Tuesday 30 June 2020

How to Negotiate Your Salary, with Ramit Sethi

Can You Gage Your Level of Subconscious Stress?

Did you know that stress presents itself in different degrees? That it can start by something as simple as daily worries? That it accumulates in us? That it can be silently consuming our subconscious capacities? That it can still be properly handled and managed?

Although stress is quite a modern concept, Hippocrates already discussed anxiety back in the 4th century BC. It is a problem that humanity has had to deal with since the dawn of time. In spite of which, we still seems to know very little about how to handle it.

In my line of work, humanology, I come across a lot of people who suffer from all types of stress and have come to some conclusions that I'd like to share with you here today, together with a few tips and tricks in the hope that they can help you.

Worry, fear, anxiety and panic can be just different forms and degrees of stress: When any of those forms of fear is present in a person's life too often, chances are that they end up escalating into the next level in this progression.
Worry can also become a form of stress when the person can't control it. Those who can't stop worrying over things end up accumulating a lot of cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine, which are slowly released by their system each time they plan to "fix" a problem by getting ready for it. They are regularly preparing their bodies for the "bad something" to come. There are certain trends at this level:
Overthinking is a form of constant worry.Those who can't stop thinking without control, whose thoughts govern them, tend to always think about problems and worries. They can't seem to be able to disconnect from their worries and are therefore constantly releasing stress-based chemicals. Daydreamers are one type of overthinkers. Most daydreamers spend their time also worrying, not enjoying fun or positive imaginations.
The excessive need to control everything is another form of worry.Those who need to have everything under their control, the so-called control freaks, are in a permanent state of worry over their losing such control.


When the worry turns into "what if... " questions, it becomes fear. Worrying over something can grow into fearing it very easily. All "what if... " questions indicate some kind of fear. "What if that doesn't work out the way I want it to? What if that other thing happens? What if that person fails... " all indicate a fear of something happening or not in the future. The worry becomes more focused and the feeling more acute. The person's body segregates bigger amounts of chemicals.


Constant worry and fear have a cumulative stressful effect in us. Being in a constant state of worry or fear leads to an excess of chemicals in our bodies. Those chemicals, if not properly managed and released, will accumulate in a person's body and could grow into silent anxiety.


Worry, fear and anxiety can occupy a huge part of our subconscious capacity. When a person is silently and subconsciously handling worry, fear and anxiety many hours a day, that person's brain is working overtime.
The person is not aware of it. The conscious part of that person's brain will deal with the conscious symptoms of worry, fear and anxiety, whenever aware of them, but the subconscious ones will still grow and multiply, making use of the person's subconscious mechanisms and capacity.
The mind is like an iceberg and our conscious mind is nothing but the very tiny tip. When a person suffers from chronic worry, fear or anxiety, visible, noticeable symptoms will be tackled. Unfortunately, that same person will also be subconsciously working on silent stress, trying to manage it, while it gradually accumulates inside due to a lack of adequate release mechanisms for the non-stop triggers. This reality is one of the main reasons why worry and fear can end up escalating into anxiety.


When the subconscious can't handle it, the conscious mind will release it. The subconscious tries to keep up with the stress, the worry, the fear, mostly by keeping it all bottled up inside, until its mere amount is so huge, that it overflows into the conscious mind in the form of anxiety or panic symptoms. Thus, all those never-released chemicals end up forcing the person to stop and do something. By then, handling them is obviously much harder. There might be years of accumulation and poor handling.

So, then, what can we do? There are some obvious answers to that question. But maybe not so many obvious tools. Let me offer you a couple of both.
Work with a humanologist. That is, of course, the most obvious solution J. Humanologists are experts in human beings and can expand on the understanding and tools beyond the scope of this article. Seek one out to help you recognize your level of stress, your triggers and the personal tools you need to change that trend in you. In the meantime, you can try the following tips as well:
Stop accumulating. Yes, even though that sounds obvious, how is it done? How can an overthinker stop thinking? How can a worrier stop worrying?
Mindfulness: Fear is ALWAYS in the future. What if... always refers to something that hasn't quite happened yet. Therefore, learning to be in the here and the now is key to those people. Learn to return from the future to the present. The more often you get back to the present, the less negative chemicals your system will be releasing. Learn and use mindfulness techniques to force yourself to be in the present as often as possible.
Connect with the world outside. Many people who suffer from worry, fear, anxiety and panic spend their hours inside themselves. They often spend many hours in their heads. And they sometimes forget to connect with the world outside, with their reality. The more time a person spends inside, without a clear connecting line with the world outside, the greater the chance to fall into this stress trap. KEEP IN CONTACT WITH THE OUTSIDE REALITY at all times. Yes, introspection is great... as long as you are not disconnected from reality. Yes, meditation is great... as long as you are not disconnected from reality. Yes, being inside one's personal sphere is great... as long as you're not disconnected from reality. Then, make the CONSCIOUS effort to remain connected to reality and the outside world, no matter what. Keep on coming out for air and a clear anchor on reality.
Time boxes. Design a certain fixed time to worry every day. Give yourself the chance to really worry for, let's say, an hour a day. AND THAT IS IT! Once the hour is over, any time your worry, fear or anxiety comes calling again, tell it to return tomorrow, for the next time box.


Fight negative with positive. Some other happier chemicals can help you reduce the levels of accumulated cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine in your body: oxytocin, endorphins, serotonin, dopamine and the like. Learn how to release them more often and in greater quantities for two reasons:
They fight the bad guys. Good chemicals will make you feel better and will help you relax almost immediately. Which means that the good ones will target some of the negative chemicals.
When your body is releasing these, it can't be releasing those. Thus, if your body is busy flushing your system with wonderful oxytocin, it can't be producing the nasty products at the same time.
The positive result is therefore double: there are less bad chemicals in you because the good ones are fighting them and you're producing less because you're busy doing something else.


Let them go! Nothing will work if you continue creating more and more of the nasty chemicals. Learn some tools to get rid of the stress you already have inside: exercise, practice laughing, apply the tools mentioned above to counteract and release the nasty bugs, and take control of your own being.

All these tips will help you handle your stress a bit better. Don't let it grow in you until it becomes unmanageable. Seek help now instead of letting it overtake you and control your will. It can be done.
Enjoy life... ALL of it,

Learn more in my book: The Optimist in You https://www.amazon.com/Optimist-You-Optimism-Coaching-Handbook/dp/151161160X

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Monday 29 June 2020

Why You Can’t Get Anything Done – The One Thing by Gary Keller | Animate...

The Opposite Of Gratitude (But In A Good Way)

Gratitude might sound like some New Age, insipid nonsense.

Or a great way to cripple your ambition. After all, if you appreciate what you have, why aspire towards anything greater?

The science is in: neither view is true. Gratitude strengthens your mind, both from a mental health perspective and a raw brainpower one.

It trains your mind to focus on ways you're already succeeding. Even if you're a million kilometres from your dream life, you're still doing something right. Pay attention to that and you'll get more and more of it.

Before long, you're living the life of your dreams.

So, yes, gratitude is powerful.

And so is its opposite.

By "opposite", I don't mean ingratitude. That'll derail your personal growth faster than almost anything.

I mean opposite in a different sense.

Think about it this way: gratitude is appreciating what you already have. One opposite of this is appreciating what you don't have yet.

You could call that anticipation - and it's darn powerful too.

A handy exercise to train your gratitude is, before going to bed at the end of the day, reflect on what went well. What did you do right and how did you succeed today?

The mirror of the exercise, which you can do as well, is to begin the day with anticipation.

What do you think you'll do well today?

What are you looking forward to?

Is there anything you hope to achieve or accomplish?

It's an insanely powerful way to begin each day.

By focusing on what you want, you prime your mind to achieve it. You start to look for ways to reach it - both consciously and unconsciously.

In a way, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. You see yourself doing something amazing, which makes you more likely to do it.

It's quick to do - you could do this in no more than a minute.

And you don't need any special equipment. Your imagination will suffice.

Don't let this get in your way. It might be quick, simple and easy, but that doesn't mean it isn't life changing.

It's not an impressive, cutting edge, expensive, difficult or awkward technique.

Which means it takes discipline to do. The smallest things are the easiest to drop.

Add it as an appointment in your calendar. Stick with it until it becomes a habit.

And commit to anticipating fantastic things every day.

You might notice the benefits on the first day. If not, it won't take you long to approach your life with renewed vigour.

So that's one way to enhance your life.

But if self-improvement really interests you, what would you do with more techniques than you can use?

Like, say, 60 of them?

Get your hands on Three-Score Navike - the comprehensive and easy way to grow and evolve - right here:

https://guided-thought.com/downloads/escape-mediocrity/

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Sunday 28 June 2020

How to Have Infinite Energy (Yes, It's Possible) | Todd Herman on Conver...

