Use The Power of Your Thoughts and Move Beyond Negativity

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought."

~Peace Pilgrim

When we are caught up in negative thinking, we create that negative experience for ourselves.  We end up feeling anger or discouraged or hopless or despairing.   Those negative thoughts become our assessment of our experience and take on a reality before we even realize it.  Our brains try to find what we are thinking about, so if you are thinking about how bad things are, your brain tries to find you more bad things.  That isn't to say that you need to be a Pollyanna to the point of delusion.  There is  a middle ground where you can acknowledge that things are not the way you want them--yet.  At the same time you can hold out the vision of how you would like it to be (expressed as positive thoughts).  When you focus on the outcome you want, you help create the power to make it so.

This week:  Focus on your thoughts.  Notice when your thoughts are negative.  Change the negative thought to something more positive, more in line with what you want you your outcome to be.  Do this all week and notice how it feels. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC in Maryville, TN.  She helps people find the resources to help them transform their lives.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Simple Kindness to Yourself Can Transform You

"Simple kindness to one's self and all that lives is the most powerful transformational force of all."

~Dr. David Hawkins

When you are kind to yourself and others, you connect with the energy of the universe in a way that has the power to change yourself and others.  Essentially, you open yourself up to the possibility of what you and they can become.  The kindness denotes acceptance of yourself and others on a spiritual level.  Even if you (or they) are not the way you would like to be yet, being kind to youself sends the universe the message that "I deserve."  And when you believe that you deserve good things, you can make them happen.

This week:  Practice being kind to yourself.  Stop yourself from those overly critical thoughts.  They are not helpful. Acknowledge that even though you may not be where you want to be, you are capable and deserving of having the life you want.  Acknowledge and appreciate the things you do.  Practice being kind to others.  Reach out to people you know and to complete strangers.  Talk to that person in line at the grocery store.  Smile.  Call someone you haven't talked to in a while.  Let people know what you appreciate about them. Cherish other living things.  Observe and be at ease with animals.  Appreciate plants. Notice the feelings you have about doing these things.  Notic the transformation that these action begin to bring. That is what it is all about.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people transform their lives quickly through her intensive break-through sessions utilizing the Life Moments Makeover System-TM.  She has created a number of self-help resources as well.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ . 

Keep Your Focus on the Main Thing

"The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing."

~Stephen Covey

The New Year presents an opportunity for us to DREAM BIG and to create what we most want.  But to do that we must keep our focus on what is the "main thing."  What is most important in order to create the life we want?  What must we do to keep focused on the main thing and not be distracted by the bright shiny objects that surround us.  Our lives are full of opportunities and we must decide which of them most suit the outcome we really want.  When you keep the main thing the main thing you can most easily and effectively pursue that outcome.

This week:  Decide what is "the main thing" for you some time period--this month or this quarter or this year.  What do you really want and need in order to create what you most want?  Write it down and post it where you will see it several times during the day.  Keep your focus on this main thing during each day for this week.  At the end of the day, evaluate how well you did.  If you need to do something to keep your focus on the main thing, determine what that is and make adjustments.  At the end of the week, decide if you want to continue this exercise for another week.  How many weeks will it take for you to have made the main thing the main thing?

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert at helping people make big changes in their lives.  She specializes in helping people determine what is most important in their lives and to rapidly move beyond self-imposed limitations by using her toolbox of solution-focused techniques.  For more information and to find resources to help you make changes quickly, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

The Fastest Way to Gain Productive Energy

"Sometimes the greatest gain in productive energy will come from cleaning the cobwebs, dealing with old business, and clearing the decks."

~ David Allen

As the year draws to a close, it is great time to clear the decks and move old things out of the way. Getting rid of emotional and physical clutter may be one of the most important things you can do for yourself this year, especially if you REALLY want to move forward in your life and career.  These old "cobwebs" may be old beliefs, old negative feelings toward someone or some situation, or the physical clutter that makes it hard to know what resources you even have.  When you get rid of the clutter both from within and without, you gain room for greater energy to produce your dreams. 

