Category Archives: Learning

Act As If, Affirmations, Beliefs, Creating The Future, Expectations, Faith, Focus, Habit Formation, Happiness, Learning, Positive Thinking, Rehearsal And Practice, Self Talk, Success, Unlimited Power, Visualization

Success And Happiness: Are You Doing What Helps Or Hurts?

Leave a comment

your mind is a garden

“Are you predominantly focused on what you want, thereby creating what you want in your life? OR  Are you predominantly focused on what you don’t want, thereby inadvertently, creating what you do not want? Since we get what we focus on this is important to know. What do you imagine when you imagine your dreams and goals?

You have to know what you want

You have to know what you want and not just know what you don’t want IN ORDER for you to get what you DO want. Knowing what you do not want (I don’t want to be poor; I don’t want this illness; I don’t want people who lie to me etc) is important to help clarify what you do want. (I want to be wealthy; I want vibrant health; I want people who are honest and I can trust etc).

The key is to focus on what you do want so that is what you create for yourself. Once you catch yourself focused on what you don’t want (uggg I hate these bills! etc) turn your attention away from what you don’t want and put it on what you do want. Remember, we get what we focus on.

When I first began practicing visualizing as a child I had difficulty seeing myself as I wanted to be inside my head. I could quite easily picture something bad happening (falling off my bicycle, for example) but had difficulty imagining myself riding it safely. That was just what I was used to doing in my head.

Because I didn’t undertake to change this and exercise my mind regularly then, as one would with daily physical exercise, this ‘condition’ persisted until my later teens when finally I decided I needed to do something. By then, I had spent many years practicing visualizing how I did not want to be. It was already my habit from younger years.

How to practice and develop skill

I sat and practiced seeing good things happening. It seemed tough at first. Vague, hazy, unclear, unfocused. Sometimes nothing at all. BUT I could pretty well and pretty clearly see what I didn’t want. That was a well developed skill. I had to continue to practice again and again making pictures of what I wanted. At times it was frustrating, I admit. You have to keep at it. I certainly had to.

To help, I would look at photographs of things I wanted or of people doing things I wanted to be able to do and close my eyes and imagine as best I could myself with those items or in place of the people in the photograph. Just as in building any other skill set I needed regular correct repetition to develop my ability to visualize positively. Slowly at first, bit by bit, I got somewhat better.

All of us. You and I can create the life we want. We can learn to develop any skill or ability we want to add, or enhance any skill and talent we already have by dedicating enough time and practice to do so. Learning how to visualize powerfully and positively is a skill worth having. It is our doorway to making our dreams come true.

There may be no other skill more important that our own ability to focus our mind’s attention on what we want to be, do or have since we become what we predominantly think about. Take time to nurture your ability to visualize and be sure to be focusing on what you want to have more of.

Visualizing positively may be your most powerful resource!

We are already creating our world, if you don’t like what you are getting then you must change what you are doing. I had to. The first step in the process of getting what I wanted was to recognize that I was already great at getting and having what I did not want.

This actually was good news. Life kind of sucked but when I realized I was the one powerfully creating everything I didn’t want, I knew, all I had to do was make a switch. I would keep on creating since that is what we all do, but I would deliberately, consciously with full intention chose to focus on what I wanted instead.

That was liberating! That was the instance everything began to shift. Yes, many times daily I had to re-position my focus from what I habitually, already did, (think about what I didn’t want) TO think about what I did want. Again and again and again I had to shift.

Eventually, in time, it grew easier and easier. Soon it became more of a regular habit. Change becomes easier when you decide you have had enough and want something else.  There are other exercises I will share in future blog posts that will accelerate your abilities.

Correct repeated practice enables you to acquire any skill

You can be, do and have anything you want when you learn how. It is far easier and more readily available than you might even realize it is right now. Practice seeing what you want. Become aware of your thoughts and images. Focus on what you want and your life will become so much better. What we think about we bring about!” Rex Sikes

Live gloriously today!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others. Give a gift that keeps on giving!

