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As many of us wander through life and find ourselves feeling bogged down and uninspired by daily obligations—things we take on as responsibilities even though we don’t necessarily enjoy doing them—we may begin to feel like zombies, always busy but never really doing things we truly enjoy. If this sounds like you, then you may have a somewhat simple dilemma on your hands: you’re disconnected from your spirit or inner being, your core essence. It isn’t that you’ve lost your soul or that it went somewhere; it’s just that you aren’t in tune with it (because it is pure love and positive energy, not in alignment with apathy or depression) and your spirit is calling out through your emotions and intuition for you to come back and live a happier, more fulfilled physical life. You may also find that you have physical symptoms or ailments due to this disconnect, which is the way that your emotional state (also referred to as your vibrational state of being in more esoteric terms) can affect the manifestation that is your body. Your systems and each part of your being is connected and has to work together to be in optimal condition, and the essence of yourself can be tapped into or connected with through something very simple and amazing: creativity, especially when you’re inspired. In this article, I’d like to share some of the ways in which you can tap into your creativity intentionally, and how taking inspired action can lead you to exactly what you need, usually in exactly the ways that you need it to.
So, what exactly is inspired action, and how does it help you to connect with your soul? The best way to recognize inspiration and follow it up with action is to pay attention in every moment by practicing mindfulness. You know what inspiration feels like… a pull, like a call to go and do something very specific based on your unique ideas and experiences. Now, the question is, are you the type of person who ignores this inspiration and puts it off, cutting yourself off from your soul by choosing exhausting obligations instead? Or are you the type of person who eagerly goes to clean out your car or take it to the car wash, smiling the whole way because this is exactly what you need to be doing at that moment? It seems to go by extremely fast, and one thing may lead you to another step, and another, and another, eventually bringing you to something you want or need in your life that is absolutely perfect. These steps are the process of manifestation, of being in alignment with something that you desire and then having it come into your life effortlessly.
You may find that you have experiential evidence already for this kind of thing, but the evidence is also only perceivable if you’re paying attention, so I’d like to share a short personal story of experiential evidence with you.
My mom and I were going for a walk and decided to take a different route than usual to see where it would lead us. Along the way, she was worried that the train tracks we were walking on were still active, so I assured her that they weren’t. I pointed out the overgrowth and cracks in the tracks, the broken ties and fallen branches, and it hit me: nature always wins. So I said that out loud… no matter what happens or what human beings build and create, eventually nature always wins. It was a fun thought, I enjoyed it for a few moments, and then let it go out into the ether, ready to continue our walking adventure.
We chose where we wanted to go seemingly at random, and I was just happy to be outside and walking. We ended up at a river across town from where we began, and we decided to climb down to the banks where the bridge was. At the bottom, underneath the bridge and partially in the water, was a huge cement wall with graffiti all over it. In letters clear as day on that wall, it said: “Nature Always Wins.”
This may seem insignificant to some (it was to my mom, but I felt like it was a little miracle), but it’s a perfect illustration of how following your intuition and trusting the process can lead you to the desires you are attempting to manifest. It also illustrates that putting in too much effort or conflicting emotion will actually slow down your progress on your journey.
So, how do you tap into inspiration and allow things like this to come to you effortlessly, whether you know you want them to or not? Little things like this are often memorable and can be helpful in reassessing your own emotional state. If you have child-like fascination and wonder at these types of little experiences in your own life, you’re on the right track! All it takes to appreciate these little things is mindfulness and paying attention, that way you don’t miss it as it’s happening.
Here are a few ideas to help you shift your focus more toward inspiration and connecting with your spirit.
As a side note, when good things happen to you, take credit for them! Don’t call it luck or miracles or anything else that takes the credit away from you and the powerful being that you are. It’s important to take responsibility for the so-called negative things in your life, sure, but don’t throw yourself off balance by focusing only on those. You also manifested all of the amazing good things that have come and will come into your life, so don’t sell yourself short by only taking credit for the “bad.” While it’s good to take that responsibility, refusing to take credit for the good things can be very disempowering because you’re essentially saying that it wasn’t you who manifested these good things, it was just luck or happenstance. This actually perpetuates a victim mentality, and to truly overcome that you must take credit for everything, your entire life, not just one side of the coin.
