Over the last several years, I’ve been studying just about everything I could get my hands on in the Personal Development arena. One of the most important things I’ve learned from everyone from James Ray, Jack Canfield, Joe Vitale, Bob Doyle, Sandy Forster, Bob Proctor and many more is that if you focus on what you want and persistently and consistently tell yourself that you have these things, you will come to Believe it. Once you Believe it, then you will be inspired to take the actions you need to take that will bring what you want to you. Hence the saying, “When I Believe it, I will See it”.
When it comes to the way our brains learn things, REPETITION is key. Think about it – how did you learn your times tables in 5th grade math – repetition. How does an actor learn his lines – repetition. How did we all learn to walk and talk – repetition. So it stands to reason that if you want your mind to believe in a different way than it currently believes, you are going to have to teach it how to think that way by repeating what youwant to believe.
Great…that makes sense. The more you repeat something, the quicker your subconscious should start to agree with you. So in comes Affirmations. Affirmations are just statements about what you WANT to believe. They are touted by just about every self help expert as the way to “Fake it til you make it”, because essentially you are just repeating over and over what you desire to believe.
OK, that makes sense too. If we all keep repeating affirmations, we’ll all be rich and happy, right? Sounds simple enough. So then……. Why aren’t we all rich and happy? Because we DON’T KEEP DOING THEM!! I certainly have tried many times. I’ve written impassioned affirmations, I’ve recorded them, I’ve done Power affirmations, I’ve listened to meditation CD’s with affirmations, subliminal affirmations, affirmations with binaural beats…I’ve done it all. But every time, after a week or two, the time required to continue to do these became a chore – I just didn’t Believe what I was telling myself and I couldn’t see anything changing so I would stop doing them. I think this is what happens to a lot of people. But it’s really not your fault, at least not your conscious minds fault.
You see, your unconscious mind or your ego can be your worst enemy. It likes you just the way you are – warts and all. It doesn’t see any need to change, it hates change and when you are trying to change by stating things like “I am wealthy, healthy and happy”, the unconscious “Belief Detective” I call it, immediately responds with “No, we’re not. We’re broke and depressed and I think we’re coming down with the flu. Besides, this is SOOOO boring”. If you can’t get past that “Belief Detective”, or at least realize what is going on, your unconscious mind will win and keep you broke, sick and depressed. Ironically, this is how it thinks it is protecting you. Gee, Thanks!!
Furthermore, many teachers have also taught that what we think about predominantly is what we get. The more you can focus on what you want to have in your life, the quicker it will come to you. If you can focus on it with emotion and feeling, so much the better. Dr. Robert Anthony (Secret of Deliberate Creation) teaches that what you need to do, more than anything is find a way to Flip the Switch when you find yourself thinking a negative thought, or one of doubt or worry or fear. Just Flip Switch he calls it. My first reaction when hearing that was “So, HOW THE HECK do I do that?” I understand the need to keep positive, but how do you change in the moment – in the NOW – from fear and doubt to happiness and joy. That’s the 64 bazillion dollar question. It’s almost like you need to actually have a Switch implanted that you can reach out and Flip at will. Hmmmm…
Well, that’s where these AttitudeZapz! come in. Have you ever heard a tune on the way into work or have you seen some silly commercial on TV and the tune has stuck in your head all day long no matter what you did? We all do that. It’s just stuck there and you can’t get it out.
Sooo…What if that tune that was stuck in your head was an affirmation jingle? What if it was fun and catchy and a no-brainer? You don’t have to stop and take time to write affirmation statements10 times. You don’t have to stop and take time to read them or listen to them. You don’t have to stop and take time to meditate on them by listening to a CD or subliminals or anything (although all of these things are good and will definitely work, we just WON’T DO THEM). It’s already stuck there in your head like a secret weapon.