This week:  Start moving out the physical clutter you've held on to.  Give things you no longer need away.  Ruthlessly throw things out.  Look at your inner world as well.  What old beliefs have you been holding on to that no longer serve you?  Do they keep you from trusting others?  Do they keep you from trusting yourself?  If so, this week create a plan for getting rid of them.  Are you holding on to old feelings and disappointments from your past experiences?  If so, be determined to let these go as well.  If you don't know how to do this, THIS WEEK, find resources that can help you do it.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people let go of "mental clutter"--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs from the past that may have kept you from being as successful as you deserve.  (Don't believe that you deserve success?  Then you definitely have mental clutter in this area).  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Take Time to Express Your Gratitude

"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it".

 ~William Arthur Ward

We are all influenced at some time or in some way by people who have entered our lives and touched us.  They may be central figures in our lives and well known to us, or they may be almost strangers who touch us in some significant way.  You may touch others without realizing it, just as others have touched you without realizing how important that touch was to you.  When you express that gratitude, it is like giving a special gift.  What could be more important, especially at this time of year?

This week:  Take time to reach out to someone who has touched your life in some significant way.  Write them a letter or send them an email and express your gratitude.  Tell them how what they did helped you, changed you or made a difference for you.  Share the specific ways their action or presence impacted you and your life.  Realize that you are not only giving them a gift with your gratitude, but you are also giving yourself an important gift--the realization that you were important enough and special enough that they cared enough to reach out to you.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people change their lives in significant ways by helping them find meaningful resources for transformation.  She has a multitude of resources to share at her website http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ . 

The Best Gift of All

"Make a gift of your life and lift all mankind by being kind, considerate, forgiving, and compassionate at all times, in all places, and under all conditions, with everyone as well as yourself. This is the greatest gift anyone can give."

~David Hawkins

The best gift you can give is the gift of yourself and how you live your life.  When you move beyond the petty issues we all face daily and choose to live with compassion, forgiveness, kindness and love, you are sharing your true gift with the world.  When you react to others by treating them as you would want all people to be treated in this world, you set the example for people to then pass along to others. 

This week:  Practice random acts of kindness to those you know and to complete strangers.  It doesn't require money.  It requires connecting at a human level with others.  Open doors for people.  Smile.  Give honest compliments.  Offer to help someone.  Find peace in your heart for those who have wronged you, even if you can manage this only for one week out of the rest of your life.  Reach out to someone with whom you have lost touch.  Ask yourself "How can I make a gift of MY life, even for this one week?"  Notice how you feel about it.  Discover that the gift isn't just a gift you are giving to others; it is also a gift to yourself.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people transform their lives quickly with her solution focused methods and more than 32 years of experience.  She is the creator and CEO of the Inner Resource Center, LLC in Maryville, TN.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ . 

It Is Not What Happens to Us, It Is How We Think About What Happens to Us

If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself but to your own estimate of it.

~Marcus Aurelius

As odd as it may seem, it isn't the event itself that hurts and distresses us, it is how we interpret that event and the meaning we place on it.  The good news is that we don't have to be negatively affected forever by things that have happened to us, even if they have been really traumatic.  YouCAN let go of the negative emotion, by finding positive learning in the event.  When you do that, you can let go of the distress and move on in your life.

This week:  As you go through your week, pay attention to events that ordinarily you might have allowed to derail your mood into something negative.  Notice what you can learn--positively--from this event.  Then notice how this changes your mood.  For example, when you're looking for a parking space at a crowded mall and are starting to really feel frustrated when someone swoops in and takes YOUR parking place, think about what the learning could be that would change how you feel.  Are you there to do holiday shopping?  Is the intention of the holiday to feel stressed and angry at others?  Could your giving up this parking place (even though your turn signal was on) be a special Christmas or Hanukkah present for this complete stranger?  What other meaning can you put on the events that happen to you this week that will reduce your distress?  Experiment with this; play with this.  Notice how your emotional reaction changes. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people master their emotions and move beyond the "emotional clutter" that blocks success and happiness.  She is the creator of the Life Moments Makeover System, a system for rapid result from negative emotions and limiting beliefs.  For more information, check out her website at http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .