Stuck in a Rut? Check Your Attitude!

I just came across this poem written by a friend and wanted to share it with you. 

Consciousness Taken to Heart

Consciousness is what we know
It makes us who we are;
We trudge through ruts of mind and muck
Or dance among the stars.

Attitude defines our life,
Emotion makes the man;
The total of our actions
Sum up just where we stand.

Faith forms a self-imposed level,
Fear is a fable minds tell;
Consciousness is the result of our deeds,
We construct our own heaven or hell.

The mind records and then replays,
Sunrise to sunset the passing of days.
Consciousness requires time, the journey is one part
Events are filtered through our thoughts
Then settle in our heart.

—Greg Wright

If you want to get out of the rut and start dancing among the stars, take a look at what you are thinking right this minute.  If your thought is a negative one, release it and INTEND to think its opposite.  It’s an ongoing battle – negative thoughts become so habitual – but every time you become aware and focus on the positive, you are one step closer to living a more fulfilled life.

PS  The photo is one I took in Sedona, Arizona a couple of weeks ago.  The sunsets were spectacular!

Midlife Challenges

This past week I was in Phoenix for the annual National Speakers Association convention. To say it is a high-energy event is probably an understatement!  3½ days of incredible speakers, stories, education and networking. Not to mention the 112 degree heat, which I have to say, is something I love.

One of the most memorable speeches was given by Nando Perrado. You probably don’t recognize his name but you may recall the story of a plane carrying the Uruguayan rugby team that crashed in the Andes some 35 years ago. The movie Alive, starring Ethan Hawke, was based on this incredible story of a group of young men forced to use desperate measures to survive in the snow-swept Andes mountains. It was Nando’s unwavering courage and sustaining love for his family that kept him alive against all odds.  His speech was one of the most inspirational I have ever heard and brought the house down.  Many were reduced to tears!

Nando’s compelling story of the brutal challenges he faced puts our miniscule problems into perspective. I doubt there was one person in that audience of 1,000 or so who didn’t come away from that session feeling that if someone could overcome an elephant of a problem, then surely we could deal with an ant. We were all challenged and encouraged to take a broader view of our trials and tribulations.

Mountains of Challenges

What challenges are you currently facing? Are you so embroiled in an issue that it seems insurmountable?  Perhaps it might be time to read Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home and gain a different perspective on how well you are coping with your problems.  You may be inspired to make that change that seemed like too much of an obstacle!

Are you Climbing up the Wrong Tree?

Are you Climbing the Wrong Tree?

Many Baby Boomers hit midlife only to discover that real happiness is still elusive even though they are successful and appear to have everything they want, or at least that’s the way it seems to everyone else. They are suffering from Passion Deficit Disorder.   

Without passion they are “climbing up the wrong tree.”  Many people get into jobs, careers, businesses and relationships because “they fell into them”, “it seemed like a good idea at the time”, “my parents said I should”, “I didn’t know what else to do.”  They can come up with numerous reasons for where they are in life but none of them involve “it’s my passion … my purpose … my destiny.”

If you’re climbing up the wrong tree, the best strategy at this point is to get down.  That makes a great deal of sense but we sometimes forget the basics and continue climbing, either in a career situation or in personal circumstances.  Instead of getting down and heading in a new direction (i.e. a different tree), we unfortunately attempt to develop other strategies to try and make sense of a continued climb up the same tree. 

Some of these “strategies” could be described as:

• Buying a longer ladder
• Forming a committee to study the tree
• Arranging a visit to other groups to see how they climb the wrong tree
• Lowering the standards so that the “wrong tree” can be included
• Hiring an intervention team to feed the tree and give it a new lease on life
• Reclassifying the tree as “the right tree”
• Hiring a partner to climb the wrong tree with you
• Buying a more sturdy ladder for greater speed in climbing the wrong tree
• Rewriting expectations for the tree
• Adding a second ladder on the other side of the tree for a different perspective
• Declaring that this smaller tree requires less of a cash outlay

If you would like to climb the “right” tree, the one that is perfect for you, contact me at evelin(at)blueprints4change.com and I’ll help you discover where that tree is and how to start climbing faster than you ever thought possible!

I Want to Follow my Passions but I’m Afraid of Change

I know what my passion is and what my ideal life looks like but I can’t get there from here!

Plenty of people say they want to start living their passions but never seem to be able to make it to first base because they don’t understand how powerful their fears about making changes are.  These conscious or subconscious fears will stop you dead in your tracks every time unless you deal with them. 

EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) has been extremely successful as a tool for eliminating those negative beliefs that stop you from living a more fulfilled life. You may come up with many different beliefs but the first one I want to address is Fear of Change.

Here are the EFT Setup Phrases, followed by two rounds (one negative and one positive) for the specific topic of being afraid to change:

If you are not familiar with EFT, go to http://www.blueprints4change.com/pdf/EFTprocedure.pdf to view the tapping points.

EFT Setup Phrases

Step 1. Tapping the karate chop point (either hand is fine), repeat the following statements out loud (or use words that fit your own situation)

Even though a part of me is afraid to change and follow my passions, I deeply and completely accept myself.

Even though other people may not like it if I follow my passions, I choose to go in that direction anyway.

Even though change is hard, I accept who I am and that I have these beliefs.

 
Step 2.  Focusing on the challenge, tap on negative phrases such as…

Eyebrow: I don’t want to change

Side of Eye: Change is scary

Under Eye: I don’t want to upset _____(name)

Under Nose: It’s not safe to change and follow my passions

Under Chin: It’s not safe for  ______(name) if I change

Collarbone: I feel comfortable staying where I am

Under Arm:  I don’t want to make any waves

Top of Head: It’s easier if I don’t change

 
Step 3. Focusing on the solution, tap on positive phrases such as…
Eyebrow: I do want to make the change

Side of Eye: ______(name) can handle it

Under Eye: I will do whatever it takes to make the change

Under Nose: Maybe I WILL be safe in following my passions

Under Chin: I deserve to follow my passions

Collarbone: I love following my passions

Under Arm:  I want to live a more passionate life

Top of Head: I feel free to release this fear now

Continue tapping and notice how you feel more calm and balanced by eliminating the emotional distress related to your issue.
 

My blog post Change your Mind, Change your Life demonstrated the power of mind/body techniques in helping my mother-in-law recover extremely quickly from surgery for lung cancer.  You can find that post at http://budurl.com/ywdb

If you would like to learn more about EFT, go to http://budurl.com/WorldCenterforEFT and download the free manual.

Living your Passions: One Step at a Time

Do the things you need to do when you need to do them, and eventually you can do the things you want to do when you want to do them – Zig Ziglar

In following up with some of my clients who have taken The Passion Test I hear comments like I know what my passions are and what I must do but I have too much on my plate right now or I’m frustrated, I don’t know what to do first. 

I know how my clients feel because my frustration at the moment is related to spending too much time in front of the computer and not being able to get out there and enjoy the summer.

What to do?  “Roman wasn’t built in a day” … yet we tend to want to do everything all at once. So what if it doesn’t ALL get done this week?  Will it really be such a catastrophe?  What’s the worst thing that can happen (it doesn’t usually happen anyway) if you don’t complete your WHOLE “To-Do” list? Can you handle it if the worst does happen? 

If the answer is yes, then step back and take just ONE important thing you have been putting off and commit to doing it this week. It’s much easier to do one thing … if you think about doing all 10, you’ll most likely not do any of them.  Eventually you will have completed all the steps and be able to sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.  It’s a step-by-step process.