and those who hardly plan at all.

Those who plan too much tend to be ‘busy fools,’ i.e. running around doing very little. When we go out with these salespeople on calls they show us all the planning they have done: a tour of the client’s website; the previous history; a list of questions they are going to ask; competitor information etc. The problem is they don’t even refer to it.

The second type are those salespeople who do very little planning. Indeed, most salespeople fall into this category. You may be surprised to learn that so do Single Principled Salespeople.

“Hooray!” I hear the cry from the sales community at large. “What? No need to plan?” Not quite!

Peter Drucker, the management guru, defined the difference between ‘effectiveness’ and ‘efficiency’ as being:

“Efficiency is doing things right; Effectiveness is doing the right things.”

Single Principled Salespeople are effective because they identify the right things to do. It’s why they often work fewer hours than the average performers.

The cartoonist, Doug Larson, said on time management, “For disappearing acts, it’s hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work.” I think we can all empathise with this sentiment. Life is too short to be planning for the sake of it.

The 8 Myths of Selling Summary

Winston Churchill said “Out of intense complexities, simplicities emerge.” Selling has become a complicated business. But it doesn’t have to be. Simple is good.

And that’s why great sales people follow the Single Sales Principle®. By focussing on matching compelling needs with credible solutions that offer perceived value you will succeed in selling. We guarantee it. Follow the 8 myths and you will become frustrated and disillusioned with our wonderful profession.

Original article written by Mark Blackmore (MD of Lammore)

For more information on the ‘Single Sales Principle’ sales training programme contact:

Ben Thompson

ben.thompson@lammore.com

[ad_2]

Source by Ben Charles Thompson

Views: 0

January 16, 2020
Myth of "An Internal Customer"

[ad_1]

Honestly is there an internal customer? The term “Internal Customer” has been so over used that it has become a cliche, losing it’s original meaning. The term Internal Customer was originally used in the field of Management Science (MS). However it was later popularized by Joseph Juran, the management consultant known for his dedication towards quality management in companies, especially factories.

The initial use of the term Internal customers was meant to refer to ‘users’. This user refers to people who will utilize the output of another department or unit. Thus the term internal and external customer was born. External customer refers to customer/consumers outside the company who are users of the product/services of the company and internal customer refers to user of the product/services of another department/unit. The use was purely for technical differentiation.

However the term was later extended to reflect management styles, teamwork, interdepartmental communication etc. The extension went beyond technical relationships between departments and individuals in the company (known as the hard areas) to include the soft areas of attitude, experience, teamwork etc. This is when you will find bosses promoting teamwork by asking the employees to view and treat another department like their own customer. What seem shocking is that even trainers and consultant preach this gospel when they themselves cannot treat their own receptionist or account’s clerk like a customer.

The thing is that first we need to be truly honest with ourselves and answer this question: “Can I see and treat the accounts department or the purchasing, marketing, IT, technical support; as our own customer?” And that means you work to give the other department your best, take all of their nonsense and pacify yourself by saying with a smile: “Oh well… they are after all my customers.”

The problem lies with the word – Customer. The very word suggests to our mind that it is business transaction, money and that there is a direct monetary benefit that will come out of this transaction. These things are not that apparent when we deal with another department (at least not as direct as with real customers). So why are we swimming against the current to beat the hell out of our team to get them to except the other colleagues as customers. Let’s face the fact… it is not going to happen. The other department may be your internal customer from Juran’s standpoint of management science. But they are definitely not customers from the standpoint of our interaction and operation on a daily basis. Internal Customer is a Myth.

The answer is Partner. Instead of beating on the workforce to accept the idea of internal customer (which the brain tickles itself every time you hear it); why don’t use a term that our psychology and conscience would accept. Partner is a much more acceptable term.

In sales and customer service, we talk about maturing the seller-buyer relationship. This maturing process consumer-to-partner starts from a Consumer to a Customer to a Client and then a Partner. When a person buys something from us through a third party or a middleman, they are consumers to us. When they buy it from us, they become our customer. A client refers to a relationship where the seller acts as an advisor. This could be when the product or service requires guidance or follow up. Such examples would be like an attorney, wellness centres, fitness instructor and to some extent even real estate agents. The third stage is called the Partner. This is when the buyer and seller have formed a powerful bond that is glued by trust, transparency, mutual respect and an interest in each other’s success. We are talking about a powerful relationship that is productive to both.

The situation with a work team is that by default they are in a situation of partners. The systems, processes and daily activities are all centred around a partnership-like relationship rather than a customer relationship. So why would we want to ‘de-mature’ (if that term makes us understand) that relationship to a customer-vendor relationship. Taking a customer situation, you would probably call one of your customer Mr Goldwin or Ms Johnson in the earlier meetings. But in a partnership relationship, you would conveniently refer to them with their first name. Wouldn’t it look weird for a person who calls someone Tim all the while to one day call him Mr Goldwin?

While I am not saying that you will call your colleagues by their surname in an internal customer situation; the weirdness of treating a colleague as a ‘customer’ is as absurd as that. So the better alternative would be to motivate the team to accept one another as partners. This can be done by building the trust in the team, practicing a sense of openness at the leadership level, making everyone in the team feel special for their contribution and showing how their personal successes depend on the team’s successes. Team members are not internal customers but Partners. Lets be honest with ourselves.

