Now is the perfect time to get clear on everything you would like to accomplish in the months ahead.

What big goals would you like to achieve this year? On December 31st, 2019, what do you want to be celebrating?

What do you want to be able to look back on and say, “I can’t believe I did that?”

And how will you feel, knowing that you accomplished that thing?

In order to make that vision a reality, you need to know what your goals are – and you need to be able to clearly visualize each of those goals as already achieved and what your life will look like once you have achieved them.

Here are four tips that will help you do just that – so you can stay focused and motivated throughout the year as you work on making your dreams a reality.

1. Create an Affirmation for Each Goal

Positive affirmations are simply statements that allow you to experience what your life will look and feel like once you have accomplished a goal.

For example, if one of your goals in 2019 is to lose weight, you could create a positive affirmation that says:

“I’m so happy and grateful now that I weigh 140 pounds and am so much healthier and stronger in my body.”

The key to creating effective affirmations for your goals is to visualize the benefits that you are looking forward to the most — the ones that motivated you to set the goal in the first place — and include them in your affirmation.

For example:

“I am so proud of myself for finishing my book and putting it out there for people to read it.”

“I am so excited and happy to take the kids camping in our beautiful new motorhome.” 

If you identify the benefits that are most important to you and include them in your affirmation — as well as how you’ll feel when you experience those benefits — it will be a powerful motivator for you.

Because the more you repeat your affirmations to yourself, the easier it will be to keep your goals top of mind and be able to imagine yourself actually achieving them — and the more motivated you will be to experience those benefits for yourself.

2. Visualize and Repeat Your Affirmations

My second piece of advice is to take the time to visualize your affirmations when you repeat them to yourself.

Don’t just say them, imagine yourself living the experience your affirmations describe.

To do this, I encourage you to take some time after this video is done to write out a very clear and detailed picture of what your life will look like, and how you will feel, once you achieve your goals.

Really dive into each scenario, and try to paint a complete picture of everything that accomplishing your goal would bring about.

Then bring that vision to mind whenever you repeat your daily affirmations.

You may even want to read your description aloud once a day until you can bring this image easily to mind.

3. Visualize Your Affirmations Daily

More is better…

An easy way to make it part of your daily routine is to get into the habit of doing it when you wake up every morning.

So, you start off your day with your goals top of mind, and then again at night right before you go to bed, so your subconscious will continue to think about your goals and what you must do to achieve them, even while you’re sleeping. 

4. Create a Vision Board

Finally, my last tip is to create a vision board for what you would like to accomplish in 2019.

There’s no better way to visualize your goals than to create an actual visual representation of them.

A vision board allows you to map out your goals in a visual format that reminds you why you’re doing what you’re doing, and what you have to look forward to once your goals are achieved.

You can purchase a vision board kit or make your own vision board from scratch using poster-board or construction paper and images from magazines.

Choose images that represent your goals and what your life will look and feel like once you have achieved those goals.

For example, if one of your goals is to earn more money in 2019, you could put up images such as pictures of the house you want to buy, pictures of the places you want to visit, pictures of happy people strolling on the beach, and so on.

After you’ve filled your vision board with images that do a great job of bringing your goals to life, put it in a place that you will notice it frequently, such as in your bedroom, office, or living room.

This constant visual stimulus will serve to reinforce the importance of your goals in your mind and help you visualize them throughout the entire year.

What is one goal that you want to achieve in 2019 and how are you planning to use visualization to bring it to life? If you want to learn more about the power of affirmations click here to get my free Affirmations Guide.

Everyone makes mistakes and goes through difficult times in life. But it’s not your mistakes or your difficulties that define you, but rather what you learn from them that truly matters. How you think about the past can be an excellent teacher and a great source of motivation for learning how to move on, or it can interfere with your happiness and hold you back from living your best life.

So, how do you put the past behind you?

Here are four tips I’d like to share with you today to help you heal your old wounds and move on to a better and brighter future.

