Category Archives: Gratitude

Act As If, Affirmations, Attitude, Autosuggestion, Beliefs, Blessings, Creating The Future, Definite Chief Purpose, Expectations, Faith, Focus, Goals, Gratitude, Habit Formation, Happiness, Joy, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Rehearsal And Practice, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success, Unlimited Power, Visualization

Are Your Habits Creating Success Or Failure?

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the choice to have a great attitude

“Success and happiness is a matter of habit. So is failure and defeat. Either your habits support you and uplift you or they don’t. You get whatever you think about most. You get back whatever you do most.

You need to ensure that you have the right habits to get what you want.  You can’t succeed easily if you have the habit of defeated thinking and feeling. If your habits don’t support you YOU MUST develop new habits to replace the ones that work to keep you down.

You rarely get what you want if you are not the person in charge of your own thinking. You might be lucky once in a while but most often you are like a cork bobbing in the water. You are drifting. Sometimes things work out sometimes they don’t.

The only way to insure more consistent results is to put yourself in charge and take 100% responsibility for everything that happens good or bad. You may not like this idea but once you completely accept this notion you come into your true power.

You stop blaming. You stop putting the causes for your success or failure outside of yourself. It is accurate that there are outside influences on you but you are the one who decides how you will respond. Circumstances are neutral until you decide whether they are positive or negative.

A true person of power can celebrate during the greatest disasters and in the face of calamity. When you can be delighted and celebrate regardless of what is going on around you or to you YOU are not a fool. You are a victor because you do not let things bring you down

You determine how you will feel. You are in charge. You are powerful and positive. You created successful thought habits.

From this seat of power you are a creator. Because you feel good in spite of circumstances you are able to more readily recognize opportunity and take advantage in ANY situation. Consider this example, successful people know how to make money in any economic climate. Making money for them is habit.

Many make their most money when times are bad. It isn’t the situation that should dictate you, rather you should dictate how you take advantage of any situation. When things don’t work out they way you may have hoped learn what you can from the experience.

When you have the mental attitude that you are in charge no matter what you make things happen. When you have the attitude that no matter what you are blessed and lucky all the time then you open yourself to have a most incredible life. When you can be happy and celebrate regardless of circumstances life is delicious.

To be the victor you must tell your mind what you want over and over again. There is no end to it. Repetition creates habit. Correct repetition creates the correct habit. Persistence is necessary in order to get what you want. It is simple YOU become what you think about day and night.

The subconscious mind will accept any statement that you keep repeating to it through words and by any other means. You affirm what you want in an emotional state of highly charged positive feelings. Intense feeling accompanying your thoughts, (internal images) and your self-talk (affirmations) IS what makes it work.

Repeat your affirmations and visualizations (as suggested in previous posts) in a state of enthusiasm backed up by faith and the subconscious mind acts more quickly. Faith is a state of mind wherein whatever it is you are going to do, whatever it is you want, you can see it already in a finished act even before you begin.

You can do whatever you make up your mind to do unless you give away your power along the way. Feel blessed, celebrate, be enthusiastic and joyful no matter what. Have faith that you will make happen what you want to happen regardless of whatever life throws at you. Make these a habit and nothing can hold you back!

Know you will find a way even if you don’t know what that way is at this moment. It will become obvious to you as you move forward. Have faith! Believe in yourself. Then what you want is taken over by the subconscious an acted upon immediately.  Stay with it, never give up and you will get what you want. Act from your power.

Define your chief purpose. Write it out so that you clarify it, understand it an memorize it. Start repeating it day in and day out. See it in your mind’s eye as already accomplished. Celebrate and enjoy! Say thank you all through out your day! Delight in all moments and you will discover so much more!

The more you think positive and the more you feel good the quicker and easier the process becomes. The faster you make it a reliable habit. The faster and easier you make things happen because you create momentum. Keep repeating this process until your subconscious mind picks it up and automatically works on it. This is how you make success a habit!” Rex Sikes

Have a fantastic  day!

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How To Make The Permanent Positive Changes You Want!

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whatever we plant in our subconscious

“The principles for change in a nutshell are; do the right things long enough, consistently, and you will see positive and powerful results. Do this and you will form habits for success and happiness.You’ll rewire your brain and create new neural pathways that serve you. You disengage from the old habits and live with new ones.

Your subconscious (servo-mechanism) carries out the messages you provide it all the time. It does this with or without your conscious input. The purpose of this blog and of positive change work is to get you to deliver to it the positive messages you want it to have so it works on your behalf. You have to consciously communicate with it what you want. You steer it. It does the work. Just like your car.

