Wow! Just 3 short days ago I started my Level 5 Mentoring with Brian Ridgway and I’m already experiencing more happiness and abundance everywhere I turn.

I’ve studied a number of self-development gurus over the years including Tony Robbins, Jim Rohn, Bob Proctor, Napoleon Hill, Jack Canfield, and many more but none have ever taken it to the level that Brian R. Ridgway does.

Brian literally takes his students (or “Lighthouses” as he calls us) to the next level. It’s a complete paradigm shift that he calls Level 5. Brian himself spent 15 years and over $150,000 on personal development and then ended up homeless!

>>> Click Here to Play Video <<<

If you’re feeling “stuck” in any area of your life Brian’s Level 5 Transformational Mentoring can get you un-stuck and into an abundant state of being. As in, more love, more money, more happieness, more freedom, and more of anything you want!

Now if that sounds kinda “airy-fairy” to you, believe me, I understand! I’m not really into the woowoo, far out stuff, but I am open-minded. So I suspended my disbelief, and gave it a go. After all, if you keep doing the same thing over, and over again, you can’t expect a different result can you?

Anyway, truth is, the Level 5 Transformational Mentoring I’m getting from Brian R. Ridgway is really amazing, and I had to share it. To take a closer look and decide for yourself, watch the video
above and listen to Brian’s story about how he went from homeless to Hawai’i in less than 90 days. His story is incredible. (Seriously.) And he shares exactly how he did it.

Namasté,
Glen Hopkins

Do not let stress and anxiety get you down. You can enjoy a more relaxed life by designing yourself a reliable course of treatment for panic attack. There are particular types of herbs that have calming properties. You can explore the use and effectiveness of these herbs in conjunction with some relaxation techniques to maintain a calm emotional and mental state and prevent panic attacks from even happening. Let these tips guide you on how you can effectively chase panic away:

1.       To develop a sense of calmness, meditate regularly. Meditation brings about a sense of inner peace, which is why it is considered as an ideal treatment to panic attack. The sense of inner peace brought about by meditation is felt long after the session is over. In order to meditate effectively, clear your mind with all thoughts and concentrate on a particular object or word. For best outcomes, you can meditate inside a quiet room. If your mind begins to wander, do not get discouraged. Jus release those distracting thoughts and return your attention to that particular word or object that you are concentrating on.

2.       To chase panic away for a long term, regularly take vitamins. Vitamin C and Vitamin B complex are known to have properties that can boost the effects of a good treatment against panic attacks. Vitamin C safeguards the immune system which is an essential function in fighting against anxiety since stress can weaken the body’s natural defenses against diseases. On the other hand, Vitamin B complex encourages the healthy functioning of the nervous system.

3.       To fight against nervousness and anxiety, make use of St. John’s Wort. This wonder herb supports neurotransmitters in the brain to maintain a healthy balance. In effect, St. John’s Wort is very effective in establishing a stable mood.

4.       In conjunction with your treatment to chase panic away, include the use of winter cherry. This particular herb safeguards the body from the ill effects of physical and emotional stress. As an outcome, winter cherry is effective in eliminating any negative feelings such as tension, depression and emotional burnout.

5.       To ease nervousness and tension, make use of valerian root. This amazing herb is a good cure for panic attacks since it acts as a sedative and calms the nervous system. It makes good night sleep possible as it effectively relaxes the body. Valerian root also have the ability to lessen nervous excitability and mental over-activity as it calms a racing mind which panic attacks are characterized by.

There are natural routes that you can take in the desire to chase panic away for a long term effectively. In sum, natural methods of fighting off panic attacks can aid in supporting the nervous and immune systems, making the state of mind and body stronger in the face of stress. Whatever route you choose, these natural approaches could be used alone or in combination with other prescription drugs. However, it is still strongly recommended that you consult a medical doctor first so you would have a better understanding on how to chase panic away effectively.

What is ‘fear’ exactly? Fear is a strong negative emotion that is etched into our psychological and mental fabric from the moment we were born and interacting with other things in this world. A bad experience such as shock, pain during young age may leave a deep-seated fear inside our psychology makeup.  Sometimes fear plays its role as a life-saver as it prevents us from taking untenable danger or risk. However, in many cases, it arouses illogical and irrational negative feeling that deters us from pursuing a challenge. As a result, many men live the life of a loser simply because they are terrified to take up challenges that may lead them to enjoy wonderful life experiences.

From among the many human emotions such as anger, hatred, despair, jealousy, aminosity, selfishness and so on, fear is by far the strongest and worst negative emotion that severely impacts a person life. It deters a person from fulfilling the true purpose of life i.e. to learn and evolve to become a better, more enlightened human being.

There are various types of fear: fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of darkness, fear of loss, fear of pain, fear of death, fear of height, fear of being alone, fear of being in the limelight, fear of public speaking, fear of unknown, fear of taking up new challenges, and many more.

Fear attaches itself strongly onto our emotional and psychological fabric. The more energy we give it, the more destructive it becomes. In the movie Star Wars, Jedi Anakin Skywalker failed to conquer his ‘Fear’ and finally was lured into The Dark Side to become the villainous Darth Vader.

To conquer fear, we need to clearly understand ‘what’ exactly we are afraid of. There are steps we can adopt to free ourselves from a particular fear.

Establish a Fear and Its Outcomes
What exactly am I afraid of and why? What is the worst scenario that can happen if thing that I fear most indeed occurs? Write them down in detail. The more details you can write it down, the better you can analyze it and see that the fear and its consequences are very often completely irrational and non-sensible.

Analyze Fear
Go over point by point. Make a rational analysis of the probable occurrence of events that you fear. What are the steps you can and will be taking to overcome the consequences of that occurrence? What resources you have or can be reasonably obtained to counter the occurrence? And if all things and efforts fail, what loss will you be encountering? Is the loss bearable? Get your relatives or close friends to go over the analysis together if you have problem doing an objective evaluation yourself. Listen to their opinions.

Reversing Your Relationship with Fear
After you have carried out an objective and rational analysis of a particular fear, taken actions and eventually triumphed over it, repeat the process each time you come across a fear in your life. When this practice develops into a habit, you soon become aware that a fear for certain thing eventually becomes a good tool to your success. You become an expert to use fear to clearly analyze a situation, develop solid plan of actions, allocate resources and efforts to overcome a challenge you faced. In fact, you become master of your destiny, not fear. In this way, initial fear for certain thing turns out to be a good tool for success.

We have the choice to act or to react. When we reverse fear from the dominant position of a ‘Master’ to a submissive ‘Slave’, our life changes for the better. Soon we affirm the saying, ‘There is nothing to fear but fear itself’.

Life becomes meaningful and fruitful. We live life to the fullest. That is fantastic, isn’t it?

Depression is not something that can be seen under a microscope, but it is very real. Most people aren’t aware of the symptoms and have learned to function in society with it. There are different levels of depression and it’s very important that you know which affects you. Depression can affect you socially, mentally, physically and psychologically. If not identified with and handled, it can ultimately be an overwhelming weight on life.

Everyone deals with depression differently but there are 3 effective ways to help you get through it.

1. One of the first ways to deal with this is to identify the symptoms of depression. Depression is not always easily identifiable because a lot of people learn to hide their feelings. Isolation is a symptom of depression. Naturally, there may be times when you want to be alone and is OK. But when you get to a point where you cut people off from communications, this is an indication that you could be suffering from depression. Changes in diet and appetite are also symptoms of depression. Other indications are are changes in attitude, low self-esteem and a feeling of unworthiness.

Everyone has bad days and a lot of people simply believe that when they don’t feel good or when they feel down about something, the issue is minor and will eventually work itself out. This is true in some cases, but not all. It’s possible to function in society in a depressed state but this is unhealthy. The problem is, others can identify that something is not right with you and they would rather you not be around. Not because they don’t like you as a person, but because your depression brings a sadness to the environment and can be felt by others. One day at a time, slowly engage yourself around positive influences to help boost your self-esteem. This will take time and effort on your part, but this can be achieved.

2. Next, admitting that you are depressed will put you on your way to a cure. No one wants to admit depression because it is often seen as weak. Most of us feel like we have the mental capability to successfully deal with our own problems. The twist to this idea is, admittance is a sign of courage and strength. You will realize that once you admit to someone that you have a problem, they will most likely be there to encourage you and help guide you. They will respect the fact that you came forward asked for help. Outsiders often can tell when someone is depressed. It is the depressed person that is the last to know.

3. After identifying symptoms and admitting you have a problem, asking for help is the execution for a cure. You will find that you are not the only person in this state of mind and that there are people that do care. If you make the first step, there will be someone, somewhere that will take the next. People enjoy helping others, but their support is not effective if you don’t ask.

If you suffer from depression and have alienated yourself from society, get the help that you need and begin to slowly engaging yourself with others. It may not be easy to join back in with everyone all at once. This will take time. The best thing to do is to take things one day at a time, identify yourself with individuals that have compassion and that can understand what you may be going through. They may not be able to solve your problem but having a support system close to you will help you to believe that you will get through. Communication and support is key.

Before even thinking of a natural solution for anxiety, you have to first understand what anxiety really is. Anxiety is a condition or apprehension for something that hasn’t happened yet. Anxiety or uneasiness for future uncertainties does not only present with psychological, but with physical manifestations as well. Some of these physical effects are headaches, stomachaches, fatigue, nausea, heart palpitations and a lot of others.

Improving one’s emotion, thoughts and attitude towards his fears is one thing that can relieve anxiety. But how can a person improve his thoughts and attitudes? This is where a good night’s sleep comes into play.

There are really a lot of benefits in having a complete restful sleep. Sleep can help repair one’s body, soothe intense emotion, and calm the organ systems after a day’s hard work. The feeling of being refreshed when you wake up in the morning is because of having your body properly rested and repaired.

 Other advantages of getting a good night’s sleep are:

-       Better concentration and focus

-       Significant decrease in anxiety, stress and depression

-       Better memory

-       Helps in weight loss by decrease cravings and appetite

-       Helps to lower one’s frustrations

-       Improve one’s immune system

There are lots more positive effects of sleeping well. Unfortunately, millions of people around the world are experiencing some sort of sleep disorders like insomnia. Having a difficult time falling asleep or having intermittent (not continuous) sleeping patterns could reverse all the positive effects of a proper sleep. This would be devastating to anyone suffering from sleep disorders.

Fortunately, there is a way to combat sleep disorders. With the use of a certain natural sleep aid, you may be able to resume a normal, healthy sleeping pattern.

Have you ever heard of the griffonia plant? This is a shrub that grows in Central and West Africa and is used by the locals to treat insomnia and other ailments. The 5-HTP or 5-Hydroxytryptophan) is the active component extracted from the griffonia plant. This 5-HTP is the reason this shrub is very effective in helping people to sleep well because helps with the release of the hormone serotonin in the body.

Headaches, inability to sleep, depression, mood problems and other symptoms have been associated with low serotonin levels. So with 5-HTP, serotonin is released and one can be relieved of these symptoms.

Also serotonin helps with the secretion of another hormone called melatonin.Melatonin is a hormone that is usually released when the lights are lowered, meaning it is usually just released at night. It regulates the sleep-wake cycles of humans Studies have shown that the decrease in melatonin causes insomnia and sleep disturbances.

With the use of a natural sleep aid containing 5-HTP, one’s problems about sleeping will finally be over. But make sure to choose wisely when opting for a natural sleeping pill.

