Enjoy the Dance

"When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It's to enjoy each step along the way."

~Wayne Dyer

Although I am a big believer in setting goals to move you forward in your life, life isn't only about achieving and getting to some destination.  As we move toward our goals in life, it is just as important to take breaks and enjoy our lives.  It isn't just the destination; we also need to enjoy the dance. When you do that you are most likely living in a balanced way that makes life both exciting and fulfilling. 

This week:  Build some time to enjoy yourself into your schedule.  Take some time off from your goals to do something you really enjoy.  Take some time for yourself.  Take some time to be with others.  Notice how much more energy you have when you return to work on your goals.  Do this often for one week and notice the difference.  Next, see if you can build some enjoyment into the steps toward reaching your goals.  If nothing else, build "dance time" in a reward for actions you take toward your goal.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people change things that are not working in their lives and begin to build a life that is more meaningful and authentic.  Whether it is starting a new business, changing careers or getting rid of self sabotage, Linda specializes in helping people move beyond their limitations.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Your Passion Gives a Gift to Others

"As we let our light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same."

 ~Marianne Williamson

When we live passionately and enthusiastically, we attract others to us.  Whether they share our particular passion or not, they can see by our example how energized our life is by something of meaning.  Without saying a word, we give them a glimpse of what they could experience and what their life could be like.   That is a powerful gift. It gives them permission to explore their own passion and begin to live it.  And isn't that what life is about--living fully and meaningfully?

This week:  Think about something about which you feel passionately.  Begin to talk passionately about it with others.  Let your feelings show through.  Let people see the meaning it has to you.  Allow yourself to dream about pursuing this passion even more.  Dream about the possibilities it might have for you.  Share your dreams with others.  Notice the effect your sharing has on others.  Does it bring out their passion?  (Even if they don't agree with you, they may begin to respond more passionately themselves).

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and creator of several programs to help people create greater meaning in their lives, including her self help audio/workbook program: Discover Your Life's Purpose: 7 Steps to a Life of Meaning & Authenticity.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ . 

Before You Start, Envision Your End Result

"We may be very busy, we may be very efficient, but we will also be truly effective only when we begin with the end in mind."

~Stephen Covey

Knowing where you are going, having a vision of your desired outcome, starting with the end in mind is key to really being effective at achieving your goals.   Without knowing where we are going, we tend to waste our resources of time, energy and money.  We meander around trying to figure out what we want.  We start and stop, going down blind alleys, focusing on things that are irrelevant to our end result.  Taking the time to envision your end result will ultimately save you time and energy, and allow you to pursue your goals most effectively. 

This week:  Identify some area of your life that is not working the way you would like it to.  Take time to think about how you would like things to be instead.  Be very specific.  How will you know you are successful at changing it?   What will that end result look like, sound like, and feel like?  Really envision your end result.  Now ask yourself, "What is the first step I need to take in order to get there?"  Take that first step.  What is the next step?  Keep moving toward that goal until you get that end result you had envisioned.  Notice how much more quickly you made progress toward that outcome by being clear about where you wanted to end up.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach, author and expert in helping people achieve their goals.  She specializes in helping people get rid of self sabotage--those things we often do unconsciously that block our success and happiness.  For more information about her services, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Utilize the Power of Your Thoughts

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

~Peace Pilgrim

We have the power to create fear, disappointment and to limit ourselves through our own thoughts.  We also have the power to empower ourselves with our thoughts and beliefs.  When you focus on what is possible, rather than what is impossible, you open avenues for yourself as well as others.  We create our own reality by our own thoughts.  We limit ourselves with negative thoughts, and create opportunities with our positive thoughts. 

This week:  Pay attention to your thoughts.  Which ones limit you?  Which ones empower you?  Challenge your negative thoughts by asking yourself  "Is this really true?"  Watch what you say to yourself, because your whole body is eavesdropping and believes what you say.  Pay attention to which thoughts are most helpful to you.  Don't lie to yourself, but don't assume that things are impossible, just because you haven't done them YET. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people get rid of "mental clutter"--those negative emotions from past experiences and limiting beliefs that block your success and happiness.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/ or to http://www.emotionalclutter.com/

Peace in Your Heart Comes from Meaning

"Fill your mind with the meaningless stimuli of a world preoccupied with meaningless things, and it will not be easy to feel peace in your heart."

