Find Beliefs That Empower You

"Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy."

~Tony Robbins

Our beliefs are very powerful.  Once you form a belief--any belief--you will do almost anything to prove it right.  You will ignore evidence to the contrary, distort perceptions to make it true, or generalize from one situation to another.  It is important to recognize which beliefs empower you and which limit you.  You create your own outcome by the things you believe.  Wouldn't it be better to believe things that empower you?

This week:   Spend some time looking at your beliefs.  What do you believe about your life that empowers you?  What beliefs limit you or keep you stuck?  Write them down in two columns.  Just sit with the question: What do I believe about myself?  When you uncover beliefs that limit you, ask yourself  "What would I need to believe in order to succeed?  What would I need to believe in order to create a more satisfying life?"  Imagine for this week that you DO believe that empowering belief.  Notice what that feels like.  Is there a difference? 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people overcome "emotional clutter" in their lives--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs we form from past negative experiences.  Find out more at http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ or http://www.emotionalclutter.com/.

Changing Your Perceptions Changes Your Outlook

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

~Dr. Wayne Dyer

How you choose to perceive things that happen in your life really determines what you think about them, and how you feel about them. For instance, when you perceive something as a problem, it takes on a certain heaviness, and may even seem insurmountable. If you perceive that same situation as a challenge, it energizes you to seek solutions.

I recently had the opportunity to relearn about this when my husband was burned in a fire at his equipment building. We didn't look at this as a catastrophe; we looked at it as a challenge to be met. His injuries have been a set-back, not something we choose to perceive as permanent. As a result, I think, he has made a much speedier recovery.

This week: If you feel stuck in some area of your life, check to see how you are looking at it. Is there a way you can change your thinking? Can you reframe it as a challenge? Or maybe even an opportunity? Or even as "life's little hiccup?" Notice how your feelings change when you change how you look at things.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at Inner Resource Center, LLC in

Maryville, TN. She specializes in helping people overcome obstacles by changing their perceptions with her solution focused methods. For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

"Forgetting" a Memory Can Be Difficult

"Nothing fixes a thing so intensely in the memory as the wish to forget it."

~Michel de Montaigne

When we "try to forget" something, we tend to cement it into our memory. Our brain must first identify what we are trying to forget. It first must think about it, picture it fully before giving the instruction to "forget it." The process of thinking about it helps to keep it active, and it seldom disappears. When we are trying to forget a memory, we usually want to get rid of the negative emotions attached to that memory. Releasing the emotional charge from a memory can most easily be done by changing our perceptions of it.

This week: Identify a memory about which you'd like to change your perceptions. Think about how you'd like to think about it differently. Think about what you've learned from it, especially the positive things you've learned from it. "I survived." "They didn't do it on purpose; they didn't know any better." What gift could this memory bring you?

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at Inner Resource Center, LLC in Maryville, Tennessee. She specializes in helping her clients unhook from the emotional baggage of their memories. For more information, see her website at http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Your Perceptions Are Determined by Who You Are

"We don't see things as they are. We see things as we are."
~Anais Nin


The way we perceive things is determined by who we are--our experiences, our beliefs, our attitudes, our emotional states, our personalities, and our world view. All those things color how we perceive the things around us. If you aren't happy with how the world is treating you, take a look at how you perceive the world and those around you.

This week: Ask yourself, "Do my attitudes reflect the kind of life I'd like to be living?" If not, ask yourself "What would I have to believe and how would I have to peceive things in order to live the kind of life I'd like to have?"