A Simple Way To Increase Your Motivation

Most people are looking for simple ways to improve their quality of life. I was reminded of one of those simple ways. In fact, it is so simple that many people skip this vital step to accomplishing their goals.

This motivational tip is to ask yourself the question….what do I want? That’s it. I told you it was simple. Yet so many people don’t place their focus on their exact desire. Sure, they have an idea what they want, but they’ve never really thought about it in detail. For example, they will say…I want to lose weight. Ok…how much? what is the exact weight you want to be at? Those are the types of questions you need to ask.

How does this simple question help achieve success? When you know exactly what you want, your subconscious mind gets a hold of it. What the subconscious then does, as long as you remain focused on the exact goal, is it thinks of ways you can achieve it. It will provide steps to take to reach that goal. If you then take those steps, you are likely to be successful. It’s also common sense that the more clear your target is, the easier it is to hit.

Do you agree that it’s quite simple? If so, please don’t overlook the importance of taking some time (not much is needed) to answer that “what do I want” question. Be sure to be very specific in your answer. If you know specifically what you want, and focus on it as much as possible, your mind will wrap around it and give you the steps to take to get there. Not to get too scientific here, but the subconscious is the part of your mind connected to your spiritual being. As a result, the steps you are being given by your mind are divinely inspired. This is one of the reasons prayer is so effective, especially when you are very specific with your petitions.

It’s a simple fact that your motivation and success will increase dramatically when you make it clear to yourself exactly what you want to accomplish. Keep focused and let your God-inspired mind lead you to your desitination. Enjoy the blessings : )

Fighting Negative Thoughts

Many of you, my wonderful readers, know that I firmly believe in the power of positive thinking. Its benefits are countless, and the positive impacts it has on our lives and those of others around us are too difficult to ignore.

Many of you also know that it’s very difficult to maintain positive thoughts all the time. Even the most positive thinkers go through difficult times. In fact, I wrote recently about how I struggled to do so. However, the solution is simple, right? You may think the object is just to fight off the negative thoughts, think positive ones, and all will be well.

Well…not so fast. Yes, it’s very important to maintain a positive frame of mind. However, fighting the negatives is not the way to go about it. What happens when you fight the negative, is you actually create more of those situations. This is because, according to the Law of Attraction, we receive what we focus our attention on. When you fight negative thoughts, you are placing your attention on them. As a result, you only create a revolving door of more negative situations.

The way to solve this problem is to place your focus on the desired outcomes. Yes, you may still continue to think negative thoughts, but instead of focusing on them, just push them aside or even welcome them. Just continue to place your focus on positive thoughts instead.

Here’s an illustration….think of a negative thought as a spot of dirt inside a glass. You can see this two ways. It’s either as a spot that can be easily removed, or one that’s ruined the whole glass. You know the second approach is not effective. Instead, the best way to fix the glass is to simply run clean water through it. If the water is clean and strong enough, it eventually washes the sport away.

The same is true for your mind. If there is a negative spot, don’t dwell on it and let it ruin you. Instead, run positive and powerful thoughts through your mind. They will eventually displace the negative ones. No fighting it, just a natural progression.

In the water example, the cleaner and more powerful the water is, the faster it cleans the glass. It’s the same for your mind. The cleaner, more positive and more powerful the thoughts you think, the faster the negative junk will be cleaned out and displaced.

I remind you again to avoid fighting the negative thoughts that plague you. Instead, run a steady stream of wholesome, positive, and powerful thoughts in your mind. You will see a rapid difference in how you feel, your level of energy, the positive way other people react to you, and the level of success you achieve. There’s no fighting it : )

8 Ways To Bring Your Life To a Higher Level

There is so much excellent information available about success and ways to take your life to a higher level. Every once in a while I find some absolute gems.