1. Practice Forgiveness

Whether it’s forgiving yourself for a mistake that you made or forgiving someone who you believe harmed you, forgiveness is one of the best possible things you can do to heal yourself from the past.

You may have heard the saying, “Holding onto anger and resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” It’s true. When you continue to be angry and bitter about something that has happened in the past, the only person you end up hurting is yourself.

So whatever old grudges or disappointments you’ve been nursing, I encourage you to let them go. You will feel a lot better about yourself and about the world around you if you do.

2. Practice Gratitude

Take time every day to feel grateful for everything that is good in your life. And I do mean EVERYTHING.

Be grateful for the people who love you, and who have helped you, mentored you or taught you something on your journey through life. Be grateful for the roof over your head, be grateful for your health, be grateful for the opportunities you’ve been given in life, the flowers blooming outside your window and the blue sky overhead, the things that make your life easier and more enjoyable, and the people who were involved in making those things and bringing them into your world.

The more you cultivate gratitude and appreciation for everything that’s good in your life right now and focus on those things, the easier it will be for you to forget about the things that have hurt you in the past.

And also remember to be grateful for the people that have made your life difficult at times.

It is because of them that you have developed qualities like courage, perseverance, and compassion. Make sure to develop a daily practice of gratitude, whether it is in meditation, writing in your journal, or just walking around and appreciating everything you see for a few minutes in the morning.

3. Remember Your Thoughts Determine Your Reality

So if you want to improve any aspect of your life your life, make the effort to think better thoughts.

Every time you find yourself thinking about something negative that happened in the past, consciously transform that negative thought into something positive.

For example, if you’re thinking, “I can’t believe I wasted all those years on someone who betrayed me!” replace it with the new thought, “I am so happy and grateful I am now free to find someone who truly appreciates me for who I am.”

Learning how to meditate is also a powerful tool that can help you with this. When you meditate, you can simply assume the position of a witness to your thoughts, which always seem to come in a constant stream.

As you become more aware of your thoughts in meditation, you will more easily and more often begin to recognize when you’re going into a negative spiral and be able to then consciously shift your thoughts toward something more positive.

It takes constant vigilance and work, but the ultimate rewards are so worth it.

4. Remember That You Are Amazing

Focusing on the failures of your past can be crippling to your self-esteem, your self-confidence, and your happiness. But the opposite is true as well. When you focus on your past successes, of which there are always many, you build your self-esteem and your self-confidence.

List Your Past Successes

One great way to acknowledge your past successes is to sit down and make a list of your past successes. Here are a couple of ways to do that.

The first one is a simple exercise I call Nine Successes. To do this exercise, simply divide your life into three major time periods.

For example, if you are forty-five years old, the first time period could be birth to 20 years old, the second would be twenty years old to 33 years old, and the third would be from 33 to 45.

Make the first time period from the present until you are 18 or 20 years old, and then divide the rest of your life in half.

Then list three major successes that you accomplished in each time period for a total of nine successes. Don’t discount things like learning to drive, graduating high school, getting your first job, or buying your first car.

They were all big deals at the time.

Once you complete your list, look back over it and remember that if you were able to accomplish those things in your past, then you can accomplish whatever else you want to accomplish now and in the future. Acknowledge the fact that there are plenty of accomplishments in your past to feel good about, and allow that sense of accomplishment to elevate your self-esteem.

List 100 Successes

Another exercise is to make a list of 100 successes you’ve had in your life. Give yourself several days to accomplish this.

Make sure to include all the things that you may now take for granted, like learning to speak a second language, passing that difficult English literature course in college, achieving sharpshooter status in the military, raising a healthy child or learning to grill the perfect steak.

Or things like learning to play an instrument, learning how to type, saving enough money to take that trip to New York or Europe, beating your dad at chess, learning to swim, making Eagle Scout, painting a picture, learning to take great pictures with your camera, getting a promotion, developing a website, figuring out how to use social media like Pinterest and Facebook, helping a political candidate get elected, talking a friend out of committing suicide, getting sober if you were battling some addiction, learning how to bake a cake, coaching your kid’s little league or soccer league team, and so on.

