Personal Development

Now that a new year is upon us, it’s time to make a fresh start. Don’t let this year be the same as last. Make this a year of opportunity by using the Law of Attraction. The Law of Attraction isn’t some hocus pocus psycho-babble; it is a proven belief pattern that has been utilized by successful people throughout the ages. Today, science is discovering that the way we think shapes our reality; our beliefs and attitudes make impressions upon our brains. These impressions, in turn, cause “ruts” or patterns which dictate how we view life: do we expect abundance, or do we expect scarcity? Do we see events as opportunities, or do we discount them altogether, missing yet another opportunity/chance?

Granted, it’s easy to keep traveling along in our well worn patterns or ruts. They’re the paths of least resistance, and to break out of them and create new patterns is scary and difficult. As they say, better the devil you know than the one you don’t. However, making new paths that will lead to realizing your dreams is worth the effort. Why stay in self-defeating patterns? They only lead to a life of regret.

By using the Law of Attraction, you will create new patterns that are not ruts; they’ll lead to opportunities to break free. You need to be open to the belief that you can attract what you most want – be it prosperity, contentment, better health, a better job, or a better relationship. By thinking and believing in the Law of Attraction, opportunities will surround you.

Like all New Year’s resolutions, incorporating the Law of Attraction into your daily life won’t be easy. You’ll have to learn a whole new way of thinking – a way of thinking that will manifest what you most desire. Are you ready?

Opportunity is going to knock on your door in 2010. Will you hear it? And will you get out of your rut and answer?

Hero worship, we all indulge in it. We all have people we look up to it. People who we think can do no wrong. We place these people on a pedestal. We think very highly of them and are greatly offended if they are spoken against.

Ten years ago the heroes would have been political leaders, war veterans, inventors, scientists, royalty or social workers. Today we worship actors, singers, super models, socialites and anyone else who may be a minor celebrity. Some of these “so called” celebrities are truly not worthy of such worship. They are shallow, tactless and sometimes even lack general intelligence or at least that is the image they like to put across.

Then there are celebrities like Oprah Winfrey who deserve to be looked up to. I do not take issue with the fact that we worship these people, simply because they are famous and live glamorous lives, my concern is that we aren’t worshiping something that is real. I understand that heroes are never really what we think they are. We can never know the real people, but at least the hero’s of yester year had a real core. We could back up the image we created with actual work that they did. Some of the newer batches of heroes seem to have attained their status just for being who they are.

It irks me that most people today cannot find role models that have true achievements to their name. On the other hand, I can’t help but wonder, if a person inspires you, gives you confidence and encourages you to be better, does it really matter who they are and what they have done? Does a hero really need to be heroic to inspire us, or is us simply thinking of him/her as heroic enough for inspiration to come?

Do you have hope for the future? If you don’t, you should! Hope is a crucial first step in building a better future. Make that hope realistic by believing in a positive future for yourself. Believe that good things are coming your way. Know that you deserve it. You really do. If you don’t believe that, then you have another step to work on – acceptance of your inherent worthiness.

Since you are wondrously made, isn’t it only natural to believe you deserve to live a satisfying and contented life? The universe is open to you! Just ask and, with the right thought patterns, you will receive.

Sounds simple, right? Well, yes and no. The key is “right thought patterns.” Those thought patterns mean being positive in all your thoughts, whether it be your self talk or your visualizations. Thinking positively can be difficult, especially if you’ve grown up with a lot of negativity surrounding you. In order to think positive, you will have to make a concerted effort to do so. It takes practice, as well as setting aside time each and every day to practice that underused “muscle.” Once you have mastered positive thinking, you will have hope for the future. And having hope will lead to bigger and better things: the manifestations of your dreams. Pretty soon you’ll be thinking: “The future’s so bright, I gotta wear shades!”

Hope for the future. Build for the future, and believe in that future you so richly deserve! And get some good sunglasses while you’re at it. *wink*

A few years ago, I read a book about a boy who was given a worry stone. He had had some tragedy in his life, and he was frightened of the changes swirling about him. Whenever he felt worried, he was told to rub this worry stone. Now that I’m hopefully a little wiser, I wonder about the wisdom of a worry stone. It was supposed to alleviate his stress, but wouldn’t accidentally touching that stone in his pocket, which signifies worry and fear, make him feel even more worried and fearful? It seems reasonable to me, since it’s the embodiment of all those negative emotions.