One such article lists 8 powerful tips to bring more success to your life. The article is specifically about internet marketing, but the guidelines can be used to enhance any part of your life. Here’s the list:

1. Remember why you’re doing it (why you want to succeed).
2. Treat it like a business (treat it seriously, like your world depends on it)
3. Be knowledgable
4. Gain leverage by finding several ways to be successful
5. Set deadlines for yourself
6. Make “top 5” lists
7. Assess your progress on a regular basis
8. Celebrate your victories

Once again, this article is based on web marketing, but I love the tips provided. My recommendation is to determine what  you want to achieve. Then use these steps to help you get there.

For more details on this information, here is the link of the full article and more detailed explanations of each step. Here’s to your success : )

http://www.associateprograms.com/articles/8-life-changing-tips-to-make-you-more-successful.html

6 Characteristics Of Leaders That Move The Ball Down The Field

I love this post not only because it relates to football, but it can make leaders and winners out of all of us.

16 Signs You’re Happier Than You Think

This is too valuable to pass up the opportunity to share…

You’re Being Set Up

Do you ever get the feeling that you’re being set up for something? It can be scary, right? I am here to tell you that you are indeed being set up for something. That something is greatness and blessing. I can assure you that it’s nothing to be scared of!

The more I read the stories of the Bible, the more I see how God uses every circumstance in our life to set us up for greatness. Yes, even those negative situations that are driving you crazy and stressing you out. Everything that is happening in your life is setting you up for the greatness that God has planned for you.

What’s your responsibility? Just realize it. Instead of complaining or getting down when things don’t go your way, or taking the good things for granted, be thankful. I’ve said it before…an attitude of gratitude takes the strife out of life. Be thankful that you are being set up for greatness. Think positive thoughts and pray about what steps to take. Then take them, once again knowing that you are being led to where you need to be.

Remember, you are being set up. Set up for greatness as long as you believe it and follow along. Enjoy the blessings : )

A Helpful Mind Power Tip…No Question About It

When it comes to advice on ways to use the mind to help bring success into my life I am definitely like a kid in a candy shop. I can’t get enough of this type of advice. As mentioned several times before, I like to use this blog as a relay service, as I share this precious information with you when I receive it and it positively impacts my own life.

One piece of advice I’ve seen in several places is the art of questioning the mind. Why are questions so powerful? Think of questions in any aspect of life. We use them to gain more knowledge. It empowers us because we can use this knowledge for good. If a 3rd grade math student asks a teacher a question, they receive information necessary to succeed. If I ask my wife how I can make her happier, she provides information that I can act on, and make her happier.

These same techniques work in your own life. I’ve tried it, and it works wonders. You have goals right? However, in many cases, when it comes to figuring out how to accomplish those goals, you don’t have the answers. What do you do then? The powerful technique I’ve been taught is to ask yourself the questions. “What can I do now/today to accomplish…?” What steps can I take now to become healthier? What can I do today to grow my business? What can I do immediately to be a better friend?

Those are some examples of questions to ask. Here’s the amazing thing…when you ask your mind these questions, it feels forced to come up with answers. Try it! Every time I practice this (which is more and more as it becomes regular habit), answers to my questions seem to appear suddenly and easily. I have answers that I never had before. As mentioned before, those answers are power to act and get closer to the accomplishment of my goals.

Another great part about this process is that it helps you keep your focus on the goal. We often don’t act because we get distracted by other thoughts, nagging doubts, etc. When you ask your mind specific questions about what you are looking to accomplish, it locks in on that goal, and once again helps take you there faster.

Finally, I believe that you are also inviting divine guidance into the situation when you ask questions like this. You are asking your mind, but in essence, you are asking God for His help and guidance, and He ultimately leads you in the direction to go. No matter how you see it, this technique can do wonders in providing focus, direction, and guidance to accomplishing your most precious dreams and goals. Ask yourself questions throughout the day about what steps to take to gain success. If you listen, you will definitely get the answers. Enjoy the blessings : )

A Thoughtful Way To Gain Complete Control

Do you ever feel like you are losing control of the way your life is going? I believe you haven’t been living if you haven’t felt this way at one time or another. It happens to the best of us, even the most positive people.

A question is, how can you maintain control of life and prevent the situations where you feel helpless? There’s two ways to do it. One is to act on everything and try to control all of the circumstances in your life. The problem is that trying to do that doesn’t work too well. You spend all of your energy trying to control things and people that you have nothing left to give.

