Are You Ready to Change Your Bad Habits?

“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed, easy to get into, but hard to get out of.”

~Unknown

We often get comfortable with our habits, even if they are not habits that are good for us.  It isn't that we are too lazy to change them; only that sometimes the pain of that bad habit isn't strong enough to motivate us to "get up" and change.  Actually, changing habits doesn't have to be that difficult, but is DOES require that you have the intention and motivation to stick with your decision to change and follow through.  Just as you have to decide to get out of bed in the morning, you also have to decide that you want to make the change.

 This week:  Think about a bad habit you have wanted to change. Are you ready to make a commitment to this change? It needs to be more than a belief that "it would be nice to change,"  it needs to be absolutely essential for you to make the change.  Think about what will happen if you don't make this change.  What will happen to you and the life you want to have?  What won't happen as a result of not changing this bad habit?  Are there things that won't happen if you change this bad habit?  What good things can happen if you make the change?  Fully consider the consequences of keeping yourself stuck in this bad habit.  Decide if you are really motivated to change.  If not, don't pretend that you are.  Acknowledge to yourself whether you are motivated to change or not.  If not, what will you need to do to get motivated?  Do you know what it will take to change that bad habit? 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people make the changes necessary to overcome obstacles to their success and happiness.  When you have the right tools, you can change any bad habit, and it isn't even all that difficult.  For more information got to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ and download free resources or call for a complimentary consultation.

Change Your Thoughts and Beliefs to Change Your Perception of the World

"Every thought you have makes up some segment of the world you see. It is with your thoughts, then, that we must work, if your perception of the world is to be changed."

~A Course in Miracles

Our thoughts are very powerful.  We each view the world in terms of our thoughts, feelings and perceptions, which have been based upon our experiences in life.  We act as if our thoughts are true, when, in fact, they may be distortions filtered through our experiences.  If the world is not as you would like it to be, and if your life is not the way you would like it to be, you first need to examine your thoughts, your beliefs and your feelings.  You can change your perceptions if you choose, but you need to be willing to look at what you think and believe. 

This week:  Challenge yourself to examine your thoughts and beliefs. Are there things you think or believe that limit you?  Write these down.  You don't have to change them right now, but understand clearly how they limit your success and happiness.  What would you be able to do if you thought or believed something different?  If this is too difficult to consider, look at how the beliefs and thoughts others have limit them.  It is often easier to see limitations in others than in ourselves.  Notice how the way people think impacts their perceptions of the world and their experiences.  This week, identify ONE limiting belief or thought that you would like to change.  Write it down.  Every time it comes up, challenge it.  Ask yourself, "Is this really true?"  Ask yourself, "What would I need to believe instead that would empower me?" 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert at helping people change limiting beliefs quickly and easily with her solution-focused techniques.  Her business, the Inner Resource Center, LLC helps people find the best resources to help them transform their lives and move forward toward greater success, meaning and happiness.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ or http://www.emotionalclutter.com/ 

You Create Your Life By How You Live It

"Everything you see happening is the consequence of that which you are."

~Dr. David Hawkins

We create our lives by how we live them.  If our lives are filled with drama, it is because we have been living that drama and buying into it.  If you are unhappy and dissatisfied, it may be because you have been focused on that unhappiness and dissatisfaction.  When you begin to change your focus and begin to change your thinking, you can begin to change how you are living, and your life circumstances change as well.

This week: Notice where your focus is.  Are you focused on the negative?  If so, is it translating into how your life is turning out?  What do you really believe about yourself?  If you are focused on all that you are lacking, do you also find that your life is lacking?   Really look at how your life is a reflection of yourself.  If you don't like how your life is going, what do you need to change about yourself?  Identifying it is the first important step.  Once you identify what you would like to change, begin to make a plan for changing it.  Ask for help from others if you need it.  The time to create the life you want is NOW.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people create lives that are congruent with their life's purpose.  She specializes in helping people overcome limiting beliefs that sabotage their happiness and success, often in transformational intensive sessions.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ . 

Make Things Happen

"My father instilled in me that if you don't see things happening the way you want them to, you get out there and make them happen."

~ Susan Powter

Many people are good at recognizing when things are not going the way they would like.  They identify all the things that are wrong--in politics, in business, in the economy, in their relationships, in their life.  But too few take action and responsibility for making changes.  If you find yourself complaining about things not happening the way you want them to, get out there and make them happen.

This week:  Identify something that is not going the way you would like, one specific thing.  Now, think about what change you would like to see.  What could YOU personally do to help make that change?  What action could you take?  Brainstorm solutions and write down your ideas.  Then go back and pick ONE thing you can do this week to begin to change the situation.  Although you might think that your action "won't count," recognize that if everybody took some small action, there would begin to be a solution.  Do something, just for this week. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer at the Inner Resource Center, LLC.  She is an expert in helping people take actions toward their goals, and at her clients create transformational change quickly.  She specializes in helping people overcome the limiting beliefs that sabotages their success and happiness.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

Are You a Pessimist or an Optimist?