[ad_2]

Source by Jegatheeswaran Manoharan

Views: 0

January 15, 2020
10 Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur

[ad_1]

For many people, entrepreneurship has become the job choice of the 21st century. That's understandable given the challenges and rewards of building a successful business. If you are considering entrepreneurship, you should begin the process by understanding the mental, psychological and behavioral characteristics needed for success.

1. Positive mental attitude . This is arguably the most important of all the characteristics. You will never be a successful entrepreneur without a positive attitude. The one thing you can be sure of is that you will experience difficult times. Your success or failure will be determined at these times. If you maintain your confidence, persevere and continue to stay positive, you will be successful. Conversely, if you allow doubt and uncertainty to prevail, you will probably fail.

2. Enjoy being around people . Being a successful entrepreneur means you will continuously interact with a diverse array of people such as customers, potential customers, colleagues, competitors, suppliers, lawyers, accountants and coaches. It really helps if you enjoy being around these people.

3. Excellent communication skills . Communication can be defined as the accurate exchange of information between two or more parties. This is important because you will have many conversations. You need to be able to accurately exchange information in a fast-moving world using a variety of communication methods (eg, interpersonal, electronic). Of particular importance is the ability to listen and truly understand where another person is coming from.

4. Have a need to achieve . Successful entrepreneurs are achievement-oriented. They value accomplishment and the intrinsic rewards that go along with achieving difficult goals. It is a strong motivator for most business owners.

5. Resourceful . Most new businesses have limited resources such as money, information and time. Successful entrepreneurs figure out how to get the most out of these resources. They are masters at stretching a dollar and making a few resources go a long way.

6. Objective . It is not easy to be objective about your business because you are passionate about making it successful. However, you do need to be impartial and dispassionate when it comes to making business decisions because emotion, bias and sentiment can result in poor choices.

7. Committed . Building a successful business requires an absolute commitment. It takes a lot of work and there will be times when you become discouraged. It is during these times that you must be steadfast, faithful and committed to your vision.

8. Dependable . This should go without saying but I will say it anyway. There is a strong positive relationship between your perceived level of reliability and the success of your business. No matter what type of business you have, your customers expect you to be dependable.

9. Proactive and not reactive . Successful entrepreneurs anticipate problems in advance and deal with them before they occur. If you simply react to problems and issues as they arise, you may get overwhelmed.

10. Possess technical skills and knowledge . Every business requires unique technical skills and knowledge on part of the owner. You have to be good at what you do for your business to succeed. This often means getting additional education and training on an ongoing basis, sometimes for the purpose of obtaining specific credentials (eg, certifications, licenses).

[ad_2]

Source by Tyrone Holmes

Views: 0

January 14, 2020
What Is Wealthy Affiliate?

[ad_1]

Wealthy Affiliate is an online community membership site founded in 2005 by two online marketers Carson and Kyle. It has become the number one community for creating and growing a successful online business.

Wealthy Affiliate is a training website with a massive online community who engage with one another and offer help and support.

Who Can Profit From Wealthy Affiliate University?

Wealthy Affiliate (WA) makes the program available for everyone, including those who don’t have enough money to pay high prices for training or have a limited budget. WA offers instruction for people with different skill levels, from newbie’s up to experienced marketers.

People Who Can Benefit From WA:

Internet Marketers

Local businesses and companies

Online merchants

Local marketers

People that want to build their own website(s)

People that want to sell their products online

Retired people, looking for an extra income

Individuals looking for a trusted hosting platform

Students

People who want to turn their hobby into an additional income

Bloggers and website owners that want to improve their web sites

Artist/Bands/Musicians Churches and Non-Profits.

What Wealthy Affiliate Is Not?

WA is not a “get rich quick” scheme. WA IS NOT AN MLM program and you do not need to build a massive down line to make money from the program. There isn’t a prerequisite to sell WA itself. You will not get rich overnight, unless you are a skilled marketer. The platform will teach you how to make money online.

It will help you to build a solid online business that will endure for a long time, along with live support that you will need to soften the notion of doing it alone.

How much does it cost to join Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate Starter Membership – Free.

Premium Membership – $47 month or $359 yearly.

If you upgrade to the premium membership within 7 days your first month access will only be $19.00

Wealthy Affiliate General Overview

There are several types of training that are available to members and it has everything from email marketing, list building, SEO, PPC marketing, article marketing, website development and technical training. The database has more than 300 teaching lessons and each month more resources are added.

The training is attuned to suit every ones needs and includes:

Video training

Tutorial Training

Classrooms on specific topics

Question and Answers

Live weekly training classes

Task based Courses

Participate in interactive discussions

Why Do You Need WA?

Affordability – Usually when people see all the upgrades or up-sells for different products or services, they automatically enter a negative mindset because they know that if they do not earn quickly, they will lose a huge sum of money. Most people start on a small budget and simply cannot afford to pay for expensive advertising or constant upgrades.