Act As If, Affirmations, Attitude, Beliefs, Creating The Future, Definite Chief Purpose, Gratitude, Habit Formation, Happiness, Learning, Overcoming Difficulty, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Rehearsal And Practice, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success, Unlimited Power

What Kind Of Abundance Do You Experience? PT 2

1 Comment

imagination-quotes-for-imagination-sets-the-goal-quotes

“Sometimes it seemed like I’d take one step forward and a couple steps back. Occasionally, I’d get disenchanted as I looked at circumstances and thought, ‘It just isn’t happening quick enough!’ Then I’d remember where I needed to return my focus to. I realized I was off course and need to get back on and focus on my destination and where I was headed. Course correction saved the day!

It was always a little up and down. When deep downs came along I was so much better able to handle them than ever before. What would have thrown me off for a long time now, while challenging, allowed me to look into areas I needed to in order to become more flexible, or be more persistent. I was and am learning!

I learned never to quit but to bend instead of break. Good times were plentiful and minor moments become more delightful. All in all life became so much more worth living! It always has been but sometimes we forget. I know I did. I was taking 100% responsibility for all the bad and the good and everything was getting better as a result. Thought, mindset, attitude always precedes action and results.

So slowly at times, more quickly at others, I evolved myself and my life into more of what I wanted it to be. My first steps seemed to be to stop getting so much of what I didn’t want. I had always been great at doing that. I created lots of troubles in my past.

Now, I was learning and accepting that I could be great at getting what I wanted too. I stopped focusing on what I didn’t want and began focusing on what I did want. What an amazing change that brought about!

It is awesome and fun to realize one’s potential and role as a creator in one’s own life. The power, the creative ability and the responsibilityIt is magnificent!  I take 100% responsibility, as I become aware of my part in it, for everything I have had, lost, get, will get and enjoy. All of it, everything! Doing this puts me in the driver’s seat!

Everything good and bad has always been up to me. Since I have adopted this position I am capable of so much more because it all boils down to me and my attitude instead of relying on others or blaming them. It is not about changing others or circumstances to get my way when less than glorious things happen.

I change my attitude, my thoughts, my responses and move forward with what I might do instead of blaming or criticizing. Instead of feeling stuck or dependent on ‘things’ to change I change! That makes all the difference in the world. I am not a victim but a victor in this mental stance.

I don’t care if it is actually accurate that we are 100% responsible I know this mental stance has helped me immensely.

Oh, believe me, I am a work in progress. I have much to work on,  but I have learned to accept that and be ‘cool’ with that. I am growing as a plant does. Whatever growing I have left to do I will do for as long as I have time left. I don’t expect to be complete I expect to discover more and delight more.

I know challenges may always come. Not so long ago something came up that just about took the wind out of my sails. After about a day I realized I had my attention in the opposite place from where I could have placed it. SO I changed my attention, had numerous discoveries and made things better. What took a day may have taken months or years previously.

Am I happy with my journey. You can bet your ass I am. I am thrilled! It began in bad times.  It got so bad I knew I had to make instant changes. I decided to fill my mind each day with thoughts that inspired me, helped me to feel grateful, and move forward. Step by step, day by day. All these years later, I could never be more pleased with a decision I made. Best one I have ever made in my life.” Rex Sikes

Have a wonderful day!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others. Give a gift that keeps on giving!

Affirmations, Attitude, Autosuggestion, Creating The Future, Expectations, Faith, Habit Formation, Happiness, Learning, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Rehearsal And Practice, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success, Unlimited Power

What Kind Of Abundance Do You Experience PT 1

Leave a comment

you decide every second

“You can have anything you want in abundance. Health, love, success, money, things. Or you can have anything you don’t want in abundance. Illness, broken relationships, failure, poverty, no home or possessions. The critical question is what kind of abundance are you creating and attracting?

You will get whatever your predominate thoughts are about. You will make happen and attract whatever you think about and focus on most of the day all the days of the week. What we concentrate on occupies our mind, our attention and our energy. Our energy goes into whatever we are preoccupied with.