~Marianne Williamson

When you spend your time and energy on things that do not have real meaning, you are swept into clutter and "noise."   When your focus is on such things, there may not be room to focus on the things that are really important.  Our lives have much that can occupy our time and energy, but things that have meaning may be less obvious.   Looking for the meaning in your activities is worth the effort.  It gives you a richness in your life that bring not only peace of mind and heart, but which can be shared with others for the betterment of the planet. 

This week:  Just for this week, take ONE DAY to focus your attention away from the noise of meaningless things, and focus you attention on something that is truly meaningful to you.  Notice how you feel at the end of the day.  Do you feel inspired?  At peace?  Energized?  Go back to your usual approach and notice how you feel at the end of that day.  Do you feel tired?  Depleted?  Bored?  Disconnected?  What one thing would you like to add to your daily life that would bring you more meaning? 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in personal and professional growth at the Inner Resource Center, LLC.  She specializes in helping people let go of "mental clutter" in their lives--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs that block their success and happiness, and helps them create lives of greater meaning.  For more information, including some free resources, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

 

What If You Were in Charge of Creating Your Experiences?

"Every person, all the events of your life are there because you have drawn them there. What you choose

to do with them is up to you."

~Richard Bach

When you have conflict in your life or in your relationships, look for the message about what you can learn.  Any challenge we face gives us an opportunity.  It gives us the opportunity to learn important life lessons, and to develop greater understanding and character.   The key is to move outside of the role of victim--to whom things happen TO--and move into the understanding that we create our own lives and the meaning our experiences hold for us.  When you embrace the idea that you have drawn the events to you in order to use them for a greater good, it frees you to learn from them.  By shifting your perspective you enable yourself to be empowered by your experiences, rather than being at their mercy.

This week:  Take a look at some event, person or area of your life where you have felt controlled, victimized, or at someone else's mercy.  Imagine that in a meeting long before you were born, you chose to line up these experiences so that you could learn something important.  Ask yourself what is it that you can learn from this?  Write down as many learnings as you can think of.  Now look for the learnings that are positive and enhance your life.  Have you learned about love from having it missing in your childhood?  Have you learned about the importance of tenderness from being abused?  Have you developed some gifts you now have to share with the world because of the experiences you have had in your life?  How can you use this learning for your greater good and the greater good of others. 

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in helping people get rid of "mental clutter"--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs formed from past negative experiences.  She specializes in helping people uncover the positive learnings from such experiences so that they can be empowered to live with greater meaning.  For more information go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/

Personal Growth Can Have the Biggest Impact

"Of all the things that can have an effect on your future, I believe personal growth is the greatest. We can talk

about sales growth, profit growth, asset growth, but all of this probably will not happen without personal growth."

— Jim Rohn

I completely agree with Jim about this.  We bring ourselves to everything we do.  When we invest our energy, our ideas, our time and our money we infuse our businesses with a piece of ourselves.  Making yourself the best YOU can be helps make your business the best it can be.  Even if you are not in your own business, you help shape the business you work for or the causes you volunteer for, or the family you are raising.  Bring your best to the table.  Significant impact can come from small changes or small efforts toward your own personal growth.

This week:  Just notice the impact you bring to the things you do.  Notice the impact you and your ideas have on those around you.  Is there an area where you would like to increase your impact?  Ask yourself "What would I need to improve in myself to do that?"  Take an hour out out your week to focus on an area in which you would like to improve.  Notice the impact that has on your life, your business, your family and people with whom you come into contact.   These small changes can have a significant effect.

Linda Pucci, Ph.D. is a psychologist, life coach and expert in personal and professional growth and development.  She specializes in helping people let go of the "mental clutter" in their lives--those negative emotions and limiting beliefs which block their success and happiness.  For more information, go to http://www.innerresourcecenter.com/