I certainly hope that some of these insights get you well on your way to nurturing your creativity, and therefore nurturing your soul! I hope you join us here on the Mindful Leader Blog next month for more mindfulness and inner work articles. Thanks so much for reading!
For more information about the Mindfulness Movement or the International Mindfulness Federation, please visit:
http://executivecoachinguniversity.com/mindfulness-movement
No matter what walk of life you hail from or who you are, chances are that the way you have grown up into adulthood has involved subconscious conditioning that may not be good for you in the long run. You’ve probably heard of things like abundance blocks, faulty programming, limiting beliefs, etc. These are all labels for subtle nuances of the same thing: the conditioning that happens within the human mind when something is said or done repeatedly. These patterns then become so ingrained that they turn into beliefs, which is how your belief systems are created. And yes, you can change them if they don’t serve you… for example, the belief that divorce is wrong no matter what creates a conflict for anyone who is married to an abusive spouse. Are you supposed to stay and suffer or even be murdered because your beliefs (that you were conditioned to accept as truth over time) state that divorce is wrong? Or are you supposed to adjust your beliefs according to your new knowledge (in this case, realizing that you are being abused, which is sometimes not obvious if the abuse is emotional, manipulative, and subtle) and grow from there? No matter your circumstance, it is your perception, your conditioning, and your subconscious mind that hold all of the power you need to make positive changes. In this article, you will learn how to uncover your subconsciously conditioned programming and beliefs, begin un-conditioning yourself, and re-write the story that you tell yourself very deliberately and on purpose so that you can thrive in life rather than constantly being stuck on survive.
This subconscious conditioning that we all experience is one of the most fascinating but troublesome aspects of the human vessel’s operating system: the mind. While repetition and conditioning can be extremely beneficial to us as we learn new things, it can be absolutely detrimental to your progress as a human being if you are continuously conditioned to believe that you’re a failure, for example. This is typically done without the person doing it even fully realizing it, telling you things throughout childhood such as, “Why can’t you be more like your brother/sister?” or, “Make sure you have a backup plan.” The first statement sends us the message subconsciously that we will never be able to live up to our sibling’s accomplishments or be loved as much as our siblings, while the second statement sends us the message that our dreams can’t possibly come true and we have to have a whole separate plan in place to make money, because you can’t be worth anything without money.
Couple this with societal, media, and religious conditioning, and you’ve got today’s western society, broken down and quantified into countless different personality disorders and psychological illnesses that all stem from the same thing: subconscious conditioning. Yes, I realize that this is a bold statement, but it is truer than we have been able to prove scientifically so far because scientific advances are still being discovered and understood when it comes to the way the brain and body systems work in tandem with our emotions and spiritual wellbeing. No matter what the disease or illness or disorder, chances are that it is caused by a lifetime of subconscious conditioning, piled on top of generations of conditioning before that. We all mean well as human beings, but unfortunately we are all running on brainwashed autopilot and operating from the false assumption that physical reality, as we perceive it with our very, very limited sensory systems, is the only reality in existence. It isn’t. This physical world is a co-creation of everything we have going on behind the scenes from an energetic or vibrational standpoint. The physical world is an echo of everything that has been thought and felt already, so in order to change this physical manifestation in what we perceive as the future, we have to make changes within ourselves now.
So, how do you begin going about uncovering your subconscious programming and changing how you perceive yourself and your place in the world as a whole? Here are a few ideas to think about and consider as you learn more about your unique perspective of reality and how it relates and is connected to everything else in existence. This will allow you to begin seeing how your conditioning happened, and from there you can visualize a different story to replace the old one. Of course there are other techniques you can also research, but I will focus on what I have learned from personal inner experience in conjunction with my studies.
1. What many of us don’t consciously realize is that our perception is literally our reality. Whatever we think is real, is real. We think repetitive thoughts and may have things told to us repeatedly, then maybe we have those things backed up by experiences so we consider this evidence (even though it is merely the law of attraction at work), and then, once we have evidence, it becomes a belief system or very close to “fact” as we continue on our journey. What we must remember is that, just because we have had this one particular type of experience, it isn’t fact or truth, period. It is a version or angle or perspective of truth and a version of what we perceive as real, but it isn’t the experience of everyone across the board, and being able to redirect your focus to attract more positive experiences despite what your past tells you can only help you on your journey.