So if troubles; lack of money or mounting debt and bills, discord in relationships, difficult home life, career disappointment or being out of work, are what you think about most day and night you are keeping your troubles alive. Worry is negative goal setting. What you think about you bring about.

Some time ago I was doing okay. Then some bad things happened. One after the other more bad things occurred. I wondered, ‘Why all this bad luck? Everything is going wrong!’ I used a lot stronger language I can assure you. It seemed everywhere I turned it only got worse. I complained, I whined, I tried to fix it desperately but it only continued. At the height of it all, I gave up. I realized at some point I couldn’t change it as I was. I had to change me.

I made it a point to read positive inspiring material every morning first thing. I’d read a page, a chapter whatever I could make work for the day. I would do it no less than thirty days. So I began. I read and listened to inspiring audios whenever I could. Slowly during the month my mindset relaxed and my attitude began to change bit by bit. I cautiously began to apply some of the things I was reading about and learning. I felt grateful I was taking the initiative.

I vowed to stay sane and not get carried away or become one of these ‘pink’ energy bubble people I had spent so much time around and even dated in years past. I wanted solid, practical, applicable skills, thoughts, and behaviors that would transform me without me becoming doe-eyed and hugging trees.

I didn’t want to become a cosmic cosmonaut with my feet six inches off the ground. I wanted to live in the everyday world and get some relief from nagging issues I carried with me, even though I have been a life long student and proponent of personal change and development.

If I had to become a weirdo to be happy then I really wasn’t all that interested. I read things from ancient texts, I read Napoleon Hill again, some more, throughout the years. I read others, anyone and everyone, who seemed to suggest that there was and is a realistic way to make wonderful things happen without relying on mysticism and other ‘beings’ to do it for me.

What can I say. Those thirty days transformed my life. At the conclusion of the thirty I continued the practice. I do to this day. I have learned and grown and have seen and understood so much. I have much to learn and yet to understand. Life though, is so much more incredible than I could have ever imagined. I filled myself with gratitude and joy. I felt confident and successful! I felt happy!

It has nothing to do with things or accumulations it is the depth of the change within me that I value most. I can enjoy possessions in ways I never did before. I am excited and eager and enthused in ways I never was before. I live and love living. Really, about all I can say is ‘WOW’! I feel so blessed and so thankful!

I can trace back to precisely what the first incident was and then the second that made me begin to realize I needed to approach things differently. It was a very difficult time for me as things went from bad to worse. I point this out because it seems this is often the way we come to changing ourselves. Something gets so bad, or we bottom out and we say, ‘stop, no more, never again’ and we move on into new ways of thinking and being.

Every moment of life is amazing EVEN when it appears not to be. I have done some incredible things in my life and I got settled and was coasting. I began to take things for granted. It was easy to complain when things started getting tougher. I even enjoyed complaining. Except when I did complain more and more of the joy and goodness and delight drained from me. I learned to put a guard on my thought and speech.

I AM SO GLAD IT DID!!! Had I kept going as I was going I can only bet it would have sucked even more. Fortunately, some glimmer inside me, told me I had to take the driver’s seat of my own life again. I am so thrilled and happy and pleased with the journey ever since. Did the skies open up and riches rain down on me. Nope, all things take some time. Gradually, bit by bit things got better.” Rex Sikes   More In Next Post!

Have a delightful day!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others. Give a gift that keeps on giving!

 

Attitude, Beliefs, Creating The Future, Curiosity, Focus, Goals, Habit Formation, Happiness, Learning, Personal Development, Positive Thinking, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Success

Are You Ready? When The Student Is Ready The Teacher Appears!

1 Comment

old ways won't open new doors

“What makes a student ready? What makes a student? A student is one who takes interest in a particular subject, studies and learns. Then applies what one learns.

When I was a teenager, more than anything, I wanted someone who would show me the ropes in show business. A mentor. One day, by chance, I met a man. He was successful in the movie business, he had many successful proteges, and he saw something in me. He was willing to guide me for free.

He didn’t want anything in return. Truly, nothing, other than the satisfaction of seeing me make something of myself in the business I wanted to succeed in. That alone, terrified me. I was always second guessing his motives but I told him I was willing to do anything, professionally, it took to make it. I said that again and again.

So he told me what to do. He gave me the first step. ‘Oh, you don’t understand’, I’d exclaim, ‘I can’t do that.’ I would proceed to tell him why. He’d nod understandingly and explain that I could do that or do this other thing. ‘Oh no,’ I’d say, ‘I am willing to do anything but not that’. I didn’t want those lessons or could not see the value of pursuing a particular area.

Time and time again he would make suggestions. Most I would negate. Some I would try usually abandoning whatever it was he had me doing. He never complained. He completely accepted me resisting him and never threw up his hands or told me he would not continue. Our relationship lasted a number of years.

I left him eventually to find someone who could help me make it in showbiz. So what is a student? When is the student ready? A student becomes ready when the student is teachable. I was not teachable. I knew what I needed and was willing to do and not do. To say,’Yes, but’ and ‘no, you don’t understand’ and then provide reasons are really nothing but excuses. AND, pay attention here – Excuses ARE excuses and nothing else!!

The questions one has to ask oneself is ‘how teachable am I?’ Many people answer, ‘I am willing to learn anything’, but when the rubber hits the road they actually aren’t. I wasn’t. How teachable are you? How willing are you to change? How willing are you to change what you think and what you are doing to think and do something new?

Instead of being open and flexible of mind to take in NEW information and practices many people merely defend the old. That is what I did. I had all the reasons and defenses ready for why I could not or would not do or try something. If I didn’t think it would work or see the value in it I wouldn’t allow it in. I discarded it before understanding it by experiencing it. Excuses prevent new opportunities from occurring.

You cannot describe the taste of an orange to someone who has never tasted an orange. Nor can you describe the color red to the person who has never seen color. It is the experience of using the information that can be life changing. If one is not willing to apply the knowledge in order to change and get different and better results then one will remain stuck getting the same results they hope to improve. Instead of taking responsibility and becoming aware of their resistance most will simply blame others or circumstances thus insuring they remain the same.

It is the experience of tasting the orange that makes the difference. Information does not transform us. Knowing what to do and not doing it won’t make us a success. Applying what we know IS the difference that makes the difference. In order to learn, understand and apply it we first must be open to taking it in. We must not defend ourselves. We must let go of excuses and stop resisting.

People argue that what they previously learned, understood and know to be true is different from the new information they are being asked to accept. Instead of accepting the information they defend the old. They are not very teachable in that moment. In order to be ready you need to be an open vessel. I claimed to be open but was anything but. It is easy to self-deceive.

There is the story of a Master pouring a potential disciple a cup of tea. The master pours and continues to pour until the tea overflows and continues to overflow. ‘Stop!’ cries the potential student. ‘The cup is full.’ The Master replies, ‘When your cup is full you cannot add anything to it. Your cup must be empty. Go and empty your cup.’

The point should be obvious. The master deems that the student’s mind is too filled with what they already know. It is filled with too many potential objections, beliefs and resistance to be ready to learn. The student is not ready and open so is sent away. When ready the teacher appears. I was not ready. Many times I have not been ready. Just as with gardening the soil needs to be prepared and receptive to the seeds.

We need to recognize when we are listening only to speak and present our view instead of listening to gain understanding about things we don’t know about. We need to recognize when we are closed to new ideas and unable to accept information. We need to see when we resist and stop.

The way to being a good student is to recognize when we are not ready to learn and when we are ready to learn. Awareness is the key. For most of us this is a matter of ongoing management. The door is not always open. It is open and closed and open again. Then closed, and closed, then open. We need to discover when we close the door and open it to be available to new life changing information.