I think people should rethink the worry stone; it should be thought of as a comfort stone instead. Why not imbue this symbolic stone with such positive energy as hope, faith, peace, love, believe, or whatever other positive aspect you need. Rub your comfort stone to remind yourself to hope and to believe that good things are going to happen to you. Your “worry stone,” now a “comfort stone,” will be a constant reminder that your dreams can come true, and you can live a very peaceful and satisfying life.

Keep your comfort stone nearby – be it in your pocket, purse, desk drawer, or wherever you can easily reach for it. When you need some positive affirmations throughout your day, touch it and think good thoughts – positive and peaceful thoughts. Soon you’ll train yourself to automatically feel positive and peaceful, even during difficult times.

Turn your worry stone into a comfort stone; turn your life into a positive and peaceful direction by flipping negatives into positives!

The wind leaves a mark on the rocks that it passes over. It gives them shape and form. A tire leaves tracks on the ground it rolls over. The passing sun makes an impression on the world that passes below it. It marks the earth with both heat and shade. The people we meet shape us like the wind; they leave impressions and they mark us with both their love and their hate.

People leave footprints on our hearts. We remember the first time we were hugged, the first time we were scolded, the first time we fell in love and the first time we fought; each memory a different print left by a different person. These memories are what define who we are. They are the lens through which we see the world. It is the memory of getting burnt that reminds us to stay away from fire.

If any of these experiences were to change, we would not be the people we are today. If we had been scolded instead of hugged, if we had been rewarded instead of punished on any occasion; the lessons we took away from that moment would have been very different. Consequently we would be very different.

Some of these prints are seared into us. Feelings we will never forget. Others are like footprints in the sand. The tides of time wash them away. It is important to hold on to these memories, and more importantly, the feelings associated with these memories. It is only when we forget our childhood experiences that we truly become old.

The secret to eternal youth is not in the discovery of some obscure fountain. Eternal youth lies in the heart that has not lost the prints of its childhood feet.

We have gotten so used to getting our own way. We have gotten so used to shortcuts, to things being easy, that I can’t help but wonder, have we all become spoiled brats?

When we are driving on the roads, we won’t give the soccer mom room to cut into the lane. We blast past student drivers even if they are nervous. When was the last time you let a senior citizen cut ahead when standing in line?

Do you remember the last time you yelled? The last time you made a snide or sarcastic comment? Of course you do. You are snippy with the hostess if she won’t give you a table. The fact that she is just doing her job is irrelevant.

We want things and we want them now. We get agitated and frustrated if things take longer than they are supposed to. We don’t care about the fact that the weather is bad. We want to get on that flight. We have to get to our vacation.

We can go along with anything, as long as it’s done our way. We will go out of our way to make things happen the way we want them to. We will lie, cheat, use tricks and whatever else is required.

The following are the characteristics of a spoiled child, lack of consideration for other people, recurrent temper tantrums, and an inability to handle the delay of gratification, demands for having one’s own way, and manipulation.
We seem to have forgotten that the generations that came before us survived on much less. Not only did they survive, they thrived. They didn’t have lightning fast internet connections, they didn’t have touch phones, or even a washing machine. They were fine. So, what’s wrong with us? When did we get so spoiled?

The term singer-songwriter has become a part of everyday vocabulary. It is a term that refers to musicians who write, compose and sing their own material including lyrics and melodies. We all remember Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Cat Stevens, James Taylor, and Dolly Parton. These were the singer-songwriters of the 60’s and 70’s.

In the early 1990s Mariah Carey rose to fame and became one of the most successful and well known singer-songwriters of all time. Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Victoria Williams, Patty Griffin, Jewel and Lisa Loeb were all hugely successful in the music industry.

Then came the beginning of the end of ‘Great Music’, in the early 21st century, a massive frenzy of “bubble-gum pop stars” were created by record labels. With limited vocal abilities, these artists sold records to young fans via a marketed image.

The fans loved them. They enticed such frenzy wherever they went, that they were regarded as modern day royalty. Artists like Britney Spears, the Back Street Boys and Christina Aguilera rose to super stardom. These artists, who merely performed songs given to them, were given the status of living legends. They were blamed for the difficulty of achieving success, faced by singer-songwriters of the time.