With 5-HTP as the main ingredient, other products go even further by adding other components that helps one get a better and longer sleep. These ingredients are:

• Niacin, which helps one relax;
• Vitamin B6 which also helps in the production of serotonin and melatonin;
• Magnesium which is helpful in inducing sleep;
• Melatonin which controls our sleep-wake pattern; valerian root which promotes calm and             reduce anxiety and stress by relaxing our CNS(central nervous system);
• Folic acid which regulates sleep, mood and appetite;
• Lemon balm that helps reduce stress and anxiety.

When choosing a product to use, it’s still best to go natural, and it’s also best to know that you’re getting your money’s worth. Find one that has the not only 5-HTP, but also the other components mentioned above. This would help ensure that you get the finest product to give you the proper rest and sleep that your body requires. 

You can naturally overcome panic attacks by eliminating the one key element that is responsible for triggering anxiety and this article will help you confront this element so that you can begin to get reasonable relief from anxiety, phobias and depression.

Panic Anxiety Attacks often come out of the blue, unexpectedly. And the symptoms can be so frightening that they can often leave you paralyzed with fear. Your fear then begins to control you and your life and you try and avoid events, places, people and situations whenever you feel anxiety coming on. And it is this worry of another panic attack that heightens your already high levels of anxiety. And situations where you were more than capable of dealing with – prior to the attack – now can almost set off another anxiety attack.

It is this fear that you need to face and deal with in order to overcome panic attacks and anxiety. Unless you begin to eliminate this fear the vicious cycle of panic and anxiety will never stop. While some degree of fear is natural – I am referring to the kind of fear that can actually stop you from doing every day normal events such as driving or being in a public place. The fear that can set your heartbeat so fast you feel like you are dying.

You might have considered conventional medicine in your search for a way to overcome panic attacks and anxiety. The drugs used for panic and anxiety disorders are mainly in the form of anti-depressants and their purpose is to manage your frame of mind by controlling chemical reactions in your brain. They cannot control the “fear” in you and the fear of having another attack.

They are normally prescribed short term and some people will get the benefit of these drugs but they are not something that you can or want to depend on for the rest of your life — there are many dangerous side effects associated with them including addiction – they really are meant to work as a short term solution – while you deal with the element of fear, because you’ll be back at the start when you ultimately come off the drugs. (Note of warning: If you are currently on prescription medication for anxiety – do not come off it without first consulting your doctor – mainly because of the possible addiction issues and other possible health risks).

The real reason why some people can overcome panic attacks and anxiety naturally whereas others have to rely on antidepressants or other anxiety drugs to help them, is because these folks have successfully found a way to get rid of their fear of having another anxiety attack. They have faced their fear head on and cured themselves in the process. Once they had that “fear” under control they moved on to work on treating their general anxiety without any barriers.

I want you to imagine this..

Go and see if you can have an anxiety attack right this minute…. I know this may sound silly but see if you can make it happen. I bet you can’t, and the reason why is because you are dealing with your fear face-to-face by trying to trigger an attack. And in the process of it you are eliminating that fear.

When you’ve reached this position you have ultimately overcome your fear of another panic attack and have broken down this seemingly endless cycle of anxiety that dominated your everyday life and are now ready to get to work on eliminating your general anxiety for good. And you did it by yourself without any mind-numbing anti-depressants.

Visit: http://www.overcomepanicattackstips.com/

An individual, according to medical research, will encounter a panic attack at least once in his or her existence. Nevertheless, if an individual encounters panic attacks frequently in his or her everyday life, then it may lead into having a full-blown panic disorder. Possessing a panic disorder is in by itself already challenging to have.

However, it can get worse since it may lead to other problems such as social avoidance behavior and having various phobias. Fortunately, there are different types of panic attack treatments and remedies.

Individuals panic because of different factors. Encountering an accident, too much stress from work, encountering heartbreak, and too much stress from school are a few of the most typical scenarios that trigger a panic attack.

Some of the most normal signs of panic attack are:

. Very fast heartbeat
. Encountering a feeling of weakness or faintness
. Having a dizziness spell
. Encountering prickling or numbness in the fingers or hands
. Sensing severe fear or horror
. Sweating profusely
. Suffering from chills
. Having chest pains
. Having difficulty to breathe
. Sensing a lack of control

How can having panic attacks be cured? There are three principal types of panic attack treatment. A person experiencing regular panic attacks can be treated by asking aid from experienced therapist, by having prescriptive medicine, and by going through natural panic attack treatments. The level and the power of panic attacks differ from one individual to another. Therefore, a powerful panic attack treatment for someone may show to be futile to another.

Consequently, it is essential to be able to recognize the kind of panic attack that one experiences in order to effectively cure it.
Therapists can help individuals who are afflicted by a panic disorder by assisting them to understand and determine the situations that trigger them to have a panic attack. There are two kinds of therapy that experienced therapist get people to who have a panic disorder undertake. The first is cognitive behavioral therapy. This treatment checks a patient’s thinking and behavioral patterns. Doing this treatment will help patients to re-focus their life, acknowledge the fears they have, and deal with them realistically. In contrast, exposure treatment helps a patient overcome his or her fear from an item, thought, or situation by subjecting him or her to that feared object or by letting him or her relieve the traumatic encounter in a controlled therapeutic environment.

The second type of panic attack treatment is via taking prescriptive medication. Prescriptive medicine can be extremely useful, but this kind of treatment needs to only be done when a physician has truly prescribed it to a patient. Prescriptive medicines have side effects. They can be highly addictive, and they can cause serious withdrawal syndromes, thus, they are not highly recommended. Anti-depressants and benzodiazepines are examples of prescriptive medication that can assist cure a patient suffering from a panic disorder.

It is also possible for a person to deal with his or her panic attacks naturally by going through natural panic attack treatments. There are plenty of natural panic attack treatments. An easy way is to improve your diet plan. Eat balanced diet, drink enough water, and stay away from stimulants such as caffeine, nicotine, and alcohol. Another simple way is to start exercising regularly. Exercising reduces stress. Extreme stress leads to panic attacks, thus, if you can avoid getting stressed a lot of, then you can avoid having panic attacks as well. Learn how to relax by calmly breathing in and out. De-stress your body through meditation methods like yoga. You can also try acupuncture, acupressure, and the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). Herbal remedies are also useful. Drinking herbal teas and other herb-based concoctions are said to be useful to ease a person’s anxiety too. Most importantly, you should discover how to control one’s mind and feelings.

Learning how to think positively is a main key towards avoiding or curing a panic disorder.
Various panic attack remedies are available, thus, there is no need to panic about acquiring panic attacks. With the kind of technology that we have, it is extremely probable that there will be a lot more panic attack treatments later on. Nevertheless, regardless of how many effective treatments are obtainable, any disease cannot be treated if the patient is not happy to help remedy themselves.

Thus, the best remedy for panic attacks commences with the person’s enthusiasm to stop them. Remember that life is too short to stay unhappy and pressured.

It’s a dream of everybody to become a successful person. Isn’t it? Then why most people remain losers and unsuccessful throughout their lives? A very simple answer! They do not possess the required qualities of a successful person. You cannot win unless you develop a winning aptitude within you. In order to become a successful person you need to know the characteristics of a successful person which I am giving below, in brief:

1. Education and Skills

A successful person is a well educated person who keeps on learning new skills and improving his/her knowledge. Education plays a big part in a person’s life and is the root of success. Therefore, give top priority to education as there is no substitute of it.

2. Job or Business

A successful person has a good job or a good business. Take keen interest in your job or business and put all you energies to work in order to excel in your chosen field. If you think that there are no chances of further promotions in your present job then keep on looking for better job offers. If your business is not running well then search for some other business where there are better opportunities of making money. Don’t be afraid of change if it is better for your future life.

3. Time is Everything

A successful person is mindful of his time. Time is the most precious gift given by God to each and every individual in equal quantity. If you are in the habit of making good use of your time then you are a successful person. If you waste your time in useless, unproductive and unhealthy activities then time will punish you and you will never be able to become a successful person.

4. Good Health

A successful person takes good care of his/her health. In order to achieve success in life you need a healthy body with a healthy mind. An unhealthy person cannot be a successful person. Improve your health by eating nutrient-rich healthy foods and start living a healthy lifestyle.

5. Dream Big

A successful person always dreams big. Dreaming big means that you have great ambitious plans to reach and that you are motivated enough to bring a positive change into your life. Draw a big picture of your dreams and start coloring your dream into reality. Start your day by looking into the mirror and say: “I am a big person with big dreams. I am ready to accept big challenges to achieve big success in life. I am no doubt a successful person”.

6. Cheerful Personality

A successful person possesses a cheerful personality. Wear smile on your face and proper dress on your body to attract success. Everyone likes a cheerful person.

7. Family Life

A successful person has a loving family life. If you are not in loving relationship with your spouse and children then all your efforts to become a successful person are useless. Give time to your family. Success of a person starts from home.

8. Help Others

A successful person helps others to succeed in life. Be friendly with others and try to take them with you to the success ladder. If you want to swim by drowning others then keep in mind that it’s not the character of a successful person. A selfish person brings misery to his own life and damages his relationships with other people.

You cannot taste the fruit of success unless you change yourself positively. The only way to become a successful person is by adopting the habits and characteristics of a successful person. There is no other short cut to success.

Sometimes, we just don’t know how to stop worrying about everything. We can’t stop thinking about the worst-case scenarios, the what-ifs, the negative thoughts, the never-ending responsibilities at home and at work.

All these keep us up at night and threaten to push us over the edge during the day. Why do we allow this? If we’re not careful, stress and worrying can take over our lives, making us unproductive, unmotivated and immobilized by fear.

Regain control of your nervous mind by learning how to stop worrying about everything. Here’s how:

Tip # 1: Accept Uncertainty.

You can’t control everything. There will always be things or situations that won’t go your way. Thinking about things that could go wrong can damage your health and make you miserable. Not only that, they can even attract negative energy and become self-fulfilling prophecies.

So just don’t think about them anymore. Everything will take care of itself at the right time. Don’t miss out on all the good things you have at the present moment.

If you want to learn how to stop worrying about everything, you must come to terms with the fact that you can’t always have certainty in your life; but realize that you have the power within you to resolve any challenges you may encounter.

Tip # 2: Delay Your Worries.

Banishing worries entirely is not an easy thing, especially for chronic worriers. Rather than suppressing your worries (which will eventually resurface anyway), learn to postpone them.

This helps because it keeps you from dwelling on them in the present time. Becoming better at postponing your worries also helps you experience a greater sense of control over yourself and the situation.

Tip # 3: Challenge Your Negative Thoughts.

As a worrier, you often jump to conclusions – you assume that the situation will end up badly. Don’t make the world out to be more dangerous than it really is.

If you want to learn how to stop worrying about everything, you have to start identifying what it is that makes you doubtful. Instead of viewing them as obstacles that you’re sure you can’t possibly defeat, see them as challenges you can overcome.

The thing with worriers is that they are always inclined to see the world as half-empty. Learning how to identify, examine and challenge your negative thoughts will help you gain a more balanced perspective about your situation and why you should not worry about it.

Tip # 4: Relax.

This is probably the best tip on how to stop worrying about everything. Just relax. Taking deep breaths and meditating will help your body and your mind to calm down.

Remember that you can keep all these negativity at bay as long as you take care of yourself and keep your thoughts and emotions in control.

How do you measure success? Is it by financial security, career growth, community involvement, quality of relationships, spiritual centeredness or the legacy you leave? Whichever measure you choose, your attitude is the single most important factor in achieving success.

The topic of attitude can be conceptual and confusing. In fact, as we go through life we often hear phrases like: “keep your chin up,” “look on the bright side” or “you need a winning attitude.” Unfortunately, we seldom know how to convert these soft sayings into hard results.

This book translates the incomprehensible into the actionable. It is intended to provide you with inspiration and application so you can orchestrate your attitude….. and your success.

The great news is that even in the worst situations – a victim of a natural disaster, prisoner of war, target of abuse or when hit by a string of unfortunate circumstances – your attitude is something you can always control!

When we control our attitude we influence how our body responds and performs. Where our thoughts and attitudes go, our bodies follow. For example, blushing is a physical reaction to a mere thought. If we have this kind of reaction to a thought, is it such a leap of faith to believe that we can orchestrate our attitudes to affect our bodies in beneficial ways?

In fact, a positive attitude can buffer us against some adverse health effects and depression. Researchers who studied 839 patients over a 30-year period found a link between optimism and lower risk of early death. Specifically, optimism early in life predicts good health later in life.

Additionally, a landmark study shed light on the ultimate benefit of a positive attitude. In this particular study, participants who were more positive lived an average of 10 years longer than the other participants. Considering that smoking has been shown to reduce life expectancy by 5.5 years for men and 7 years for women, your attitude might be a health risk factor worth paying real attention to.

The choice of attitude is yours. Tomorrow you will become what you choose today.

Attitude: Concept or Concrete?

Have you ever thought about what makes you say things like: “that guy has a great attitude,” or “boy, her attitude is really killing the team?” How do you know if someone’s attitude is great or crummy? When most of us hear the word “attitude” we think of a fuzzy concept that somehow makes us happy, sad, content or frustrated.

It is difficult to measure and manage a concept. However, it’s easier to manage and measure behavior. That’s why I will use a broad definition of attitude: a relatively stable and enduring way to behave. This definition and the following explanation are designed to help you get your mind around the concept of attitude. If we can translate a concept like attitude into concrete behaviors, then we can more easily manage and measure – orchestrate – our attitudes.

How Do Attitudes Develop?

Our attitudes develop from repeatedly thinking, speaking and acting the same way, over and over, until it becomes a stable and enduring way we behave – a habit. Although we can hear and see our attitudes in the words and actions we choose, attitudes start developing with our thoughts.

Our minds are our ultimate personal computers! What we program into them determines how they will function. The most powerful computer ever made, programmed with the wrong software or with bad data, will never function to its capacity. For instance, just as we have viruses (bad data) in today’s cyber world that cause computer malfunctions, our mental computers are also susceptible to the data we put into them. If we choose to load them with bad data, it will limit how effective or successful we will be.

Our attitude is our personal boomerang to the world – whatever we throw out will come back to us. Express enthusiasm and it comes back. Offer a smile and it is returned. Start to gossip and that’s what we will hear. Get frustrated about a team member and that’s what we will see. Help a colleague and we will find a helping hand. This boomerang effect holds true for our thoughts about money, relationships, self-worth, a performance goal, team building, a problem colleague or customer, a new project or career.

So, once we develop a habit of choosing a positive or negative attitude, that is exactly what we will send to and receive from the world.

Choice: Reaction or Response?

The power of choice is one of the greatest gifts we are given. In fact, it is so important that the privilege of choice is removed from prison inmates as a form of punishment. Although we make many choices every hour of the day, we rarely make neutral choices. Each choice has a positive or negative consequence for us at some level.

Our attitude toward life is the most important choice we make! Let’s look at why such a simple choice – embracing a positive or negative attitude – is more challenging than it appears for many people. The bottom line is that we often forget that we have the power to choose. We relinquish it subconsciously, because we make thousands of decisions daily – about 95% of them are subconscious.

Just think of the last time you were in deep thought about your plans for the evening while driving home from work. As you pull into your driveway you wonder to yourself, “How did I get home?” The car seemed to practically drive itself home. Driving is a relatively complex task, requiring many choices along the way – turn right, turn left, slow down, stop and change lanes. Still, driving home can be successfully performed almost subconsciously. So, consider the multitude of much smaller choices we make each day that we don’t really think about: waking up, brushing our teeth, saying “good morning” to a colleague, eating our lunch, performing a repetitive job duty and so on. Subconscious actions are useful most of the time, but we must also consciously choose our attitude in order to control our results.