2. Remember that your experiences, while unique to you and your journey, are not apart from anyone else’s experiences. Rather, they are part of the same collective whole, so each soul (evolving and molded based on experience and life journey) is like a piece to the puzzle of true reality, and only when all of the pieces come together can we truly know and understand all that is from all perspectives throughout all eternity and existence. Breaking that down into a more manageable chunk of information, think of it as though each of us can only see from one specific perspective and the perspectives are infinite in number, beginning with tiny organisms and ending with interdimensional and interstellar beings we have no proof don’t exist (including planets, stars, black holes, and galaxies – how do we know these aren’t sentient and/or conscious beings?). There is so much that we don’t know, so many different points of view, each with its very own purpose, direction, and lifetime. None of these are good or bad in and of themselves; they are just different, but all lifetimes are created to serve the greatest good of all. This can be difficult to accept when we think of people in history who did terrible and cruel things, but when it comes to the infinite expanse of eternity (one dimension, time) and the universe (another dimension, space as we perceive it from our physical perspective), is it really worth getting stuck and dwelling on the horrible things one person did? Or is it better to learn from it and move on toward joy, that way we can utilize the law of attraction properly and manifest better things that come from love rather than beginning a self-fulfilling prophecy of negative thought loops?
3. By comparing our lives with the lives of others but not judging ourselves or them for the lives we have lived, we can examine how they grew up very differently than we did, or what kinds of things were experienced that may have caused similar or even completely different conditioning. If you can find someone spiritual to discuss this with on a semi-regular basis so that you can share your breakthroughs and understand when they share theirs with you, then you can thoroughly take advantage of this process and truly dig deep. If you don’t have a friend available to help you do this, preferably someone who practices mindfulness as well, then you may want to consider hiring a mindfulness or inner work coach to help you pick up and maintain momentum toward more and more breakthroughs. Spiritual awakening de-mystified: it is a series of epiphanies and revelations being peeled back and old emotional energy being brought to surface so that you can be who you truly are, not who others or the world tells you to be. Of course this comes with its own challenges, but essentially, that is what a spiritual awakening is, and embracing it means you are accepting of your path and willing to work with the energies and surrender to life and the amazing journey it has laid out for you.
4. Practice visualization as much as you can so that you can heal your pain and release it, then replace your old memories that may have created conditioning with new stories of those memories that you can then program into your subconscious mind by using meditation, self-hypnosis, and alpha wave binaural tones. Once you get to the point of being able to clear your thoughts, it is time to learn to direct them deliberately by placing new ideas that serve you well into your subconscious belief system repeatedly, that way you re-condition yourself to be much more of who you truly are and less of who you were conditioned to be.
5. Take on an attitude of curiosity and constant learning. Let life be your teacher, because experience is a better teacher than anything else could possibly be. The only exception being maybe if we were able to transfer knowledge of everything via telepathy or touch (remember the movie Paul?), but we have not evolved to that point yet. Because we have imagined it, it is on its way, though. Just like Star Trek and cell phones, not to mention touch screen technology. It is now only a matter of time, isn’t it? Whether you agree or not, this is one of those “wait and see” situations where time will tell what does develop, and evolution will help it happen over time.
6. Allow others to be themselves 100%, and you will find that you are able to be yourself 100% more often, too, because your judgment isn’t being reflected back to you in your physical experience. In doing this, you also practice focusing on not being bitter over circumstances and experiences from your past that were painful. Your outer world will reflect your inner world, and everything is energy first, so it makes sense for us to focus on feeling our best and taking care of ourselves to that end while also treating other people the way we would want to be treated. It all comes back to us, and all of those platitudes and sayings we dismiss as cheesy are really true but on a much deeper level than we may initially understand.