5. Try Tapping Therapy

Finally, one last tool I would like to call your attention to is EFT tapping or tapping therapy.

As many of you know, EFT stands for “emotional freedom technique” and it’s a powerful way to release old thoughts and beliefs, and the feelings those thoughts and beliefs create, that are no longer serving you.

EFT tapping is similar to acupressure in that it focuses on systematically applying light pressure to key energy points on your head and chest to help you release negative thoughts and emotions and energy. It is a very effective tool that I have used with phenomenal results in my own life and the lives of my students.

Given that EFT exists as a tool, there is no reason to stay stuck in the past.

Do have any old wounds from past hurts that you haven’t been able to put behind you? Going forward, what are some of the strategies you will use to heal those wounds?

The Law of Attraction is one of the most powerful laws in the universe. Just like gravity, it is always influencing your life and reality. And once you are aware of it you can leverage it to create the life of your dreams.

Simply put, the Law of Attraction says that you attract into your life whatever you focus on and feel strongly about.

So, if you focus on the good and positive things in your life, you will automatically attract more of those things into your life.

If you focus on lack and negativity, then that is what you will attract more of into your life. It’s that simple – and that powerful.

Because once you understand how the Law of Attraction works, you can begin to consciously and intentionally change your results and create a better life.

You can begin to choose to respond differently to the situations that arise during your day.

You can choose to think differently by focusing on the things that fill you with joy and purpose.

And you can choose to create the future you want simply by intentionally taking the time to focus on what you want your life to look and feel like – instead of unconsciously living life by default, often creating the exact opposite of what you want.

The fact is, you are constantly creating your own reality at every moment.

Your thoughts determine your feelings, your feelings determine your actions, and your actions determine your reality – so if you want to create a better reality, you have to start by thinking better thoughts.

Because when you are clear about what you want, and you put those clear intentions out into the universe, the resources, the people, and the opportunities you need to achieve your goals will start appearing to you, almost like magic.

Chances are they were there all along, but because you weren’t clear on what you wanted, you never noticed them.

Once you activate the Law of Attraction through your intentional thoughts, these resources and opportunities will light up like neon signs saying, “Here I am! Let’s do this thing!”

Achieve Your Goals With the Law of Attraction

So here are six simple tips on how to more effectively make the Law of Attraction work for you instead of against you.

1. Your Thoughts are Powerful

Remind yourself daily that your thoughts are powerful. They have a very real impact on the world around you.

Your thoughts determine your actions, and your actions declare your intentions to the universe. And the universe will respond to those intentions.

So if you want the better results, you have to think and behave in a way that is in alignment with what you ultimately want to be, do, and have in life.

I suggest you put a 3×5 card or a post-it on your bathroom mirror that says, “The thoughts I think today are creating the reality I will experience in the future.”

2. Dream Big

Don’t censor your dreams or limit your vision with practicalities and probabilities.

You will not be given a dream that you are not capable of achieving. So if you can imagine it, you have the capacity to make it a reality. You don’t need to know every single step of the journey.

Just decide what you want. Know that you deserve it. Believe you can have it, and then take one small step toward it. Then another, and another, and another.

With every step, your path will become clearer to you.

3. Clarify Your Goals

Get really, really clear on what you want your life to look like. Write it all down in as much detail as possible.

The more specific you are about what you want in life, the easier it will be for you to make it a reality.

4. Use Positive Affirmations

Use positive affirmations to keep yourself focused on your goals and to raise your vibrational frequency up to match the frequency of the reality you want to create.

Affirmations work by purposely replacing the limiting beliefs and negative self-talk that you have internalized over the years with positive statements that assert who you want to be and how you want to experience life.

Make sure to phrase your affirmations in the present tense, as if you have already achieved your goals and are living the life of your dreams, and also make sure to include a strong positive emotion in the affirmation, such as gratitude, that you will not only say when you repeat your affirmation but also choose to feel when you are repeating the affirmation.