Life Purpose Vision Boards - It's Time To Get Out of Your Own Way

Becoming a Helping Professional is often a heart-centred choice to lead a purpose-filled life. But, accomplishing this spiritual journey alone is not always easy. So, how can you manifest your spiritual path faster with a life purpose vision board?

What is it that brings up resistance for us as Helping Professionals and how come most of us end up broke, burnt-out, self-sabotaging and procrastinating instead of fulfilling our life purpose and manifesting the life we really desire?

So, why is it so common for Helping Professionals to know how to help everyone else, but they have a hard time sorting out there OWN lives?

The simple fact is many Helping Professionals do NOT feel truly worthy of having what it is they want.

The science behind the Law of Attraction is based on knowing how to manifest in a certain way that eases any vibrational resistance, so you can manifest everything that is important to you as you fulfil your Life Purpose with clarity, purpose, life/work balance, more vibrancy and prosperity.

This maybe creating a vision board that aims to attract more clients who resonate with your message, story, vision or mission or how you want to heal or help others improve their health and well-being.

What is a Life Purpose Vision Board Exactly?

Basically, it is similar to a traditional vision board, a visual representation of your goals. But I named my vision board; my Life Purpose Vision Board to align my life purpose and the essence of who I am and have a balanced life!

The main reason was realising that when you begin creating a vision board to help you fulfil your life purpose, you will feel free and no longer believe you have to choose one or the OTHER, you can have BOTH personal and professional fulfilment!

Life Purpose Vision Boards really CAN and do free you up to give and receive, in all areas of your life including the physical, emotional, intellectual, spiritual, material, creative, adventure, character, financial and professional elements of your life.

Until we as Helping Professionals are ready to get out of our own way, we block not only our own destiny or any goal we might place on our vision board, but we hold our selves back from reaching the people we feel compelled to serve.

What Shall I Include on My Life Purpose Vision Board?

It is important to have a very 'clear mental image' of what it is you are asking the Universe for!

The Law of Attraction concept is based upon what you think about most of the time eventually manifesting into your life. From this perspective it is very important that you find a way to focus your thoughts to be in alignment with what you want to do, be or have.

Using a specific theme such as you fulfilling your life purpose, creating life-work balance, manifesting more vibrancy and prosperity, you can be sure that things you place on your vision board will support you in making your difference in the world and at the same time manifest prosperity in every area of your life.

Life Purpose Vision boards will work for you to manifest your life purpose, your vision, your healing, your goals, your destiny, your dreams, your desires, wealth, prosperity and abundance, a soul-mate or manifesting absolutely anything!

Knowing thoughts become things, your dominant thoughts (both subconscious and conscious thoughts), become things, in other words they manifest into your reality.

Even though we know that it is our thoughts that determine what we manifest into our lives and it sounds pretty simple, many Helping Professionals feel guilty about putting themselves first or feel unworthy of receiving money for their work.

This is dominant in their thoughts and this kind of negative thinking (poverty thinking) is constantly energized with negative emotion (poverty consciousness), often not being aware of how to manifest using the Law of Attraction, they use it in reverse.

Because their focus is centred around what they don't want, they do not really believe they can manifest everything into their reality or they are not truly open to receiving or just don't know what they want or are not placing their attention long enough to manifest anything into their reality.

Unfortunately, this is why so many Helping Professionals have had the negative experience of trying to manifest using the Law of Attraction and Vision Boards as they don't really know how to make them work.

Put into action a vision to align your purpose in life, with your current business with your true-self and your personal life and you will begin seeing noticeable changes in a very short period of time.

Instead of trying to figure out or force your way to manifest a better life you'll have a clear mental image and be telling yourself I can manifest anything and it will happen for me.

And soon, you'll know how to manifest your vision for prosperity and abundance with your Life Purpose Vision Board doing the work you love!

Iona Meade is a Vision Board & Life Purpose [http://makeyourownvisionboard.com/] Business Coach. She shows Helping Professionals HOW to manifest using the universal law of attraction. The power of prosperity thinking gets you into vibrational alignment. Grab your FREE Prosperity Thinkers eCourse to change your life TODAY at=> [http://www.makeyourownvisionboard.com/]

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Saturday 27 June 2020

The Straightest Road to Success - Gary Vaynerchuk

Discover Your Life Purpose in Thirty Minutes or Less

The purpose of your life is to be lived period.

Specific purposes or missions are not completely necessary to live your life purpose. By default you will live your life on purpose automatically just by living it.

Your only real purpose in life is to be you to the best of your ability. Many of you focus on careers or a particular mission in life to fulfill your purpose but this is just the vehicle that you are using to be who you really are.

So in a nutshell your life purpose is just to be you, and you are the real mission and the real purpose.

You want to get off treadmill of life

You are feeling the need to get off the treadmill of life, and now you decided that you prefer to create a life that you consciously choose, instead of a work or life schedule created by someone else. You want the creative power for your life, and you prefer to spend your time doing what you really like to do.

You have a burning desire to make money doing what you love to do, by doing something that feels natural to you. You must live your life on purpose.

It's been said that you have no inherent purpose for your life and that you are alive just to do whatever you want to at any time. This might be true for some people, but I know this is not your personal truth.

Discontentment

You desire more out of your life experience and now you feel more willing to do whatever it takes to become the person you are meant to be. Your current challenge is that you lost your map, your blueprint, and you lost your way. Perhaps you are feeling lost and hopeless, and you just want to connect with a life purpose that feels like the right fit for you.

Continual discontentment in your life experience is a tell-tale sign that you are not living your life on purpose. Most likely you are living a life that is not of your choosing. Perhaps some of the parts are a match for you, but you are still compromising yourself in other areas of your life.

To be able to live a life on purpose you must be congruent with who you really are.

Life is subjective, despite the fact you should look at it objectively. There is no such thing as right or wrong. Right and wrong are aspects of duality and are more of a value judgment then an actual truth.

Everything at its center is neutral because your life has no meaning except the meaning you give it. That's why finding your purpose is of importance to you. You supply your life a meaning, a definition that authorizes and allows you to use your life purpose as a vehicle of expression of who you really are.

Become a Human Being

Transform yourself from a human doing to a human being. Your state of being is the most crucial part for living your life on purpose. You're state of being and not what you are doing will decide if you experience your life as an achievement or a failure.

Life Purpose Exercise

For the purpose of this exercise it is important that you do this alone, without any distractions. The life purpose exercise will take you thirty minutes or less. I remind you that having a life purpose is an exercise of free will based on your beliefs, definitions, values and how you would like to help co-create the planet that you live on.

Discovering your life- purpose exercise:

You will want to use your computer or a blank piece of paper for this exercise.

At the top you should write something like, "What is my purpose in life" or "Discovering my life purpose exercise."

Next, expand your mind and become relaxed as the information comes through you. Be sure to write everything that comes through including even the most trivial of information.

Continue writing until you feel strong feelings or perhaps even an emotion like weeping. Pain can be your friend because it serves as a reminder that you are resisting being who you really are.

Emotions are a powerful signal of your subconscious beliefs and that is the reason I use emotions for the purpose of this exercise. It's easier to feel and experience your emotions than it is to tap into your subconscious mind and discover your beliefs.

I urge you to do this exercise while your mind and body is in a relaxed and receiving state. This way you will more easily be able to open yourself up to higher levels of awareness (higher self). Do this exercise while you have alone time as well because any interruptions like family, phone calls, text messages and so on will disrupt your ability to receive the information.

While discovering your life purpose you may also discover a few answers that seem to give you a subtle feeling or emotion, but they don't quite make you express an emotion outwardly. Highlight those answers as you go along, so you can come back to them later to be able to dig a little deeper, and find out more.

Every purpose discovery reflects a piece of your purpose, but individually they aren't complete. When you start getting these kinds of answers, it just means you're getting warm. Keep going.

The key to remember is to open up your heart while you are writing and be honest about the answers you receive.

When you learn that you can do more with less, then you will be able to do less and get more.

Justin Mazza is a blogger who has committed himself to being a life-long student of  conscious evolution  and he wants to share his knowledge with you. You can discover more conscious evolution tips like how to become a deliberate creator of your reality at his blog Mazzastick.

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Friday 26 June 2020

The Truth About Your Calling With Seth Godin & Marie Forleo

Midlife ladies - how do you really feel about your aging face and body?

We are all too familiar with the panic when we discover:

- Our first grey hair
- Our weight has been slowly increasing despite no change in lifestyle
- First wrinkle
- First age spot
- Fat just isn't staying at the right places these days

What did you do after that? Did you try to ignore it? Did you start looking for the 'non-surgical facelift'?

What is the right thing to do? I don't know and I don't think there is a right answer.

I have recently read an interesting book, which candidly talked about the challenge women felt as their looks change. Allowed me to have a truly honest discussion with my self about my feelings towards aging appearance, which we don't seem to be comfortable discussing openly.