All you need to do is listen to the jingle a few times, catch the wave and get it stuck in your head and it stays with you all day long. You walk down the hall at work and sing your Zapz! You are struggling with a problem and while you’re thinking you sing your Zapz! You are cooking dinner or changing a diaper or paying your bills – and you are singing your Zapz!. You are depressed about something and you suddenly remember that you need to be present in the Here and Now, so you JUST Flip the Switch by singing your Zapz! And here is the best part, when was the last time your “Belief Detective” made a stink about song lyrics? No arguments, the affirmations just seep into your unconscious little by little, smile by smile, Zapz! by Zapz!
My mom used to have many wonderful sayings, but one of her favorites was – “No matter how bad you think you’ve got it, you only have to look to the left of you and to the right of you to see someone who’s got it a lot worse than you do.” That is so true, especially these days with all of the doom and gloom going around. It’s hard to be grateful sometimes when you feel like the world is crashing in on you. But the truth is that gratitude about “What IS Right Now” is your only ticket out of the situation you are in. And it sure feels better to be grateful than to be angry, mad, depressed, guilty, hopeless…
If you’ve got a roof over your head, there are some who do not. If you are healthy, there are some who are not. If you have enough to eat, there are some who go to bed hungry. If you have children, even rebellious ones, there are some who would give anything to have even one child. If you still have your mother, even if she’s not perfect, there are some like me who lost theirs early in life. It is all in how you look at things.
If you believe that the Law of Attraction is at work in the world, and that what we put our attention on is what we attract, then it only makes sense to do everything we can to feel as good about “What IS” as we possibly can.
There’s an old Native American story I heard as a child that goes something like this: A wise old medicine man was teaching his pupil about the world, and he explained that every man has two coyotes living inside of him that are constantly doing battle. One is good, kind and loving, and the other one is cruel, bad and mean spirited. The student asked the old man, “Which one wins?” The old man’s answer was:
“The one you feed?”
Better to feed the grateful coyote…
A friend of mine helped me to make a video to Attitude of Gratitude. If you’ve been to my website you’ve probably already heard the song, but thought you might like to have a visual to help get those grateful juices flowing. Thanks to Darlene Siddons at www.spiritedboutique.com for helping me with the video. Hope you enjoy it.
A customer of mine, who I’ve since begun to consider a friend, is a kindergarten teacher. As she was trying to find a way to teach her young charges about gratitude, she came across my website and downloaded the “Attitude of Gratitude” song. She taught it to her students and they loved it and learned it very quickly because it is so simple. She communicated with me that she would like to have the kids perform the song for their Principal and asked if I had any objections. Of course I thought it was a terrific idea and it got us to talking back and forth about what kids learn when they are very young.
I know my mom taught me all kinds of cute little songs like “Barney Google”, and “Yes, We Have No Bananas” (guess I’m dating myself:-)). I remember each and every one of them to this day and I taught them all to my own children. They are cute and harmless and fun, but if something is going to stick with you all of your life, wouldn’t it be great to have it be something positive and uplifting?
Most of the research out there on how we establish what we believe about ourselves says that these beliefs get rooted in what we see, hear, think and experience up until we are about 7 years old. We begin to believe things about ourselves whether they are true or not from this point on. Sometimes they are positive beliefs, but more often than not, they are negative limiting beliefs like “I’m not smart” or “Nobody likes me”, or “I’m not good enough.” Maybe you are really smart, tons of people like you and you are plenty good enough, but if you believe otherwise you will always find the circumstances that will prove your beliefs correct. I work with so many people (including my own self) who have been plagued by these kinds of negative beliefs all of their lives.
So my friend and I were talking about what the world might be like if the songs that little kids got stuck in their heads had lyrics like “I believe” or “I can change everything” or “I trust that everything comes to me Perfectly?” What if the songs stuck in my head from childhood had been “I’m Happy” or “Every Day, in Every Way, I’m Getting Stronger and Stronger,” instead of “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts?” Can any of you imagine how different life might have been to have had rock solid, unshakable belief in yourself and your abilities from early childhood? I know I could have avoided a lot of pain and suffering over the years, agonizing about the “Not good enough” thing alone.