Because it will carry out positive or negative messages without regard your task is to provide it the messages YOU WANT to make your life what you want it to be. You do this through powerful, positive mental imagery and affirmations combined with intense positive feelings. Do this consistently for long enough and the subconscious mind will take over and begin to do it for you.

Because your subconscious mind is a reservoir of all your experiences and abilities it makes the new pathways and forms new connections with all the rest so that you become alert to new opportunity and advantages you otherwise couldn’t recognize before.

You will see things you have missed that have always been there and you discover new things too. Your attitude, your confidence improve. You begin to know what to do to get the results you want. Because your outlook changes everything changes. You now begin to see what you couldn’t before and you begin to live as you have wanted.

Your life improves because you take charge 100% for everything. Do that which is necessary to think strong powerful thoughts repeatedly and to feel the very best intense feelings. Celebrate and be filled with gratitude and excitement. We become what we think about all day long. Live at cause. Live as a victor!

Fill your mind and being with the best and you will become it! You will also remain merely okay or negative if that is what you are filling your mind with. In order to excel you must fill yourself with that which is excellent. Focus your mind on being a positive, powerful, ‘I can do anything I put my mind to do’ person and you will be!

Have fun and enjoy. Help others as well as yourself. Focus on what you want and on solutions. Think the best in everything. Feel the best you can. Do not get distracted by circumstances and you will find your life changing for the better. It’s a process that takes time but works when you move yourself through it.

Because you took the time and dedicated yourself to positive change you get it. Because you consistently and persistently follow through you will get back more than you put in. You will reap what you have sown. The harvest returns far more than the number of seeds planted. Your job is plant the  right seeds in the right way. Your subconscious’ job is to grow the seeds you plant.” Rex Sikes

Share something wonderful with someone else today!

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The 2 Most Powerful Ingredients For Happiness And Success! PT 2

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live w passion and purpose

“The amount of time one spends devoted to their personal happiness and their personal and professional goals makes a difference in how easily attainable these are. How you spend your time IS a critical factor.

A plant is either growing or dying. It is either feeding or starving. Are you feeding and growing or starving and dying? You can evaluate this each moment of each day. How you spend your time is important!

Continued from previous blog:

How much time you devote to your goal and how good you feel while spending that time are the two critical ingredients.

2. Intensity

Intensity is the kicker that makes it all work better, easier and faster.

FEEL GOOD RIGHT NOW! You want to feel as good as you can feel for as much time as possible. You want your day and night to be spent enjoying the very best feelings you have. You want to feel good right now in your present.

The more time you spend feeling good the quicker you make your goals come true. The more time you feel good the more time you WILL be able to feel good. You get back great returns on your investment when you think and feel positive most of your time.

When you feel great and you are passionate and enthused, when you are eager and are filled with energy, you think clearer and are able to keep going longer. Your intense feelings make you powerful.

Feeling intensely good in the present moment makes everything work better!

Some people may think, ‘Well, if I could feel good I would.’

You need to take charge. You will never think and feel your best if you expect the outer world to make you happy or better. It just doesn’t work that way. The way to get to feel better IS to take control, even when you don’t feel like it, and control your thoughts and feelings.

Learn to do the things that make you feel better. A few things that help in this are to eat right, sleep right, get enough exercise. Eliminate chemicals and additives. Sit, stand and move with more energy. Get a massage. Many suggestions are in previous blog posts.

This is WHY we fill our mind with positive thoughts. It is why we read and listen to inspiring materials. It is why we visualize our goals as completed and feel the feelings of that accomplishment. It is why we monitor our self-talk to insure it is positive. It is why we affirm out loud and passionately who we are and what we are capable of.

It’s not be possible to feel ecstasy or joy all the time but you can spend more time feeling these. This little step helps you feel your best more of the time: Whatever you are feeling in the present moment make it a point to make yourself feel just a little bit better. Nudge yourself in the direction of feeling good.

It is a system of self management. You put yourself in the driver’s seat 100% and take responsibility for whatever happens good or bad. Take responsibility for managing your thoughts and feelings and for steering yourself in the most positive direction.

You don’t have to go from sad to ecstasy that is too big of a jump. Just make yourself feel a little bit better. That starts you on the path to over all well-being. Step by step. You do not have to do it all at once or even in one day. In time you will learn how to feel your best at nearly any time.

Celebrate everything life hands you, even if you don’t know how things will work out. Look to all you are thankful and grateful for. The longer you feel better the better your feel. The more you move yourself  to feel better when you are not the easier it becomes.

The more intense your good feelings are the swifter you bring about change. There is great power in living optimistically and vibrantly!

Do what you can do to make yourself feel a little bit better each day. Whenever you notice you are not feeling great, do what you can to feel better. Take a break, take a walk, get some exercise or some rest. Read something inspirational or chant your affirmations firmly and enthusiastically! Hang around positive people. Smile more!