Check this out if you are feeling uneasy about signs of aging -

Thursday 25 June 2020

Overnight Success: Gary Vaynerchuk

How To Make Stress Your Friend

- Stress is when a physiological response is elicited from an external stimuli.

→ This means when a stressful situation (the external stimuli) is presented to you, it causes a (physiological) response from within your mind and body, which can be both psychological and physiological. The stress can also be short term or long term.

When most of us tend to think of stress we like to see it as a feeling similar to worry. Contrary to this belief, stress is not just a feeling and can cause harm if we allow our bodies to remain in the state of stress for too long. If a person is under constant stress, it can actually affect and change a person's whole biological and psychological state.

The Two Types Of Stress:

As most of us already know, stress is not always bad. There are actually two different types of stress that each of us experience, one is caused by positive events and the other is caused by negative events..

EUSTRESS- stress that is caused by a positive event. For example, the stress that occurs while watching a scary movie, riding a roller coaster, or getting a job promotion.

DISTRESS- stress that is caused by a negative event. For example, the stress that occurs from the loss of a loved one, getting hurt, or losing a job.

Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome:

The effect that stress can have on the body was first described by Hungarian scientist Hans Seyle in 1936. Seyle theorized that chronic stress creates long-term chemical changes in the body, therefore stress could be a prominent cause of more serious diseases.

With this knowledge in mind Seyle began to dig even further into his research. From his lab work with rats and his memories of medical school, Hans Seyle identified what he referred to as The General Adaptation Syndrome. This describes the body's reactions to stress and can be broken down into three stages:

1) Alarm Reaction- This is when a person is disturbed by a stressor or external stimulus and the body first notices this stimulus. It is in this first stage that Cannon's fight or flight response comes into effect and hormones are released to provide the individual with enough energy to handle the given situation at hand. These hormones include adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol. When released, there will be an increase in heart rate, breathing pattern, a tightening of muscles, and a constricting of blood vessels. All of this results in the creation of the energy you need to either fight or flee..

If the energy that is released from the fight or flight response continually remains unused through a lack of physical activity, it can actually have harmful effects on the body. Too much of the hormone cortisol can damage muscle tissue, cells, and can even lead to gastric ulcers, high blood sugar levels, and stroke. If there is too much adrenaline in the body, blood vessels of the brain and heart can be damaged, and this will increase the risk of suffering from a stroke or heart attack.

2) Adaptation- This is when the body begins to counteract the external stimulus and restore our bodies through recovery, renewal, and repair. This process is known as resistance, and it occurs almost immediately after the beginning of the alarm phase. This will continue until the stressful condition desists. Should a stressful condition continue, the body will remain in its state of arousal.

A person will begin to face problems when this process begins repeating too frequently, leaving little to no time for recovery to set in. If this occurs, the individual will move into the next stage..

3) Exhaustion- This is when the body has been depleted of the energy, both physical and psychological, that is required to fight off the stressor. This is particularly true for chronic stressors, because when fighting short-term stress, a person may not be entirely depleted of his or her energy. With the energy lost, the individual can no longer resist the stressor.

As a result, stress levels go up and remain high. The individual may experience adrenal fatigue, burnout, maladaption, overload, or dysfunction. Chronic stress can have a major impact on the body and mind. Nerve cells of organs and tissues can become damaged, memory and thinking can become impaired, and a person will be more likely to have anxiety and depression. High levels of stress can also contribute to rheumatoid arthritis, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

How to make Stress your Friend:

The only way to make stress become your friend is to change the way that you think and view it. In any given situation you can change the way your mind and body react to the stress.

I came across this idea while watching an episode of a show called "Ted Talks" Where a brilliant women named Kelly McGonigal explains her study on this stress theory. In this study about 30,000 people are tracked throughout 8 years. These people are asked 2 questions: How much stress have you had in the past year? Do you believe that stress can be harmful to your health?

People who had experienced a high amount of stress in the previous year had a 43% increase in risk of dying, but this was only true for the people who ALSO believed that stress was harmful.

On the other hand were people who did NOT believe that stress was harmful to their health. These people actually had the lowest percent risk of dying out of anyone, even the people who had experienced low amounts of stress.

What Does All This Mean?

This means that we can actually change the effects that stress has on us simply by changing our thought process about the subject. The way to do this is to begin viewing the stress responses as helpful to your situation.

Normally when we feel stressed out our body responds by releasing the hormones adrenaline, norepinephrine, and cortisol into your body. This results in an increase in heart rate, breathing patterns, constricting of blood vessels, and you can even begin to sweat. The trick is to view that pounding heart as your body preparing you for action. If you're breathing harder and faster, no problem, that's just your body supplying you with more oxygen. All of these responses are your body energizing you and preparing you.

Once you learn to change your mind and view these stress responses as helpful, you'll then be able to change the way your body reacts to it as well. In another study done, participants were taught how to view the stress responses as helpful, exactly how I mentioned in the paragraph above. When they put the participants into a stressful situation something amazing occurred..Not only did these people think differently about the situation but they're physical responses to the stress changed.

Normally, stress causes your heart rate to increase and your blood vessels to constrict. What the participants experienced was that their blood vessels stayed relaxed instead of constricting. More like a feeling of extreme joy or courage.

The participants from this study were actually able to make stress less likely to cause health issues simply by changing the way they think and react in the situation, and you can do this too..

The only way to beat stress, is to make it your friend.

All of these responses from the stress are your body preparing you with the energy you need to handle the situation at hand. There is no reason to fear stress, you are completely in control of the way your mind and body react to it.

Thanks for reading and good luck in your current endeavors!

-Brooke Neari

To join my team and get access to the same great 8-figure training that I receive, click here ---> http://brooke-neari.com/partner/

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Wednesday 24 June 2020

5 Steps To Change Your Life and Make It Stick

Stresspensation: Evaluating the Impact of Stress in Career Decision Making

Brad was an incredibly bright young executive with a very promising future. Ever since graduating college, he seemed to take on increased responsibilities in his company like a duck to water. He married his college sweetheart, Nancy, right after graduation and has two small children. Brad's talent didn't go unnoticed in the industry, with several competitors approaching Brad about his willingness to join another firm. He steadfastly resisted, that is until the offer of all offers came his way.

ACME Corp, a larger and more prominent competitor to his current company, wined and dined Brad and ultimately offered him a VP position with a higher salary and better benefits. The offer was too good to pass up so Brad talked with Nancy about the job and they both became enamored with how this was going to advance Brad's career and what they would be able to do with the extra money. Brad joyfully accepted ACME's offer, gave his current company two weeks' notice, and started in his new VP role.

Within a year of joining ACME, he noticed some unexpected side effects of his new position. He was required to be in weekly global executive virtual meetings which could happen at any time of the day or night. He was routinely working 60+ hours a week, missing dinner with Nancy and the kids. He traveled at least once a week, many times to put out fires at clients. His eating habits were horrendous and he wasn't exercising due to his schedule. He began putting on weight. Nancy was frustrated with him not being around and his kids missed their daddy. The stress was unbearable and led to Brad one day grabbing his chest and collapsing during a customer meeting.

While the above story about Brad is fictional, each one of us knows of a Brad (or perhaps is Brad) who made a career choice without considering the effects of the extra stress. The American Institute of Stress (yes there is such an organization) has quantified the cost of stress to employers at $300 billion annually due to things such as absenteeism, accidents, turnover, diminished productivity, and medical costs. Add to that the personal costs of stress (i.e., poor health, weight gain/loss, sleep deprivation) and the relationship costs of stress (i.e., fractured relationships, friends or loved ones alienation, missed school plays), and you have a perfect storm of negative factors which make any kind of work-life balance virtually impossible to attain. In my 30 years of working with career professionals, stress typically takes a back seat to compensation and when considered, it is usually only a slice of the true stress level that the professional will endure. In the first ten years of my own career I saw stress as a given and gave it no consideration when evaluating career alternatives. This was a big mistake and a lesson I learned the hard way. Fortunately I learned it early in my career and was able to make some positive changes. However, some professionals never get it.

To help the professional evaluate the impact of stress when deciding on a career change, I've defined a comparative increase/decrease method to evaluate the impact of stress, based on three stress types:

(a) Relationship Stress

(b) Work Stress

(c) Personal Stress

For each stress type, a qualitative degree of stress is defined as follows:

1 - Minimal Stress

2 - Moderate Stress

3 - Significant Stress

In evaluating the impact of stress, each of the three stress types is assigned a value for the current and new job alternatives, then a comparative increase/decrease assessment is derived for each stress type. Let's put this to an example.

Lets say that a systems analyst (I'll call her Ann) is currently in a job paying $90,000/year and she's been offered a new position paying $100,000/year. On the surface, Ann likes the idea of a $10k raise and looks at the three stress types for each job, as follows:

Current Position

Relationship stress = 2 due to infrequent evening meetings only.
Personal stress = 1 due to ability to keep up with personal interests without sacrifice
Work stress = 2 due to some tight deadlines
New Position

Relationship stress = 3 due to evening meetings and four international trips/year to work with offshore developers
Personal stress = 2 due to having to alter exercise schedule, and having to drop book club
Work stress = 3 due to mission critical deadlines and regular status updates to senior management
When you look at the three stress types the following pops out about the new position:

Stress Type    Current Position    New Position    Increase/Decrease
Relationship      2                   3                Increase

Personal          1                   2                Increase

Work              2                   3                Increase

Ann is now faced with the following decision: Is the salary bump of $10k worth the incremental relationship, personal and work stress she'll endure? Depending on whatever other decision criteria Ann factors into her decision, the answer could be yes or no. Whether or not she takes the job is still her decision; what the process has done is forced her to consider the three stress types and derive data points in which she can use in her overall decision-making.

There are a number of important considerations for you to digest in using this methodology:

First, this is not an autonomic decision-making tool where the numeric answer is the sole job determinant. The impact of stress methodology is meant to bring relationship, personal, and work stress factors to the forefront of your decision making process.

Second, you need to be realistic about stress levels. "Wishing down" a stress level doesn't make it go away; it just sets you up for a letdown (or worse) after you've made your decision.

Third, you need to let your friends and loved ones come up with the relationship stress value and not assume a value for them. The real benefit in the methodology is the thought process and discussions you have along the way. Don't shortcut how your stress type values are determined or you'll miss out on some valuable nuggets.

Fourth, the methodology applies to any type of career change which involves new or different responsibilities, including promotions. Most of us are wired to blindly accept promotions without regard for the additional stress which may accompany the promotion.

Fifth, there will likely be stress in any job change; make sure you look at your steady-state stress level versus the "learning curve" stress level.

Your Go-Dos

When faced with your next career decision, follow these five steps to assess your impact of stress and help you decide on your career choice course of action:

Ask a lot of questions about the job and the degree of relationship, personal and work stress entailed in the job. Seek out others who may have done the job before or others who have some inside perspective.
Look at the job responsibilities (both stated and those you derive through interviews) and determine how much stress each of the responsibilities will create for you. Decide on a 1-3 work stress value.
Write down the personal activities and goals you have (i.e. exercise 4x/week, sleep at least 7 hours a night) and determine how the career choice would impact each of the activities and goals. Decide on a 1-3 personal stress value.
Openly discuss with your friends and loved ones what the career choice would mean in terms of impact to relationship time (i.e. not being home for dinner, availability to help with homework) and ask them to decide on a 1-3 relationship stress value.
Derive the increase/decrease in stress for each of the three stress types.
Decide how you're going to factor the impact of stress into your overall decision.
Remember, the real benefit in utilizing the impact of stress methodology is in the discovery process you'll go through to understand relationship, personal, and work stress drivers for different career choices. Be real with yourself as to how a career choice will affect you and those you love.

Lonnie Pacelli is an accomplished author and autism advocate with over 30 years experience in leadership and project management at Accenture, Microsoft, and Consetta Group. See books, articles, keynotes, and self-study seminars at http://www.lonniepacelli.com

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Tuesday 23 June 2020

The "1 Billion Dollar Morning Routine" - Habits of the World’s Most Succ...

How to Channel Anger Within & Be Massively Productive

Anger, desire for revenge and rage are very strong emotions. These emotions, if used for bad, can do harm and cause damage in your life on a multitude of levels. After all, "holding onto anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die" (Buddha). However, since these emotions are so powerful and full of energy, if channeled toward goals, dreams and the greater good, can soar you toward success.

Here Are 3 Ways to Take Your Anger Within & Be Massively Productive

Refocus Back To you
When we are raging mad at someone who hurt us, we spend our days and nights ruminating on that person and everything they did to hurt us. The focus is on them. Instead, shift the focus back to you. Take a step back and think about what you want out of your life. Set goals for yourself and begin taking steps to achieve those goals right away, today. The motivation and energy you can muster up in a body full of adrenaline can be intense and can propel you forward. Forget baby steps, this anger channeled toward being productive instead of vengeful can send you leaping toward your goals.
Get Physical
Now, more than ever, is a time where you need to feel sexy, handsome, beautiful and full of life. Nothing can make you feel as confident in your own skin like physical activity. Exercise allows you to minimize negative emotions and release endorphins (those feel-good neurotransmitters). Take the power of anger to run faster and lift more weight. As you work out, imagine your body transforming into what you want it to become. Exercise can also reduce stress, so that when you leave the gym, you are more mentally clear to make strong, solid decisions in a time that might be chaotic and upsetting.
Learn More About Yourself
During a time of anger and rage a man/woman shows their true character. It is how you handle these strong emotions that shows your true colors and level of integrity. It is okay to be angry, it is a normal emotion but the key is how you release that emotion and what you can take from a trying time in life. To really gain self-awareness, journal. You can say all those nasty things you want to say, in your journal. In your journal, you can voice all your concerns and even how pains in your past might be coming out now in your adult years. Write about your emotions, decisions and thoughts. Writing things out does two things at the very least. First, it allows you to vent and get emotions out safely. This can help minimize nightmares and panic attacks that can stem from a buildup of emotions. Second, it allows you to note patterns of thoughts and behaviors. Eventually, this pain and these emotions will pass. You can then look back at your writings and note patterns and better understand what led you to certain emotions, actions and reactions. You can use your past journal entries as a tool to help you be more self-aware in the present and to help you react differently moving forward.
Dr. Jaime is your go to life coach who will hold you accountable and push you to succeed. She is the host of The Dr. Jaime Show and author of The SuperWoman's Guide to Super Fulfillment which is published in over 10 countries over 4 continents. Dr. Jaime is a motivational speaker and the go to keynote for companies. She has been featured nationally, both on TV and other major media outlets, for her expertise in work life balance & goal setting. Find out more about Dr Jaime at http://www.drjaimek.com Subscribe to The Dr Jaime Show on all your favorite podcast apps.

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Monday 22 June 2020

GaryVee on Minimalism, Hustle & Finding Meaning

If Everything Goes Wrong, Just Laugh

"If everything goes wrong- just laugh!"This idea came to me in meditation this morning after deeply crying out to infinite spirit for relief from a difficult situation that I have been processing. When I first heard this inner guidance from my higher self, I got a bit angry. "Easy for you to say just laugh, from your non-physical perspective" I thought to myself. Then as I was sitting there it started to rain. "Rats!" I thought- I was going to attend an outdoor concert with a friend, at a park today.My next thought was "The universe is really messing with me today." I know this must sound very self centered and indeed it is, but sometimes I think that life is testing my ability to flow and be flexible and let go of how and when things should happen.Yet, on a larger scale there may be a more perfect plan working out that is synchronized with divine timing and has an existential perfection that leans in favor of the whole over the individual.

To demonstrate this point, consider that even though I will not be attending the concert today the rain is a welcome relief from the dry heat we have been having. The birds are singing and the ground is soaking up the welcome refreshment. My kitty is sitting next to me at my desk and my puppy is snuggled by my feet. We are having some unplanned family time because of the rains that are pounding outside. They both seem completely undisturbed by a rainstorm. So, I will take my clue from them to relax and just laugh that life had a different plan for me today. The truth is, I haven't been feeling very inspired to write. I know that I can't force words onto the page and always have to bow to divine timing when a surge of willingness erupts from,and I can then sit down at the computer and channel the inspiration that my spirit wishes to share. I believe there is a perfection to life that is greater than my desires.The rain gave me a good excuse to stay inside and write. My anger has dissolved and I am laughing inside.

I invite you today if there is any topic in your life that is causing you turmoil to simply laugh at whatever it is. For usually in 30-90 days, whatever issue seems so monumental to you now, will fade softly into the background and then you can laugh at your foolishness for having been so upset about it. I know this takes an incredible amount of faith to just let go and let life have its way but, I have found the pay-off is immeasurable. I am learning to develop inner contentment regardless of the circumstances. Our journey upon this earth is so very short. Let's laugh as much as we can along the way.

Liah Howard is a Psychic/Channel and Medium and a teacher of psychic development and an author. She also writes for four inspirational magazines. Liah teaches classes in Psychic Development both in person and on-line. She has a free 20 class multi-media video series that teaches psychic development on-line via You Tube. Visit Liah's website for free guided meditations, articles, radio shows, videos, and to schedule a phone session.. http://www.liahhoward.com/

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Sunday 21 June 2020

Feeling Behind In Your Life? Watch This.

Is There Any Such Thing As Perfect Timing?

Today I'm musing about timing. I've been having things come into form that have taken ten years to manifest. My first book, originally written in April of 1996, was self published in 2006. I'm getting a handle on money issues that have been around at least that long, if not longer. I'm in a relationship that's everything I've always wanted - and have been consciously praying for and energetically working on manifesting since the early 80's.

Then I think about manifestations from my earlier years - my two kids were planned pregnancies that occurred without effort, with quick births, yet they had their own timing for being born.

Why do some things happen quickly and some things take forever to show up?

When I was a teenager I lost 50 pounds, simply by charting what I ate, limiting calories, and walking to school and back every day (about 5 or 6 miles). It took most of a year to do this, and was tremendously transformative and empowering.

Buoyed by this experience, I set my sights on a relationship, which took about five months to get the guy to go out with me. It was initially wonderful but then heart breaking.

As I look back over my different life experiences, some consciously manifested, some unconsciously attracted, and there has been a sense of what I used to call Divine Timing in all of it.

"The Universe gives you what you can handle" is one way I used to look at it. You attract what you're ready for, is another way. I've resisted what I thought the Universe was giving me; at times I'd say "it thinks I'm too friggin' capable".

But now I have a different perspective as Consciousness, reframing my experience of timing, and also of manifestation.

It's not the Universe giving me anything, it's me as Consciousness creating everything I experience in the physical.

Someone once mentioned that reincarnation didn't make any sense to them because everything was happening at once. I got the instant understanding that there is no time or space as Consciousness, so from the perspective of Consciousness, all past and future lives are happening 'at the same time' this one is. There is no linear link from past to future, it's not like going up grades in school. And if you can grasp that in Consciousness there is no individuality, then there's really no one spark of light going through a series of experiences (like grades in school). As aspects of Consciousness we just jump into the pool of life, splash about, and then jump out into the All-That-Is.

As I reconcile it taking me so long to get to where I am at, I realize that it really took no time at all. Each lifetime is just a blink of an eye. And what I've accomplished in this one is just a glimmer of the great Spark of all of creation.

As I relax into a perspective of creating as Consciousness, it really doesn't matter how much or how little I have achieved. It's all about Creation. It's all about playfully creating in the physical. I either manifest something, or I don't. It either happens now, or later, or not. I create this, or I create something else. And I can choose to create happy thoughts, happy experiences, or challenging ones.

When I shift to navigating life as Consciousness, what shows up is bigger than my little mind can imagine.

And when you add the awareness of Parallel Universes into the mix, you realize that you as Consciousness are simultaneously experiencing other possibilities within this storyline. There's a parallel self that has experienced success earlier in life, there's a parallel self that is already experiencing whatever I want to create right now.

Whatever you want to create, it already exists, you just need to step into the Universe where you already have it.

It becomes a much more fun way to experience life. And I can welcome all these wonderful things coming into my life and enjoy my time with them Now. Which is really the only time there is.

Revised 2017, original post from 2009

Joan Newcomb, CPC, helps people navigate the Consciousness Shift with more ease and grace. She offers do it yourself trainings in Consciousness Techniques, free YouTube videos, a weekly radio show podcast and weekly newsletter/blog. If you enjoyed this article and want to know more, go to Joan's website http://joan-newcomb.com.

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Saturday 20 June 2020

Les Brown's 15 Minute Morning Motivational Speech

Midlife Career Change: Follow Your Heart

A midlife career change can be very good for you. It can breathe fresh air into what you may consider a stale life and give you the boost you are looking for.

Many mid lifers feel that a midlife crisis or rather a midlife transition is a turning point in their lives. Often their children have grown up and left home. They want something new to challenge them and unfortunately, these challenges aren't always for the good.

Many mid lifers often think it is too difficult undertake a midlife career change, and try to think of different excuses not to do so. In fact, it is very easy, because you may be more financially stable than you have been before, although that is not always the case. Whatever your situation, you may simply wish to follow your dreams. You have nothing to prove to anyone but yourself, and the amount of connections and contacts you would have built up will make it easier.

No longer is youth seen as the winning argument. Often employers are looking for experience; they want someone who knows the job. Also people with life experience are likely to be more able to learn quickly and adapt the skills they do have to any given situation. You do, however, have to consider your health and what skills you do have. You need to decide why you want to change careers and look at if your age and health will be up to it. A midlife career change might make you feel happier which may even improve your health. People around you will see the differences and will often encourage the career change.

If you have kept up to date with technology then you will be fine and you will be able to bring your wealth of knowledge and experience to any new job. My colleague, Dr. Fred Horowitz, and I did an interview with Ajay Pangarkar, President of CentralKnowledge. He recommends that you "attend webinars (online seminars), take virtual courses from your desk, join blogs (an online diary of an expert), if you are an expert write a blog, mentor or be mentored." When you start your new career, you will know what goals you can set for yourself and how to go about achieving them.

Although the thought of a sudden midlife career change, as you are nearing the end of your career, might be strange to some, others will envy you. Many mid lifers would love to be brave enough to follow their hearts rather than remain safe and stay in a job they will hate in years to come.

If you have a great supporting family and you truly believe that you can change careers, then go for it. You have nothing to lose and you might be very glad you did. If it all goes wrong then you can simply dust yourself off and start again. You will know though that you tried and that's all you can hope for. If you have made the right choice then you will be doing a job that you truly love and not many people can say that.


Dr. Frank Bonkowski writes about midlife career change, goal setting, education, self-discovery, and spirituality to leverage your midlife transition into lifelong happiness at Happiness-After-Midlife.com. Look for his forthcoming e book, entitled Take Charge of Midlife and Beyond: 52 Ideas and Activities for Dealing with Life's Challenges - Aging, Change, Financial Matters, and More!
For help with a midlife career change go to their Web site.

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Friday 19 June 2020

Gabby Bernstein’s mantra meditation for tough times

Career Anxiety - What Happens When Things Don't Go As Planned?

I was talking with a doctor friend the other day who said, "You know, this isn't where I expected to be at this point. I lost half of my portfolio - that was my kids' college fund. I didn't think I'd have to be working this hard at this age."

Another friend who just lost his job said, "I'm 55, unemployed, and not feeling too good about myself right now. This isn't how I pictured things turning out."

Life doesn't always go as planned - especially when it comes to employment.

Obviously, the severity of this recession has put enormous pressure on millions of people, wreaking havoc with all sorts of plans. But a lot of other things can make for rough sailing on the job front.

You don't get along with your boss. The job isn't a good fit. Your company merges with another one creating redundant jobs. Your industry has reached maturity. Due to an increasingly onerous tax burden, your company packs up and relocates to another state. The startup you're working for is unsuccessful securing its next round of funding. Your company goes out of business. Some sort of government regulation materially changes the playing field in your industry. The list goes on...

Anything can happen.

Change is the constant you can count on. (And in an increasingly dynamic market, that pace of change is only going to accelerate.)

You've got to be proactive. Anticipate. Be prepared for anything. Don't just have a plan; have a contingency plan. Keep them current.

The days of cruising through your career on auto pilot are over. Be ready for anything, be observant, and keep your eyes on the horizon.

Rebecca Metschke helps professionals improve their marketability. The author of The Interview Edge ([http://www.TheInterviewEdge.com]), a comprehensive career guide to career management, she also writes a daily blog posting strategies, tips and advice for those whose careers are in transition ([http://blog.theinterviewedge.com]).

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Thursday 18 June 2020

One Life, No Regrets

Corporate Rat Race: 7 Good Reasons To Escape

Is your 9-to-5 feeling more like a 9-to-9 (24/7) in your life? Where your work is almost constantly on your mind, even when you don't try to think about it? Do you hate your job, but fear for financial uncertainty is far too great to risk making a move? A life of purpose doesn't have to be a fantasy or a cliché saying that only applies to the lucky few. Just anyone can escape the corporate rat race, assuming you believe in what you want and you believe in your worth!

The first step to quitting the rat race is realising that it is possible and that a better life is worth taking the risk; you just need to prepare yourself for the move. Here are some reasons why:

Stress

Of course, this is the most obvious reason to leave the perpetual corporate rat race. Your entire day is stressful, with few exceptions. You might even like what you do at your job, but if your mind is constantly thinking about what you'd rather be doing or who you'd rather be working with, for example, that job will always be a dead-end in your journey in life.

Health

Along with your mental health, stress will affect your physical health, even if it doesn't appear obvious on the outside. If your job is making you exhausted every day you're on the clock, this is a reason for you to start looking right now for a new career, one that isn't sacrificing your health for your success. America is the most overworked society in the world, by every major metric, you are not alone in this!

Excess

When your job is forcing you in one direction of conformity, it is only natural that people will seek to balance that out with self-healing in forms of pleasure and entertainment. There is no judgement here, however, it is far too common for these things to turn into vices that overcompensate the imbalance in life, leading to a life in excess that is hard to get out of.

Time

Part of the reason why people feel like they are locked in this perpetual 'corporate rat race' is that no matter how hard they try or how efficient they are, there never seems to be enough time in the day. Deadlines dictate your state of mind, even when you're away from work. This type of bi-polar relationship with time is not healthy, and it is also abnormal, despite what the rat race industry tells us.

