TODAY'S EMPOWERING QUOTE

"Goals give you more than a reason to get up in the morning; they are an incentive to keep you going all day. Goals tend to tap the deeper resources and draw the best out of life."
- Harvey Mackay

TODAY'S EMPOWERING QUESTION

"What have I done for the last hour? What do I plan on doing this next hour? Why?"

TODAY'S FAST SESSION

My dad used to tell me stories about the day every year that the auto manufacturers introduced their new line of cars and trucks. That day, people would flock to the dealerships. It looked like the county fair at the local car lots. Dealers sold more cars that day than the whole month before. There wasn't anything like that excitement, I've been told. Today, new models hardly get noticed. At least not the way they used to. Why? Because there is so much more trying to grab our attention today. Because billions of dollars have been spent by companies in all the world's industries studying what makes us buy or not buy things. Learning how to target us more effectively. I mean, at every turn everything we could ever want, as a consumer, is being promoted to us...
"GET ME!"
"ALL YOUR FRIENDS HAVE ME."
"YOU DESERVE TO HAVE ME NOW!"
The marketing noise is deafening. And it works. It makes us want what's being sold... right now. In fact, it makes us want to have EVERYTHING now. "Why does THAT person get to have that car, those clothes, that girl friend, that job, that grade, those sneakers when I'm stuck with less." "I deserve to have it now." "Let's steal that money, that bottle, that shirt, that car, his girl friend." "Life's not fair." Yeah, life's not always fair. But that's life. Oh, I know, life's too short to work so hard to be thin, to be financially secure, to follow rules, to get good grades, to... Too often, depression and anxiety is a result of false expectations of what life "should" be. Did you ever hear of the saying, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always gotten?" So my dear, dear friend, in the areas of life that you want to change, you need concrete goals or you'll always get the usual crap. Look at today's quote again. Gives me chills. Did you ever meet anyone who lost 50 pounds or more unless they had the goal to do so? No goal... no achievement. How about building a multi-million dollar company without some clear daily and long-term goals? Does anyone get straight A's without the goal to do so first? Let me be as clear about this as I can be... You can get along, get some halfway decent grades, maybe rise up in your company just by showing up, get married, have kids and have a fairly average life without clear goals. I mean, if you're typical you've gotten where you are now without setting and achieving any REALLY challenging benchmarks for yourself in any area of life. If you're typical and honest with yourself, you'll likely agree. And while this discussion isn't meant to be the final word on goals, I think you can see now that committing to a clearly defined goal is critical to getting what you really want. Especially with all of life's distractions, and the constant pressures to believe that our successes must happen NOW. Look at today's quote again now. Want energy? Set some goals in any area of life you want. And this time, commit to it like you've never committed to anything before. This process will give you such a charge it will astound you. Truly depressed? Then set a really challenging goal and work like you've never worked for anything else before. Make reaching this goal the most important thing. And I know this sounds too simple. Look, life isn't as complicated as it feels sometime. My life sucked in every way until I was nearly 25 years old. I got fired from a lot of minimum wage jobs and had to live in a 9 year old van as a result. And it didn't turn around until I got super focused on one thing... keeping a job. When I focused on that almost exclusively, suddenly I started to get really good at it. I didn't get fired either. Well, many huge goals later, and my web site is the biggest of its kind in the world. More big goals and 'Your Day To Win' is the biggest ezine of it's kind. And there are many other incredible things going on here that will ultimately change millions of people's lives. And none of them would have ever come about without a committed focus to mastering one thing, then mastering another one thing, then... Now, that does lead to some imbalance at times. But in all honesty, the most successful, wealthy, well known and yes, happiest people who ever lived totally mastered just a few things. That mastery in just a few areas of life gave them freedoms and joy that few people will ever know. Why? Because few people want to work hard enough to master anything. Most don't understand the implications of earning what they get. Most don't understand, until it's often too late, that things that come too easy or that were dishonestly gained never stay around long. What? You thought your bad luck was just bad luck? Not bad luck. Bad beliefs. Bad actions. And it doesn't matter how big the gains are... 90% of all million+ dollar lottery winners blow it all very quickly and spend the rest of their lives bitter and with nothing... But not you. You're going to set a big goal right now, take concrete steps toward reaching it and make decisions that will support you on your path to success. And this will all start to make sense. Don't read this and forget about it. Do something now or your chance will be lost. All right! There's hope for you!

-- My goals are increasing my passion for life
-- I feel exhilarated by my goals
-- I am growing by leaps and bounds today
-- I'm truly happy to be alive
-- I can get through any hardship, no matter what it is
-- My skills and confidence are growing today

A MATTER OF FOCUS

There was a time when I worked with the poor in New York City. I was always amazed at the gratefulness in the hearts of so many who, in a material sense, had very little. What were they grateful for? They were grateful to be alive, to have food on their table, to enjoy the sun on a beautiful day, to have their health, their friends, their family, and to be a contributing member of their community. At the same time, I was always amazed at the lack of gratefulness in the hearts of so many who, in a material sense, had so much. If you were to ask me which of the two were happier, without hesitation, I would say the poor with gratefulness in their hearts. What I am talking about here is very simple: When we focus on abundance, our life feels abundant; when we focus on lack, our life feels lacking. It is purely a matter of focus. It is true that we can't be in denial about the pain in our life. That is damaging to our physical and emotional health. And just as importantly... We can't be in denial about the abundance in our life!!! I suggest you create for yourself a "Book of Abundance." Each night before you go to bed, jot down at least 50 wonderful things that happened to you that day. "Fifty things, Susan! I can hardly think of 3!" Obviously you have not been noticing the blessings in your life! The purpose of this exercise is to help you do so. Some of the items you can include are... My car started. I am able to walk. I have food to eat. Someone paid me a compliment. My kids haven't gotten in any trouble today. I felt the sun's warmth on my face. I spoke to one of my best friends. The flowers are starting to bloom. I have hot water in my shower. I'm breathing. The sun came out. The items in your Book of Abundance do not have to be splashes of brilliance. In fact, it is better if they are not. Always keep in mind that if we focus only on the splashes of brilliance, so much of our life will seem drab...which it definitely is not! Take breathing, for example. Isn't it incredibly, wildly, extraordinary!?! In the beginning, finding those 50 things to be grateful for may take a LONG, LONG time. Soon, however, the blessings will pour easily onto the paper. That is because you will spend much of the day LOOKING FOR the blessings in your life so that you will have new material to add to your Book of Abundance that night. And you will find them! The benefits are obvious... As you start looking for the good, your focus automatically is taken off the bad...and you feel blessed! If you can make noticing the abundance a habit, your life will be transformed!

INTROSPECTION

THOUGHTS BOUND WITHIN YOURSELF
"THAT MAY CAUSE PANIC ANXIETY"

There is an obsession caused by constant introspection that is shared by many sufferers from nervous illness Introspection may produce immense mental fatigue, which brings to the sufferer a feeling of having his thoughts so bound within himself that even when he tries to be interested in other things he may find that he cannot free his thoughts sufficiently from himself to do so. He may try to work read or talk, only to find his thoughts reverting inward every few moments. This may give him such a feeling of enclosure within himself that he becomes concious of his own actions, as if he cannot divorce his mind from them He thinks that he will go crazy unless he can put an end to this misery He may spend months suffering these frequent intermittent recessions of thought, perhaps trying to carry on responsible work at the same time, but feeling caught in state from which he cannot escape. There may be days when the habit leaves him, only to return and throw him into deeper despair

LET YOUR THOUGHTS PLAY THERE TRICKS

First, understand that this obsession is no more than a manifestation of intense mental fatigue Therefore, sleep as much as you can. If not very successful at this do not immediately panic and think that you now have no chance of recovery "Following the second instrucion alone will cure you"

Second, let your thoughts play their tricks as they will Concentrating hard on trying to forget oneself is merely another way of concentrating anxiously on oneself. Do not try to forget yourself Do not try to force you way back into anything Accept yourself as you are now with all your strange thoughts. It does not matter what you think about or how much you dwell upon yourself "providing you do not do it anxiously"
THAT IS THE KEY!!
It is the anxiety that tenses, sensitizes, not the thoughts. Accept your thoughts, whatever they are, as part of your ordinary thinking. Do not make the mistake of believing there are certain thoughts you must not think,dare not think, as if there are parts of your brain you must not use. Use them all, even those that may hold an obsession; but use them willingly, shrink from none of them. None of us ever completely forgets himself. You are only more conscious of yourself than you normally would be. This is not important, although it can be devistatingly frustrating Accept your habit of introspection with as little frustration as possible. You may be often disappointed in the beginning. Be prepared for this. Thoughts may be fantastic when you are anxious. You may go chasing them to see how odd they can become, and the stranger more unreal they may seem, the more you may push on as if compelled to find out the worst, compelled to challenge the worst And do not make the mistake of thinking that this is mental You are merely once more afraid of fear but this time in one of its most bewildering and upsetting guises

THOUGHTS TURN INWARD MORE LIGHTLY

Understanding your condition as brainfag that will gradually disappear with enough sleep, acceptance and occupation; realizing that you are not going mad and that many before you have felt this way, will realease you from some fear and tension, so that your thoughts turn inward more lightly, will be less clinging until they are no more than a touch, and the smallest interest will be enough to make you forget the habit However this habit, although accepted with resignation may continue to come for a while and as it can be most exhausting, do not hesitate to seek the solice of solitude. In this way you will find some respite. Also, do not force yourself to read, while reading is a strain. The time will soon come when you will be able to read without effort The question could be asked, "If he is not to read how can he read this book of yours Doctor?" Anything about nerves is so compellingly interesting to a sufferer from nervous illness that it holds his attention, and inward thinking, if it does not completely cease, at least fades into insignificance

So to cure your obsession
- Accept and do not try to force forgetfullness
- Stop fighting
- Let time pass while you do this
- Once more, the familiar pattern of recovery!

From book
"HOPE AND HELP FOR YOUR NERVES"
by Dr Claire Weekes