Bring positive physical energy into your body by moving your body and your mind in positive ways. The more energy you put into it the more you get from it. Life IS vibrant and alive. There is more energy in a empty inch of space than in all the world’s power sources. There is plenty to go around. Energy flows where your attention goes!

You are alive! All your trillions of cells are alive and vibrating.

Too many people feel only okay. They robotically move from day to day doing the same routines, accepting that this is how it is and don’t have much to look forward to. They put all their hope in things outside themselves to rescue them. They live as victims.

Your positive thoughts are extra powerful when combined with the most intense positive good  feelings! The more intense the easier the subconscious mind gets the message. It reproduces that which we give to it through powerful feelings. (Read what I have shared about military training and intensity in previous blogs).

People limit themselves by feeling strong negative emotions about what they want or don’t have. The feel strongly afraid, or hurt or depressed and end up getting back more of the same.

The subconscious only delivers or reproduces strong emotions regardless of whether they are positive or negative. So you want to pay attention to what messages you are sending it. Aim your thoughts and feelings like a laser beam. Don’t be haphazard.

Zest for life is what makes life worth living. Successful people are passionate, intense, people. Their emotions are powerful. You can feel their energy when you are around them. Creative energy is intense. They pursue their dreams with passion and expect to succeed.

People who make money( think, ‘Wolf of Wall Street’ ) are intense. They are not half assed, namby-pamby, wishy washy, ‘oh well, ho hum’ people. The live to their fullest. When you live with passion, when you fill yourself up with positive feelings and energy you become unstoppable. You don’t need to be licentious to enjoy life, however. You become a power house. Feel your power.

How you think determines how you feel and how you feel determines how you think.  Energy flows where attention goes. If you want to feel better think better. If you want to think better put  a spring in your step. Shake up your body, dance, skip, twirl. Stand and move with confidence, energy and liveliness.

The more you feel the good feelings right now the more changes you will readily make. Live with passion. Feel fully. Commit to feeling better than okay. Notice when you aren’t feeling good and take steps to feel better. Even if you only make yourself feel a little bit better you are doing something valuable.

The longer you devote yourself to thinking positive about yourself and your goal while feeling intensely wonderful the quicker and easier your life will change. The more time you spend smiling and feeling happy the better off you will be.

You are either growing or dying. You are either positive or negative. You are either feeling good or you are not. Notice, become aware, and make the positive changes as necessary.

Live as the driver in charge of your life and steer your thoughts and feelings to the most positive and glorious. The more time you spend thinking and feeling wonderful the more wonderful you will be. You get and become what you spend most of your time thinking about.

Take charge of your life and live it fully and completely. After all what else is there? Life is to be enjoyed. Enjoy it. Do it for yourself! You will discover that by taking even small steps in the right direction, though it may seem difficult at first, becomes easier and easier.

Intensity is what super charges your thoughts and your actions. When you feel vibrantly positive and alive you can get through any hardship faster. When you celebrate and feel thankful and aren’t distracted by any circumstances you excel. FEEL GOOD NOW makes all the difference in the world.” Rex Sikes

Grab this day with gusto!

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The 2 Most Powerful Ingredients For Happiness And Success!

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where u start not as important as where u finidh

“The ability to be happy and make your career and life successful boils down to two simple ingredients. When you successfully and consistently apply these principles there will be no stopping you.

While there are other factors that are important within the these two ingredients the bottom line IS  master and apply these and it will make all the difference in the world for you.

1. Time.

The amount of time you spend on your own personal happiness, success and development is critical. Some people want it fast because that is what we have become conditioned to in our society.

It may even be the ‘powers that be’ deceive us into valuing quickness at the expense of our overall satisfaction. Media pitches us speedy results everyday. Unfortunately, that is not the way of nature.

We become what we think about most of the time.

WHEN our thoughts and feelings are positive, and devoted to what we want and can make happen, most of the time each day, we then get and become what we think about. Where do you spend most of your time? How you spend your time is critical!

Are you thinking about your goal as already completed? Are you visualizing and speaking positively to yourself in your self-talk? Are you celebrating and feeling wonderful? Are your thoughts mostly about how incredible everything is and how thankful you are?

If not they need to be. Where you spend most of your time determines the results you get.

Are you spending time focused on making your dreams come true? OR are you distracted, scattered, thinking about day to day problems and issues? Are you whining and complaining about lack and circumstances? Is your focus mostly on what you don’t have or haven’t gotten yet OR on making your dreams come true?

Are you mostly positive or negative?

Where do you spend most of your time? What are you filling your mind with? Are you filled with media’s  daily disturbing news and gossip or are you filling your mind with inspiring, positive motivational thoughts, ideas and materials.

