Tag: mindsetcoach

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Top Types of Meditation and The Benefits They Bring

You most likely hear that a good way to reduce stress and anxiety is to mediate. Sounds easy, right? Well, calming the brain and the body is actually difficult until you develop good practices that will help.

But do you know that there is more than one type of meditation? In fact, there are countless forms of meditation – each of which has different goals and methods.

The question then, is which type of meditation is right for you – and how do you get started with the one you choose? This guide will help you to understand more and decide.

Mindfulness Meditation

We’ll start with this one, only because it has become so popular recently that it’s the type many people may be familiar with.

Mindfulness meditation comes from cognitive behavioral therapy – a psychotherapeutic approach in psychology. The idea here is not to empty your mind of thoughts – as it is in many other forms – but rather to try and detach yourself from those thoughts and not be affected by them. Note which thoughts float by, but don’t try to change them.

Body Scan Meditation

Closely linked to mindfulness meditation is body scan meditation – this is a form of meditation that involves focusing on each part of your body and progressively relaxing. It’s great for refreshing the brain and chilling after a hard day.

Transcendental Meditation

This is another of the more popular and well -known forms of meditation. The goal here is to clear your mind and to do so usually by focusing on a mantra (umm, omm, calm or peace), a picture, or perhaps an imaginary point in space. Doing this can help you to eventually close down areas of your brain while retaining consciousness.

Loving Kindness Meditation

Loving kindness meditation is a form of meditation that involves focusing your mind on a specific feeling – in this case love and kindness! By doing this, you will feel happier and you will become better at forgiving people. It also feels fantastic in the moment.

Kundalini Yoga Meditation

Kundalini yoga meditation is a form of moving meditation. The idea here is to move gently into different positions while focusing on controlling your breathing and staying calm and focused. The result can be highly relaxing while also improving your overall health and wellness.

Religious Meditation

Religious practitioners can engage in meditation by focusing deeply on a passage of text from their scripture, or on a prayer.

Zazen

Zazen is a form of meditation associated with Zen Buddhism. It must be taught under the leadership of an instructor and involves a number of specific steps. However, the objective is once again to focus primarily on detaching yourself from your thoughts and letting go of judgement.

To get started and be successful with meditation, here are 3 ways to help:

  1. Find a quiet place – since the purpose of meditation is to calm your thoughts, you want a place that is free from distractions and gives you a sense of calm and peace (which you can create). It can be an area in your bedroom or living room, a porch or patio, or even outdoors. As you will be establishing regular routine, you want the space to be inviting and accessible.
  2. Map out time and starting small – meditation is a gift you are giving yourself, so you want to set time to receive and enjoy the gift which starts with time. You can set a timer – start with 2 minutes, then work your way up to an amount of time that works for you. It might be easier to put it in your schedule, such as before you eat breakfast or before bed; using a planner or calendar will ensure you develop a routine.
  3. Focus and relax – as the intent of meditation is to take away your thoughts but to not act on them, it will be easier in the beginning to focus on your breath sounds or a picture on the wall. There are guided meditations you can find on YouTube, SoundCloud, or buy from a retailer.
  4. Monitor and review – it’s important to monitor how your feel after each session and, then, overall, as your meditative practices and their effects. This will give you confirmation that it is working and the benefits you are receiving. It’s important to remember that it may take up to 4 days before you feel any change in your mood, feelings, thoughts, responses. Be easy on yourself but continue with your sessions, no matter the struggle.

 

“As we practice meditation, we get used to stillness and eventually are able to make friends with the quietness of our sensations.”                             (Sharon Salzberg)

 

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End of the Year Decluttering: Don’t Forget to Include Your Mind, Also

The end of the year is a great time to leave the old behind to make way for the new. In addition to goal, this can be the time to declutter, aka, purging the old to make way for the new.

Before you can throw old items away, it’s vital to start by decluttering your mind. If you look at why you keep papers, mementos, and the like, is because there is some emotional attachment to them, hence mindset.

If you’re hanging onto to clothes that don’t fit, or the ugly vase your mother gave you for Christmas, or the exercise bike you might get around to using, you don’t just have a problem with too much stuff. You have a problem with letting go of bad feelings, ill-founded assumptions, old grievances and future worries.

If it feels good to declutter your house, it feels even better to declutter your mind, and letting go of those the ‘emotional baggage’ we tend to carry around.

Here are some useful expert tips to make some space in your mind.

 

  1. Use mindfulness or meditation techniques:

You don’t have to do the full sitting on a cushion in a darkened room thing to benefit from meditation techniques. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, some simple breathing techniques can help you calm down and focus.

For a few minutes, focus only on your breathing and nothing else, such as the 4-7-8 rule (breathe in slowly for a count of 4, hold it for a count of 7, then slowly breathe out for a count of 8). Even a two-minute breathing practice will give you calm so you can think more clearly and start to working on letting go.

If your mind wanders or gets back into the worrying groove, you must put that aside and come back to focus on your breath. Taking a walk or, even, sitting outside brings calm but focus on the sounds you hear, what you see, what you feel (the sun or the breeze).

 

  1. Write it down

It can help to write down anything that’s on your mind. Once all those worries are down on paper, you can prioritize them and work out a plan to deal with them. You can also assess them to identify what’s essential and what isn’t. When you can see what’s important, you can focus your energy and free up some of that mental space!

 

  1. Stay in the present

Brooding over the past and worrying about the future take up a lot of space in your mind and achieves, precisely, nothing. Let go of regret over past mistakes or resentment of past slights and move on.

Keep your focus on what you can influence right here, right now. Journal about it, write a letter to the person or situation – but you burn it in the end to release those old thoughts and feelings.

Focus on what you can control right now – not the past or the future. Say a mantra to keep you focused, such as ‘stay in the present.’ Out minds need verbal prompts so this is a good practice to adopt.

 

  1. Do one thing at a time

Multitasking is not only overrated and inefficient, it also leads to greater anxiety, and you won’t do any one thing properly. Actually, our brains can not do two things at one time, so trying to depletes brain energy.

It’s best to focus on doing things methodically and thoroughly. As you finish one task, move onto the next. Listing tasks you want to accomplish will give you direction on where to go, but not trying to accomplish all at once. Smaller steps lead to bigger changes.

 

  1. Control all incoming data you take in

Every day we are bombarded by so much information – TV, news, social media websites, podcast, radio, YouTube, and the like. It can be overwhelming and addictive if your ‘not careful.

We talk about being available 24/7 and the 24-hour news cycle, but there is only one person who can control this: You.

You can choose to switch off your computer, smartphone, and tv and control the amount of data your brain is trying to process. You may have to start small, such as turning off your electronics for 15-30 minutes, then increase your time; at night or during meals, turn your phone off off. You can control how much information comes in, which will help you emotionally and physically.

Decluttering your mind will pay off in all sorts of ways you hadn’t imagined. You will be more productive, less stressed, and more motivated. Overall, you will feel more peaceful and confident you can handle anything that comes your way.

If you struggle with productivity or negativity in your life, reach out to get help. You can be in control of your life,

 

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5 Steps to Throw Fear to the Curb and Take Control of Your Life!

Lfe is challenging, and painful, and exciting, and unpredictable. There are two basic forces that drive our reactions to what Life throws at us: love and fear.  Love opens us to the passion and excitement that Life has to offer, while fear causes us to withdraw and hide.

 

Fear stops you from taking action. Fear of what you might lose or gain. Fear of not having enough money. Fear of not being loved or belonging. Fear of being alone. The basic fear we all experience is the fear of not being good enough, which leads to other major fears discussed.

 

There is a time for fear. It protects us from danger and destruction. The problem is that if you’re not living your life to the fullest, chances are good it’s because you’ve let fear dictate to you that pretty much everything new you want to try is dangerous and destructive.

 

Well, guess what? It’s not true.

 

You can throw fear to the curb, you can take control of your life, you can start living your life to the fullest.

 

Here are 5 steps to get you started:

 

  1. Be Clear About Your Goals

 

What do you want your life to look like and be like? You must have a destination, a goal, a vision to work toward or you’re not going to know that you reached it. What goals do you want to achieve? Get clear on this and your first fear will be taken care of – the fear of not knowing what to expect. Now you can shift your focus to the tasks that will help you achieve your goal.

 

  1. Prepare Yourself

 

How many opportunities have you had to say No to because you weren’t ready? No doubt there are many. And there will be many more if you don’t begin to prepare yourself now. Based on the goals you’ve set, what skills and knowledge do you need to achieve them? Begin obtaining those skills and knowledge now. Preparation lays the groundwork for action – when you have all that you need you won’t have to wonder what to do as it will be all laid out for you to get started.

 

  1. Network With Others

 

If you don’t have the skills or knowledge, you should know someone who does. A strong social and professional network is vital to your ability to live the life you want. This doesn’t mean you must befriend everyone who crosses your path, or that you must nurture professional relationships with people you don’t like or understand.

 

It means meeting people online and offline and deciding how they fit in your life. You make that decision. Just be sure to nurture those relationships that can help you personally and professionally by being helpful to them first. A mentor is not only for professional situations, as having someone you look up to give you guidance does wonders for you as a person.

 

  1. Ask More Questions

 

Opportunities don’t appear as if by magic. And sometimes they’re not obvious. Use your imagination and curiosity to help you ask more questions about what is happening around you. When you can see situations from different perspectives amazing lessons can be learned, answers can be found, and recognition of an opportunity can happen. Opportunities are everywhere – you just have to look for them.

 

  1. Take Risks

 

Not just any risk, though, calculated risks. Calculated means understanding what the risks are, whether it’s financial or emotional or mental or physical, and weighing the pros and cons of each risk to determine if you’re willing to live with the consequences of moving forward. When you do this, you are in control of the decision-making process and can accept responsibility for the achievement or failure of what you do in your life.

 

Fear can stop you – heck, it’s scary to go outside your comfort zone and go after what you want. These are the times you want to just act – the outcome will be worth it, plus you raise your confidence level so you keep going after your desires.

 

These five steps apply to your personal and business life because the truth is that you take yourself wherever you go, don’t you? When you are in control of how you make your decisions, why you make your decisions, you throw fear to the curb and are able to live a life that is free of fear and full of joy and happiness and purpose.

 

 

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

Nelson Mandela

 

 

If you’re struggling with reaching your goals, or live a fear- based life, don’t struggle. Reach out to get help and get started to live the life you desire.

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The Benefits of Being Self-Disciplined

Being self-disciplined has many beneficial results. These include a sense of accomplishment, more self-respect, and a better understanding of what you can do. Plus, with a routine you will know what to do each day, leaving you with more clarity and less stress.

What does it mean to be self-disciplined? According to Collins Dictionary, a disciplines person acts or behaves in a controlled way, with rules and standards. When you understand the beauty of this, you are the one in control who sets the standards to follow. You aren’t at the mercy of someone else.

While being disciplined is not always easy, it is well worth it. When you set goals and work on them every day until you accomplish them, you will feel proud of yourself. Not only because you accomplished the goal, but because you did not quit.  You stayed the course and made them happen. If you think back to a prior achievement, you had a goal and worked on it every day until you reached it – how did you feel?

When you discipline yourself to accomplish a goal, you also increase your self-respect. Think of the people you have the most respect for and why; chances are that one of those reasons is that they have self-discipline. They set out to do something, not stopping until they accomplish it.

By doing the same, you can have more self-respect and confidence. However, when you aren’t self-disciplined you will feel less respect for yourself, which will lower your self-esteem, and are more likely to fall into negativity and states of depression and anxiety.

But, when you become disciplined in your habits and routines, you learn more of what you can do. You will have the ability to set higher goals and challenge yourself to meet them. You will find that you can overcome obstacles that you might have thought were too difficult, while learning more about who you are and what you can accomplish when you set your mind to it.

