So we’re halfway through January … how are you feeling?
Are you feeling as upbeat and as motivated as you did on January 1st when you made those New Year resolutions?
The Mental Health Foundation says, ‘millions of people make resolutions yet almost 80% fail to achieve them’. Read this great article from the Mental Health Foundation about keeping those resolutions.
Many people set too many resolutions or unrealistic goals that can’t be sustained. And many people find that once they drop one resolution the others quickly follow.
It’s hard to stay on track of your goals when there is so much going on in your life. Circumstances, family, work … without adding anything else to the equation these things can keep you majorly busy.
But, at some point today, take 5 minutes out. Even if it’s before you go to bed tonight. Now, in these five minutes, breath slowly and deeply, and connect with your breathing. Keep doing this until you feel calm. Now, visualise your goals. Visualise sticking to those New Year resolutions. Really feel that connection with those goals. Visualise how you would feel.
The trick is to not look too far ahead into the future: Yes, if one of your resolutions is to lose weight, eat healthier, then visualising how you will look and feel in 3, 6 or 12 months time is a great motivator. However, every step counts – even the smallest. So visualising how you will feel this time next week if you stick to your plan, is easier to achieve. The best time to visualise is 5 minutes before you get out of bed on a morning, or 5 minutes before you drop off to sleep.
Now all this may seem great, ‘in theory’! As Zig Ziglar said ‘Motivation is like showering. The effects are not long term – but that’s why it’s recommended that you do it daily’. Bringing out your positive side can be difficult for many people. We live in a world of hustle and bustle! Life is busy … but when you learn how to stay positive, how to visualise and how to stop any negativity creeping in – the world is a nicer place.
Many years ago when things seemed very dark for us: my husband lost his (once – very successful) business, I was pregnant with our 2nd child and because we had no money we had to move in with my in-laws (that’s just a fraction of what was going on around us at the time). I couldn’t believe that this was it! This was our life! We both had degrees and MAs. We’d worked really hard … how could this be happening to us? What type of life were we providing for our children? The guilt, the anguish, the anger, the frustration would eat away at me. Then I realised living my life in the ‘blame game’ wasn’t going to move me forward.
So, what did I do? Did I sit there and continue to wallow in my own self-pity, or did I do something about it? Hopefully, you’ve gathered I most certainly wasn’t going to wallow anymore. It was making me ill. But the first thing I had to work on was changing my thought patterns. Instead of looking at ‘what I didn’t have’ – I looked at what I did have and what I was truly grateful for. I’ve always had big dreams – to become an author and to own my own business. I’m now doing those things! And I couldn’t be happier. I’m not going to lie and say it’s been a stress-free journey, like riding on a train looking at the fields as the sun spreads its golden glow across the fresh greenery. It’s been more like a ride on a rollercoaster: exhilarating in parts but downright scary in others! But I’d rather be doing what I’m doing now than anything else in the world.
So, how did I become positive (can I say naturally positive – positivity isn’t an effort anymore, it’s a way of life!). Well, I’ve always enjoyed reading inspirational quotes. When I decided to lift my head out of my backside, I started collecting inspirational quotes, which felt like messages just for me. I have thousands. And I would read several a day.
Many years ago I recieved a gift from a friend: a box full of inspirational quotes which were to be read daily. This gave me the idea to put some of the quotes I had collected into a book for other people, so they too could be encouraged every day. My books ‘Daily Inspirational Messages 2012/2013’ can be download for free here. Now you may be thinking, but these are old books! Inspirational messages can never be old! My advice to you is to use both these books, morning and night. The inspirational messages 2013, also has weekly tasks included. These are designed to help you achieve your goal.
My ‘Daily Inspirational Messages 2014’ is available on Amazon for £1.53. A great way to use all 3 books daily is as follows:
Morning: Before you visualise read your daily message from 2014.
Afternoon: Read your daily message from 2012.
Evening: Read 2013 – This will hopefully allow you time to read and achieve the weekly tasks.
You’ll find within a few weeks of reading these quotes how you start thinking more positively and start to believe in yourself!
There have been other things that have helped me along my journey.
Rhonda Byrne who wrote the book ‘The Secret’, has definitely helped me change my thought patterns. If you’ve not read it, it’s a must! She has also written, ‘The Power’, ‘The Magic’ and her latest release ‘The Hero’. I have just finished ‘The Hero’ and I loved it. I really do recommend these books for anyone who wants to understand what their life is about. These books are amazing for helping to understand the Law of Attraction and for helping to look at the positive side of your life, feeling love rather than anger and being grateful for all that you have.
Another website and amazing inspirational lady is Lousie L.Hay. Lousie Hay is a renowned best-selling author of many books. Her website offers so much, you really must have a look.
Once you start to change your thought patterns, it becomes second nature. It becomes a way of life. It doesn’t feel natural anymore for me to have a negative thought. I’m not comfortable with negativity passing through my being. Being negative is draining. It zaps you of energy that you could be using for so many useful things. I’m not saying it’s an easy journey to start thinking more positively, but it is definitly a nicer one!
I hope you feel this post has helped you. Life is too short to just let it pass you by … so download my free books, and if you would like to purchase Daily Inspirational Quotes 2014, I send my love and thanks to you.
Good luck in achieving your New Year Resolutions. Just remember to believe in yourself. Anything is possible!
Love
Victoria
xx