Saturday, May 16, 2009

Change, what about change?

Let me share some of my thoughts with you.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Attitude: Practical Guidelines

Alright then, this is the last posting on Attitude. We really summarized some key thoughts in the Attitude: Part 3 section. Now for some guidelines. Note to you, these are guidelines and are not meant to be cast in blood and concrete. The guidelines are broad and universal and can be expanded on. Please write then down.
The six stages of attitude change include:
  1. Identify problem feelings
  2. Identify problem behaviour
  3. Identify problem thinking
  4. Identify right thinking
  5. Make a public commitment to right thinking
  6. Develop a plan for right thinking

(Courtesy: Clarity Business Coaching ~ Anneke de Beer)

OK, you will notice that we have addressed all of the above in this whole series on Attitude. If you have missed it, or some of the points are still not clear to you; write me a note on the Comments section.

On your plan for right thinking, what are the things the plan should include?

  • A written definition of your desired thinking
  • A way to measure progress
  • A daily measuring of progress
  • A person to whom you are accountable
  • A daily diet of self-help materials
  • Associating yourself with right thinking people

What am I saying, what is being asked form you?

Develop some more good habits, improve on the good habits you already have, discard the old way of thinking and doing. Take charge, be disciplined!

Look at this: ACTION (1 hour/day); HABIT (everyday); ATTITUDE (I am a champion); THOUGHT (I can do it); MEDITATED THOUGHT (In your quiet place); DECISION (Implement)

Looking at the sequence or cycle above, it can be either negatively or positively applied. In this instance, with the right attitude (i.e. a POSITIVE MINDSET), the application will yield a good attitude which will inevitably produce SUCCESS!

BREAKTHROUGH!

HAPPINESS!

FAVOUR!

A NEW YOU!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Attitude: Part 3

Wonderful, here we are again! As usual are you alone and are you using your time for YOU?

Lets continue where we left off in Attitude: Part 2. Cue cards, they might seem small and insignificant, but repetition is important as it will foster a positive mindset. Rotate your cue cards between the different locations so that you do not become bored with them, even add one or two extras, soon you will find they 'pop-up' in your thoughts during the day.

Remember, your action speaks much louder than your words...people will notice the change your are making and know this: it is a misconception that only rich people or famous people or top athlete's or public figures are 'role models' or examples to others. YOU are already a positive example and role model for people around you, especially those close to you (your kids, parents, spouse, co-workers); believe me! NO, ask them?

Your attitude dictates your actions. Think of something you desire. What will your attitude be to get it or achieve it? Our attitude at the beginning of a task will almost always affect its outcome; more than anything else. We live in uncertain times, this is not a perfect world. Count on one thing though, and that is: YOU are the one thing YOU can depend and count on!

Are you pro-active or re-active in your approach of achieving your goals? Attack or let me rather say, achieve your goals with your eyes on the benefits, not on the barriers. Can you see how a small adjustment in focus can make a huge difference?

All this attitude stuff and changing our thinking from negative to a positive affirmation thinking will feel awkward to you at first; but really, know this, you have an opportunity to experience significant growth. Evolve ~ Improve! Do not for one moment think that the changes you desire are going to happen accidentally. NOPE, you are going to need enthusiasm, optimism and a positive energy. You need to intentionally feed your mind with positive uplifting thoughts, ideas and images. Does the use of the cue cards make sense to you now?

Know this, if you don't already, people have selective memory and some even selective thinking. We see what we are prepared to see...We hear what we want to hear...don't let other people see and hear for you. You are the master of your own destiny. I challenge you to be creative, think creative, see creative, hear creative, ACT creative!

When you are creative, you are happy! I have never come across a person being absolutely creative and sad at the same time. To me happiness is not what happens to me; but what happens in me. True or False? We cannot choose what we go through BUT we can choose how we go through it.

And your answer is?

My answer is True! My attitude towards the situation, my positive mindset, my creativity with which I address the situation and my genuine desire to succeed will help me come out on the other side as a HAPPY person.

I truly hope you take to heart what I'm sharing with you here. I know that life is not all Black and White. I know there are shades of Gray; but if you continue to work on that attitude of yours, colour will soon start to fill your life.

In our next session I will finish off with Attitude by looking at some practical guidelines.

DO NOT MISS THIS!

C u soon!



Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Attitude: Part 2

All right then...hope all is well and that you are ready and hungry for more of my thoughts on attitude. Are you still keeping to your scheduled ALONE time? If so, well done! I am proud of you!

Can you answer this? What word best describes what will determine our happiness, acceptance, peace and/or success?.......yes, that's right; our ATTITUDE!

Who's attitude? Mine, your friends, your bosses, your colleague's, the person that have just upset you? NO ~ YOUR ATTITUDE.

Did it ever occur to you how much unhappiness you have endured due to your attitude; or the lack there-of. In hind site, which is perfect 20-20 vision, one realises the mistakes of your attitude and you realize that it is to late to fix it. Don't wait until it is to late, make that attitude adjustment, NOW!

I have written about this in the previous post. Do you think that your attitude determines the relationship you have with other people? If your answer is YES, why then is it so; that for some people there is more difficulty in their attitude adjustment when presented with opportunity; than the other way around. If you are tuned in on the right frequency ~ i.e. positive attitude ~ you will quickly realize opportunity in every difficulty. Ask any successful business person in today's economic recession, they will tell you that the reason why they are still in business and are actually prospering is because they CHOSE to find the opportunity in the difficult times.

Go do some homework for yourself. Go the people or businesses you think to be successful and ask them why they are successful; almost all of them will tell you that they had to change there attitude. So, if you think you are defeated, then you probably are defeated.

I want you to do YOU a favour. Go and find yourself a song, obviously one that you like, that best describes your attitude in life right now or what you want your life to be like. Something like: "I did it my way" or "It's my life" or "I get knocked down; but I get up again" or "Money Money Money" or "Shoop Shoop song". Play this song over-and-over so that you are familiar with it. Soon you will find that this song will channel your thinking and if you chose the right song, you will find that it acts as an 'attitude adjuster'.

Attitude adjustment can be made through positive affirmations. Instead of wondering how you can tackle the problem; say to yourself: I can tackle this problem; head on. Make small little cue cards which you can stick against the fridge or on the mirror in the bathroom or in your clothing cupboard or in your car or in your school bag....anywhere you will see it regularly during the day. Write down keywords, like: Transform, I'm Happy, Be Strong, Success, I'm Confident, I feel good about myself, Help Others, Be Helpful. Even write your own affirmations, but keep them short and most importantly positive.

I want to end today's session by reminding you that your attitude is the only difference between success and failure!

See you tomorrow for Part 3 on Attitude.

Monday, May 11, 2009

ATTITUDE!

Let me start of by asking: Are you in your quiet place and are you using the time that you have made for YOURSELF! Remember, no distractions; I want you to FOCUS on YOU! GREAT!

Lets begin. What is attitude? Why is it so important? Can attitude make or break us? Will it influence the way I see things?

All of the above are very relevant questions. Just relax your mind for a bit and ask yourself if you have heard the following statement before: ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING!

Well, I most certainly have. Is it true?

Let me answer you this way then you can decide. When one is faced with a challenge, difficult or not, life threatening or not, important or not...undoubtedly a decision needs to be made and most probably will be made by you. Life is about choices. Choices you make and those choices sometimes have happy endings or sad endings. Inevitably...your attitude towards the issue at hand will dictate the choice you make.

What do I mean by that? If you approach the issue with a negative outlook, then almost always will you get a result that your are not happy with. HOWEVER, approaching that same issue with a positive attitude, the result will undoubtedly be different. Even if the outcome was not favourable, there will always be the HOPE factor built into that positive attitude. All is not lost!

Your attitude is not just the sum of all the choices you make or don't make a day; it is also about your behavior, the way in which you express yourself. Attitude is often also expressed by our body language and our faces.

Has it not happen to you before or have you not once upon a time said, when you saw somebody you knew very well, arriving at work or at home and without one single word being said, you immediately identify that the person is either in a very good mood, sad or even upset.

That is called attitude through body language and facial expression.

Can you now see why people say: ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING! A positive attitude is contagious. People will want to be around you, they want to get what you've got. Sniff it. You will influence the conversation if you have a positive attitude. Your contributions in a meeting will be listened to with anticipation. You will even be able to influence your circle of influence. The good stuff will rub off on other people. A positive attitude will bring about change and change isn't always bad. People will even approach you for answers and solutions.

There is still a lot I want to and can write and will write about attitude. For now....digest this first.

So, have you checked your attitude lately?

How to join my BLOG and how to leave comments!

For those of you that are not so sure how to join my BLOG, let me help you.
  1. On the left hand side you will see the G from Google inside a tab that reads: FOLLOW. CLICK on it.
  2. It will open up a new screen in a new page. On this page you will find three buttons: Google, Aim, Yahoo. CLICK on Google. It will open up a new page.
  3. If you have an existing Google account, go to the right of the page and sign in. IF NOT, go to the left of the page and CLICK on the blue underlined words: create one for free.
  4. It will open up a new page. Fill in any existing e-mail address you have plus choose your own password. Type in the word verification they give you. Now, CLICK on the: I accept. Create my account button and wha-la, DONE.
  5. A new screen in a new page will open up. All you do now is CLICK on the: Follow this blog button.
  6. It will open a new page again saying: Congratulations, you are now following Clarify Your Thinking!
  7. All of the above, takes about 2 min to complete. The whole process. Quick and Easy!

OK...that taken care of; how can you leave me a comment or ask a question or make a statement?

  1. Below each topic is the word: COMMENTS. If you move your cursor over it, it will change to a hand.
  2. CLICK on the Comments button below the topic of your choice.
  3. A block below the topic will open in which you can write your comment. Type in whatever you wish. Except the swearing words and ugly hate speech, GOOGLE will block you!
  4. When you have finished typing what you wanted to say, you can now either Preview what you have written to see what it would look like if published OR you can go ahead and publish your comment by CLICKING on the: Post Comment button.
  5. There, done!
  6. Now everybody can see what you had on your mind.

See, that wasn't at all hard nor did it take up a lot of time. Feel free to use the gadgets I have placed on the left hand side of the BLOG. They are perfectly safe, they are free and are loads of fun.

See ya around!