If we only understand the new opportunity, the new knowledge and experience, as an addition to what we already ‘think we know’ then it is just more information. Information alone won’t change us! We have to be willing to apply it. If we don’t use it we don’t know it. I ‘knew’ what to do! I was told what to do but I didn’t apply it so I didn’t get any benefit from ‘knowing’ the right things.

It is life changing when we are open and embrace it and use it. Then information, the lessons, lead us to new ways of thinking and being. Information doesn’t change us. Knowledge doesn’t change us. Only by using the knowledge can we begin to change. It is in the application of the knowledge where we learn the lessons. It’s the experience, the attempts, the defeats, the challenges that we learn from. Experience!

Seek to be open and available without judgement or analysis. You may analyze at another time but while learning it is not the time to evaluate the merit of what you are learning. You cannot fit a square peg into a round hole. The new material won’t fit into an old, already filled, container. You don’t put new wine in old wine sacks.

You can’t defend what you already know and remain open. That is not being open. That is refusing to accept! The mind is full, it is occupied it is busy and the Master cannot add any more to it BECAUSE it IS full. Some things take a very short time to learn; minutes at most but they require an entire lifetime to master. Quick to learn and a lifetime to master is the principle. Mastery comes by successfully applying the information in multiple circumstances over a duration of time. Correct repetition breeds good habits.

Learning to be open and being willing to change can take a long time to master. It is so simple it can be difficult to grasp. Stay open, be willing. We may claim we are open many times when we are not. I certainly have! Awareness is the key to change. Many times we will fall but we need to get back up and try again. Frequently, we will close the door to change while thinking we have left it open. We need to be able to notice when we shut down and resist.

A student is humble not defiant. A student is receptive. When the student is ready the teacher appears. Who is the teacher? It could be anyone and anything. It could be a life experience. It could be a formal teacher, a book or a seminar. The teacher IS whoever presents the lessons when the learner’s mind is open to receive. You can even be your own teacher at times.

No one can provide you life changing information that will make any difference whatsoever in your life until you are open and ready to receive it. They can preach it, teach it and shout it as loud and long as forever but until you are ready to hear it and embrace it the wisdom it falls on deaf ears. You have to be open and willing. You must also be willing to take the time to master the lessons. There is no substitute.

One might as well be yelling at a bunch of insects who are marching into certain destruction. They don’t know what is ahead. They can’t see it. – AND – The insects simply don’t understand the message! They don’t get the necessity of understanding it NOW! They aren’t able yet to understand you OR that you are attempting to help them! Unless you are open and teachable no teacher can teach you. It is more accurate to state a teacher presents IT IS THE LEARNER who learns. YOU either learn or you do not!

It is totally up to each of us. It is totally up to the individual student. The responsibility is 100% the student’s to be a good student. When you are a great responsible student you can learn from any source. The source may be wonderful or hardly adequate but as an incredible learner you can learn anything from anyone!

The questions one should continually ask oneself is, ‘How teachable am I?” and ‘What can I do to remain open and easily learn?’

If you are willing to learn you must be willing to change. You can’t remain the same if you want your life to be transformed. For your life to change you must change things in your life. You must change your thoughts, feelings and behaviors to get different results. If you are not willing to learn and are unwilling to change you won’t! You must also consider, ‘What is my willingness to change?’

Mindset, attitude and beliefs, your thoughts, always precede what you do and determine the results you get. If you are not pleased with the current results you are getting you must be willing to change things for you to get the results you’d prefer to get. Doing the same thing over and over again won’t get you different better results!

It is totally, and completely up to you and no one or anything else. This is the truth each of us must face. The responsibility is 100% ours alone. So, how teachable are you? How willing to change are you? Be honest with yourself. When you are ready the teacher does appear.” Rex Sikes

Have a blessed day!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others. Give a gift that keeps on giving!

Act As If, Attitude, Beliefs, Creating The Future, Definite Chief Purpose, Focus, Goals, Habit Formation, Happiness, Learning, Mental Movie Theater, Overcoming Difficulty, Personal Development, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Rehearsal And Practice, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Visualization

Easy Way To Positively Enhance Your Self Image Watching Movies!

Leave a comment

imagination-quotes-for-imagination-sets-the-goal-quotes

“Do you remember what theaters were like prior to them being subdivided into multiple screens? Theaters were great opulent halls; places of majesty. Those theaters were built to showcase the stars of the screen.

Imagine you enter one of those. You take a comfortable seat and wait for the lights to dim. No commercials showing, just pleasant music softly playing. You feel the anticipation of the show about to begin. The lights dim.

The curtain rises and the screen becomes visible. The projector starts and up on that huge screen is you. This is your story. YOU are the star! This movie is about you and the life you have always dreamed of. You are about to watch your ideal self, the dream you, live the life you always wanted!

You are the author, the screenwriter, the director and actor of your own life movie. Take the opportunity to script this feature as you want it to be. Imagine yourself overcoming any barriers to happiness and success. See yourself winning and accomplishing your goals.

This is YOUR movie make it exactly as you would like it to be. Don’t be stingy be lavish. Make it as realistic as possible. At the same time be generous with yourself. Don’t hold back. Create the life and future you want to have and imagine having it. Live it in your mind!

Imagine yourself without any limiting beliefs. See yourself as you have always wanted to be. In this mental movie imagine your goals and dreams as already achieved. See what you did to make these happen. Act as if you already have everything!

Watch yourself make all the wonderful things you want to happen, happen. Make it as vivid as possible. See the ideal you. Watch yourself. See how you look and move. Listen to how you sound. Enjoy watching that person get goals and accomplish things. Enjoy each moment. Script it. Make it. Watch it. Feel it! Live It!

Once you have your scripted movie. Direct it. Decide on the quality of color, the clarity, the brightness.  Adjust the sound. Tailor it to your liking. Adjust the volume, the tones. You can make it surround sound. Make it as inspiring and riveting and motivating as possible.

Adjust the components to make it precisely as you want it so that as you watch it you feel excited and delighted.  Edit it the way you want it to be. Score it with the music that makes you feel marvelous. This is your movie! Make it compelling. Make it glorious and dynamic!

THIS IS YOUR MOVIE! YOU decide what it is like and YOU DECIDE how it ends. Write the ending you want. Get your goal. Win! Make your movie move you emotionally. Enjoy it. Savor the wonderful feelings. This is YOUR TIME. THIS IS FOR YOU!

Take your time to enjoy it. Feel the great feelings. FEEL THEM!

Then imagine floating up into the screen and taking up your place as yourself in the movie. Live it, experience it. Look out through those eyes, listen with those ears and feel your movements and emotions as you live out that movie. Feel the positive sensations! Go from beginning to end. Live the life your want to lead. LIVE IT!

You have the opportunity to make you mental theater an incredible place. A great hall dedicated to your personal changes. Script your dreams and goals. Be the author of your life! Define and clarify your ultimate chief aim or definite purpose. You have the ability to make your self image positive and vibrant.

Create your self image as you have always wanted to be. You can grow up your inner child to get over limitations and hurts from the past. You can use your inner theater to program yourself for happiness and success. You can be confident, joyful, dedicated, optimistic, courageous.

You can be loving, kind, compassionate, peaceful. Where do you live? what kind of house? What do you drive? What do you do for money? Do you travel? What do you enjoy? Who are the important people in your life? What kind of person are you? You provide the story and the details. You provide the images, sounds and feelings.

Imagine yourself with positive, productive beliefs, attitudes, thoughts and feelings. In your movie be the ‘I can do anything’ person. See yourself overcome obstacles, find solutions, co-operate with people, utilize your skills and abilities, learn new things, do new things, and feel wonderful.

NO ONE can do this but you. Make your mental movies glorious. Dream big. Make them realistic. Don’t use this process to imagine you can fly without aircraft or to bend other people to your will. Use the mental movie process to program yourself for happiness and success.

The subconscious does not know the difference between real images and a detailed visualization combined with intense feelings.