Purpose

Money is important, no one is going to argue that it isn't, but it isn't everything. When you first enter the corporate workforce, money brings you so much happiness, it becomes enough of a motivator to ignore the rat race and normalize it as a 'good' life. As you get older and you stay running forward, while in the same place you were years ago, the money isn't as good as it was before. You finally realise that you are working harder and trading more and more time for money. Whether due to a weaker economy or a bigger appetite for success, the purpose of your job has outlived itself, and now you need to move onto something better. Suddenly, you don't feel fulfilled anymore with the corporate rat race lifestyle.

Cycles

This ties into purpose, where the very definition of a 'rat race' is that there is no ending. You'll just keep completing work with the same feedback loops until you're stuck in a zombie-like trance for 8 hours each day. The longer you wait, the harder it becomes to break this cycle.

Confidence

Last, but not least is the real reason why you should begin to think of alternatives to this rate race when you know that you are better and have far much worth than this job that is pulling you down. You probably spend hours thinking about other careers or ways to start up your own business, but don't trivialize those ideas and throw them away. Sit down and figure out the steps you need to take to make them a reality.

When the student is ready, the teacher will always appear. The moment you realize your innate beauty, your capacity and your worth are far more than what is being printed as your hourly rate on your bi-weekly or monthly payslips, the doors will open to a world of opportunities for you to embrace.

I am Madevi Andee and I have embraced the opportunities presented by the Digital Economy to change my lifestyle from a corporate rat race to that of freedom: Money and Time Freedom, where I work on my own terms, doing things I love and with people I love. It all starts with the creation of money because money creates choices and choices lead to freedom. If like me, you believe that freedom cannot be earned in a corporate rate race, then join me on my odyssey and learn the system that has created the first step to my freedom.

Let's connect [http://www.brainbeautyandmoney.com/digital-system/]

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Wednesday 17 June 2020

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up | Marie Kondo | Talks at Google

An Identity Crisis Is Vital For Growth Because It Occurs At The Edge Of Chaos And Harmony

Internal Conflict Triggered By Chaos

It was the developmental psychologist Erik Erikson who first coined the term identity crisis.

He formulated eight key stages one undergoes through their adolescent years based on their psychosocial development.

They are:

Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust
Stage 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt
Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt
Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiority
Stage 5 - Identity vs. Confusion
Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation
Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation
Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair
Erikson believed a person's personality develops in a series of stages. His model differs to Freud's in that social interactions and relationships impact an individual's development and growth throughout their life.
Each stage builds on the previous one which creates the foundations for growth in the following years.

At each stage, a person experiences internal conflicts, thus creating a turning point in the individual's personality.

The conflicts are based on the understanding that an individual experiences growth or fails to develop these qualities.

In the educational book Key Concepts in Counselling and Psychotherapy: A Critical A-Z Guide to Theory author Vicki Smith gives a clear understanding of how an identity crisis can become a source of power within the individual's psyche: "He (Erikson) believed that we all have identity crises at one time or another in our lives and that these crises do not necessarily represent a negative state but can be a driving force toward positive resolution."

If they integrate the conflicts into their personality, the subsequent growth and development will serve them later in life. If they don't develop these abilities, they are likely to suffer an inhibited sense of self which dominates their life.

Erikson's understanding is that an individual becomes competent when moving through the eight stages and integrates the egoic self into their psyche.

In a similar vein, author Jan Frazier explains in The Freedom of Being: At Ease with What Is the need to transcend the ego by stepping outside the known sense of self: "In order to look at yourself, you have to step outside of it. Look not with the eyes of the ego, but with the eyes of presence."

The Ego Is Not Meant To Dominate Your Life

Many people identify with outer aspects of their life as the basis to their identity.

For example, an individual may believe their role is that of a mother and wife. Yet, if their husband is unfaithful and the marriage dissolves, they will question their identity since they no longer associate with that label.

Similarly, others presume their work, relationships, physical appearance, social and wealth status or performance are measures of their identity.

Regrettably, if these aspects are removed from their life, they experience an identity crisis because they created a persona around them.

I would argue these qualities do not shape your identity but are a vehicle in which to explore your life's narrative.

Your ego is the identity the mind constructs to define itself, yet this is a fictional narrative because external events can disrupt it.

Jan Frazier reaffirms how the roles you play do not construct your identity since there is an underlying presence beneath that: "The roles you play, the features you exhibit, the things you believe in - while they matter very much in the ordinary realm of human discourse - are not what you are. When presence senses itself within you, none of these things have any substance."

Your true identity lies beneath the shadow of the egoic self. An identity crisis is vital to an individual's growth because it allows for chaos and order to reveal one's authentic nature.

An identity crisis can be likened to the shell of an egg breaking open. The shell merely gives form to the ego so it can make sense of its role within society.

The ego is not meant to dominate your life, nor do you wish to banish it. It must be integrated with the authentic self to develop the wholeness of who you are.

Otherwise, the egoic self you once identified with is no longer something you can uphold.

Don't Try To Make Sense Of Chaos

To paint a contrasting view, psychotherapist and meditation teacher Loch Kelly writes in Shift into Freedom: The Science and Practice of Open-Hearted Awareness how consciousness creates a thinker to uphold the ego, thus forming a mistaken identity in the process: "Afflictive consciousness creates a thinker out of thinking and ego function, and this thought-based sense of self forms the core of mistaken identity. Nothing more than a self-referential loop of thinking about thinking, our mistaken identity is actually a continuous conceptual proliferation that creates solid things out of images and a solid self out of thinking."

What is essential is to unmask the egoic self so the pain, suffering and uncertainty are the underpinnings for future growth and development.

It is like the progress of performance athletes experience when training for the Olympics. They must push to the edge of their limits and discover their potential or risk remaining where they are.

If they push too far too soon, they may invoke physical injury that can sideline them. They may become depressed as a result because their identity is formed around their status of an athlete and performance.

However, from a developmental viewpoint, the experience can be vital to their performance if they can let go of their fixed narrative and former identity.

If you experienced an identity crisis, trust in the deeper psychological lesson guiding your personal development.

Don't try to make sense of the chaos, but surrender to the process, knowing whatever is breaking apart is doing so to make way for the true self to emerge.

To live a remarkable life, you must take consistent action in spite of your fears and doubts. Download a FREE copy of my motivational eBook, NAVIGATE LIFE and embark upon your journey of greatness today!

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Tuesday 16 June 2020

Want More Joy? Become A Super Attractor says Gabby Bernstein

Midlife Crisis Or Midlife Opportunity?

During middle years we can find ourselves experiencing five different 'wake up' calls. Each one has the potential to provide its own 'crisis'.

The five crisis of mid-life are:

1. Cultural
2. Health
3. Relationship
4. Financial/Career
5. Existential

Generally, I refer to midlife as the range from 35 to 60 years, although these life-changing crises can occur before or after these ages. And whilst I'll explain these crises individually for ease of understanding, it's worth remembering that they rarely work in isolation. There's more of an interdependent relationship between them than you might at first realise.

For example, if someone is unhappy at work they may stick for years at it to avoid a financial crisis but the effect on their overall psyche can lead to a marriage break up, a health breakdown and spiritual crisis. If somebody comes down with a life threatening illness they may lose their job, their marriage, their health and ultimately their will to live.

1. Cultural

Midlife transition is a universal phenomenon whereas midlife crisis is more a Western phenomenon, with our culture favouring youth over age and wisdom.

Many people in their forties and fifties in the West don't look forward to the benefits of eldership like they do in the East. Tribal people have always acknowledged the power of someone moving to wholeness and wisdom, as they get older.

Here in the West there's a stigma attached to reaching the half way mark, "I'm over the hill" is an oft-quoted comment.

I don't believe we're over the hill, but standing on top of the hill. From this high vantage point we're able to look back and see the journey we've taken to get here. We can review our lives and trace our steps. We can see, understand and appreciate how our life's events, and the choices we've made along the way, have made us who we are today.

Reminding ourselves of what we've been through and what we've learnt can provide us with valuable insights as we move forward. With this clarity we're able to choose the direction we'd like to go in and clearly see the next mountain we'd like to climb. And so we set off into the unknown - a new terrain for the next life adventure.

2. Health

There's nothing more shocking than coming face to face with your own mortality, either through a life threatening illness or the death of a loved one.

By the time we hit midlife, our parents are likely to be experiencing some of the issues that age brings; physical and mental deterioration, or even dying. One statistic I read said mid-lifers today are twice as likely to be emotionally, physically and sometimes financially supporting an aging parent.

As I've entered the second half of life I've become increasingly aware of death. As a young adult I lived with the illusion of immortality and felt 'bullet proof'. I went through those early years as if I was indestructible.

Now, in mid life I've seen many people my age succumb to cancer and heart attacks. A dear friend's mother died recently. He says that now he's on his own, he has a clear sense of his own mortality and it's woken him up to the fact that life is too short to be lived on cruise control.