What are you reading and listening to?

This makes all the difference in the world! Successful people are devoted to their success. You have to be MOSTLY concentrating on success and happiness to get what you want. Whether it is money, career, fame, family, love, health, relationships or things what AND HOW are you focused is critical! Most people miss this.

You can’t spend 95% of your time worried, anxious and fearful, sad or feeling defeated and expect to be happy, healthy and whole. You must devote yourself to spending more and more of your time thinking positive and feeling wonderful. You need the preponderance of your time to be productively focused.

Some people think they are focused on what they want but they feel bad when they think about it. Two things are possible.  1. You are actually focused on what you DO NOT want. You are focused on what you want to avoid or get rid of and not what you actually want. You need to change this if this is what you are doing.

2. You are thinking about NOT HAVING what it is you want. Some people do not realize when they are focused on lack. They think they are focused on what they want but instead are thinking mostly about what they don’t yet have.

They notice the distance between where they are and their goal and they despair. You do not move uphill thinking down hill thoughts. You can’t want something and feel bad about not having it and expect to get it.

You can’t be looking at the gap and feeling great. You can’t be focused on how far you are from the finish line you need to focus on winning the prize and how great that feels. You have to excel and give you best.

Some people want to speed read books as many as possible to get all sorts of info. It is not about how fast you do something. It is not about how quick you get success. It is about HOW MUCH TIME YOU PUT INTO getting what you want. It is better to devote a half hour of concentrated focus on your goals than to be hasty.

The quality of the time spent will make all the difference in your ability to more readily and easily reach your goal. It takes time for seeds to sprout and plants to grow. It takes time to get what you want so the question is how are you spending your time IN the meantime.

A plant is either growing or dying. You are either mostly positive or mostly negative. In order to get what you want as soon as possible you need to be mostly positive most of the time. You can add in positive practices bit by bit. You can make it a point to begin and end each day well. I have given you some ideas for this in other posts.

I’ll share the 2nd ingredient in the next blog. This blog site is devoted to assisting anyone in making changes. There are powerful ideas and principles shared in each article. Re-read this blog and spend time filling your mind with positive ideas.

In my workshops we have an added advantage of trouble shooting and answering questions, providing immediate feedback and more that we don’t have here. So I am trying to be as thorough and complete as possible in each post to point you towards what you can do to make a real difference in your career and life.

If you want to be happy you need to begin by thinking happy thoughts. It doesn’t work the other way around. Thinking external things bring us happiness is one of the great lies. If you want happiness, health and success it begins on the inside.

You create it all within you and then in your outer world. The results you get are determined by your dominant thoughts and feelings. Think and feel the best most of the time and your life will be amazing! Truly, you can be, do and have anything you think you can!” Rex Sikes

Make your day marvelous!

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4 Reasons Why We Fail And What You Can Do To Succeed Part 2

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The-Moment-You-Take-Responsibility-350x206

“In these two posts and in previous ones I have been provided successful ways to counteract defeat. You don’t have to fail. Failure does not have to be an option. You can move forward into success when you keep certain principles in mind. For each of the reasons for failure listed there are means and methods to continue on and be successful.

People give up or fail because they fail to realize things take time. They haven’t learned to control their thoughts and feelings. They forget they are in a process and that defeat is momentary. They get distracted by current circumstances and lose their focus. They give in to negative thoughts, self-talk and doubt. They lose faith in their abilities. They have not yet developed the winning attitude.

The following is continued from previous post: Part  2.

It all works synergistically.  Maintain positive thoughts, feelings and behaviors and you get more from your effort. To LEARN to stay focused you must STAY focused. In the same way as if you want to learn to cook you have got to cook.

If you want to build a muscle you have to do the exercise. Consistent, repeated, correct action brings results. Focus on the powerful and positive. Focus on your definite chief aim, your goal and maintain your focus. Stay focused!

If you are wishy washy and go back and forth it takes longer. You have to understand, however, that is part of learning how to do something. We get off course, make mistakes and correct them. You bring your focus back each time you realize you have gone astray.

This is the correction process. As you continue to correct you educate yourself where to keep your attention and you make focusing a habit. You also make self-correction a habit. This is necessary. A rocket has a correction mechanism to keep it on course. So does a GPS. You hone your inner GPS for success.

Realize that you will be wishy washy for awhile as you learn to maintain your focus. Learning HOW to stay focused IS learning how to overcome the tendency to wander and to bring yourself back to what is important. The learning process includes making mistakes. Get over the notion it will only be easy and effortless. It will be whatever it will be so stick with it.

Understanding the game of life, the rules and how it is played is half the battle. Knowing in advance that there will be rough spots, corrections needed, times of doubt, loss of focus, as well as times of ease, exhilaration and celebration help us get through it all. When we have an idea of what we face we can persist no matter what.