For example:

“I am so happy and grateful now that I own a six-figure business and I get to spend every day doing something I love!”

Positive affirmations are a powerful tool for self-transformation and a key element in creating the life you desire.

When you make a habit of repeating them daily, you will be amazed at how much easier it will be to stay focused on your dreams and attract what you need to make them come true.

5. Open Yourself Up to Infinite Possibilities

Start by becoming more aware of the amazing synchronicity that already exists in your life.

Look for the miracles – the magically serendipitous events and opportunities that seem to appear out of nowhere at just the right time to bring you closer to your goals.

The more you watch for them, the more you will notice them happening all the time, and when you acknowledge them, you will attract even more of them. That’s the power of the Law of Attraction at work for you!

6. Take Action!

Take positive action to create what you want. When you have an idea of something to do, do it, and do it as soon as possible.

All of the best intentions in the world won’t mean much if you don’t take action when the time comes to make them a reality!

That’s why it’s so important to take at least one or more small actions every day that will move you closer to the fulfillment of your dreams.

How are you using the Law of Attraction to achieve your goals? To learn more about harnessing the Law of Attraction in your life click the button below to download my free guide.

Related Reading:

Daily Affirmations for Positive Thinking

How to Meditate for Clarity, Intuition & Guidance

How to Use Tapping Therapy To Eliminate Fear & Achieve Your Goals

Visualization Techniques to Affirm Your Desired Outcomes

The universe works in mysterious ways. It is constantly working to make available to you the tools, the resources, the people, and the lessons you need to become the person you were meant to be which is why it’s so important to pay attention to signs from the universe.

But, the universe doesn’t always make these things totally obvious, or even always easy.

You might need to go through bankruptcy in order to finally learn the money lessons you need to create a life of true financial abundance.

You might have to get laid off or fired from a job you don’t like, in order to find the job you love.

Or you might have to go through a painful breakup before you’re ready to meet and fall in love with the love of your life.

You might feel at times as if you’re a newspaper caught up in the wind, being blown about with no clear direction.

But if you start paying attention, you will realize that the universe is sending you signals all the time that show you where you need to go and what you need to do to create the life of your dreams.

Here are five powerful signs from the universe to pay attention to that will help you understand what you’re meant to do to become the person you are meant to be.

1. Does it Bring You Joy?

The first clue I’d like you to focus on is the experience of JOY. I always tell my students and clients that joy is the ultimate “GPS system.”

When you experience true joy, it’s a sign you are on the right track and doing what you are meant to be doing.

On the other hand, when you are not doing what you are supposed to be doing, you might feel dissatisfied or deeply unhappy with your life.  

If you‘re not happy with your job, or where you are living, or any other aspect of your life, that may be the universe telling you that it’s time to make a change.

The change might be an external change like quitting your job, or it might be an internal change like changing how you are approaching your job.

As you move through life, start paying close attention to the times when you are experiencing joy.

That’s the universe telling you, THIS is what you are meant to be doing. And once you know what that is, you can start looking for more opportunities to create that in your life.

2. Physical Pain

Pay attention to is any physical pain you might experience.

The whole purpose of pain is to alert your body to the fact that something is not right. So the sooner you pay attention, the sooner you can heal whatever physical ailment might be bothering you.

Sometimes, though, the thing that’s bothering you may not be a problem with your physical body.

Instead, it might be the physical manifestation of stress, anxiety, or an unhealed emotional wound.

So if you ever experience pain that you can’t get to the bottom of, it’s probably a sign that some belief you are hanging on to, or some thought you are thinking, or some emotion you’re not expressing, or something you are doing or not doing isn’t working, and that the universe is using physical pain as a way to draw your attention to it.

Far too often, we’re taught from childhood to ignore pain or to “grin and bear it,” or to numb it out with painkillers, alcohol or drugs.  

But pain should never be ignored or totally suppressed with drugs or alcohol. I’m not talking about post-surgical pain or the pain from a broken finger or a sprained ankle.