Our subconscious mind is programmed by images and intense feelings. Make use of this by imagining and feeling what you want. Visit your theater daily, spend time making your movies and soon you will make it a positive habit.

The ability to visualize grows with use. This ability will serve you in incredible ways when it becomes automatic. You make it a habit, automatic and reliable, over time by repeating the process again and again. Spend 2 minutes to 30 minutes daily immersed in your inner success movies.

Program yourself and it will become second nature. We become what we think about. Make your mind work for you. Take control of your thoughts and your feelings. Be in charge. Be the author, the director of your life and dreams and make what you want come true. You can be, do and have anything you want. Take advantage of this ability you have to create your future!” Rex Sikes

Have fun today!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others. Give a gift that keeps on giving!

 

Affirmations, Attitude, Beliefs, Curiosity, Focus, Giving Unconditionally, Goals, Habit Formation, Happiness, Healthy Choices, Learning, Novelty, Overcoming Difficulty, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success

Challenge Is Good. Embrace Challenge!

Leave a comment

1507012_279604968861341_1224726822_n

“Challenge yourself! Do Something new. Learn a new ability or skill. It will keep you sharp and benefit you in many ways. Dedicate yourself to learning and growing all life long. Have fun discovering things you never considered before. Open up new doorways and move through them exploring. Find new adventures!

Take up singing, or music lessons. Playing keyboards and stringed instruments are great for keeping your brain agile and help increase intelligence. This is because you move your fingers which is a proven brain benefit. Dance, do yoga, exercise, walk, enjoy nature, get outdoors it is great for the body and the spirit.

Learn another language. Travel, go new places in your locale or around the world. Visit the theater, museums, festivals. Read and study areas of new interest. Play new games. Golf, volleyball, Monopoly or chess. Take up hobbies that make you think.

Act in your local theater or student films. Take up photography or painting or sculpting. Challenge your own mind set. Challenge your own beliefs, discover and uproot limitations. Go help out at a shelter or volunteer somewhere that can utilize your talents. Helping others is a great way to help yourself. Add novelty to your daily routines.

Plants are either growing or dying. The living plant stretches towards the sun. To feel fulfilled and stay healthy we need to do those things that not only add to our enjoyment but that stretch us and force us to use our mental and physical abilities. Just as a plant needs nutrition we need stimulation. We need to stay active!

Stimulation and challenge are greater predictors of success than IQ. Don’t avoid challenges or tough times. Embrace them! Develop the winner mindset that states ‘I can do anything!’  Recognize that you are a great learner and can extract the lesson and value from life’s harder moments. Make learning and enjoying challenge a habit.

Think and say, ‘I can learn to do anything I put my mind to!’ Then learn to do new things. Continue to develop and excel. A determined attitude and playfulness will get you farther than most anything else. Winners love a hard game. They seek people and situations that force them to do their best. They love to overcome the odds!

Be a winner! Actively seek the next biggest challenge. Don’t avoid challenges find new ones. When you develop a ‘bring it on’ attitude you discover you can more readily handle anything life throws at you. Though the journey may get rough at times you are mentally prepared to get to where you want to go. SO Keep going! ” Rex Sikes

Do something delightfully new and positive today!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others. Give a gift that keeps on giving!

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

The 2 Most Powerful Ingredients For Happiness And Success!

1 Comment

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!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others.

Acceptance, Attitude, Beliefs, Creating The Future, Expectations, Focus, Gratitude, Learning, Living In The Moment, Overcoming Difficulty, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Rehearsal And Practice, Relaxation, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success

Put An End To Performance Anxiety

Leave a comment

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!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others.

Affirmations, Attitude, Beliefs, Creating The Future, Definite Chief Purpose, Expectations, Faith, Focus, Get Rich, Goals, Learning, Overcoming Difficulty, Persistence, Personal Development, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Relationships, Responsibility, Self Improvement, Success, Unlimited Power

Are You A Winner? Find Out Now!