Then artist such as Spears and Christina Aguilera began writing their own material and taking further control of their musical careers. They were no longer seen as the puppets of the dollar making record industry. Today, massive success and credit has been given to artist such as Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Amy Winehouse and Taylor Swift who write almost all of their own material.

It has been proved that the image of a star can be used to sell records. People have a tendency to believe what they see. The same is true when it comes to business. So, have you checked to see, what is your corporate image?

When we are born we don’t have too many thoughts. We think about things like, we’re hungry, we’re thirsty, we’re sleepy and so on. We don’t know too much about anything. We don’t have opinions about anything. As we grow up we learn things. We learn that it is good to share. It’s not good to hit people. We learn that people can be mean and that mom’s, though not always right, will always love you.

Most of what we learn is good, but sometimes, in the process of growing up, we pick up some ideas that are not so good. Some people are taught that they should always think of themselves first, that it’s okay to kill an animal for sport and that, boys don’t cry. We are all made up of our ideas and our beliefs. I propose that, ‘You are what you think’.

How many of us take the time to question our beliefs? You may have an opinion about something, but have you ever thought about whether or not that opinion is yours? Are you a vegetarian because you don’t believe in killing animals, or because that is how you were raised? Do you hate a particular place because you hate it, or because that’s what you heard from the people around you?

I know so many people who believe in something but have no idea why they believe in it. They don’t even know when they started believing in it. Some beliefs can be dangerous. No person is born evil. So many crimes are committed in the name of personal beliefs.

If people took the time to examine their core opinions, maybe we would live in a world without war, hate crimes or racism, a world in which boys could cry.

We’ve all heard the story of the three little pigs. One built a house of straw, one built a house of sticks and the third built a house of bricks. There is another version of this story. In that version there is a fourth pig. That pig didn’t build a house at all. He planned where he would build his house. It would be on the bank of a stream, under the shade of tall trees. He planned what he would make the house from; sticks, stones, bricks and wood. He planned what the house would look like; French windows, a terrace, and a red tile roof. He planed how he would go about building it; he had his blue prints & his workers’ contracts. He planned and he planned and he planned some more. As he was planning, the wolf came along and ate him up. There was no huffing or puffing to blow his house down.

No one talks about this pig because his story is just too sad. There are so many people who have a similar story. They plan and they plan but they never actually do anything. Businesses often suffer the same fate.  It’s good to have a plan but don’t spend so much of your time or your resources on your plan that you don’t have any time left to actually implement it. We get lost in the numbers and specifics of things. We get so engrossed in planning for the future that we forget to look at our today. There is no point in planning ten years ahead if you aren’t doing enough to survive till the next year.

If you have a basic plan to get started don’t spend too much time trying to fine tune it. Get Started. Don’t be like the fourth little pig who never built his house.

Imagine a classroom. The teacher asks Tom a question. He says the answer is ‘A’. She turns to Bill and asks him the same question. Bill knows the answer is ‘B’ but he says ‘A’. We’ve all encountered this phenomenon. It is because of this phenomenon that we’ve given wrong answers, smoked cigarettes and during the 80’s, we even pretended that bell bottoms were cool. This phenomenon is known as ‘peer pressure.’ Studies have shown that 65% of us will give the wrong answer just because we heard someone else say it. When we hear ‘peer-pressure’, we automatically think of groups of intimidating teenagers. The reality is not always this obvious.

Peer-pressure is just an offshoot of the power of suggestion. There isn’t always an intimidating teenager involved. Women feel the need to go out and buy a new dress for a party; simply because they know, the other women in attendance will be well dressed. Men feel the need to have the corner office, with the windows, simply because all the successful guys have them.

The power of suggestion has been well documented. Those who know how to use it are some of the most successful people on the planet. To use this power you require patience, restraint and keen observation. For the most part it’s safer to stay away from this technique, at the same time, it’s important that we learn how to protect ourselves from it. The next time you find yourself taking an action, or craving an object, stop yourself and check to see if your own thoughts are guiding you. Make sure you don’t do something because you heard, someone else had done it. If you are asked, ‘What color is the night sky?’ Don’t say ‘black’, because everyone says ‘black’. Look and see. Sometimes the night is navy blue.