While you are going though the process accept that you are in the process. Accept it will take some time. Celebrate that you are in the process and learning to make the changes you want. Celebrate and be grateful for each moment good and bad. Celebrate and learn from the hardships. The attitude to have is to celebrate everything! Your Attitude IS everything! It makes an incredible difference.

Through celebration and gratitude you will manage your images and self-talk and will move through the process more smoothly and quickly. It WILL be quicker and easier if you understand it and don’t fight it. The point is to think and  feel marvelous most of the time.

You will fight it anyway. REALIZE that you will resist. Realize what you resist persists. Eventually, you will let go and move through it! Much of the learning is learning how to get out of your own way. In time you will. All of this IS PART OF the process. There will be ups and downs.

That is our nature. Few of us can completely dive in and do it 100% BUT if you are persistent and consistent in dedication you will make it.  Manage yourself! Take 100% responsibility for everything. Control your thoughts and feelings and you will develop a winning attitude. This is crucial! Attitude IS everything! So are your good feelings!

Don’t succumb to the down times. They are only temporary. They may not seem as though they are but they will pass. It may seem difficult but as you get through it, each time you do, you develop the ability to move through trouble spots faster and easier. EVERYTHING is learning and you are learning to develop new habits or you are giving into the old ones. Either you are up or down.

Stay focused. People give up because they lose sight of their ultimate destination. They get distracted by current difficult circumstances. Keep you heart and mind set on your goal. Manage your mental movies and self-talk so you learn to remain powerful and positive. Keep your eye on the goal. Don’t get caught by current events.

See your goal as completed, AS IF YOU ALREADY MADE IT HAPPEN and feel the wonderful feelings. Keep your attention there. Visualize daily in your mental movie theater. Shout out loud and enthusiastically affirm the kind of person you are, what you are able to do and what you want and are going making happen each step along the way. The goal is to feel wonderful most of the time!

Celebrate and be thankful and you will get through the rough and the tough spots. Feel wonderful about it all! Be passionate! Be enthusiastic and joyful. Have fun through it all! Enjoy everything. Don’t gripe or complain or wallow for too long.

We get and we become what we think about most. Think and feel marvelous most of the time and you become it.  What we hold in our head we can someday hold in our hand. Expect to succeed. Have faith. Believe in your ability to learn to make changes. Passionately pursue your goals and dreams. Believe. Those who fail, ultimately don’t believe they will succeed, they only hope.

Remember, once you have set course to pursue what you want and you began practicing these principles you enter the conscious competence phase. THIS IS the phase when you most need to be in control of your thinking process. You need to stay focused and not get distracted by your situation.

You need to remain positive and believe you will get there. You must be patient and persistent even when it may appear hopeless. This is when you need to celebrate and keep going!

Keep your mind on what you want and know that you can do it! Stay focused, positive and filled with gratitude. Believe in yourself and live with passion. Enjoy and delight in the process every step along the way. After all, it is the journey to the destination where we spend most of our time so make it marvelous. Make it really, really marvelous! ” Rex Sikes

Have an incredible day!

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4 Reasons Why We Fail And What We Can Do To Succeed Part 1

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be faithful in small things

“‘Have you ever wondered why you don’t get things right away?’ OR Why some people give up on their goals? Have you thought, ‘Will I ever make it?’ You may have.  Most of all of us have wondered.

There are reasons why people give up on their goals or fail to get them. There are reasons why others succeed in making their dreams come true. Success of failure is up to each of us. Here are some of the reasons for failure and what to do to succeed.

We need to understand and accept that some things are just the way they are. Then stop complaining about it. It is the way things are. It is nature. How frequently do you complain about gravity being an issue. I bet almost never. We just accept it. Learn to accept what IS.

Understand this: Some things just take time. There is a season to harvest. Not everything is immediate. Some people just aren’t patient. They don’t get this concept; keep on going until you get there.  Stay with it. Be patient.  Relax on this it takes time.

You miss opportunity when you hurry. When you are rushed and stressed you don’t see or think clearly. You miss out and lose out. When you THINK you have to have it is a constraint. You are putting pressure on yourself for a deadline. You have to realize you can’t push a rope. Happiness and success don’t conform to the clock.

Most people  fail because they don’t manage their thoughts. They aren’t in control of their images and self talk so they talk themselves out of it. Success and happiness is 99% mental and 1% what we do. The inner world determines the results we get in the outer world and not the other way around.

We need to manage and control our minds so we are able to do the 1% efficiently and effectively otherwise we spin our wheels. We can struggle and work hard and not get very far if our thinking isn’t right to begin with. When it comes to our efforts it is not what we do but how we do it that is most important.