Wealthy Affiliate has a free option and members can experiment with the program without any obligations, especially if they are not sure about the direction they want to take in the online marketplace. The premium membership is at a fixed rate and that gives members the freedom to work on a budget without having to be concerned about working harder just to upgrade to another level.

All in one platform – To become successful online, we all need more services like hosting, a blog or website, content and various tools to run our businesses successfully. These services and tools can add up to a costly amount when you put it all together, and new as well as existing online entrepreneurs struggle immeasurably to keep up when they don’t earn from the internet quickly. Wealthy Affiliate has done a great job at adding the essential tools and services into one platform to get new marketers to get that critical head start.

Website Builder and Hosting – WA allows you to use WordPress (WP) Express to build your own WP optimized blog and SiteRubix powers it. WordPress had become the most popular blogging platform with dozens of templates to choose from. You can choose to run the blog on a free siterubix.com domain or link it to your own. SiteRubix has a remarkable reputation and websites that are hosted on the service tend to do exceptionally well compared to other hosting companies.

Coaching and Support – New online entrepreneurs are not able to get successful by themselves. If you have questions, they will get answered! The customer support is quick to respond and aids members with any issues that they might run into. Carson and Kyle are actively partaking along with members to answer questions personally. That alone shows the great amount of dedication they have when it comes to helping members.

People who have absolutely no clue about earning an income online enter this marketplace on a daily basis and the World Wide Web has tons of “money-making” programs, products and tutorials that confuse new marketers badly enough and even cause a massive amount of people to fall into scams or empty promises.

It has been proven that most successful online marketers had a mentor or support program that guided them into becoming successful. This is the best active community online and many methods to communicate are available like; a live chat box, questionnaire option, forum, active dashboard and micro blog communication.

There is no negativity or judgmental behavior like we see in the public forums, only quality conversations. You will be able to network with like-minded marketers and meet countless people who will share ideas or support one another.

Inspiration – Without motivation, it is hard to complete anything in life, not to mention starting up an online business. Wealthy Affiliate keep their learners motivated by setting up goals and then reward those who had met the goals by giving away something of value. For most people it is much easier to reach success when they have something to work towards that is worth the effort.

Wealthy Affiliate will most certainly not make you rich and it will not make you successful. In the end the decision to take action will all be in your hands and no amount of training or support can replace free will. The law of sowing and reaping is how you will receive your harvest.

What Is Wealthy Affiliate?

Wealthy Affiliate is someone who unites with others of like-mindedness, on the terms of having and obtaining legitimate unlimited wealth.

WA gives you all the building materials, but the rest will be up to you. Getting started is always the hardest part, but with the right motivation and positive attitude there is absolutely no reason to fail.

[ad_2]

Source by Jamie Clay

Views: 0

January 13, 2020
Benefits Of A Healthy Lifestyle

[ad_1]

Here are 8 benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

This Article is written to reach the public with a simple and clear method to point out and to reap the benefits of a healthy lifestyle while reducing the risks of chronic diseases such as diabetes.

With the increased understanding of our bodies that we have gained from science over the past few decades, the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are becoming more apparent, along with the reasons why we should detoxify the body at least once a year to remove harmful bacteria, and even worms, from our digestive system. For people of all ages, weights, and abilities the benefits of a healthy lifestyle are endless. But for now let’s look at eight simple benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

1. Your Health:

Good Health is not something that you buy from a drug store or a department store, but can be achieved by practicing collective patterns of health-related behavior, based on choices made from available options. Following this logic, if you wish to realize the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, you have to repeat some healthy pattern as a part of your daily or weekly activities, some patterns like eating right and exercising. Other benefits includes: Reduced health care costs, reduced illness and injuries, reduced doctors visit, Keeps you employed and improved employee/employer relations.

2. Weight:

Managing your weight is the key to attaining all of the health benefits of a Healthy Lifestyle. A weight reduction of just 10 percent will significantly reduce risk of heart disease and other obesity-related illnesses. Obesity/overweight is the second leading contributing factor to many childhood diseases such as orthopedic disorders, sleep apnea, type II diabetes mellitus, asthma, high blood pressure and cholesterol, skin disorders, emotional and psychosocial problems (Spigel, 2002), and many more. Weight-bearing exercise such as walking and strength training helps slow the onset of and/or prevent osteoporosis and some research shows that participating in such activities can actually build bone density and begin to reverse the disease. Other benefits are: Weight reduction, reduced tension and stress, improved well-being, Enhanced self-image and self-esteem and improved physical function.

3. Exercise:

Although drugs alone can often bring cholesterol down to normal levels, diet and exercise provide benefits that drugs don’t. They’ll lower blood pressure, reduce weight, and lower the risk of developing diabetes. A sedentary lifestyle is a dangerous risk factor for disease. Exercise and a healthy diet helps the body use insulin more efficiently and can help control, alleviate and prevent many diseases. Exercise, cessation of tobacco consumption, eating a high-fiber, low-fat diet, controlling body weight, and learning to cope with stress, reduce the risk of heart disease.