7. Enjoy the fact that every human has layers and is a dynamic, multifaceted being, even if you don’t necessarily “get along” or like each other. Each and every one of us has many aspects to ourselves, our lives, our opinions, our personalities, our experiences, and so on. People also typically have a lot of different talents to tap into, whether we know what those talents are right away or not. We are all different but all pieces of the same whole, intertwined and interconnected, crossing paths with those whom we are meant to cross paths with, learning what we need to learn (and repeating patterns if we don’t learn fast or have trouble recognizing our patterns), and being in exactly the right place at the right time at all times even if we don’t feel like we are. It’s all part of the process, the journey, so we might as well let go and enjoy the ride, roll with the punches, and recover quickly.
I hope that some of these ideas and revelations resonate with you and allow you to step fully into your power, and into who you truly are as a soul. This is the first step toward manifesting the life of your dreams in every way, so congratulations for stepping up and taking responsibility for yourself through mindfulness practice!
It feels scary sometimes, doesn’t it? However, the better you get at being yourself and learning from life quickly, the more you will enjoy the journey and be able to glean insights and wisdom from it. This is not to say that you have to have happy, positive, spiritual days 100% of the time. What it does mean is that you don’t beat up on yourself when you get depressed or discouraged, release those feelings or refocus, and move on.
Go for a walk, meditate, or do something different for a little while. This will help you to lift your mood if you’re down and remember that one aspect of your life is only one aspect of your life, and while it may affect your life as a whole, it isn’t the only thing you could focus on. Sometimes our energies and emotions go to frustration for a reason, like maybe we need a break from that task so we can come back to it later to get it done in a faster, more inspired, and more effective way. There’s nothing wrong with that, especially if you come back and end up being way more productive and get things done much faster, right?
I hope that you’re having a beautiful week so far and join us next month for more inner work insights on the Mindful Leader Blog.
For more information about the Mindfulness Movement or the International Mindfulness Federation, please visit:
http://executivecoachinguniversity.com/mindfulness-movement
We all deal with frustrating and sometimes volatile situations and people, and oftentimes the situation can escalate if there isn’t someone there who stays calm and handles things without reacting or freaking out. At first, this may bring to mind situations like in action movies, but it also rings true on a less dramatic and life-threatening front. For example, when standing up for yourself against someone in the workplace who has taken it upon themselves to harass or bully you; this happens more often than we may initially think. In a circumstance like this, you are always faced with the options of either letting it go or doing something about it. And if you do something about it, what will it be? The higher your tolerance for frustration, the more rational your decisions are likely to be. Read on to learn more about raising your frustration tolerance levels.
Before I continue, it is important to note that if you’re experiencing any kind of abuse in the workplace, it is up to you to bring it to the attention of your superior, especially if the harassment is escalating. Speaking out about something like adult bullying or sexual harassment isn’t a crime, so please don’t feel guilty for standing up for your own wellbeing (someone has to, and if not you, then who?). And don’t let anyone else minimize it, either. You know what’s going on; with certain types of people, it’s only a matter of time before something really ridiculous happens.
Now that we have that covered, let’s take a look at a few ways to raise your frustration tolerance levels.
It’s All About Mindset
The first thing you can do to make your life easier and raise your tolerance for frustration is to remember that you have two main mindset choices you can turn to when something is irritating or obnoxious. You can either be annoyed... or you can be amused. Choosing to be amused rather than annoyed works for many everyday situations, and this is especially helpful when you’re dealing with children, family members, or friends whose feelings you care about.
Become An Observer
Becoming an observer of your own life while also being present in it is possible through meditative practice. Once you’ve been meditating for a while, you can carry that meditative state with you throughout your day and use it to practice mindfulness. This allows you to have an “overstanding” rather than just an understanding, meaning that you can see things from many different angles or perspectives. A bird’s eye view, if you will.
Be Mindful Of The Space Between Moments
There is a pause you can take or access between when something happens and your having a reaction to it. If you can access this brief moment between moments, so to speak, then you can literally “think before you speak,” even during a discussion or conversation that is escalating or no longer calm. If you get good at this, you will also begin to get better at diffusing situations such as this by validating the other person genuinely and pinpointing exactly what’s wrong.