Another way is to simply control your thoughts and emotions. You have FULL CONTROL of the way you think and feel. Here’s the cool thing. When your thoughts and emotions are positive and aligned with God’s way of thinking, it affects all of the other circumstances automatically. If your thoughts and emotions are positive, the outcomes will be positive as well.

You may ask…”what about action? I can’t just sit back and let things happen, right”? Very true. However, when your thoughts and emotions are right, the action happens automatically. And it will barely feel like your are doing anything because the actions you take will be natural and productive.

Remember again, no one can control your thoughts and emotions besides you. You have absolute control. It’s not that you have to fight to keep every single thought positive. However, make sure that a majority of the thoughts you have are good and positive. In fact, your emotional state is an exact indicator of the quality of thoughts you are thinking, as the two go hand in hand.

The key is to spend time maintaining your thoughts. Even if it’s just a few minutes at some points throughout the day, it is valuable time well spent. If you are already feeling good, load your mind with more positive thoughts and images. If you notice that your emotional energy is low, then instead of fighting the negative thoughts, displace them with thoughts of positive outcomes, love, gratitude, or whatever beautiful thoughts you can reflect on. You will very quickly notice a difference.

The best advice my father ever gave me was to focus only on the things I can control. And I have absolute, full control of my mind and the thoughts I allow to enter it. The same is true for you. Take advantage of the full control you have of the quality of your thoughts and feelings, and watch how everything else is positively and powerfully affected. Enjoy the blessings : )

How To Change Negative Circumstances

Do you have negative circumstances in your life? Unfortunately, we all do to some extent. Even us positive, optimistic people have obstacles we must deal with. God even says in the Bible that all humans will encounter these difficult situations at some time.

One pertinent question is… how do we deal with these negative situations? You may also ask… Is there a way we can avoid them? How can we turn them into a positive? All of these are excellent questions, and I will address each one in this article.

Before I answer these questions, I will say that too many people try to handle these negative situations externally. Either they blame something or someone else, or they try to find solutions by controlling the people or situations that caused the difficulty in the first place. They are trying to solve the problem from the outside. This is NOT the correct way to turn a negative situation around.

The best way to change negative circumstances is to focus on the inside.You may be able to control the situation in some way. However, you have full control of your own thoughts. And it’s using this control wisely that changes the situation most quickly and effectively. It’s a fact, that you are what you think. When you think negatively about a person or a situation, you are only allowing more negativity to enter the picture. However, when you think positively, even about a negative situation, you are setting the process in motion to change the situation quickly.

I’m sure you are familiar with the theory of displacement. For example, if you have a glass of muddy water, how do you change it so there is clear water in the glass? You cannot just dump the water out because much of the dirt will still remain. Instead, you need to run a constant stream of clean water through the glass. Eventually, the clean water replaces the muddy water until all of the dirt is cleaned out, and the water is clean. I have read in several books how the same is true for our thoughts. It is very difficult to just dump the negative thoughts out of our minds. This is because much of the lodged into our subconscious mind. In order to be removed, the positive thoughts need to clean out the negative ones. This only happens with a steady stream of healthy, positive thoughts.

What are some ways to help displace negative thoughts with positive ones to help change the negative situation? I will mention those that have been suggested to me and have worked wonders in helping me succeed…
Prayer – If you only practiced prayer to change a negative siutation, it would be good enough. God is in control of everything. Asking Him to solve your negative situation is like someone asking you to remove a piece of dust from a table. The Bible says that God is waiting for you to ask for His help and blessing, and He is ready and willing to provide for His children. Prayer is also effective, because it provides peace and a sense of power to you. To know completely that the negative situation is in God’s hands and control is empowering, and it helps us move on with the poise and confidence we need to do our part.