4. Medical:

We all want a trim and have healthy body for a variety of aesthetic, social and medical reasons. Healthy living is truly the best medicine. In a study conducted by Tufts University at the New England Medical Center, among patients with cardiovascular disease, an exercise program was shown to significantly reduce LDL cholesterol and other risk factors beyond what’s provided by drug therapy. Even modest weight loss can help reduce medical and pharmacy costs, help avoid bariatric surgery, and co-morbidities such as asthma, hypertension, and diabetes.

5. Wellness:

Wellness is about being comfortable in your space: your body, your attitude, and your environment. A healthy lifestyle can greatly increase a person’s longevity. And even though catching something contagious like a cold or flu is sometimes unavoidable, having the wisdom that feeling healthy is a better way to live should have you asking yourself why you are not taking action to live each day as beneficially as possible. The issue with a lot of people nowadays is that they are so busy working and/or taking care of everyone around them, that they neglect their own health and wellness. Make sure your heart is healthy and your bones are strong and Keep it that way to see the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

6. Care:

The best way to ensure good health is by taking care of yourself. The Care stakes are high but the potential rewards are great-preventing premature death, unnecessary illness, and disability, controlling health care cost, and maintaining a high quality of life into old age. With a healthy lifestyle, you are who you are and you don’t have to be self-conscious about those things that you otherwise would be if you didn’t care about your lifestyle

7. Control:

With a healthy lifestyle, you have more control of your life as you work with your body against those aspects of living which may work to hold you back if you would let them. With a healthy lifestyle, you have control over your sleep patterns so that you feel generally well rested throughout the day. With a healthy lifestyle, everything works together to help other aspects of your lifestyle make sense and benefit you. Science has proven that healthy weight loss, healthy eating and fitness routines make dramatic improvements in health, and help control common chronic illnesses like high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes, stress, and general lack of stamina.

8. Strength:

Another benefit of a healthy lifestyle is a steady flow of stamina and strength; you can perform activities and exercises that will enhance your flexibility. With a healthy lifestyle, you have a balanced and varied diet that provides your body its needed nutrients and energy as well. You have strength to train to help build the muscle that supports the bones and joints; therefore decreasing the risk of falls and fractures. Cardiovascular exercise, also known as aerobic exercise, strengthens the heart muscle, therefore increases the heart’s efficiency. As we age, our bones biologically begin to lose mass and strength. Weight-bearing exercise such as walking and strength training helps slow the onset of and/or prevent osteoporosis and some research shows that participating in such activities can actually build bone density and begin to reverse the disease.

The good news is you don’t have to train like an Olympic athlete to enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. The secret and logic are repeating a chosen healthy pattern as a part of your daily or weekly activities. We hope that this will get you to a healthy lifestyle if you are not there already. A healthy lifestyle is a way of life.

[ad_2]

Source by Fortune Ezeoha

Views: 0

January 13, 2020
Book Summary – The Master-Key to Riches – Written by Napoleon Hill

[ad_1]

This book in a nutshell is a must read for anybody wanted to improve their lives. Regardless of what area you want to improve, Napoleon Hill shows the Master-Key works. Napoleon Hill died in 1970 at 87 years old. Thus the research he did was way ahead of his time. He profiled Andrew Carnegie who created U.S. Steel and mentored Charles Schwab. Andrew Carnegie commissioned Napoleon Hill to profile successful people to see if there was a pattern. This book along with Think and Grow Rich is a combination of that research.

Why is this important to me?

If I was spending my precious time listening to this video then the first question I would ask is – Why is this important to me?

This is important because Mr. Hill explains the 12 riches of life and how to achieve them. Are you where you want to be or do you need help defining true happiness? The study of the 12 riches and the Master-Key defined in this book will give you the blueprint for happiness.

The 12 Riches of Life are: 1. Positive Mental Attitude, 2. Sound Physical Health, 3. Harmony in Human Relationships, 4. Freedom from Fears, 5. The Hope of Achievements, 6. The Capacity of Faith, 7. Willingness to Share One’s Blessings, 8. A labor of Loves, 9. An Open Mind on All Subjects, 10, Self-discipline, 11. The capacity to Understand People, 12. Economic Security.

All 12 riches are important but for the sake of time we will dig into three of them in this summary.

1. Positive Mental Attitude – Mental attitude is important because it converts the brain into the equivalent of an electro-magnet which attracts the counterpart of one’s dominating thoughts, aims and purposes. It also attracts the counterpart of one’s fears, worries and doubts. This basically means that you will manifest in your life that which you focus on regardless if it is positive or negative.

2. Sound Physical Health – This one is self-evident and should be number one. In my humble opinion, without health, you cannot create anything. Health is the ultimate gift because with it, everything else is possible. This can easily be taken for granted but once it is taken from you then life changes instantly. This needs to be a priority for everybody.

3. The Capacity to Understand People: The person who truly understands people knows that we all come from the same core. The nine emotions common, according to the book are: love, sex, desire of material gain, self-preservation, freedom from body and mind, self-expression, desire for perpetuation of life and death, anger and fear. The capacity to understand others eliminates many of the common causes of friction among men.

The Master-Key is a combination of 17 principles when used in combination will allow you to achieve the 12 Riches of Life.