It’s something to think about anyway. My friend gave me permission to let you hear her darling kids sing “Attitude of Gratitude.” Just listen to the gusto in their voices. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Thanks so much S, A, J and M. Much love to you all. Mmmwah
I want you to stop what you’re doing right now and relax with me for just a moment. For just a moment stop worrying about all the pressure you’re under, the current economic crisis, the bills you have to pay, the family drama you have to endure…
And for just a moment, imagine your perfect life. Does it seem like a daydream? Something unattainable? A fairytale? Well if you’re bruised and battered by life you probably think so.
Many people completely give up on their hopes and dreams and settle for the life they have… created by their circumstances. But what if I told you it doesn’t have to be that way? What if you were not only given permission to dream again, but had the “tools” to actually see what you want most become a reality before your very eyes? Seem too good to be true? I wouldn’t blame you if you said “yes.”
But, it’s not. And in this article, I want to give you some PRACTICAL and PROVEN things you can do right now that will significantly impact your life for the better. Willing to give it a shot? Good.
First you need to understand what’s at work in your mind and how your imagination is CURRENTLY helping to create your present reality. You see, what you imagine on a consistent basis tends to become a reality. That’s because your subconscious, which doesn’t know the difference between what’s real and what’s vividly imagined, starts to work to make what you think about consistently a reality. Especially when you feel very strongly about something.
Ever hear the old cliché “a self-fulfilling prophecy?” That’s what’s going on with you. When you consistently imagine negative outcomes and circumstances, that’s what your subconscious works to make real for you.
But the good news is it works the other way too.
When you consistently imagine what you want most (more wealth, better relationships, weight loss, etc.), your subconscious is there to make it real.
But how do you do that? Well, here’s a tried and true 4-step strategy you can begin using right now to change your life for the better. Here we go…
1. Repetition
The key is to regularly repeat your “daydream” to yourself every day. You can write it on an index card and carry it with you. You can make up a little story or poem or song about it and repeat it to yourself (that’s what I do; I make up affirmation jingles for myself). Close your eyes and imagine what you want for a few minutes each day. And when you do, you want to…
2. Be the Star
Play your dream like a movie in your mind. Be the star. See yourself doing or accomplishing or enjoying what you want most. Enjoy it. Make it yours. You’re the director. Create the movie you want most and watch it unfold. And while you do that, make sure you…
3. Flood It with Emotion
It’s critical that you FEEL what you want most. The key to unlocking your subconscious mind’s potential to bring you good things is to repeat strongly-felt desires over and over. That’s how you’re subconscious knows what to focus on. But in addition to feeling it, you also want to…
4. Make It Vivid
The more detailed and colorful you can make your desire, the more focused your subconscious will be in making it a reality for you. Make it as specific as possible.
There you go. If you will commit to practicing this 4-step process, you’ll soon begin to see what you want most beginning to unfold before your very eyes. Start with something small, like breaking an annoying habit, and build your confidence. You’ll soon feel the exhilaration so many others have felt at finding the keys to obtaining real happiness.
Now all you have to do is DO IT – and that’s where most people fall short. You have to do it every day. It doesn’t have to be work though. As I said earlier, make up a story or song or poem or jingle that you can repeat to yourself. Make it something you enjoy. That’s what I do. I’ve made up these affirmation jingles (just like the jingles you hear on radio and TV), and I sing them to myself – feeding myself positive thoughts all day long. The best part is it requires NO work or special time. They just get stuck in my head and once they are anchored there, my subconscious does the rest.
Go ahead. Give it a try – you’ll thank me for it, I promise.
In Part 1 of this article we discussed why most affirmations end up on your desk gathering dust or in the waste basket. It stands to reason that what you put your attention on most of the time is what you will get. That’s the main theme of the Law of Attraction as made widely known in the Secret. So, this makes a lot of sense and we get excited and write a long laundry list of affirmations about what we want to see happen in our lives. I know I did. I wanted to lose weight, I wanted to get along better with my kids, I wanted to grow my business exponentially, so I wrote all that down and started to write them and repeat them every single day. For a few days, maybe even a week and then my subconscious would start feeding me every reason in the book why I should stop this foolishness right now. We also learned that the reasons for this were two fold
1. We can’t get past our belief filters in our subconscious minds long enough to make the affirmations stick – this is was covered in Part 1, and
2. We don’t really know how to handle negative situations or how to put the brakes on a negative tailspin, so when we start feeling this way, we abandon our affirmations because if they were working we wouldn’t feel this way, right!