Hardship helps us! It is a part of life. Some people gripe and  think life should be easier. They give up when the going gets rough. There is a price to pay for everything. You have to endure and be strong. This is why mindset is so important. Weak thinking leads to poor results.

YOU are in the PROCESS of changing.  You aren’t at the end yet. You are somewhere along the way. You are in the Conscious Competence stage much of the time. This is the phase of mastery where you talk yourself through it and attempt to consciously manage all the components.

You aren’t done yet. You are on the way to making your new skills a habit but you aren’t there yet. So relax in the process don’t fight it. Understand it and work with it. You move through it faster when you assist it instead of resist it. Be patient. Pursue your dreams with a relaxed positive mindset. Remind yourself, you are IN the process!

Just as when you cook a beautiful meal you prepare it, season it, and cook it. It takes whatever time it takes. If you remove it from the oven early it won’t be the meal you anticipate. Give it the time it needs.

As you develop the habits of success you gain in momentum. Everything becomes easier and you handle difficulties better. It takes time and correct repetition over a period of time for a habit to be born. You are creating new neural pathways and behaviors.

New thoughts lead to new behaviors. This is actually an exciting time if you let it be. It can be a time of delight and wonderful enjoyment. You will learn and have many ‘ahas’ and insights that can thrill you and inspire you. You can be motivated and excited to incorporate your learnings.

When you recognize where you are in the process it becomes so much easier. It won’t magically make everything fantastic but when you understand a bit about what you are going through and what you may expect to encounter it takes the edge off. Once the edge is off you are free to feel as incredible as you will chose to. It is up to you!

This recognition and understanding allows you to remember to put your attention in areas that matter instead of going astray. You need to stay focused and not get distracted by circumstances, doubts, fear or worry. More about all this in the next blog post.  As a reminder I have discussed each of these issues in previous blog pages. Go back and review. It will help a great deal.

Know this! YOU can be the success you want. You can have happiness, love, wealth, health anything your heart desires when you take 100% responsibility for learning how to make these happen and then applying what you learned.

Knowledge is useless unless you use it.  Use what you are learning and make yourself and your life what you want them to be. Transform your mind and heart and you transform your life. You deserve to enjoy each and every moment. So go ahead and delight yourself! ” Rex Sikes

Have a wonderful day!

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Put An End To Performance Anxiety

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align yourself with mentors

“Performance anxiety was on the mind of a friend lately and he asked me how I, as an actor, overcome it. What follows is pretty much my response to his question. I added some audition and performance information at the end of my reply to him to further explore the concept.

‘Worry comes from what we think about and where we place our attention.  The trick is to put your attention where it is useful (on the performance, or on the pitch when pitching your idea) and not on others or in self critique. It is a knack and you get better at it with repeated trial and effort.

Meditation can benefit because it helps one relax, calm thoughts and feel centered. Energy goes where you place your attention. Positive thoughts can help because one learns to steer away from the less than glorious thinking to the useful and productive. It is simple to do and may require effort but it can definitely be mastered by anyone.

ANYONE can reduce stress and anxiety and feel positive and powerful by learning how to place their attention where it needs to be. Just as you learned to play your musical instrument it is a skill you develop. Nothing mysterious about it!

You get good at playing music or a sport or any ability through correct practice. You can readily make the change you want! You WILL have to apply yourself and KEEP with it until you get the changes you want. You can do it.

You will be able to do it! Simply take it bit by bit, step by step and you will surprise yourself. As we learn there is a phase when we have to talk ourself through it as we did when we learned to ride a bike or drive a car (actually any skill). There is a period of time when we are klutzy. Sometimes we do well and other times not so well.  Ultimately, the process streamlines and we become competent riders or drivers.

This occurs because our subconscious through repetition eventually makes it a habit. It becomes a reliable skill and we no longer have to think it or talk ourselves through it. We have acquired the skill. The same is true about getting over anxiety. You practice the new way and as you practice it won’t seem like magic, but as you stick with it, eventually it will work like magic because you develop the new skill set.

You just have to stick with it and get through the difficult or awkward phase. Learning to do this new thing is the same as learning to do anything else. It comes from doing the new thinking and behaving over and over again while making adjustments or corrections. You do it repeatedly. Enough times over a time period and you develop the skill as habit. Since you have learned many things you can learn this too.

You will do well as you move forward. At first, it seems more difficult, sometimes even scarier, than it actually is. Perception is everything. If we think of those who listen to our music, our pitch, or witness our performance as friends, who support us and enjoy what we do, we are much more comfortable. Mind set and attitude, is the key! See what you want in your mind’s eye. Visualize and rehearse inside your mind feeling and performing as you wish to. Create and rehearse that inner reality.