Our ability to choose is a gift, but it is also a huge responsibility. No matter what today’s ‘it’s not my fault’ culture encourages, we are all ultimately responsible for our own choices. In fact, I like to write the word “responsibility” as response – ability. As humans, we have the unique ability to respond. It is a choice we make, although many times an instantaneous or subconscious choice.

Here’s a scenario repeated daily. Family dinners are important at the Smith house. Jim and Jane Smith and their two children (Jonnie, age 3 and Janie, age 4) have just seated themselves at the table. Before the first bite of dinner is enjoyed, Jonnie spills his milk and it goes everywhere.

A reaction to this event: “Not again, Jonnie! Every time we eat, this happens. Think, son, think! Do you want to eat in your room from now on?”

A response to this event: “Uh Oh, Jonnie. Let’s get a sponge and clean this up so you can eat your dinner.”

When you react, you make a purely emotional and subconscious decision. Often, because of how your experiences and prior choices have programmed your subconscious mind, your reactions do not help you achieve the best results.

On the other hand, when you respond to a situation, you make a constructive and conscious decision. That’s why there are Emergency Response Teams not Emergency Reaction Teams:

- When you simply react, your emotional instinct is in control, with little thought of the long-range consequences.

- When you respond, your brain is fully engaged and your self-awareness is high. You have the long-term consequences in mind.

We all experience plenty of negative situations and people. The key is to be prepared to consciously respond to these negative inputs. Choosing to respond instead of react helps us to positively orchestrate our attitudes….and our lives.

A Script for Orchestrating Attitude

There are three aspects of the script that work in concert: thoughts, words and actions. By orchestrating each aspect with conscious responses, we positively influence our beliefs, commitments and results.

Orchestrate your THOUGHTS to nfluence BELIEFS…..

Orchestrate your WORDS to influence your COMMITMENTS

Orchestrate your ACTIONS to influence your RESULTS

The script plays out like this:

- Thoughts, the way we choose to interpret our world, directly influence our beliefs.

- Beliefs directly influence the words we choose to peak to others, and more importantly, to ourselves.

- Words reflect our commitments to ourselves and others.

- Commitments influence our choice of actions.

- Finally, our actions directly influence the results we achieve.

This script is self-reinforcing, for better or for worse. The results we achieve reinforce our thoughts and the same script is played out again. So, it all starts with our thoughts. Our thoughts today influence our results tomorrow.

The left side of the script is the side of choice. Each of us chooses our thoughts, words and actions either consciously or subconsciously. Therefore, we influence the right side of the script – the side of responsibility. We must take responsibility for our beliefs, commitments and results. We are each responsible for the choices we make and the results we ultimately achieve. The ultimate choice is ours – victim or victor?

To illustrate how this script plays out, let’s say I am given a new project to lead. I am confident that the prospects for this project are positive. Therefore, I start thinking about how to ensure its success and how I can measure the benefits of the project deliverables. I also think about my talented project team, knowing they will need to go above and beyond to achieve success on this project. My kick-off e-mail contains words like “excited,” “opportunity,” “talented team,” “creative solutions” and “positive impact.” My team members speak and react in kind, “boomeranging” my winning attitude back to me. Meetings are crisp, roles are clearly defined and decisions are made collaboratively, yet quickly.

The expected challenges, even the seemingly big ones, are handled professionally and swiftly because the team knows that failure is not an option, and there are many pathways to success. My thoughts and words have already predisposed the team to acting in alignment with my expectation of success. And our eventual success predisposes me to the same thoughts, words and actions on the next project. This is when the powerful, self-reinforcing script will be played again.

Orchestrating attitude creates a beautiful human symphony. The result is a person of integrity who gets the best from himself and others! Author Lee J. Colan is a highly sought-after executive advisor and a captivating speaker.
He has published six books including the best sellers Sticking to It: The Art of Adherence and Passionate Performance.

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