Leave a comment

i choose

“These questions should be easy to answer for each of us but for too many these are difficult questions. Can you answer each? The answers you give are important and determine how far you get and how easy or difficult that will be. Who are you? What do you want more than anything else in the world? What price would you pay to have what you want?

The clearer you are and the better you answer each of these the more easily you can make your goals and dreams come true. Do you think of yourself as a person who can accomplish anything you want? Certainly, you ought to. Look to your inner resources and recognize yourself as one who has the power to make your dream come true. Decide you can work by yourself and co-operatively with others to make it happen.

If you don’t know how or feel yourself resourceful enough at this moment you can learn to. You are capable, positive and powerful. You can learn to make any change you want so take the opportunity. Make it a priority. Since we become what we think about all day long make certain that what you think about is worthwhile and positive. Too many waste their time occupied with unimportant tasks or behaviors that don’t get them anywhere.

Decide what you want in clear compelling detail. Those who succeed most readily are driven by what it is they want and need to accomplish. They know precisely what their dream is and what they would pay to make it happen. In researching 500 of the wealthiest doers in America Napoleon Hill stated you can attain your  Dominant Chief Aim when it is backed up by a passionate burning desire, and kept in your mind day and night.

Hill stated you must devote yourself to making it happen and believe, have faith, and expect to create it without giving up. He found those who anticipated success were far more likely to attain it. They persisted in spite of the odds. They understood success exacted a high price and only those willing to pay it were ultimately successful. They didn’t lose sight of their destination when things got tough. They changed their plans as necessary but not their goals. They kept going!

What they did stemmed from the kind of person they were. People who succeeded were positive, optimistic and unstoppable. They believed in themselves, had the right attitude and were convinced they would succeed. They focused on what they wanted not the obstacles before them. They were leaders leading themselves forward. They were in charge 100% responsible. They were flexible, they were learners and they kept going forward toward their goal.

Most people wish rather than plan. They hope for better days instead of intending to have them.  We don’t have the ability to wish things into being but we are able to command them. Hill pointed out that most of our success stemmed from 99% what we did in our heads and 1% from the actions we took. If our mental attitude and beliefs were aligned then our actions were too and we did the right things to bring about success.

Many work hard, efforting a lot, but their minds are not prepared for success. Success favors the prepared mind. Most people’s attitudes are defeatist so they end up spinning their wheels and not getting very far. They whine, blame circumstances and hope to get ahead instead of taking 100% responsibility and intending to get ahead come what may. Challenges are part of the process.

There is a reason why Hill titled his book THINK And Grow Rich. He did not call it Work Hard And Grow Rich. People have it backwards. THINK right and you do the RIGHT hard work AND that makes all the difference. Think wrong and you spend your life on the hamster treadmill. It isn’t the amount of effort that makes a difference it is knowing the RIGHT effort.

Your dream has to be more important than anything else! You must think on it day and night and believe in YOUR ability to make it happen. You must devote yourself to becoming the kind of person who can accomplish what you set your heart to accomplish. When you seek to learn how and to help others get ahead while you get ahead you can have anything you desire.

There is a formula to make it all work. Those who become successful aren’t only those born to it. Those who succeed in life first succeed in learning how to transform themselves into becoming the kind of person who is able to make their dreams come true. We first learn how to think right in order to create the success we desire. We manage our thoughts, feelings and behaviors. How we succeed is by becoming the type of person WHO succeeds. You can do this!  ” Rex Sikes

Delight in this day for no reason at all! Simply delight!

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others.

 

Acceptance, Act As If, Affirmations, Attitude, Beliefs, Flow, Focus, Gratitude, Learning, Mind/Body, Personal Development, Positive Affirmations, Positive Thinking, Positive Thoughts, Rehearsal And Practice, Self Improvement, Self Talk, Success, Unlimited Power

Emphasize What You Are Good At!

Leave a comment

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!.

Subscribe and Follow Daily Inspiration and Gratitude! Visit often. Feel free to comment. If you think others would benefit please share this blog with others.