The Master-Key consists of:

1) Habit of going the extra mile

2) Definiteness of Purpose

3) The Master mind

4) Applied Faith

5) Pleasing Personality

6) Habit of learning from defeat

7) Creative Vision

8) Personal Initiative

9) Accurate Thinking

10) Self-Discipline

11) Concentration of Endeavor

12) Co-operation

13) Enthusiasm

14) The Habit of Health

15) Budgeting Time and Money

16) Golden Rule Applied 17) Cosmic habit force.

For the sake of time we will profile three of the seventeen.

1. Definiteness of Purpose – Highly successful people have a defined purpose. Mother Teresa dedicated her life in helping the poor of Calcutta and through her definite purpose became world renowned and helped millions of people.

2. The Master Mind – is a group of people that have expertise that can be leveraged toward your defined purpose. Leveraging the combined OPE (Other People’s expertise) gives a compound effect to the desired result.

3. Habit going the Extra Mile – I like this one because the 12 Riches of Life can NOT be attained without hard, smart and right work. You have to do the thing to have the power!!!! Notice this is the HABIT of going the extra mile. Ingrain this in your mind and you will not be disappointed with the results.

I hope you have found this short summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes habit.

Habits form in as little as 21 days. I highly recommend you read this book and put the principles in place. To take one thing away from the summary and make it habit will be the “Habit of Going the Extra Mile”. Put this front and center and it will help you in everything you do.

According to Mr. Hill, Going the extra mile by doing more than one is paid for – “It is the strange influence which it has on the person who does it. The greatest benefit from this habit does not come to those to whom the service is rendered. It comes to the one who renders the service, in the form of a changed “mental attitude,” which gives him more influence with other people, more self-reliance, greater initiative, more enthusiasm, more vision and definiteness of purpose. Do the thing and you shall have the power!!!!

[ad_2]

Source by Joe Mosed

Views: 0

January 13, 2020
A Healthy Dose of Medicine for the Soul

[ad_1]

A large segment of the human population takes things way too seriously for their own good. The strange anomaly is that most people laugh at the wrong thing and fail to laugh at the right thing. This serious incongruity has robbed people of a healthy attitude towards life in general.

Those who take life too seriously are in danger of missing the great joys of living in a crazy world like ours. I am not sure about the scientific research but I would guess that for every sad moment it takes one hundred laughs to balance the books. Some people are about ninety-nine laughs short of a real sane moment.

I like the old English proverb that says, “Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and you cry alone.”

From my perspective, if you cannot laugh with someone you will not be able to cry with him or her and have it mean anything.

According to some medical advice, it takes more facial muscles and energy to frown than it does to smile. Of course, the only exercise some people have is frowning and who am I to take that away from them.

I am determined, no matter what, to exercise my right to smile and laugh and enjoy the world around me. I must confess that I get this attitude quite honestly.

My paternal grandfather was a Past Master in the area of practical jokes. No amount of time was too much to spend preparing for one of his famous practical jokes. His favorite holiday was April 1 and began preparing for this holiday right after Christmas.

The fact that his practical jokes at times got him into trouble did not seem to affect him at all.

Once while in the hospital for an extended period he had somebody smuggle in to him a can of snuff. For some reason he liked chewing snuff. It is the most disgusting habit I know of on earth.

He no sooner received his smuggled goods then he began chewing it. If you know anything about chewing snuff, you know it is accompanied by a lot of spitting. As usual, his timing was impeccable. Just as the head nurse passed his door and looked in, he leaned over and spit in to the garbage can he had next to his bed. The nurse, not knowing about the chewing snuff, thought he was spitting blood and immediately went into emergency mode. Immediately my grandfather was rushed into the operating room and the surgeon and medical team were assembled.

My grandfather was very sick at the time. Some did not think he would get out of the hospital.

Just as they got him situated in the operating room he pulled from under his sheet his can of chewing snuff and smiled at them. The only person in the room that thought this was in any way amusing was my grandfather. The doctors were so angry with him that they refused to see him for three days and confiscated his can of chewing snuff.

My aunt and uncle lived right next to my grandfather. My aunt was hyper clean when it came to her house. Dirt in any form was not welcome under her roof. She had a broom that was always within reach because she never knew when a piece of dirt would try to invade her domicile.

That year my grandfather found something new. I am not sure where he found it but he probably spent a lot of time looking for something like this. It was a rubber facsimile of a very nasty looking piece of vomit. To him it was a prized possession.

Most of his practical jokes were executed on April 1. Whenever we saw grandfather coming on this particular day we usually ran for cover.

He went over to visit my aunt and was sitting on the couch in the living room. They chatted for a little while and then my grandfather began to cough a little bit. He said to my aunt, “I haven’t been feeling good lately. I really don’t know what it is.” Then he started to cough a little more seriously, to which, my aunt got up and went to the kitchen to get him a glass of water thinking that might help him.

When she got back, she was shocked to see on her new coffee table a very horrible sight. My grandfather was bent over the coffee table hacking and coughing as though he was in the process of dying. On the coffee table was a very nasty looking piece of vomit.

My aunt went into hysterics. She whirled around and within a moment had grabbed her broom and started towards my grandfather. My grandfather was laughing but not for long.

Suddenly he realized that the flailing broom in my aunt’s hand was aimed at him. She chased him out of the house, down the driveway and for at least three blocks yelling obscenities at him that I dare not repeat in public society.

Laughter is the fresh air of the soul. Even the Bible thinks so.

“A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: but by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken” (Proverbs 15:13). And, my favorite, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones” (Proverbs 17:22).

I recommend a healthy dose of medicine for your soul.

[ad_2]

Source by James Snyder

Views: 0

January 10, 2020
Finding Your Wealthy Place – Five Steps of Entering Your Wealthy Place

[ad_1]

You can enter into your wealthy place. It is important however to indicate that such is not an overnight thing. It is a process. Never try to take shortcuts. The good news is that there are sure steps you can follow to reach your wealth place. They are described as follows:

1. Know and Understand That There Is a Wealthy Place in God

Not every believer knows that he or she has a wealthy place. That is the reason some believers do not bother working on becoming wealthy. They think having a job is enough. But having only a job cannot make you wealthy. You need to also do something apart from your job. Do business and or invest where you can make money. A paycheck normally meets life’s necessities. But you also have wants. What about them. You need abundance. If only your needs are met, how are you going to be a blessing to the nations (to others).

“I will bless you and make your descendants into a great nation. You will become famous and be a blessing to others.

I will bless anyone who blesses you, but I will put a curse on anyone who puts a curse on you. Everyone on earth will be blessed because of you.” (Genesis 12:2-4).

Abraham was promised a blessing and becoming great if he obeyed. Guess what? He obeyed and was blessed to be a blessing. So shall you be blessed if only you will obey. Someone might say, “Ah! This was said to Abraham and his descendents i.e. his seed.” Just look at the following scripture:

“So if you belong to Christ, you are now part of Abraham’s family, and you will be given what God has promised.” (Galatians 3:29 – Contemporary English Version). Other versions say we are Abraham’s seed. I hope you know the song, “Abraham’s blessings are mine.” We used to sing that song but I don’t hear much of it today. So we are saying you are blessed.

If you have been praying and confessing but still broke, revisit the Word and see what God is saying about issues of money. There is a wealthy place. We read in Psalm 105:37, “He [the Lord] brought them forth also with silver and gold: and there was not one feeble person among their tribes.” Do you see the GREAT God we serve? He does not want us to go empty handed. He is a God of abundance. I hope you remember the Father who had two sons (parable of the prodigal son). In Luke 15:11-12, it is recorded, “And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living.” A good Father has a portion for everyone of his sons. As sons of God, our Father has a portion for everyone of us. Find your wealthy place. It is your portion.

2. Locate Wealth

Maybe you are asking yourself, “What is the wealthy place?” This is a place of more than enough. Here are other lands:

Land of “not enough”

We have our excuses for dwelling in this land. Excuses like, “Brother, not everyone is supposed to be rich. So I am OK the way I am. I am fine.” Others say, “I don’t want much my sister. I love the Lord. I pray and read the Bible. I am satisfied with what I have.” But you see, these are all religious excuses. There is abundance. Most of us know this land. Many passed through it. It is a land of struggling in life.

Then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of THELAND OF EGYPT, from THE HOUSE OF BONDAGE. (Deuteronomy 8:14).

It is time to come out of this land in Jesus Name. It does not glorify God in any way.

The Land of ‘Just Enough’

Most people in life park in the land of “just enough.”They are not trying to justify why they are here. They are satisfied with being here. They have just enough and are barely getting by. But they are satisfied. When you are satisfied you don’t fight for anything. You will not fight for your rights or try to have more. But this is not good enough child of God. It is true that God brings us to one land at a time. Why?

“And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandment, or no.

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live.” (Deuteronomy 8:2, 3).

During the wilderness experience, the Israelites were allowed to have “just enough”. God fed them with manna for each day. They were not allowed to gather more. Some tried and the manna got rotten and infested with worms. They were still on their way to their “wealthy place”.

Through the stages of our walk to the wealthy place there is a learning process. In the land of “not enough” you learn to depend on God for your needs (deliverance). Then in the land of “just enough” you learn that God can move you from one level to another. You need to demonstrate more trust on God. Furthermore, you learn to be trustworthy. God should trust you to be the guardian of His wealth. Some testing takes place. You must be seen to be faithful on the little so that much can be given to you.

The Land of ‘More Than Enough’

As children of God, we should all be headed to this land. The question is, “Why is it important to get into this land i.e. the wealthy place? This is because once you are in this land; you can help your neighbor. This is part of knowing and fulfilling your covenant. God said to Abraham, “… I will bless thee… and thou shalt be a blessing” (Gen. 12:2). In other words, God told Abraham, “I will bless you and your family so much that you will have to give some of your blessings away.”

3. Be Willing to encounter obstacles and giants

As you are willing to encounter obstacles and giants, withstand them using the Word of God. Many believers are not even willing to go into their wealthy place. They are not even thinking about it. Do you know why? It is because there are giants. Have you noted how difficult and challenging to get more money? The reason is that there are giants in the wealthy place. There has to be some fighting and perseverance to enter there.

“And they [the twelve spies] told him [Moses], and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.

NEVERTHELESS the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.” (Number 13:27, 28).

Not child of God that this was their wealthy place. God had given it to them. They were supposed to go and take it with God’s support. That is how some of us believers react to the promises of God. We have heard the promises given. But because of the obstacles and challenges, we end up not willing to go forward. We decide to settle for less. There will indeed be resistance. God wants to see us moving forward and then He will support us. Believe the Word and do it in Jesus Name.

Have a good attitude towards the Word of God. Be willing to obey. Look at the attitude of a believer who trusts God:

In Numbers 13:30, Caleb said, “… Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Does it mean this believer didn’t see the giants? He saw them. But he saw God bigger than the giants. Now, who is magnified in your life? Is it God (His Word) or the giants? There is a wealthy place to be possessed. The other spies saw themselves as grasshoppers in the eyes of the giants except Joshua and Caleb. Guess what happened? Out of the generation that came out of Egypt, only Joshua and Caleb entered the “wealthy place”. Why? The believed and acted on the Word of God. Do you believe the Word? Are you going to act on it?

4. Expand your capacity to receive Wealth

In order to enter into your wealthy place, you need to cooperate with God. Have an excellent spirit like Joshua and Caleb. The reason why those who died in the wilderness without entering into the place of plenty is that they did not have the capacity to receive the wealthy land. Do not die in the wilderness. The place of “just enough” or place of “not enough”.

Some way or another, if you are going to receive in life what God has for you, you are going to have to be willing to take a step forward in faith from the mess you are in, toward the promise of God. When you do, God will meet you there. If your faith is really in God and His Word, your faith will not be denied- not now, not ever!

“If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land” (Isaiah 1:19). Allow God to enlarge you by the power of His Word and Spirit.

5. Step Five: Take the limits off God

If there is something that can hinder God’s full manifestation in our lives, it is our unbelief. Otherwise God is more than willing to take us to our wealthy place. He works in our lives to the extent that we believe and allow Him. He cannot force His way.

“Yea, they TURNED BACK and TEMPTED GOD,and LIMITED THE HOLY ONE OF ISRAEL.” (Psalm 78:41).

You are the only one that can limit God. After you have removed the limits, adjust your vision. God once told Abraham that as far as his eyes would see, that land He was going to give to him. You can receive only what you can see. It is all in the Word. The question is, “Can you see it with your physical eyes closed?”

You remember Elisha’s servant Gehazi? When attacked by the Syrians he was afraid but Elisha told him not to. Why? There were angels all around them. Look at the following:

“And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do?

And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.

And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha. (2 Kings 6:15-17).

In the Name of Jesus Christ, I pray that your eyes may be opened and that you may see all that the Lord has prepared for you.

Blessings in Jesus Name!

[ad_2]

Source by Elphas Sipho Mdluli

Views: 0

January 10, 2020
Finding Emotional Intelligence in Negative Emotions – Positive Purpose in Sadness Anger and Fear

[ad_1]

Emotional Intelligence is severely undervalued. When you feel stuck, frustrated, stressed, upset, or overwhelmed, skillful emotional awareness is the key to moving forward. Underneath your upset is a specific emotion that can guide you. The key, then, is to understand the messages in your feelings and become skillful in using their energy appropriately.

Even so-called “negative emotions,” such as sadness, anger, and fear, convey important information and energy to carry out specific actions that can help you and others. Emotions arise with a purpose and when this purpose is fulfilled the feeling subsides. Unfortunately, as a society, we have not learned to understand and sufficiently value emotional energy and information, so we tend to deal with these feelings crudely.

For example, with an emotion like anger, you might express it explosively or shove it under the surface, because you do not want to act angrily. Either you express your feelings reactively or cease feeling altogether.

Emotional Intelligence expert, Karla McLaren, describes a healthy third alternative. She says you can facilitate the healthy flow of emotions by consciously “channeling” the information and energy that emotions provide. In other words, emotions contain meaningful messages along with energy to do something related to those messages. This is true for so-called “negative” emotions as well as “positive” ones.

For example, McLaren suggests that:

• ANGER arises when you, or someone or something you love, is threatened and you need to take protective action or set a firm boundary.

• SADNESS arises when you need to let go of what no longer serves you or what is past, so you can move forward.

• FEAR arises to prompt you to take preventative action.

• JOY prompts you toward expansive, expressive, creative action.

• COMPASSION prompts you to care for others.

So, every emotion has a MESSAGE and ENERGY to carry out a specific type of action. Tuning into your emotions helps you to receive these messages and take these actions.

Let’s explore the first three of these emotions in more depth. Sadness, anger, and fear are often misunderstood and handled poorly. We tend to repress them, stay stuck in them, or express them unskillfully, with negative consequences.

So, as you work with these emotions, it’s important to do so Mindfully. Approach them as a curious observer with an attitude of paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, without judgment. Know that emotions are simply information about yourself, others, and events, along with energy to do something about this information. They do not define who you are and they will pass as you gather their information and take appropriate action.

(Note: If you feel overwhelmed or paralyzed by feelings to the point where you are unable to consciously process them yourself, seek the assistance of a counseling professional who is trained to work with intense emotions.)