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”

~Winston Churchill

It all has to do with your perception.  Pessimists focus on what isn't working or won't work--all the difficulties.  An optimist focuses on opportunities and doesn't allow the difficulties to block them.  Which are you?  Which focus would help you move forward in your life? 

This week:  Experiment with focusing on the opportunities in the obstacles that confront you.  It may seem artificial or contrived, but it will allow you to practice changing your focus.  Notice what the difficulties allow you to learn.  Assume, just for this week, that you can overcome any obstacle or difficulty that presents itself.  Sometimes that is enough to change the focus on the obstacle and find solutions.  Put your brain to work at solving the difficulty.  Your brain is exceptionally good at finding solutions when you get your pessimism out of the way.  At the end of the week, notice what your experience was like.  Can you build on it? 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people find their own inner resources and solutions to their life's challenges.  She has over 30 years experience helping people overcome self-sabotage and other obstacles to their success and happiness.  For more information and free articles, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .  

In Order to Change, Keep Moving

"The great thing in the world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

If you don't like the way your life is going, take steps to change it.  Most of us have some thing that we would like to change, but we have to be willing to take the steps and move in the direction we want to go.  Just sitting and wishing things would change is not going to get you there.  You have to be willing to take action.  You have to be willing to MOVE.  Sometimes all it takes is small steps in the right direction to begin to build your momentum.

This week:  Identify some change you would like to make--big or small.  What small step could you take that would BEGIN to move you in that direction?  First, state your intention to change.  Next, begin to take a small step in direction of the change.  How was that?  How do you feel having taken that first step towards changing something you have identified that it is your intention to change?  What is the next small step?  Keep your steps pretty small, and notice that it isn't as difficult as you might have first thought.  Do this all week.  At the end of the week, evaluate your progress toward a change.  While you may not have reached your outcome, you probably have moved forward.  If you keep this up, you will build greater and greater momentum.  Before you know it, you will have changed in the direction for which you were aiming.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people make changes they did not think were really possible using her solution focused approach.  At the Inner Resource Center, LLC, she helps people access their inner resources for success, happiness and greater meaning.  For more information and several free resources, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .

You Become What You Think

"You become what you think about all day long and those days eventually become your lifetime."

 ~ Wayne Dyer

We attract those things we think about.  The thoughts you think are very powerful, because your brain tries to create all those things you think about--positive AND negative.  If you are constantly self-critical, or mired in self-doubt, you create that life for yourself.  If you don't like the way your life is going, the fastest way to change it is to change your thinking.

This week:  Catch yourself when you are thinking something negative about your life or yourself.  Challenge those thoughts.  Ask yourself "Is this really true?"  If it is, then ask yourself "What do I have to do to change it?"   Even though you may not be where you WANT to be in terms of success or happiness, change your thinking to reflect that you "just are not there yet."  Since you are in charge of what your life becomes, why not create the life you want rather than the life you don't want?

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert at helping people reach goals they had not thought possible.  At the Inner Resource Center, LLC she helps people identify their inner resources and build on them for greater meaning, happiness and success.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Want Success? Model Someone Who Has Achieved It

“That some achieve great success, is proof to all that others can achieve it as well.”

~Abraham Lincoln

Being successful isn't magic.  It doesn't require special talents, gifts or capabilities, although they can certainly be helpful resources.  If you want to be successful, model a successful person.  Study how they approach life.  What do they think?  How do they approach problems and challenges?   How do they hold themselves physically?  What beliefs do they have?  What emotions do they express?  How do they show their confidence.  Model that.  When you behave as successful people do, you begin to adopt valuable attitudes and approaches that will serve you well as you move toward your own success.

This week:  Identify someone you know or know of who you deem as successful.  Now, think about how they demonstrate their success.  How do they behave?  What sorts of things do they believe about themselves and about the world?  Find out as much as you can about how they do what they do.  Write it down.  If you can, ask them questions about it.  If you don't know them personally, read interviews they have done, or study their life story.  What is it that has put them on this path to success?  What things do THEY do that you could adopt?  Experiment with modelling some of their behavior, beliefs or attitudes and notice what that is like.  Modelling others' success is an easy way to get yourself moving along that path to success as well.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and trainer.  She specializes in helping people make rapid changes in their lives so that they can live happier and more successful lives.  Her business, Inner Resource Center, LLC helps connect people with the resources they need to transform their lives.  For more information about her and her programs, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ .