Uncategorized

 How a Positive Attitude Affects Your Success

8 Ways a Positive Attitude Enhances Success

I’m sure you’ve heard about the power of a positive attitude, but you may not have given much thought to its power in your life.  Positive attitude changes your view of life, assists you in being more productive, improves your quality of life and positively affects people in your environment.

Here are some specific ways a positive mental attitude improves your success.

A positives attitude elicits a positive response. The way you behave not only affects the way you see people but also the way people see you. You can easily identify people who give out those positive vibes from those whose attitude is just negative.

When positive you attract people to you, “luck” finds you and life flows more easily. When you leave a positive imprint upon the world, you will become more successful than those who are always looking at the downside of things.

With an upbeat attitude you can choose how your life will turn out. People with optimistic attitudes often feel they have more options to choose from. This means they have more opportunities and have more control over how their lives progress.

•    The more options you feel you have to make a better life, the happier you are. We all enjoy having choices in our lives.

Positive people have stronger and emotionally intimate relationships with people. Don’t you want to

spend time with people who are optimistic? People are often happier and more comfortable with a person who has a positive attitude.

If you’ve read this blog for long you know that being positive, having a great attitude improves your health. Studies have shown that your thoughts affect the strength of your immune system. Having positive thoughts will make you healthier. That means fewer trips to the doctor and more money for fun things.

You will be more productive. A negative attitude has an effect upon your mood which makes causes you to feel heavy. You’ll find it difficult to make progress because negativity says, “what’s the use?” When you put positive energy into whatever you are doing, you will have more drive and get more done.

Being positive makes it easier to be persistent when times get tough. When life becomes challenging, and it certainly can, having positive thoughts helps you move through the pain and difficulty. When you have a negative attitude, you will have a difficult time pulling yourself together to move on with life.

According to success experts, if you have big aspirations you have to be committed to your plan of action. Holding the positive outcome in your mind will make it easier for you to hang in there when things are difficult. You have a greater chance of seeing options and finding solutions to your challenges.

Self-confidence and a positive attitude are partners. When you believe there is no hope, your self-confidence will be shattered. Filling your mind with negative thoughts leads you to doubting yourself and your abilities.

Tranquility will be with you. There will always be stressful situations in your life and this often affects your success. A positive attitude will give you the peace of mind you need to be able to function properly every day.

What do you do if you have difficult being positive no matter how hard you try? What can you do?

Many people have deep wounds which prevent them from looking beyond the pain. This is when you need to engage in some healing. There are healing tools available. (I have the Soul Healing Prayer which you can get here. There’s also a video explaining it.) There are also people who can assist you.

Have you heard this riddle: “How many life coaches does it take to change a light bulb? Only one but the light bulb must really want to change.”

You have to be willing to throw yourself into your healing. If you used the Soul Healing Prayer anytime you felt negative or upset you would get better. BUT, you have to use it. You have to use it even if you don’t think it’s doing any good.

The pain you’re feeling is deep and is in layers. Know it takes time to heal and just keep at it. I also have opportunities for distance healing just for you. You may read more about it at DrCathyPhD.net.

To receive notices of when blog posts are added, click the blue button and fill out the form.

13 Things to Make Tomorrow Morning Better

Do you find the morning to be too much of a rush? It can feel like a day has passed before you even start work some days when there’s too much to do. There are some things that make mornings less stressful though. These are some suggestions that make your day less hectic.

Save Time in the Morning With These 8 Tricks

The best way to make a morning better is to save some time. These are some great tips to stay on schedule.

Read more

The idea of social intelligence is a new idea that explores how we interact and influence people and make friends. In some ways your social intelligence means a lot more than your actual IQ. If you have a high social IQ then you can be more successful than people with a lower social IQ, but higher actual IQ.

We all know someone who is working well below their means and doing things they’re far too smart for.

These are seven simple steps to increasing your social intelligence.

1. Smile more!

Smiling is how people normally behave and, if someone isn’t smiling, it’s really odd. When you smile you make other people feel comfortable and you make yourself feel better so smile and smile often.

2. Be more sensitive

As well as being more emotional in yourself you need to recognize the emotions others are feeling. You can understand how a person feels by studying them. Study the way they act and speak, as well as their facial expressions, to understand more about how they feel. You should also consider how you would feel in their situation. Everyone is different but not that different. We still have lots in common. You may also find that focusing on how someone else feels gives you a break from focusing too much on your own emotions.

3. Listen more

When someone else is talking are you actually listening to them, or are you just waiting until you can speak again? Everyone likes to talk to a good listener. It validates us to know that we have someone’s complete attention. You should also maintain eye contact with whoever is speaking. Don’t look around or fidget. Wait until they finish speaking to start talking yourself and be patient.

4. Maintain eye contact

It can be difficult to read people when you aren’t looking at them. You can’t read a book without looking at the words after all! If you avoid eye contact you also give them the message that you are shy or are submissive. Maintaining eye contact with someone makes you come across as more serious and dominant than they are. Where you look is also significant. When you look at their eyes or higher you make the conversation seem more formal. When you look at their nose or mouth it seems less formal.

5. Study body language

It’s believed that people say more with their body than they do with their mouth. While it’s very easy to lie with your words it’s a lot harder to do it with your body. Watch people and see how they use gestures, eye contact, and position their bodies. Observe people as they interact with others when you can’t hear what they say. What does their body tell you about the situation? Also take the time to study up. There’s tons of information in books and on the internet about body language.

6. There’s no need to be aggressive when you’re assertive

Assertive people command our respect. It can be very annoying when people avoid subjects or don’t get to the point. It’s important to remember that being assertive doesn’t mean being aggressive though. Being assertive is when you are direct with your opinions, needs, and feelings. Saying what you would like is being assertive. Demanding something is being aggressive and shows a lack of respect. Be assertive but not aggressive to show you respect the opinions of other people.

7. Maintain healthy relationships

Relationships change all the time so it’s important that you maintain healthy relationships and prioritise them to make them grow. This is another part of life that requires you to be assertive. If you are passive about your relationships then you’ll only find problems.

How high would you say your social IQ is? Your social IQ is made up of your ability to communicate and be social. It’s getting harder to grow and maintain a social IQ thanks to electronic communication too. If you feel that you’re smart and are struggling with life more than you should be then take some steps to improve your social intelligence and see the changes it creates in your life.

Click on the heart to receive the prayer:

To receive notices of when blog posts are added, click the blue button and fill out the form.

Self-confidence is the basis of your foundation for your sense of self.

Building Self-Confidence When You Have None It makes your life easier and generates happiness within you. You will be able to achieve more when you are confident in yourself. The problem is that self-confidence is weakened due to the many trials in your lie and difficulties in the world.

The way you view yourself affects your character, beliefs and success. In fact, the way you view yourself is determined by your character and beliefs. If you’re self-confidence is not strong you can be shaken to your core when you do not have the success you would like.

Because self-confidence determines how you face the world it is crucial for you to strengthen it.

Start with little things. You don’t need to look for something major to boost your self-confidence. You can begin with small actions.

1.    What would you like to change in your appearance? Perhaps a different hair style is in order or a change in the way you dress. Consider right now what you would look like which would allow you to radiate beauty and confidence.

2.    Smile. You’d be amazed how smiling can affect your mood and your self-confidence. Yes, I realize there are times you just don’t want to smile. Bring to mind something to smile about.

3.    Straighten your surroundings. I’m not talking about being obsessive. Just keep things orderly. I’ve noticed I feel more “inner space” when my surroundings are not in chaos, when there is more space on the tables because things are put away or stacked nicely.

4.    Control your self-talk. Instead of talking negatively to yourself, put that energy and time into using positive words. Encourage yourself. Tell yourself you can do it. Remember the children’s book “The Little Engine that Could”? Positive self-talk will help you get over the hills of life just like it helped that little engine make it over its hill.

5.    Volunteer. Go out and help other people. You’ll feel good about yourself and you may end up making new friends. A common comment from volunteers is how much they receive from giving to others.

6.    Be prepared. Always be ready for whatever function you are attending be it a party, presentation, date or meeting. Gather information on the people that will be attending, the theme of the function and other important information. This will allow you prepare, dress appropriately and be more relaxed and confident.

7.    Set a small goal and achieve it. (Each one of the items above can be a goal.) Success boosts a person’s moral. Set small goals for yourself. Let the goal be something that matters and then strive to meet the goal. Once you succeed, you will have the motivation to do something bigger. The more success you achieve, the more your confidence increases. You will there is little which is impossible if you put your mind to it.

8.    Be around people who support you. This is huge. If a family member still treats you as if you were a child and speaks unkind words, have little contact with her. Surround yourself with those who can support your aspirations and motivate you to be your best. Be with friends who treat you right.

9.    Write down your successes, skills and strengths. Leave out your weaknesses and failures and focus on the positive side of yourself.

•    What victories have you had so far?
•    What things are you better at doing?
•    What are your strong points?
•    Keep making a list until you’ve exhausted all you know about yourself. Review it regularly. What you see will surprise you. Add to it when you discover something new about yourself.

10.    Don’t compare yourself with others. There will always be someone who is better at something, or whose life seems better, makes more money, is more beautiful or handsome, has a bigger house or a better car. If you keep comparing yourself with them, you’ll feel disheartened. Focus on yourself. Be more concerned about improving yourself. Remember this important saying, “Don’t compare your insides with someone’s outsides.” You don’t know how the other person feels.

Life flows more easily and you will be happier when you have a high level of self-confidence. If something emotional is blocking your self-confidence use the healing tools available to you.

Click on the heart to receive the prayer:

To receive notices of when blog posts are added, click the blue button and fill out the form.

Success is Often Found in the Little Wins of Life

Many people look at their life and believe they have missed success. They think success means you’ve accomplished something major in your life such as being president or gaining fame. They forget that even the President of the United States didn’t get where he or, someday she, was all at once. There were steps along the way. Each little step, no matter how small, moved the successful person forward.

Social scientists and business experts agree that the successful person needs and is encouraged by the small wins. These wins provide major inspiration along the journey. The wins boost confidence and incorporate the winning attitude.

Success is a by-product of what most people want in life, happiness. Is it the ultimate goal, the one that looks like the greatest achievement, which makes a person happiest? Researchers at Harvard Business School found out that the ultimate goal wasn’t what produced the greatest happiness. Are you ready for what did?

Daily progress, the small everyday accomplishments on meaningful work brought the greatest amount of happiness and generated the most productivity.

They also discovered there was a commonalities which moved a person step-by-step to success. Let’s call this the formula of Small Wins to Success. Let’s look at the general principles behind the Small Wins.

General Principles Behind Small Wins

The Harvard researchers discovered there were two types of actions which led to the Small Wins to Success.

1. Create catalysts. Catalysts are behaviors or actions which move you forward. I’m sure you are familiar with most if not all of them: Set specific goals (more about this below), manage your time and resources, and practice direct and open communications.
2. Find nourishers. I’ve been working with a coach who is assisting me in clarifying my values and goals in all areas of life. One of the areas is in relationships. We all need to be surrounded by up-beat and supportive friends and colleagues who believe in us, give constructive feedback, validate us and give us support. You may find these supportive people in various groups ranging from professional organizations, a faith community or other groups. You want to be sure you friends and family are nourishers. If they’re not, you have some difficult choices to make.

Let me emphasize that catalysts are behaviors you do. Nourishers are those you surround yourself with. You can control your behaviors and you have a tremendous amount of control over who surrounds you.

Here are some catalyst behaviors:

1. Set intermediate goals. You know about ultimate goals. Let’s say you want get out of debt. That’s you’re ultimate goal. The intermediate goals will get you going and give you a sense of success. Paying of one credit card is an intermediate goal. It feels great when you look at that credit card statement and it says “0”. Then you go onto paying off the next card.  One of the goals could be a particular behavior change such as making dinner rather than going out for dinner.
2. Learn from back steps. You know the expression “Two steps forward, one step back.” Learn from those backsteps. Don’t let them discourage you. There will be backsteps. Accept them and move on.
3. Keep a Record. I was going to write “Keep a Journal” but I’m not good at that. I love to write but not in journals. Keeping a record of successes can be valuable. Get a calendar just for successes. It can be one of those small pocket calendars. Record your successes for the day. “I didn’t eat that cookie I really wanted to.” “I paid off the credit card.” “I looked at flowers instead of moping.”