Visualization – Earlier I mentioned displacing negative thoughts from the subconscious mind. One of the most effective ways to do this is by visualization. This is because the subconscious cannot tell the difference between a real or imagined event. When you visualize a situation in the ideal, as you want it to be, your mind takes a hold of it, and you begin to think and act according to the picture that you hold. Knowing this, take time whenever you can through the day, and visualize the situations in your life as you want them to be, and as you think they should be. Hold this picture in your mind as often as possible. Experience it with all five senses in as much detail as you can. Ultimately, you start becoming that picture. Your actions work together with your new-found faith. This not only results in finding solutions, but allows you to a act in a confident, positive manner that effects all aspects of your life in an unbelievable way.

Positive Emotion – This step goes hand in hand with the previous ones.Even a negative situation can be changed if you demonstrate love, joy, peace, and all of the other fruits of the Spirit. Keep your emotions high, and you will magnetically attract the positive outcomes you are seeking. You will also be a positive light for others, and will make negative situations difficult to occur in the first place.

Take Inspired Action – I touched upon this already, but when your faith is strong, your thoughts are confident and positive, and your emotions are high, your actions automatically follow in the same manner. Just be sure to take those actions whenever you see the opportunity. Also, you’ve heard that the best defense is a great offense? When you practice these steps above, you are doing all you can do to prevent negative situations from happening. In fact, you are causing the opposite effects. You are instead setting yourself for blessings and miracles.

As I’ve mentioned earlier, negative situations cannot be completely avoided. The sooner they are dealt with, the sooner they disappear. The best way to deal with them is to avoid fighting them, and instead by changing your thinking to alter the situation. When you follow the steps above, you will be able to quickly resolve negative situations in your life, and create many more positive ones. Enjoy the blessings!

How To Get Fast Results

In my previous post, I discussed a powerful prayer by Nehemiah in his book in the Bible. It is very powerful because if you use this method of prayer, you are incorporating praise, thanksgiving, supplication, and positive and powerful focus on what you want. If you would like to view the article, here’s the link…https://powerofpies.wordpress.com/2013/08/07/a-powerful-and-effective-prayer-that-works/

I have always been intrigued by this story of Nehemiah. If you are not familiar, I will provide a quick review. After Jerusalem was destroyed, exiles remained in Babylon/Persia for many years. After a while, some were permitted to return. The city remained in ruins for all of these years. Several years earlier, they had the holy temple rebuilt, but that was it. Nehemiah felt the need to go and rebuild the city walls. At the time, he had a prominent position working for the Persian king. However, he felt the calling to go. This is when he prays the powerful prayer that is written. He prays that he can convince the king to let him go, and for the strength and power to rebuild the walls.

Several awesome lessons are presented as the story continues. He easily receives permission from the king. As he arrives, he continues to pray through everything, and acts upon whatever inspiration he receives. As a result, a project that could have taken several months or even years is completed in 52 days.

I don’t know about you, but this is the type of example I want to follow. This was a man who simply knew how to get things done. Luckily, everything went smoothly, right? Wrong! During this process, Nehemiah encountered much resistance. Several plots were formed against him, and even his life was threatened. However, he remained focused and completed the project in just 52 days.

What are some of the lessons from this and how was he so successful? I present some reasons now:

1. Prayer – As mentioned, Nehemiah prayed before every situation and during the time he worked as well. For more results on the power of prayer, please check out my previous post.
2. He was an excellent example – Not only was he in charge of the project, but he dug in with everyone else and did the work as well. Not only was he a leader, but he was a server as well.
3. Focus – This is the key…he knew what had to get done, and remained focused solely on the goal. He faced many obstacles, but always prayed and found solutions to overcome them.
4. Action – As soon as he knew what to do, he acted immediately. The word procrastination was not in his vocabulary!

Every time I read this story, I am inspired. You may have something that you want accomplished like yesterday, but it seems like it’s a long way off. If you are looking to accomplish a goal sooner than later, I strongly recommend you follow these guidelines above. There is no reason you should have to wait to receive what you want. The only reason would be that God has something better for you in the meantime.

What is it you want to accomplish? Determine a clear answer, pray about it, and stay focused, doing all you can and letting God do His part to let it happen. And know that it will happen. Enjoy the blessings : )