The Positive Purpose of Sadness

The purpose of sadness is to enable you to let go of what is no longer working or what is past and finished. Sadness is a watery downward-flowing energy that enables you to release what no longer serves you, so you can return to fluidity and flexibility in your life.

By allowing appropriate sadness to flow through you, you’ll make space for new energy and new possibilities. If you do not consciously acknowledge sadness or don’t know how to flow with it, you’ll bury it inside, where it will perpetually cycle, or you’ll get lost in the feeling and be overwhelmed.

Here’s a practice adapted from Karla McLaren’s book, “The Language of Emotions,” that can help you consciously process feelings of sadness.

1. When you feel sadness flood into you, take some quiet, private time to center into the feeling. Tune into the sensation of sadness, locate where it resides in your body, and approach it with curiosity to learn what it has to tell you.

2. Take a deep in-breath as if you are filling your whole body with your breath. As you exhale, make a sighing sound, and feel the energy of your sadness flowing like water down through your body, through your legs and feet, and down into the ground.

3. Stay centered in your inner space and ask your sadness the question: “What needs to be released or let go right now?” Don’t rush to fill in an answer. Instead, keep the question open. Listen and feel inside.

Repeat your sighing breath down through your body as many times as you feel the need and keep your question open for your deeper knowing to respond. You may find you know right away what you need to release or you may find it becomes clear later. Either way, tuning into sadness (or any emotion) mindfully initiates a process of discovery and integration that will help you move forward.

The Positive Purpose of Anger

Anger arises to create and preserve personal boundaries and safeguard personal space. You feel angry when a personal boundary or the boundary of someone or something you care for is disrupted or violated. When you are able to identify the source of the perceived threat and use the energy available in anger to strengthen your personal space and take appropriate action, anger will recede. It will have accomplished its purpose.

Here’s a practice adapted from McLaren to gather the information and use the energy in your anger:

1. When you feel anger rising, focus inside your body and become more in-touch with the felt sensation. Approach the feeling with curiosity to learn more about it.

2. Take a deep in-breath. As you exhale, imagine and feel as if the energy in your anger travels outward into a sphere about an arms-width around you, your personal boundary, strengthening it with a brilliant color. Do this until you feel a shift in your energy, so you are witnessing, feeling, and working with the energy in your anger without being consumed by it.

3. Ask your anger this question: “What needs to be protected or restored?”

4. Then ask, “What action will restore healthy boundaries and protect what is important?”

These questions help you identify what feels threatened, so you can take appropriate action. Try this when anger arises and see how it works for you.

The Positive Purpose of Fear

We’ve been told “Fear is what holds us back” and “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” If we can just overcome our fears, we’ll be able to live full-out and realize our hopes and dreams. But, what if this perennial wisdom regarding fear is missing something? What if fear in its essential form is one of our wise guides?

Emotions have three primary forms: unconscious reactive expression, a repressed cycling state, and a healthy free-flowing state. It may be that we are only familiar with the first two forms of fear: a reactive expression that makes us cower and a repressed state which creates constant low-level anxiety.

Fear in its healthy free-flowing form is something altogether different. What if fear can signal intuitive awareness of something that needs attention? What if it can alert you to important action?

This form of fear is a sixth sense that reaches out through your personal space to pick up signals about what is happening inside you, with others, and in your environment. Fear can alert you to what is happening in your own body. It can alert you to the actions and intentions of the people around you and to conditions in the environment. When you learn to discern this information, it can help you can choose wise actions.

To learn to use fear as a wise guide, try this simple practice:

1. When you feel fear arising, take a quiet, private moment to center into the feeling. Tune into the sensation of fear, locate where it resides in your body, and approach it with curiosity to learn what it has to tell you.

2. Take a deep in-breath as if you are filling your whole body with your breath. As you exhale, imagine and feel that your breath fills the sphere of your personal space about an arm’s width around your entire body. Sense into your personal space and into the wider space around you and search for subtle signals. For example, you might be drawn to an area inside your body or to look at something or someone in your environment. You might feel the urge to move toward or away from something.

3. Stay centered in your personal space and ask your fear the question: “What action needs to be taken right now?” Don’t rush to fill in an answer. Instead, keep the question open. Listen and feel inside. See what presents itself. You may have an inspiration to take a specific action.

It can take time to learn to discern guiding signals. As best as you can, be patient. The simple action of tuning into emotional signals is a cultivated skill. You’ll grow your ability to sense inner guidance from fear and all your emotions through mindful practice over time.

You’ll also learn to discern the quality of signals that represent accurate present guidance from false interpretations based on painful past experiences. There’s a different felt quality to accurate versus false guidance. False guidance may feel alarming, stressful, or rushed. It is fixated on what happened in the past or overly-anxious about the future. Accurate emotional guidance has a matter-of-fact, present, forward-moving quality, that feels like perfect timing.

So, in summary, as emotions come up, instead of being wary of them, what if you welcome them, become curious, and ask:

• What is the sensation of this emotion in my body?

• Exactly what emotion is this?

• What is the message in this feeling?

• What is it asking me to do?

[ad_2]

Source by Kevin Schoeninger

Views: 0

January 9, 2020