Temporary painkillers are useful in that situation. But you especially want to pay attention to chronic pain.

It could be related to something you shouldn’t be eating, some emotions you are not dealing with, or some situation that you need to address that you are avoiding.

Unfortunately, a lot of people numb out their pain of an unfulfilling or abusive relationship or mind-numbing, soul-killing job with alcohol, pot or even heavier drugs.

The problem is that numbing out your pain is like taking the battery out of your smoke detector because the noise it is making is annoying you.

Just like the smoke detector, your physical pain is sending you a message that you need to pay attention to.

Whether that message is telling you that something is wrong in your body or that something is wrong in your life, it’s important to listen to it and take action to resolve it.

3. Something Stuck in Your Head

The third signal I encourage you to pay attention to is anything that gets stuck in your head – like a song that won’t stop playing in your mind, or a recurring dream you keep having.

For example, if you have “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction” from the Rolling Stones stuck in your head, you might be getting a message from your subconscious that you are frustrated with the lack of satisfaction in your life and need to make some changes to increase your happiness.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had a song stuck in my head, only to realize that that particular song had the exact message I needed to hear at that moment in time.

If you open your mind to receiving messages such as this, you’ll notice the same thing.

Or if you keep having a dream where you’re back in high school and you have to take a test that you haven’t studied for, maybe that’s a sign that you feel unprepared or unqualified in your job.

If that’s the case, it might be time to invest in more training to level up your knowledge and your skills.

4. Listen to Your Inner Voice 

Another important signal I encourage you to start paying more attention to is your own inner voice or intuition.

When you need to make a decision and you’re not certain what to do, take time to inquire within.

Because the truth always is, that you already have the answer inside you, you’re just not aware of it yet.

Now, that little voice inside you might be hard to hear at times.

One way to make it easier to hear is to meditate regularly.

When you take time to clear your mind of the endless monkey chatter that keeps it so distracted all day long, you’ll find it easier to hear the inner truth that lives deep inside you.

If you don’t know how to meditate, here’s a blog to get you started.

5. Ask the Universe

Finally, remember that you can simply ask the universe what it’s trying to tell you.

The universe’s communication with you is not a one-way street. If you are ever at a loss for the direction you should take in a specific circumstance, take a moment to ask for guidance.

How you do this is up to you. You may want to pray for guidance to whatever Higher Power you believe in, whether you call it God, Source, Spirit, the Universe, or Infinite Intelligence.

Or you may prefer to ask the universe to send you a clear sign.

The more you open yourself to “the powers that be,” (however you choose to define that), the easier it will be for you to find the answers you seek.

Take a moment to write down all the times you’ve ever felt true joy in your life. What is that joy telling you, and how can you bring more of it into your life?

Also be sure to write down any other signals you think the universe is sending you. Maybe you feel stuck at your job, or you’re frustrated with a toxic person in your life, or you’re experiencing some sort of physical pain. What messages is the universe sending you?

Leave a comment below with your thoughts. If you’d like to learn more about the universe and the Law of Attraction click the button below to get a guide.

Researchers estimate that we think about 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day – and that about 80% of those thoughts are negative. That is a crazy amount of negative self-talk!

What is Negative Self-Talk?

We spend so much time telling ourselves that we’re not good enough, smart enough, talented enough, or thin enough.

We tell ourselves that we don’t deserve the things we want.

Or that the things we want to have or experience will never happen, and even if they do, they will be disappointing

Our negative self-talk affects us in a very powerful way.

If we think something is possible, we’re more likely to make the effort to achieve it. If we think it’s impossible, we won’t even bother trying.

If we think we are a good person who deserves to live a life we love, we will create that life. But, if we think we are undeserving or not capable enough, we will sabotage our own efforts without even realizing it.

Studies show that your thoughts also have a physical impact on your body. Take polygraph tests (commonly referred to as lie detector tests), for example.