I encourage you to read and re-read my blog because I discuss these very things.  Meanwhile continue to celebrate and enjoy!  AND realize that when you want to change your life you have to make changes in your life. You can’t get different results doing the same things over again. You have to make changes that get you what you want to have.’

That is what I shared. There is much to be said about being realistic and staying in charge even when you are not in control of the outer circumstances. Here is what I mean.

I have had some incredible auditions lately and booked work. I have had some incredible auditions lately and did not book work. I even had one audition that I was mentally prepared for and eager about that I blew completely. I struck completely out and did nothing I had intended to do. That is just how it goes sometime.

In my previous incarnation I would have been preoccupied mostly with the auditions I didn’t book and the one I blew. That is where my focus would have been and it would have brought me down. I would have wallowed for months.

In this incarnation I learn what I can from what I did or did not do, get as much feed back as possible, apply the learning (because otherwise I really haven’t learned anything unless I use it) and move forward. I stop thinking about the fish I didn’t catch and focus on the ones caught and how to improve for the future.

Life is so much better and freer when we are able to let go and forget about what doesn’t work. Learn from it, extract the lessons, and maintain focus on what we do want and intend to create.  Sometimes we strike out.  If you play baseball you strike out more than you hit, and far more times than you get on base or a home run.

That is just how the game works. If you want to play the game you accept it and do not let it get you down. Keep your head up, your chin held high, think the best, feel the best, be grateful and move forward with positive anticipation for making your dreams come true. Never quit.  Adjust and keep moving forward.

This is how we get what we want. It has nothing to do with pie in the sky wishful thinking. It is about developing an unstoppable ‘I can do whatever I set out to do’ attitude. Defeats along the way do not stop us. They teach us and make us stronger and better. So keep going and make your dreams come true.” Rex Sikes

Have an incredible day!

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Emphasize What You Are Good At!

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gratitude is the attitude for abundance

“You may not be the best at everything. There may be some things you can’t do at all. Some things you may just not be good at. For today forget about those things. Let it all go! For today, relax and focus on your strong points. Reflect on what you are good at and accentuate your strengths. You waste time and energy worrying about weaknesses.

Focus on what you are good at. The things you are good at are where your potential to become great is. If you have talents in certain areas imagine what you could do and how far you might go if you developed those talents. Spend today thinking about your talent and abilities and appreciate what you are able to do. Pat yourself on the back. Enjoy your skills and accomplishments. Be thankful.” Rex Sikes

May your day be incredible!.

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Realize, Recognize, Remember and Awaken!

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dream it and do it

“People have thanked me and I appreciate that. People have subscribed to and shared these posts and, again, thanks so much. That really helps! Some people asked why I do it. Why have I blogged these 250 plus daily consecutive posts. The reason is we all need a little daily inspiration and some daily gratitude to start our day. I wanted to be able to contribute to others in this fashion.

I also wanted to help people to remember that they can be, do and have anything they want. It is true we can make the seemingly miraculous happen. So daily I write to help others and myself think about it and remember that we are capable of so many positive things when we take charge. Each day I hope more of us awaken to the realization that anything is possible when we put out mind to it.

There are ways of being and living joyously that many of us have not experienced because we have not tried it yet, or perhaps we didn’t even know it was possible given our past history. I write to encourage people to give it a try, to sample the good things life has to offer, and to enjoy more of life. When we can help each other move forward and be happier and healthier and wealthier we are improving our world by enriching our people. I feel so blessed I want to share it.

When we each take 100% responsibility for our life we can make our life whatever we want it to be. That means we take responsibility for all the bad and all the good. We can debate whether or not this concept is accurate or not but that misses the point. WHEN the buck stops with you and no one else you take a position of power and of leadership. You call the shots. You no longer are at the effects of the world but you are at cause.

From this position you determine where you want to end up and how you want to travel. You decide what to do and and how to feel if there are challenges or detours. It is up to you how you will face them, overcome them and persist to your destination. The decisions are all yours. When you are the person in charge life becomes more meaningful and more exciting. It becomes thrilling because you become aware of the incredible responsibility you have to make it wonderful for yourself AND others.

With  power comes great responsibility. When you have power you need to protect those who have less. They are in your care. We are can-do people and we help others do likewise. A million candles can light off of one candle. The only requirement is that first candle be lit. Light your candle. Take charge of your life. Inspire others to do the same.

Why do I do it? I write to help each of us realize, recognize, remember or awaken to who we are and to what we can accomplish when we believe that we can.” Rex Sikes

Have fun today! Discover!

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Your Brain Is Like A Muscle. Use It Or Lose It!