Small Wins to Success in Life

Let’s look at five basic areas of life: Health, Relationships, Business, Money, Well-Being

Health

What is your overall and specific goal for your health? We all have the same basic goal of wonderful health but what do you specifically need to do?

Here are small wins:

1. Eat more vegetables. You might be someone who eats few vegetables unless they’re fried. A small win is adding a serving of vegetables every day to your food plan. Once you have that down add another serving. Do this gradually.  
2. Eliminate junk food. Focus on one junk food to eliminate every month. Celebrate that win. Then eliminate another one. Keep going until you have all junk food out of your life.
3. Sleep regularly. You need sleep. If you’re not getting enough because you don’t go to bed early enough begin moving towards an earlier bed time. You might want to begin with 30 minutes earlier and add an additional 30 minutes earlier until you are at your ideal time.
4. Exercise for 5 minutes. I’m not a big fan of exercise but I know I need to do it. You can begin with 5 minutes of exercise a day. You can walk, dance, garden or something else. Just add 5 minutes.

Relationships

1. Complement Someone. Look for something nice to say to someone in your life.
2. Choose a happy thought. Make it a point to have a happy thought or memory about someone.
3. Say “Hi” to a stranger. If you’ve never done this before just say hello to someone who catches your eye.
4. Surprise your spouse/partner. Do something fun and unexpected… or that one thing s/he’s been asking you to do.

Money

1. Put a dollar a day into a jar. Just save $1 per day and leave it there.
2. Choose not to buy something you want to buy. Next time you pull your wallet out ask, “Will I starve, be naked, or someone else go naked if I don’t get this?”

Business

Your “business” may be a job that pays money, a volunteer activity, or caring for your family.

1. If you want a change, decide how. I know this sounds huge, but begin to focus in small ways on the change you’d like to make. Begin by imagining yourself in different situations.
2. Do first what you don’t like.  That’s self-explanatory. Get it out of the way or find someone else to do it.

Well-Being

Spirituality and your general sense of who you are is in this category.

1. Meditate 5 minutes a day. Block out 5 minutes and allow yourself to be. Close your eyes and focus on your breath. That’s one of the simplest ways to get started with meditation.
2. Work with a healer, therapist or coach. If you need help getting your mind straight, find someone to help you. This is a “nourisher,” someone who can assist you along the way.

The major successes in life are paved with small wins. Cultivate those wins and celebrate them.

Click on the heart to receive the prayer:

To receive notices of when blog posts are added, click the blue button and fill out the form.

Overcoming Common Problems in Life

Do you have so many challenges in life that you have difficulty finding fulfillment? This is not an uncommon situation. I want to share with you 7 strategies you can begin today to overcome common problems, ease the stress in life and assist you in finding fulfillment.

Yes, you will need to work at these to change ingrained behavior patterns. If you do apply yourself you’ll find life so much easier. Just focus on one at a time. Get that one down and then begin the next one. You might want to print out this article so you’ll have it handy.

Begin to overcome common problems of life with the strategies:

1. Be an action taker. Many people become terrified of taking action because they’re afraid of making a mistake. The result is they will be forced to make a choice one way or the other because the situation has now confronted them. Many of the challenges you face, especially in health, relationship and finances, can be avoided with some advanced planning.

• The other day I took my car in to have its transmission fluid flushed and renewed. I also had the tires rotated. These actions will extend the life of my car and of my tires. This will save me a great deal of money in the long run. No the maintenance schedule of your automobile and adhere to it.
• Your body also needs regular maintenance. You need good nutrition, exercise, sleep and fun. When you don’t get your body good nutrition you will feel lethargic and fuzzy-headed. In addition,you’ll be more prone to illness. Taking care of yourself now will have long-term benefits in the future.
• Pay attention to what you need to do in the future. If you have a major project coming up, whether it be work or family oriented, develop a schedule and a plan for getting everything done on time.Yes, this will take some additional planning and some additional time. If you make a plan and follow the schedule will greatly reduce stress on your body and upon the relationships you have.

2.  Your body also needs regular maintenance. You need good nutrition, exercise, sleep and fun. When you don’t get your body good nutrition you will feel lethargic and fuzzy-headed. In addition,you’ll be more prone to illness. Taking care of yourself now will have long-term benefits in the future.

• It’s easy for your weight to creep up without you paying much attention to it. I was talking to a woman in her 50s. She was telling me how she used to be slim. Over 10 years she only gained five year, but that led to being 50 pounds overweight. It’s much more difficult to lose 50 pounds that it is to lose 5 pounds.
• Take a look at your diet and note what you’re not eating that your body needs and what you are eating that your body does not need. Don’t change everything at once. Eliminate one unhealthy food and add one healthy food each month. Make a commitment to yourself and stay focused on the changes you are making.
• Keep your health goal in mind. If you happen to walk past someone who was in a wheelchair due to an illness which could’ve been prevented, remind yourself that this is why you are no longer eating a great deal of sugar. When you see someone who is in top shape at an age you expect degeneration, remind yourself that this is why you are eating a healthy diet.

3. Maximize your time. You know you waste time watching TV, surfing the web or checking your phone repeatedly. This is time you can’t get back. When it comes to overcoming common problems this is a big one. Make a commitment to yourself to reduce stress and overcome the time squeeze by substituting time wasting behaviors with time maximizing behaviors.

• Make a commitment to spend one hour a day doing something you would feel good about. This could be exercising, learning a new skill or writing a book. If you add just one hour a day doing something which maximizes your time, by the end of the year you will have devoted 365 hours. Imagine what you can accomplish in those 365 hours by using just one hour a day.

4. Manage your money. Set out a plan where you save money regularly and prepare for the future. I mentioned the maintenance of my car. No matter how well I take care of my car there will, one day, be a problem. At the very least I will need new tires at some point. That’s an expensive enterprise, but a very necessary one. Plan ahead and save ahead So you have what you need.

• You could begin by saving $5 or $10 per week. I read about a man who paid for his son’s college education by emptying his pockets of all the change he had elected a day. He placed it in the big jar by his bed. By the time his son went to college he had the necessary money.
• Budget. Know your expenses, both immediate and future, and save the money needed to take care of them. Many people have an envelope for each budget item. When the money and that envelope is gone then you know it’s time to stop spending in that area. Plan for some fun but look for those events which are free of cost very little.

5. Purchase only things of value. Don’t be impulsive with your money. Make note of what it is you need and of the things you know will enrich your life. You don’t need to get a new smart phone every time a new model comes out. The same is true for cars and many other items. Only when you have everything you need as well as the money necessary for future needs, can you purchase something that is a luxury. Even then, be sure to something you will be using for a long time and not something you put away in the closet and forget about.

6. Be a decision-maker. If you are faced with the decision about your life, know that not making a decision means you have decided to stay awake you are. Is that what you want? Don’t get caught in the trap of continually doing research for putting off the decision until you are forced into action.

7. Nurture your relationships. Your family and friends are the most important people in your life. Make an effort to stay in contact with them and spend time with them. Having strong relationships with friends and family can give you support when you encounter an unexpected problem in life.

By overcoming common problems in life you can bring more fulfillment to life by engaging in a few powerful strategies. Take action in all areas of your life. Nurture your relationships as well as the relationship with your health, your body and your finances. Use your time wisely on those activities which create memories and skills for you.

What to do when you feel stuck

There are times you are stuck due to limiting beliefs, fears and even depression or anxiety. Years ago I was given by Spirit a very simple 5-step prayer which will assist you tremendously in bringing healing.

Click on the heart to receive the prayer:  

To receive notices of when blog posts are added, click the blue button and fill out the form.