There are lots of things that can happen in a day to set us up for one of those downward tailspins. You get up on the wrong side of the bed and it’s all downhill from there, right? That used to happen to me a lot. I used to have a saying, “I’ve earned this depression and I’m going to enjoy it for awhile.” What a crazy belief, but believe it I did. Somehow I really thought I was getting something out of being nasty and grumpy. But the Law of Attraction states that what you spend most of your time thinking about and focusing on is what you will get. You can probably guess that I was getting lots of reasons to be nastier and grumpier, that’s for sure.
But, when you look at the other side of the coin, the more you can focus on what you want to have in your life, the quicker it will come to you. If you can focus on it with emotion and feeling, well then, so much the better. So it makes sense that the more time you can spend feeling good and keeping the dark clouds at bay, then the easier it would be to bring about your desires.
So most teachers of the Law of Attraction stress that you need to control your thinking and CHANGE your negative thoughts to positive ones. Just DO IT, right? But that is not as easy as it sounds. The usual recommendations are affirmations – been there done that – some wonderful books to read or beautiful meditations (which I love to do), but it is not normally easy to drop everything and find a quiet space to meditate, or find the perfect passage in a book to help you in the moment. These are all long term strategies, but it’s rare to be in the middle of a crisis situation and be able to stop RIGHT NOW and meditate until you feel better.
In times like this, you can’t wait for the right quiet moment to come along to work on your feelings later. You need something to grab onto RIGHT NOW, in the very moment that you realize the tailspin is starting. You need to have a tool available to you that will literally turn your emotions around, just like flipping a switch on and off. That’s what you need to find.
Most people have been suffering in their negativity for so long that the idea of changing their thoughts in an instant seems literally impossible. But my suggestion is to put in some thought today, this minute when you are feeling pretty positive, about how you might flip the switch the next time you are feeling down and out. What could you say or do or sing that might turn it around on a dime. Get something stuck in your head – a little jingle or something that the minute you recognize that – “Geez, here we go again” – you can say – “NO, not this time.” Something that you can apply without giving it any thought, it just goes on autopilot. Something that your ‘Belief Detective’ won’t recognize as an affirmation. Song lyrics are great for that because you suspend your disbelief when you are singing. You don’t have to believe the words, it’s just a song.
So the moral is – be prepared. Think about it right now, while you are reading this. Don’t wait until the next time that life hands you lemons to wonder why it is happening again and again. Take the bull by the horns and be ready with your own secret weapon. You’ve been to the Pity Party enough times and there’s nothing there for you any more. Be ready!
If you have had any interest in personal development in the last few years, you probably have of the Law of Attraction which was brought to the mainstream publics attention in the movie, ‘The Secret.’ This law of the universe basically states that what you focus on and give attention to is what will show up in your life. If you want something and really Believe that you have it, you will begin to take the necessary actions to make it become a reality. There is an old saying that says “I’ll believe it when I see it”, but that couldn’t be more wrong. The truth is, once you really Believe it, then you will most definitely See it.
Our magnificent brains process and store every single bit of information that we have ever learned or experienced. When it comes to learning new things, the way our brain learns new things is by REPETITION. Think about it. How does an actress master the dialog in a play – repetition. How does an athlete become the best at what they do – repetition. Everything we’ve learned, from times tables to walking and talking has been learned by repetition. So it would seem reasonable that if you want to teach your brain to believe differently, the way to do it would be by repeating what you now want to believe about yourself and your life.
That makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? If you keep repeating something over and over to your self, your subconscious mind should start to agree with you, right? So we start to use Affirmations. Affirmations are simply statements you make about what you really WANT to believe. Almost every personal development expert on the planet has recommended affirmations and THE best tool to ‘Fake it ’til you Make it,’ and keep up the positive attitude, because the repetition of the affirmation is teaching your brain how to think.
Still logical isn’t it? If we just repeat our affirmations over and over and over, we should all be healthy, wealthy and wise, right? Sounds pretty easy doesn’t it? So….Why aren’t we all fabulously wealthy if we know this should work? Because we just DON’T DO THEM on a regular basis or for long enough. There are two reasons for this:
1. If we don’t see instant results, we have a hard time actually believing what we are telling ourselves, so we give up in disgust, and
2. We don’t know how to instantly turn things around when we are thrown into a downward spiral when something happens to upset our plans, and we have no anchor to grab onto, so we stop trying, telling ourselves that ‘this doesn’t work.’
The main reason we don’t keep doing daily affirmations, even though we know repetition is the best way to learn is that the affirmations are aimed at changing deep rooted beliefs. It’s not the same as changing your nail polish. Most of our beliefs about ourselves were deeply implanted before we were 7 years old. So if you have a deep belief that money is the root of all evil for instance, you can affirm that you are a millionaire all day long and all you will echo back is ” Who are you kidding?” it won’t take long before the average person gets bored, too busy or out and out frustrated long before the affirmations can start to work.
Now if you did keep on practicing diligently, you would eventually see a change, but since you belief filters won’t allow you to change instantly, most people give up in frustration far too soon. But it’s really not your fault, at least not your conscious mind’s fault.
You see, we really are of two minds, our conscious mind and our subconscious mind. So what it comes down to is that your subconscious mind – the one that breathes for you and keeps your heart beating – has been running the show all of these years, and it likes you just the way you are, even if it is broke, sick and miserable. It’s got being YOU down to a tee and doesn’t take kindly to being told that it’s doing it all wrong. It has you wrapped up in the shell of your ego – who you believe you are – and it will put up a royal stink if you try to change. So you say statements like “I am a millionaire” – and it comes back at you with “Yeah Right!” This belief filter, or ‘Belief Detective’, as it were, ironically really thinks it is helping and protecting you. If you can’t get past that filter, then your affirmations are doomed to fail.
So…what you need to do, right now while you are reading this, is to start to think of a way of bypassing the belief filters that stop your affirmations in their tracks. How do you do that? Why not try putting your affirmations in a song. Song lyrics are non threatening to the subconscious mind because you suspend your disbelief while you are singing, much like you might do when you see a movie (Ever seen Shrek?). Besides, once you get a song stuck in your head, you usually sing it over and over and over and not get bored with it, feeding your subconscious on autopilot,. Give it some thought right now and stay tuned for Part 2 where we’ll discuss more about how to instantly change your negative attitude.
I’ve been working so hard and long the last couple of years learning to manage my energy and trying to get the word out to the world about AttitudeZapz!, I sometimes get surprised that life can happen and we forget all about being conscious and present. I’ve been persistent about staying in the NOW, because I have a dream and my heart’s desire to help others like me, and my Jingles always bring me around no matter what.
Anyway, I’ve had to be especially vigilant lately to keep myself positive. With a full time job, a family, the holidays, the boys home from school, my doggies, my daughter’s horses and building this dream, sometimes I feel like I’m on the go 20 hours a day. So last Sunday I decided to just take a break and watch my Super Bowl Champion Giants take on the Eagles and move on to another Super Bowl. Ahem….
Silly I know, but I’ve been a fan since I was 7 years old and they did win the Super Bowl out of nowhere last year – it could happen. I’ve worked so hard on myself and changed my life so much in the last 2 years, it was almost a shock to find out that I could get so irritated about a football game, but irritated I did get. At least I did not throw anything like my dad used to do when I was growing up (and they lost a lot back then, so that was a common occurrence). No one else in my family is a Giants fan, but they all know how much I love them. My husband even bought me a jersey for Christmas which I was proudly wearing (along with the socks my son gave me).
By the beginning of the 4th quarter, when they Giants lost possession after that 4th down debacle, I had had it. They all kind of looked at me in shock, because I don’t think I had been that upset in a long time – weird, huh? All of my great advice that I keep giving myself and others went right out the proverbial window. I was “stupid Giants this and stupid Giants that” when my son (trying to be helpful) says – “Sounds like you are Having a Bad Day, mom, so Get Over It.”
He was quoting my very own lyrics from “Having A Bad Day”. Not so long ago my first reaction would have been to go for the juggler vein with a comment like that, but yesterday, it really opened up my eyes in a way that had not been opened before. It is beyond amazing how we can let even the silliest of circumstances control how we feel and act and react– without a single conscious thought about what kind of vibration we send out. Really something to ponder and think about.
Forget about the big things, what little things do You let control how You feel? I’d like to hear.
Finally, I’m alone. With all of the boys home from college for the holidays, it has been impossible to find even a few minutes to be alone to try and meditate. It’s been “Mom, where’s the Wii remote and Mom can you make me a snack” now for several weeks. I’ve really been feeling the need, but just couldn’t get away. But today, everyone is gone, even hubby. So I go into my office, shut the door, settle down in my comfy chair and put on my headphones…Ahhhhhh
This bliss lasts approximately 3 minutes before I hear the dogs, Snickers and Sam whimpering and scratching at the door. I try to ignore them for an additional 2 or 3 minutes and finally decide to get up and open the door and let them into the room.
Back to bliss…..for about another 3 minutes before I feel a cold nose rubbing up against my hand and a tentative lick for good measure. Ok, I can ignore that and back to bliss – not so much. Snickers (my jumbo mini dachshund) thinks I might be dead, so she decides to jump up in my lap and give me a good tongue lashing just to make sure I’m still alive.
Now that they are sure I’m still breathing, they decide to leave me alone, but within another minute or two, someone happens to walk by out on the sidewalk 200 feet away and “we must bark, bark, bark, bark, bark, to let them know we are in charge here.”
By this time I’ve about given up, but know that I only have a limited window of opportunity to get this darned meditation done. Focus, Debbie Focus…. like I am Genghis Khan and I’m going to conquer this meditation or else.
The next thing I know, I hear one of the boys yelling from downstairs, “Mom, what’s for dinner?”
I can’t believe it, I went and slept away my entire meditation time. Oh well, I guess I must have needed the sleep more. Time to stop feeling sorry for myself, so it’s best to “Get Over It.” That’s why I have my jingles.
Having A Bad Day
Here’s a thought – Maybe I should write a meditation jingle. Hmmm….
Excited, nervous, petrified. Those were the emotions I was going through as I walked into the WUSA TV 9 studio on Monday morning, December 22, 2008. I was scheduled to be interviewed on live TV for the very first time and I was doing my best to hold it together, but feeling very much like Alice in Wonderland. I was escorted back to meet the Producer, the lovely Janet Terry, and as I reached out to shake her hand, she exclaimed “Uh Oh! You are supposed to be here tomorrow.”
I was so embarrassed. How could I have made such a mistake? I felt like a balloon deflating and my first reaction – what I would have done back in the old days – was to turn tail and run. I wanted to go hide and lick my wounds, but deep down I said NO! and I started silently singing “I trust that everything comes to me Perfectly.”
So I smiled and said, OK, I’ll come back tomorrow. They invited me to hang around and watch the show anyway and it was an amazing and really beneficial experience. I got to meet Howard Bernstein, who would be interviewing me, and chat a bit with him behind the scenes. He made me feel very comfortable and I was able to actually BE Alice in Wonderland in the TV studio without having to worry about my interview.
It turned out to be a very valuable experience and I felt a renewed sense of excitement with a little less nervousness as I was escorted into the studio on Tuesday morning. As I reached out to shake Janet’s hand a second time, I jokingly asked her if I really was scheduled for today. She replied “Well, yes and no.” Turns out there was a gigantic water main break in Washington DC that morning, and people were having to be air lifted from their cars by helicopter. It was a totally different atmosphere in the studio as people were being rescued and thank God no one was seriously injured.
They invited me to stick around just in case, so I got to be a behind the scenes witness to a breaking national news story. I got to meet Andrea Roane and Angie Goff as well. Not at all what I had expected, but it was all very exciting and even though I did not go on, I really felt that it was all happening the way it was supposed to.
So, Wednesday morning I arrived back in the studio, and by now they knew me by name. Howard Bernstein yelled, “Debbie, you came back – today’s the day!” I was still a bit nervous as the time came for the interview, but much less so than I would have been on Monday. It went off without a hitch, and Howard even made me sing “Attitude of Gratitude” acapella and it was in tune!!! I would definitely not have been able to do that on Monday.
It was a wonderful, fantastic experience and I want to thank everyone at WUSA TV 9, especially Howard Bernstein, for making me feel so comfortable giving me such a exciting, fun memory. Hope I can do it again sometime.
The moral of the story is that we don’t always get what we want when we want it, sometimes we get something even better Here is a gift for you so you remember that everything comes “Perfectly”
I’ve always felt that there was something that I should be doing.Something that would make an impact, help people, change lives.But I could never figure it out.I tried and tried to find out what it was.I tried several businesses that were supposed to help myself and others get free, but I was a dismal failure at each and every one and I never felt I was really helping anyone or doing anything that would make a difference.With each business failure, I sank deeper and deeper in depression, believing that maybe this was all there was for me.Nothing special – special was only for special people – not me.
Then about 2 years ago in desperation, I finally decided that maybe I didn’t know everything, and maybe there was something to all this Personal Development stuff I kept hearing about.I started to pay attention and to read and listen and attend some calls and some seminars.I started to look at myself from the inside out.I started to practice visualization and believing in myself and what I learned about the universe and life and myself and why I am the way I am was nothing short of amazing.However head knowledge is quite a different thing than knowing it in your heart and your gut.
The stuff I learned made sense, but most of the practices and techniques I learned were either difficult or boring or repetitious or too time consuming or you had to set aside special quiet time (where my family of 6 and 2 dogs left me alone – Ha, Ha, Ha), or they were just not convincing.I consciously knew that I needed to change the way I thought, the way I focused on my goals or nothing was ever going to change, but the work was a lot harder than I thought it would be.I kept asking “HOW, HOW, HOW do I change?”
I remember thinking early on that there must be a better way that isn’t so hard.Wouldn’t it be great to find a way to help make these deep changes without having to be so darned disciplined all the time?I’d tried any number of techniques and practices and spent a good deal of money in the process and I still wasn’t any closer to making the changes I wanted to make.I got really, really, really depressed.I mean lying on the floor, boo- hooing, sobbing “What is wrong with me?” kind of depressed.This went on for awhile until one day I just took a stand against my depression and said “NO damn it.I’m not going to let this win.Right here, right now, in this very moment, I CHOOSE to be happy – Do you hear me?I CHOOSE to be happy, right here, right now!”
And from that, a little tune popped into my head
Right here and now
I am happy
Don’t cha know?
I’ve been set free
I started singing it over and over again and again and again.Day after day.It wasn’t work.It had gotten stuck in my head and I just kept singing it. And I suddenly realized that I wasn’t so depressed any more.I felt better than I had in a long time so I kept on singing.Shortly after that, it dawned on me that maybe this was it.Maybe this was the better way for me to change.It was fun and easy.I started to make up all kinds of little jingles for myself for different things I was feeling.I shared them with my daughter and one day she said “Mom, what if these could make other people feel better the way they’ve made you feel better?”And then I suddenly realized that maybe this was not only the better way for me to make the changes I needed to make – maybe this was the something I’d always felt I should be doing.Maybe other people would be able to benefit and use these little jingles to help them change as well.
That’s what started it all.Was it all a piece of cake to bring this idea, this dream to fruition from that moment on?Not hardly.It’s been a labor of love and that always means putting yourself out there and subject to criticism and there are always people ready to do just that.It’s been a lot of ups and downs and work and frustration and you name it.All the stuff it takes to build your dream.But through it all, I’ve just kept singing and singing and singing and now I offer this to you with the truest of hope that you too will use these to change the way you think and act and follow your dreams.
Here is a gift for you so you remember that everything comes “Perfectly”