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brain is like a muscle - carl sagan

“You can tip the odds in your favor and keep your brain healthy. There are simple things you can do. Eat right, avoid chemicals, pesticides and processed foods. Get enough sleep. Get fresh air and sunshine.

Exercise and move your body more than you sit or rest. We were designed to move not to sit in artificial light all day and night. Move more during your day. Take breaks, get up and walk.

Add novelty! Break up your patterns and routines. Try new things. Take different routes to school or work. Do things differently, use your other hand. Play games, work out math problems, put puzzles together.

Cross crawl, do your finger exercises as previously described. Write with paper and pen more. Writing by hand is marvelous for the brain! Keep active!

Improve your concentration. Gaze at a candle or dim light and keep your attention on the light. Whenever you become aware your attention wandered return to concentrating on the light. Do this in increasing time increments.

Start with five or ten  minutes and work your way up to thirty. Pretty soon you will be able to concentrate on what you want to concentrate on with fewer self distractions.

Focus on your breathing. Place your attention either at your nostrils or at your belly. Pay attention to the incoming and outgoing breaths. Relax and keep your attention on your breathing. As with the previous exercise whenever you notice you have wandered or drifted off bring your attention back. These exercises are for training and refining your concentration and awareness.

There is great reward in recognizing when we go astray and gently bringing our attention back to where we first placed it. We  ‘break the wild horse’ and tame it. We learn that we have the ability to determine what we think about rather than living as a victim of our thoughts or feelings. We become the person in charge!

You grow in any ability faster when you encourage and validate rather than criticize what you don’t do right. So whenever you notice your mind wandered or you aren’t doing what you intend to be doing stop, notice it and keep your self talk positive. “Hey, you noticed you were off, good for you!’ and pat yourself on the back. You will make changes much more swiftly when you are positive.

You can look over and reflect on your present life experiences and find all there is to be grateful about. Discover all that you feel truly thankful for. Make a list and enlarge it daily. Celebrate and feel the gratitude fully.

Immerse yourself in the positive wonderful feelings of appreciation. Feel joy! Feel incredible! The feelings are the most important part of this practice so feel them all FULLY!

Reflect on life experiences from the past or present and extract the positive lessons and opportunities. Look these over to find lessons you may have missed. Notice how and where the potential benefit was or is.

Learn from those times instead of feeling less than glorious. Re-code them in light of life lesson’s you can now use. You can re-frame anything!

Memorize something each day. Numbers, names, faces and places. Act, get in a play and memorize your lines. Memorize songs. Keep working your memory. Take dancing lessons. Read more and watch TV less.

Use your imagination to generate images instead of having them provided to you. Utilize all your five senses in imagination. Visualize lots! Consider all the good things you can think of.

Meditate. There are different definitions of mediation. Some approaches use concentration as when you repeat a mantra. Some methods are about aligning with frequencies and vibrations by generating or listening to sounds. Some stimulate the imagination as when you stare at a mandala. Try many different ways and enjoy each.

Some are physical as when you dance with such abandon you stop thinking. Some involve just being the activity you are doing. For example, just wash the dish and do nothing more in mind or body. Sit and gaze at the wall and do no more or no less. There is a wide variety of beneficial meditation approaches you can discover.

Another way is to be the watcher, the witness, the impartial observer. Sit or lie back relaxed and watch your thoughts. Whatever they are just notice. Don’t judge. Look as they come and go. Positive or not. Avoid getting hooked. As leaves float down a stream or river so do our thoughts. Let them float by on the screen of your mind.

Merely watch them flow by. Don’t engage with them. If you get caught up in judging or entertaining any thought when you notice what you are doing simply return to witnessing without criticizing yourself for having gone astray.

Everything is okay. Free yourself from the need to criticize or comment on how you are doing. Let it go and just do the process. Validate instead of negate!

We have the ability to manage our thoughts. We can chose what we want to think about.  This is positive thinking. Keep focused on positive thoughts and affirmations. Keep your self talk and mental images positive.

Whenever you notice yourself thinking less than positive thoughts stop and return to thinking positive. Train your brain to do what you want it to do. Your brain should be your servant! Validate yourself as you succeed in these exercises.

When you notice new things own your observations and awarenesses. Validate yourself for your positive insights and awareness. Learn from these. Keep at it, keep playing with new ways of being and doing.

The mind is like a muscle it grows with exercise. Our muscles grow from repeated regular exercise and so does our brain. AND so does your ability to change easily and do new things.

Many of our abilities fall into the ‘use it or lose it’ categories. So keep at it. Don’t let yourself get rusty. Keep healthy and facile in mind and body by daily devoting time to healthy practices.

The return on your investment of time is well worth it. If you want to enjoy greater health and over all well being then do the things that bring it about. Stay young and energetic!” Rex Sikes

Have a beautiful day!

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