In midlife many of our health problems are self-imposed. Fast foods, lack of quality rest and non-stop activity takes its toll on our physical and emotional well being. Today we're taking on more and more trying to cram every moment with more activities causing our threshold for stress to increase. The bodily alarm keeps going off but we keep hitting the snooze button so we can keep going and going. Eventually the body breaks down through neglect.

3. Relationships

The result of crises in relationships may take the form of extra-marital affairs and ultimately divorce. Relationships that were founded on physical looks, sex, financial security, prestige and expediency can flounder into crisis around the midlife period.

Many midlifers also have teenage children who are going through their rebellious, "I know it all" stage. When you add all these factors together and couple them with the angst midlife brings, you have a potent, volatile mix.

Another crisis for mid-lifers today is whether to have children or not. As a woman's biological clock ticks away, couples can feel under immense pressure to make a life changing decision and then have to come to terms with their decision. And what of the added burden of dealing with the social stigma that's attached to being childless? Then there are those who have been trying to have children for years only to find out that they can't. This can be devastating to both parties and can make or break the relationship.

4. Financial/Career

Financial crises are commonplace in midlife. Acquisitions, mergers, downsizing, advancements in technology all take their toll on the mid-lifer. Suddenly finding yourself out of a job can be shocking.

If somebody loses their job in their twenties or thirties it's annoying, but when somebody loses their job in their late forties or fifties it's traumatic. To somebody whose whole identity is entwined with the status and title their job brings, losing a job can be a devastating blow to his or her sense of self worth. And its not just their identity they lose, it's their financial insurance, community, and livelihood. One of my clients summed up his job loss when he said, "It's not just a job, it's my whole life!"

For someone who's invested so much into his or her job, losing it is ultimate failure. The result of that perception sends some spiralling in to a deep dark black hole called depression. Some don't lose their job but are stuck in jobs they hate; it pays the bills but leaves them feeling empty.

The funny thing about careers is that for a lot of people they didn't actually choose it - it chose them. Think about your own experience. Did somebody either tell you that you would be good at that particular job or did you get into it because you simply had to get a job to earn some money?

All of this generally happened whilst we were a young adult, at a time when we didn't know ourselves very well. It generally isn't until we hit our thirties or forties that we hit the 'awake wall' and ask, "Why am I doing this?" "How did I get here?"

5. Existential

This crisis is really a crisis of meaning or a spiritual crisis. It's the drive to find out and understand the deeper meaning of life. It's an internal crisis, whereas the other four happen externally to us. This is why I believe midlife has a positive intention for us. An existential crisis causes us to ask the age-old existential questions of life. Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose?

In one sense an existential crisis is linked to the four other crisis. When an event comes along that disrupts our fundamental assumptions about life, the result is a search for the deeper meaning of it all. For example, if somebody loses his or her job and is staring financial ruin in the face, it can lead to a search for greater meaning.

Somebody facing a life threatening illness can start to seek the deeper meaning of it all. Events like these can slam us back into what we value most. You may have personally experienced the sort of family relationship healing that takes place when somebody we love is close to death.

Forgiveness, love and compassion are what matter most in times like these. Many I've interviewed sum up their current existence by saying they've come to a point in their life where they feel like they're in the wrong place with the wrong people doing the wrong thing. This wake up call starts a process of deep inner reflection. They look around and wonder what they're doing and what prompted the choices they made. Usually they find that their current unhappiness had its roots firmly planted in their youth.

Nothing has any meaning other than the meaning we give it...

It's a rare individual indeed who'll not face at least one of these crises in their middle years. That part we may not be able to control over, but we do have a choice as to what meaning we give them. We can give them the meaning of great personal and family disasters, but this will only serve to increase our pain and deepen the suffering.

I did some research on the word, 'crisis' which in my little Bloomsbury dictionary is defined as; a turning point; a critical moment; an emergency. After a little more research I found the word 'crisis' comes from the Greek word krinein, which literally means, 'to decide'. Before I did that little piece of research the word crisis for me had a negative tone. Now I think it has a positive tone.

The term 'midlife crisis' now means a time in our life when important decisions need to be made.

Maybe it's time we changed our language from, "I'm having a midlife crisis" to "I'm experiencing a:

-Midlife evolution
-Midlife empowerment stage
-Midlife growth stage
-Midlife kick
-Midlife challenge
-Midlife transition
-Midlife wake up call

Which one best resonates with you?

There are no meaningless events...

It's my belief that there are no meaningless events in life. Every crisis, no matter how devastating, is also an opportunity for profound and deep personal growth.

It was Stephen Covey who said, "In the absence of a wakeup call, many of us never really confront the critical issues of life."

Each one of these five crises are challenges, with important lessons to be learned. Plenty of stories abound of people who have chosen an empowering meaning to life's difficulties and, as a result, turned their lives around.

Midlife is not a weak part of our evolution; it's an empowering step. So let's step up!

Colin writes about how to find your smile, discover your right livelihood and create your ideal life at Midlife Maverick.

If you enjoyed this article you may wish to download his acclaimed free e-course, "Live Your Own Life, Only Better!" http://midlifemaverick.com/live-your-own-life-only-better

Or, Join his ezine and get "Breaking Free" ebook as a gift. http://www.midlifemaverick.com/breaking-free

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Sunday 14 June 2020

The Pains of Progress - Why Change is Hard

Keep Trying, Don't Give Up, Failure Is Just Part of the Process!

Most of us on this planet are trying hard to increase our income to support our families and help siblings or friends that are really battling, or we may be fighting to conquer a habit or an addiction, and it's hard going. We try and we fail. We try again and we fail again. We give up for awhile then we try again and we fail again. After a while of this, we tend to get discouraged or even depressed. The thing is, this is very normal.

Failure is a normal part of the process of reaching success. We tend to hear of those people who start a home business and immediately rake in the cash, but these are the freaks of the success spectrum. I happen to know a lady personally who is like that - everything she tries immediately turns to gold. But she's not normal. The massive majority of us have to battle through many failures before finding success, so don't give up, keep trying!!

I am not writing to you as one who has attained huge success by perseverance, but rather as a fellow soldier in the trenches with you, failing as you have, and encouraging you not to give up. Our time will come! In fact, I tabulated all my attempts at home businesses, side hustles and wangles, and found that over the last few decades I have attempted sixty one, let's call them "business ventures." Some cost me a lot of money relative to what I had, to get going, and a lot of them made zero return, absolutely nothing. Others were mildly successful, enough to buy my wife a vacuum cleaner and take her out to dinner a few times, but I needed money to get my kids to university, and that really never happened.

But the thing is to not give up. Sooner or later we must get it right. But fail we will, as we go along, but we must just accept it and move on.

I was talking to a friend of mine today. He made little folding wooden tables that fold down flat so people can pack them easily in a caravan or camper, or even in the back of a car, really nice little tables, clever design, quality wood, good workmanship. He had taken them to a craft market on Saturday and had sold none, hardly even any interest shown in them. But apparently, that particular day the craft market was very poorly attended, and mostly by people who didn't have money to spend, so he just went on a bad day. So I encouraged him to persevere, and that he had a good product.

And in the same way I encourage you: don't give up. Keep trying. Believe in yourself - we all have something worthwhile to give. I'm going to keep on trying, and you should too!

Like my writing style? Check out my short book "How to Drive Properly:... and not like a moron!" Kindle Edition on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WPW96HD

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Saturday 13 June 2020

Jim Kwik and Lewis Howes on Memory Mastery, Brain Performance, and Accel...

Discipline - The Vehicle of Success

We have all heard 'Practice Makes Perfect'. Practice is doing something repeatedly in order to do it well and once you learn to do it well, you practice to do it better. Whether it is shooting a basketball or preparing for a speech, practice is your best ally. But what is it that keeps you practicing? It is Discipline.

Our society enjoys sports. We gather in bars and fill stadiums to watch athletes execute almost perfectly. Whether it is a fighter or a football player, we are in awe and entertained by their almost super human skills. But those skills we so admire do not happen overnight. When a boxer steps into a ring or a basketball player steps unto the court and they execute, what you are watching is the culmination of 1000's of repetitive moves and hours of dedication. What kept them repeating the same move over and over again, day in and day out, hardly letting up, is Discipline.

Naturally we are not a disciplined species. We love what feels good all the time. We run from discomfort. Anything that is outside our comfort zone, we shy away from. Discipline is like an internal drill sergeant that yells at us to get our asses up when we want to roll over and enjoy more sleep. It tells us that it is not time to go home when everyone else have retired for the night. Discipline tells you not to eat that slice of cake or drink that Coke. Whatever your objective is, Discipline is necessary to stay on the right track towards it.

So how does one attain Discipline? Like most good qualities in life, Discipline can be developed. Think of the first thing you do when you get up in the morning. What is it? Do you reach for the TV remote? Head straight into the kitchen? Here is an idea for how you can begin to develop discipline in your life. Since each day is a new opportunity for you to live the rest of your life start with something that will require Discipline at first; Make your bed.

That's it. Make your bed. Make your bed every day. There will be days when you don't feel like making your bed. Do it anyways. Start your day having accomplished a task to improve your life. A made bed is a very good way to start your day. It is an accomplishment. At first it will take Discipline to keep you doing this if you have not been used to making your bed. Eventually you will do so out of habit. You have created a good habit. Congratulations!

Now, what are you after? A better paying job? Making a team? Winning a championship? Whatever it is, understand the Discipline that made it possible to accomplish that first task in the morning is not limited. It is there to help you with whatever your goals are. You just need to heed it, not ignore it. The more disciplined you become in various areas of your life, the more structure you will find in those areas of your life.

Whatever your goal is, think of yourself as an athlete competing to attain it. Put yourself in the mindset of an athlete. Then employ Discipline to keep at it to make yourself better. You will reap if you do not grow weary.

Copyright � 2020, M.A.Singh. All rights reserved.

M.A.Singh

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Friday 12 June 2020

Caged, Comfortable, or Charged - Which Life is Yours?

How Complaining Can Make Us Fall Sick

Why do we love to talk about our problems? What do we get out of it? Whenever we catch up with friends over talking inevitably leads to some sort of complaints. It could be about work, our spouse, our children, our community and so on.

The thing is because we are repeating a pattern we do not realise the impact it has on us. For most people, unfortunately, this seems to be a normal habit of conversing.

So why do we feel the need to keep talking about our problems? Here are some probable emotional reasons:

Perhaps we want to feel validated? We want to feel like we mean something to someone. I was observing my daughter and her friends and they were gossiping and complaining about someone else and I realised that it was their way to feel validated. It was their way to feel like they are part of the in-crowd.

Another reason could be, we want to feel right. So by complaining, we are saying that we are right and the other party is wrong. So by complaining, it seems as if we have tipped the scales and somehow in an imaginary way we have become right, even if we were wrong!

Sometimes things do happen in such a way where we are wrongly accused. And the other party is just not listening. So we want to keep talking about it to make ourselves feel right again. In a way, we do it to fight for fairness or fair treatment but then we keep going into the loop of complaining!

Yet another reason why we enjoy complaining is that we are trying to get opinions. Why opinions? Because we are not sure whether the problem is us or the problem is with other people or whether the problem is circumstances. We share to get an opinion and if someone else agrees with us we think 'OK, so I am right, this problem I am having is not really my problem it is their problem'. It is a way to feel 'one up'.

What happens to the one listening to the complainer? For some of us, when we listen to other people's problems we may start to feel drained if we do not know how to draw psychic boundaries. They feel more energised because they are releasing and if full attention is given to them, we are giving even more power to their issues.

If we are an empathetic person, we are in for a lot of energy drainage because we feel like the other person wants so much from us -- they want our opinions, they want us to commit to a side. I'm just imagining some of the empaths now nodding away as you read this.

If we are the complainer when we keep talking about our problems we will only keep building negative energies within. We have these energy centres within our energy body and they are mostly aligned with our Endocrine System. Our Endocrine System is made up of our glands that control our hormones. When I say hormones, we are not just talking about women's hormones or sex hormones. Hormones are chemical substance produced in our bodies and they serve as messengers, controlling and coordinating activities throughout our body. For eg. adrenaline is a hormone and it comes under the control of our nervous system.

We have all experienced this phenomenon of being heartbroken. During this lovesickness, we feel the ache in our chest area, because feeling that way has caused an imbalance in our hormones and our Thymus gland sits right there and the love sickness actually caused us to compromise our immune system. This gland interesting is also known as the love gland!

So I teach my clients this: when you feel emotionally compromised, tap lightly on your chest, which activates your thymus gland. The tapping allows the gland function better and it can also help with your immunity. Just tap lightly up to about eight times, you don't have to thump like a gorilla! (I think gorillas really have the right idea on how to live right) You also do not need a reason to do this, you can do this all the time as a practice to help rebalance your hormones. So I do this all the time, especially when I am waiting in line with nothing to do!

In my next blog post, I will share strategies on how to draw psychic boundaries if you are the listener and what you can do more constructively if you are the complainer.

In the meantime, have a fabulous week tapping your chest away!

My clients call me the chiropractor for the soul because it is what I do best. I align my clients with their body, mind and soul. The end game - to live more purposeful lives. I have a deep love for psychology, all things spiritual and non-religious. Join me and over 250k followers on my Facebook: http://www.Facebook.com/BeSpiritualandrich and visit my website http://www.ShamalaTan.com

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Thursday 11 June 2020

Money & Coronavirus: How Much To Save Right Now?

Critical Thinking: Has 'Spirituality' Become Another Escape?

The new age movement is said to have exploded during the 1970s and, since then, it has continued to grow. When the term 'new age' is mentioned, it usually relates to different spiritual or religious beliefs and practices.

When it comes to these beliefs, they include the view that everything in the universe is connected and everything is made up of the same energy, different beings exist and will provide guidance, and that human beings have the power to create their own reality. As for the practices, these include yoga, meditation, astrology, reiki and chanting.

A Number of Similarities

Therefore, although someone might not feel a connection to a god in the sky if they are spiritual, they might feel a connection to something else. In addition, there can be certain things that they do each day.

To someone like this, spirituality is going to be a far better fit and it won't have all of the weight or the negative associations that are part of organised religion. While organised religion can feel restrictive, spirituality can feel liberating.

The Same Story

However, even though there appeared to be this mass awakening during the 1970s and there are now millions of people on the planet that could be seen as being part of this movement, some people have argued that not a lot has changed. According to this view, there are more people than ever for who are 'awake' and yet, it is pretty much business as usual.

It can be hard to comprehend what is going on as if so many people are 'awake'; surely the world should be different? How can there still be so much dysfunction in the world?

Another Angle

If someone has taken this stance, they may even believe that the new age movement didn't just randomly grow in the 1970s. Instead, they could believe that there was a reason why this took place and it wasn't purely due to the fact that people's consciousness was changing.

This could be seen as something that took place because the elites needed a new way to control the masses. So many people had turned their back on the old form of control - organised religion - and now they needed something else, something far more appealing.

Pacifying the Masses

In this case, the new age movement was there to keep people distracted and to make them more tolerant of what was going on around them. If this was the plan back then, it could be said that it's still the plan now.
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A lot has changed since that time, though, and one example of this is that corporations now have rooms where people can meditate. On the surface, this can seem like a great idea and a sign that peoples wellbeing is being taken seriously.

Looking Deeper

Another way of looking at this would be to say that this is purely about making workers more productive, while not having to change anything. There is then no need to look into why they would be so stressed and actually make real changes.

This is no different to how so many people are simply given drugs to handle their mental and emotional problems as opposed to real changes taking place in society. Again, it's a case of treating the symptoms as opposed to the cause - people are seen as the problem, not the society that they live in.

Back To the Main Point

Thus, the new age movement was and still is something that can serve those that want to keep everything the same. With that aside, the big question is: how could so little change if so many people are 'awake'?

One way to look at this would be to say that being 'awake' is just an identity that so many people have created for themselves and that very few people in comparison do the work that is needed to actually be awake. Someone can then do all the 'right' things and have the 'right' image, but their inner world could be just as toxic as someone who appears to be 'asleep'.

The Spiritual Ego

In other words, being 'awake' will just be a false-self their ego-mind has created that will enable them to avoid their own pain. This part of them, through having a dual nature, can give them the need to be seen as better and more 'evolved' than others.

Social media, for instance, provides the ego-mind with a platform where it can prove how 'spiritual' and 'evolved' it is. Only when the dual nature of the ego-mind is put to one side is it possible to realise that there is no such thing as being better or more evolved - each person on this earth is simply on their own path.

No More Running

Another term that has been used to describe a lot of the practices and beliefs that are connected to the new age is 'spiritual bypassing'. This illustrates how the ego-mind will hide behind any identity and use anything to avoid having to face pain.

This doesn't mean that the ego-mind is bad and needs to be 'killed off'; it enables one to have their own experience on this earth and it simply wants to keep them alive. So, the defences that it utilises to keep pain at bay can cause a lot of harm, but that is not their intention.

Awareness

If so many people have created an identity that allows them to see themselves as being 'awake' but their body is filled with emotional baggage, it is not going to be a surprise if the world doesn't really change. What is taking place at a deeper level will help to sustain what is taking place externally.

For their resonance to really change, and for them to no longer support what is going on externally, they will need to deal with their inner wounds. This won't be a time when it is all about 'love and light', far from it; there will be moments when it is the complete opposite.

Author, transformational writer, teacher and consultant, Oliver JR Cooper, hails from England. His insightful commentary and analysis covers all aspects of human transformation, including love, partnership, self-love, and inner awareness. With over two thousand, four hundred in-depth articles highlighting human psychology and behaviour, Oliver offers hope along with his sound advice.

To find out more go to - http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk/

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