A lot of times people put limitations on themselves that are not really accurate. Think about something you think is not possible: is it really impossible or are you setting a limitation that is based out of a fear of some kind?

One way to find out is to set a goal and make it happen. As an example, you may want to run a marathon but, if you are a couch potato, you cannot immediately do so; but, over time as you build up your body with increasingly more intense exercise, you can. This is how discipline works.

Mindset is a huge part of a disciplined life – believe you can and you will. Put affirmational words on your bathroom mirror, write them down, say them loud so they ‘stick’ and you believe, i.e. “I can and I will.”

 

Now it is your turn. Choose a goal that you want to achieve, and set up milestones, i.e. daily or weekly actions, along the way. Then each day do something to make those milestones happen. It does not have to be anything major, just one more small step on the way to your final goal. Having discipline will put you in the mindset of achievement, while having accountability, to stay the course until the goal is reached.

When you reach that final goal, take stock of how you feel about yourself and what you are capable of doing. Self-recognition is vital to future achievements so be sure to write them down.

“Discipline is doing what you really don’t want to do so you can do what you really want to do”     (Jeff Fisher)

 

If you’re struggling with starting and achieving your goals, reach out for help and to get started. We’re here for you!

 

 

 

 

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It’s a Great Month to Figure Out What Am I Doing with My Life? Tips for Figuring Things Out

Do you often find yourself wondering what you are doing in life? Many people reach a point where they feel they lack direction in their lives. Instead of living life to the full, they simply go through the motions.

If this sounds like you, there are things you can do to help you get out of the rut you are currently in. Today starts the beginning of August, so what better time than to get this question answered, so you can start a new chapter.

Below, you’ll discover some fabulous tips for figuring out what it is you want from life. Just remember, there are no right or wrong answers here; these tips are meant for you to explore your inner game which will lead to your outer game, i.e. gaining clarity and direction:

 

Consider Your Passions

If you want to know what direction to go in, it’s helpful to think about the things you are passionate about. The things that motivate and inspire you will change on a frequent basis. For example, what you want today may look very different to what you wanted a few months ago.

As we change and adapt over time according to our experiences. This means to keep a direction in life, we need to constantly assess what it is we want. Figuring out the things you are passionate about will help you to understand where to go next and what you need to do to get there.

 

Address Your Fears

Even if you know what it is you want to do, you might be stuck because of fear. Known to be one of our most powerful emotions, fear can stop you from going after the things you truly want in life.

So, if you are going to move forward and figure out what it is you are doing in life, you are going to need to address your fears. Figure out where the fear is coming from. Then, be willing to work through them so you can stop them controlling your life.

 

Assess Your Current Goals

Do you have any goals you are working on right now? Chances are, if you aren’t sure what you are doing in your life, you won’t have any goals to work towards that mean something. This can contribute towards the problem.

You need to set yourself goals to keep the mind motivated and positive. When you have things to work for, it gives you a purpose each day. As you see yourself progressing through your goals, it generates more motivation to get you to where you need to be.

Make sure you set small, specific goals that are easy to achieve.

 

You Don’t Need To Have It All Figured Out

 

Nobody has their life totally figured out. There will always be doubts and things you want to do better. You don’t have to have it all figured out all the time. In fact, just going with the flow sometimes can present you with a lot of opportunities you would otherwise miss. As stated earlier, there are no right or wrong answers to go with the flow and see where it leads you.

 

Feeling like you don’t know what you are doing in life can be lonely and frustrating. However, the above are just some of the things you can do to figure out what it is you want. Take a notepad and pen and just reflect; free-write any ideas or thoughts you have to get them out, then you can go back and edit to make sense of them.

 

Change isn’t easy but with the right mind-set, goals, and a plan, you can do anything. Oh, and some hard work. Determine to make this month the start of the ‘new you.’

 

 

“Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction.”

                                                                                             (Germany Kent)

 

 

 

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