They demonstrate how your thoughts directly influence your blood pressure, muscle tension, temperature, breathing rate, heart rate, even how much your hands sweat. Those are some pretty significant physical reactions to our thoughts!

Effects of Negative Self-Talk

When you experience the effects of negative thoughts – such as thoughts that create the emotional states of fear, anger, anxiety, guilt, shame, or regret:

• The muscles in your body actually become weaker.
• Your stress levels go up.
• You experience changes in your biochemistry and hormone levels, and you may even suffer from gastrointestinal or digestive problems among other physical symptoms.

Studies also show that negative people tend to be more depressed and are generally less satisfied with life.

In contrast, when you experience positive thoughts, you flood your brain with endorphins, which helps you relax so you are more alert and centered.

Not only that, positive thinking increases your experience of pleasure while reducing physical pain.

And as a result, you’re far more likely to be confident, optimistic, and motivated to do what it takes to achieve your goals.

How to Stop Negative Self-Talk

But for some people, shifting their negative thoughts to positive ones is easier said than done.

Some people have a lifelong habit of seeing the bad in everything, including themselves. They might try to justify their negativity by pointing out everything bad that’s happening in the world and saying they are “just being realistic.”

But in reality, all they’re doing is mentally sabotaging themselves.

The good news is, you are ultimately in control of your thoughts – because you are the source of them!

That means you can learn to consciously choose to replace your negative thoughts with positive ones that will make your life better. Not all negative thoughts are the result of your inner critic run wild.

There are other types of negative thinking, that if you can learn to identify them and counter them, you can create a happier, more successful and more fulfilling life.

Negative Self-Talk Examples – And How to Overcome Them

I’d like to share five of the main types of negative thinking – so you can recognize them when they happen and then consciously choose to replace them with something more positive.

1. “Always or Never” Thinking

This is when you find yourself thinking in terms of always, never, every time, everyone, no one, and so on.

For example, thoughts like, “I will never get a raise,” or, “Nobody cares about me,” or, “I always screw up, no matter what.”

This type of thinking is not only detrimental to your happiness, it’s not based in reality. It’s not true that NO ONE cares about you, or that you will NEVER get a raise.

Well, that last one might be true if you never do the necessary work to get a raise. But then you’re the one who is creating that situation. Which means that you can change it.

It’s not an absolute given.  

2. “Focusing on the Negative” Thinking

This is when you’re so busy looking at everything that’s bad in the world, you can’t see the good.

But the truth is life isn’t all bad, just as it isn’t all good. It’s a combination of both. There is a positive side and a negative side to pretty much everything.

And since you get to choose what you are going to focus on, why not choose to focus on the positive?

I promise you it will have a much better impact on your life and your health if you do.

3. Catastrophic Predicting

This is when you imagine the worst possible outcome in any situation and convince yourself of its inevitability– usually without any real facts to back it up.

A good example of this would be that you begin to imagine that you are going to be laid off from work, or that North Korea is going to send a nuclear missile and blow up Los Angeles, even when there is no concrete evidence that supports your prediction.

Even though the worst-case scenario rarely ever happens, you act like it’s just a matter of time and you let it dominate your thoughts and actions.

The truth is we never know what the future holds – and history shows that worst-case scenarios seldom come to pass. So why worry about something that hasn’t happened yet, and most likely never will?

You are much better off to simply focus on what is actually happening in the current moment and focus on that – such as the task at hand.

4. Mind Reading

The fourth type of negative thinking is a sneaky one. This is when you tell yourself you know what another person is thinking – and it’s always something bad.

Do you ever find yourself having an argument in your head with someone?

You imagine them saying all sorts of terrible things that frustrate or anger you, or hurt you and make you feel ashamed?

THAT is mind reading…

In reality, you have absolutely no idea what that person is thinking. But you tell yourself that you do – and you let this false belief negatively impact your relationships.

Remember, most likely you aren’t psychic. The only way you can ever truly know what someone else is thinking is to ask them and have an honest conversation about it. That’s also how you form deeper, more meaningful relationships.