Learn To Pick Your Battles & Let Go
Your powers of discernment will be honed over time no matter what, so utilize them! You can also choose whether you are going to participate or not. Sometimes it might be useful to jump in, but other times it’s really none of your business, in which case it might be better to let things play out organically. Of course this depends on the situation, but you may choose to ask yourself what the benefits might be of either decision. Is the battle worth it if you choose to participate? Or is there no point and it’s just a merry-go-round of drama and chaos that is being fueled by more and more reactions to one side of the story or another?
All of these skills are honed when you are faced with challenging situations in your life. Being aware of how you’re handling things can make a world of difference in the way you are around people, not to mention how people are around you. If you’re a loose cannon, people will likely walk on eggshells around you. If you’re a doormat, people will likely treat you as such. It’s up to you to find your happy medium, your middle ground, where you know what you stand for and balance it with compassion and kindness so you aren’t perpetuating unnecessary drama and problems.
Thank you so much for reading! I hope that this article helps you to begin cultivating your resilience. Come back throughout October to read more about resilience and the subset of skills associated with it.
To learn more about the Mindfulness Movement and the International Mindfulness Federation, please visit:
http://executivecoachinguniversity.com/mindfulness-movement
If you are a mindful leader, that implies you have people to lead, am I right? Well, if there are people, there must be trust, and to build trust, you can work on a few different aspects of your leadership style, habits, and perspective. Read on to learn how you can begin developing trusting relationships with all of your employees… without getting overwhelmed.
What characteristics inspire trust in you and your abilities? If you’re in a leadership position and even just a little mindful, you will likely have at least some of these character traits naturally, especially if you’ve worked with integrity and genuine passion for a while. Whatever traits you have naturally, pay attention and be honest with yourself about recognizing them. From there, you can cultivate the rest of these character traits as you go through mental conditioning, meditation, and continuous mindfulness practice.
The Key Ingredients to Cultivating Trust
· Consistency. If you want to cultivate trust in you and your abilities as a leader, then lead by example. The little things done consistently each day are what will make all the difference in the long run. Once you begin to see results and your momentum builds, the proof is in the pudding and your team will have more trust in you.
· Commitment. Your unwavering commitment to your business, company, project, or vision even during lean or difficult times is what will inspire trust in you for future projects. No matter what the outcome, the fact that your commitment was unwavering speaks volumes. You made a decision and stuck with it even if it seemed impossible or wasn’t popular at one point or another.
· Clarity. Become very clear about your priorities, your purpose, your mission, and your expectations… make it a point not to be vague or ambiguous. Being straight forward is a great way to avoid wasting time beating around a problem as opposed to solving it.
· Competence. You will find that people trust you more if you know what you’re doing, are always learning and staying up to date, and either know the answers or know where to find them. This is where applied knowledge becomes a very powerful tool.
· Character. Are you the type of leader who does what is right over what is easy? If so, this is a characteristic that will help to inspire trust in your leadership. Life and business very often require doing what needs to be done whether we like it or not, so it’s no wonder that this trait inspires trust.
· Gratitude. A leader who practices gratitude will have an amazing set of personality traits that everyone can appreciate. That’s what makes a mindful leader such a great connector. Grateful leaders don’t gossip, complain, or feel entitled. This mindset can always be achieved through practice.
· Results. Nothing screams, “Follow me!” like achieving the results you set out to, or better. When you are able to produce positive and successful results on a consistent basis, your expertise expands, your team trusts you more and more, and you are able to be more confident and build upon your success no matter where you are on the overall ladder.
· Empathy. Being compassionate toward others is essentially caring about things bigger than yourself or outside of yourself, and taking those things into consideration. This will ensure that you are working toward the best interests of the majority and the business as a whole, applying the golden rule as your default setting.
Now that you’ve read about some of the most important traits of a great leader, it’s time to put these habits into practice. The only thing you have to do to begin changing your life and leadership style for the absolute best it can be is to implement one of these small habits at a time until you practice all of them daily. Think incremental improvement at a relaxed pace so it sticks effortlessly and feels wonderful.
For more information on the Mindfulness Movement and the International Mindfulness Federation, please visit:
http://executivecoachinguniversity.com/mindfulness-movement
Which one of these fits your need? Something else?
