Visualise your Success, Speak & Serve

Continuing the 5 Fundamentals. The "SERVE" framework, and so far, "Sleep", "Exercise" and "Reading" were discussed.

This month, Focus on the "V"... "Visualisation & Mindfulness"

We live in a world that is constantly asking more and more of our attention.? Technology and the way we work is becoming more entwined in the way we live.? This was brought home to me when mentoring a 17-year-old recently.?

He was looking at my phone, and said “I actually wish we still had basic Nokia phones.? When we just used a phone to talk, and send a text message”.?

I asked him to explain…. And his answer startled me, and actually, troubled me.

“We live in a world now where the phones control us, manipulate us, and cause me anxiety.? I’m worried that my comments could be misunderstood, and then shared, and I will be held accountable for something I didn’t even mean.? Even when I’m not on my phone, I’m worried about what is being said.”?

This reminded me how important it is to focus on the basics.? And being mindful, and going into each day with the right mindset is such an important discipline.? The routine of mindfulness and meditation has been with us for 1000’s of years, there’s a clue there about why it is so effective.?

Here are 9 ways you can Visualise and bring more Mindfulness to your life:

1. Your Self-Talk!

Listen to your self-talk.? You cannot underestimate the power of the sub-conscious mind to influence how you feel.? What you are telling yourself with that voice that talks to you in your head?? Thoughts become feelings, feelings become actions, actions become behaviours.

Take the time to talk about your feelings and troubling thoughts.? Consider working with a coach on it, or meet a counsellor.? Or talk to your doctor.

Be positive. As I get older, I find it makes me have more periods of reflection, and?makes me make beneficial changes to my life style. If you read Think and Grow Rich it suggests the most successful people start to blossom when they are past 50!? If that is you, see this as a second chance to review your life and make changes in direction in a positive way.? But start earlier!

2. Affirmations

I have some affirmations that I will say, often as part of my morning routine.? There is a small list in my journal, but often I will choose a few phrases that reflect with my mood.?

The technique here is to focus the mind on positive thoughts and beliefs so that negative thoughts or self-talk from the ego are diminished.? You can read the affirmations silently, or, to get greater impact, you say them out loud, with meaning.?

There are many examples of affirmations such as “I am enough, I am loved, I am powerful, I will enable others, I am attracting revenue to my life, I am doing what I can to be the best version of myself”.? But one person’s words may not be right for you, so spend some time developing your own.??

When done consistently, and, with belief, the repetition of the words can rewire the brain and create new pathways.? You literally become what you think about, enabling a more positive outlook on life.

If you bring movement to your affirmations, using body language, this can also alter your state and get even more impact.? These can be good to do just prior to situations that might make you nervous such as delivering a presentation.? You distract the brain or ego from thoughts that weaken you, or cause you fear, and instead, replace them with empowering, enabling emotions.

Here are 10 affirmations that you may wish to use, or repeat via this Video:

1. I am grateful for everything I have in my life
2. Today will be a productive day
3. My life has meaning, what I do has meaning. My actions are meaningful and inspiring
4. I belong in this world. There are people that care about me, and my worth
5. Each day I work hard to be the best version of myself
6. I am committed to being as healthy as I can be
7. My actions are meaningful and purposeful
8. Happiness is a choice, and today, I choose to be happy
9. I will finish this day knowing that I ended better than I started
10. I have the power to create a life full of purpose

3. Reading

Read something uplifting, educational, challenging, inspiring.? Some words that will enable you to think differently, see a new perspective.? Just a few pages a day, and before you know it, that will be a book a month.? See last month's newsletter, or a new one I just finished "101 Essays that will change the way you think" by Brianna Wiest.

4. Ever tried "Tapping"???

Tapping?draws on the ancient Chinese practice of acupuncture, which teaches that the body's energy travels along specific pathways. Certain points on these pathways are stimulated to improve the flow of energy.? You can try it via a YouTube video, just look for “Tapping Exercise”.

5. The Meta Prayer

Take a minute out for some self-care. A quick technique one of the participants shared in a recent workshop that was immediately appreciated was the Meta Prayer. The main technique of meta meditation involves reciting positive phrases toward yourself, and others that you may choose to mention. Like other types of meditation, the practice is?beneficial for mental, emotional, and physical health. It's especially useful for reducing negative emotions toward yourself and other people. Pick some phrases, say them to yourself, and then, for even more ripple effect, insert the name of some of the people that you may wish to acknowledge. Or even say it as you pass a random stranger in the street!

May I be Happy

May I be Peaceful

May I be Well

May I Live with Ease

May I find Deep Joy

May I be Free of Pain

May I be Free from Harm

May I be Free of Suffering

?6. Journaling

I have been journaling for about 6 years, and it really has been a fascinating exercise.? Journaling can take many forms, some may compare it to keeping a diary.

You dedicate time to writing (or typing) down your thoughts from the day, your reflections of when you felt good, and equally, when you were not at your best.? What can you learn from those times?? As you do this, you can process your emotions and release some of the anxieties that you may hold on to, thereby reducing your stress.

Some people will have journals for different things, such as a “Gratitude Journal”.? You write down what or who you are grateful for.? This simple act can release good chemicals in you.

Where journaling has really served me is in times of strife and adversity.? I particularly remember the passing of my father.? My journal in the 6 weeks of his cancer helped give me perspective and appreciate every extra day I had with him.? It is also a good thing to go back and revisit as it reaffirms some of the positive memories and feelings I felt, as opposed to the grief.? There's a copy of a 90-Day Journal I developed on this page.

7. Think "do I need this....?"

I saw this in one of James Clear's weekly emails: "Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is eliminate the task”.

• Downsize. The rooms you don't have, don't need to be cleaned.
• Donate. The items you don't own, don't need to be organized.
• Delete. The projects you don't take on, don't need to be finished.?
• Is this a problem that needs to be solved? Or a problem that can be eliminated all together?"?

8. The Serenity Prayer:

Whilst it may be synonymous with Alcoholics Anonymous, the words are good to read and recite:

“God grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, and Wisdom to know the difference.”

9. Manifestation and Meditation:

Meditation to the mind is physical exercise to the body.? Add in a process of manifestation as part of the meditation and your thoughts can literally become your reality.? Try Intentionlogy by Loren Runion on Spotify to get started on Meditation.

Thought for the Month

"I would visualise things coming to me. It would just make me feel better. Visualisation works if you work hard. That’s the thing. You can’t just visualize and go eat a sandwich.”

Jim Carey said it, in an interview with Oprah.

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