We admire your courage to start investigating whether coaching will help you. We know it can help most folks…not all, but most. You see, the key is whether you are ready to change. If you’re not, please don’t waste time going down the coaching path. It won’t work. If you are ready, then let’s talk and see if we are a good fit.
BIG NEWS TODAY!
We just received word that our flagship Executive Coaching Training Program (CMEC) was approved by the International Coach Federation! We can now award 15 CCEUs (credit hours) toward coaching certifications with the ICF. This is a wonderful compliment to our SHRM certifications.
This is such a beautiful reflection on our entire team. Congratulations to all of you!
Many thanks to all of you for your support over the years. We are so blessed…
You can find details here:
http://www.executivecoachinguniversity.com/
Warmly,
Drayton
Founder and CEO
According to Gallop (and other leading survey firms) here is the reality:
What do you think of these smelling salts?!
Coaching can address all of these issues…in fact; it may well be the ONLY thing that can cure these workplace “ills.”
If you don’t have a coaching strategy in your organization, I can guarantee you one thing—these statistics will not go down…
Coaching is the “cure.” Isn’t it time you used coaching to focus on your most important asset…your people?
A. Drayton Boylston
Founder and CEO
Executive Coaching University
© 2013 and beyond Executive Coaching University. All rights reserved.
Are Leading or just Managing?
Pretty sad facts.
Guess what? They more than likely apply to your organization too.
And...
If you manage people, you own this!
What’s happening within our workforce to make these statistics a reality?
In the United States employee engagement only averages 30%. That's it.
Why?
It comes down to poor leadership.
We have spent so much energy creating “good managers” that we have become disengaged with what it means to be a good leader.
Managing comes from a need to produce an outcome, which of course, is important. However, when we can move to a place of leading those around us the organizational momentum transforms. More than anything employees want to make a contribution. Once they feel that they are, they stay...and they stay engaged. Which boosts your bottom line.
If you have the management skills without the leadership skills your career will plateau at some point. That is a fact.
The soft skills that good leaders possess are going to be in high demand as the battle for top talent continues to increase. Are you ready?
Click here to find out more about Jenna.
Want to learn how to become a better leader? Click here for details.
Coaching In The Workplace - Training for Executives, Managers, and HR Professionals
© 2014 and beyond Executive Coaching University. All rights reserved.
While our time together progressed, my client must have glanced towards, or checked in some way, her “smart phone” three or four times over the course of our first fifteen minutes.
I commented on her split attention and asked her to turn off the phone and just be focused on our time together for the next forty five minutes – fully focused upon our work. The look on her face would have lead someone not knowing my request, to think I had asked her to do something exceptionally distasteful…maybe even illegal!
Through our discussion around my request it became quite clear that she had NEVER turned off her phone – it was always on. This meant she was always connected, always available, always “on.”
She explained that this level of being available and connected was the status quo at her corporation and essentially had been the status quo since she was at University. “What if I miss something really important?” she asked. “I’m not productive if I’m not juggling a number of issues, projects, or conversations at once!” she stated.
This multitasking misconception arises quite often, especially with high performers who see their success as driven by the ability to do many tasks at the same time.
Yet, there is a downside to always being “on.” Consider:
Is it possible that any of the above might contribute to the 33% worker productivity rate in the U.S? 33%!!!
There are also other, more personal costs. This particular client was referred to me due to increasing conflicts between her staff and those in her chain of command – she had become “hard to work with” and was close to losing the job she so valued.
Additionally, her marriage was on the verge of divorce and she had been diagnosed with digestive/intestinal issues primarily caused by stress.
Coincidence? Not likely!
Sound familiar? Chances are if you are reading this then you have experienced, or know someone close to you who has experienced, a very similar chain of events.
Take time to focus within the moment, express gratitude, and disconnect at least once daily. You will find you are actually more productive, healthier, and happier. Then lead all those around you to do the same!
Greg Styles
Director of Special Projects
© 2013 and beyond Executive Coaching University. All rights reserved.
The Executive Coaching University is one of the leading Executive Coaching Training and Leadership Development firms in the world. We have trained thousands of individuals in 39 countries in our proprietary MasterMind Executive Coaching Process™ as well as many other leadership skills. Our programs are approved by the International Coach Federation (ICF), Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), and Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) in the UK.