5. Guilt Tripping

Guilt Tripping is when you focus on everything bad you’ve ever done, everything that makes you feel guilty or ashamed, and you allow that to define your perception of who you are.

You tell yourself you’re a loser and a bad person and that you don’t deserve to feel happy or achieve the success you long for.

And so you give up before you even start.

I’ve seen people waste their entire lives because of their feelings of guilt over something they did decades ago – had an abortion, lost a marriage due to their alcohol or drug abuse, created a traffic accident, lost soldiers under their command in battle, spent time in jail, or convinced themselves that someone else’s death or suicide could have been prevented if they had acted differently.  

The thing is, EVERYONE, including me, has done things they regret.

You shouldn’t allow that to define you.

You have also done a lot of really great stuff in your life.

If you focus on the good things and start to see yourself as a fundamentally good person who has made some mistakes but is also capable of achieving great things, you will open yourself once again to a life of unlimited possibility.

Stop Negative Self-Talk Today!

Begin to listen to how you talk to yourself – and how you talk to others.

Do you focus on the negative and assume the worst?

Are you constantly tearing yourself down?

Do you think in terms of “always or never”?

Do you assume you know what others are thinking without checking it out?

Every time you catch yourself thinking a negative thought, say the words silently or out loud, “Cancel-Cancel” and then consciously shift it into a positive thought instead.

Speaking of thoughts, if you have any to share, leave a comment below. I’d love to see what you have to say! If you’d like to learn more about positive thinking, take a look at this free guide.

Running a business with events, speaking engagements, and meetings one right after the other on top of working with my team, I know first-hand how stressful and exhausting having a busy lifestyle can be. But I also know first-hand how to make sure you don’t burn out or find yourself helpless, irritable, and unhappy. Here are 9 of the best stress relief tips for when you find yourself extra busy. 

1. Eat Healthy and Exercise

It’s easy to want to jump out of bed and get right to work, skipping meals, grabbing fast food, and neglecting exercise when you live a busy lifestyle. But starting every day off right with healthy food, water and exercise is essential to success.

If you were going on a long trip in your high-performance car, would you fill it with the wrong kind of gas?

Of course not, it would be hard on the engine – remember your body is your engine, and it must come first.

Consider this…

Notice the times when you feel stressed or depressed, Were you binging on unhealthy, processed foods, eating too much sugar, drinking too much alcohol, not drinking enough water, and avoiding daily exercise?

Pay attention to your body, and avoid rewarding yourself for working hard by eating badly.

I understand the temptation, but it is important not to give into it. You’ll experience the feelings of joy and pleasure, not to mention greater mental clarity much more often when you abide by this #1 rule.

2. Meditation

Meditation and mindfulness is something I have practiced my entire adult life and is a key factor to keeping my stress levels down and my mind clear.

Ideally, 30 minutes to one hour of meditation a day would have a major impact in all areas of your life, but most of us don’t have that much time.

So start by just taking a few minutes a couple times a day to pay attention to your breathing – taking deep breaths breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth, letting go of any negative thoughts or feelings – just noticing them and letting them go.

By just this simple act you will notice your body destressing in the moment.

You can also take a mindful walk outside and breathe in your surroundings, listen to soothing music or a guided visualization. It is these little things, that create a huge difference in enjoying your success.

3. Practice Self-Care 

This is another thing the busy person tends to neglect – making time for yourself and getting the sleep you need to keep your body and mind at it’s best.

You work hard. Remember to reward yourself every now and then and celebrate how far you’ve come.

Take a mental health day, go on a weekend trip, catch a show, take a spa day, whatever you need to do to indulge in alone time often, do it.

Making this change in your routine will do wonders to your well-being, but it needs to be scheduled just like you would schedule a meeting or a business trip.

4. Clean Up Your Messes and Incompletes

Take time to make a list of all the things that are undone in your life. The things that wake you up at night or you catch yourself thinking about in the middle of the day, distracting you.

Maybe it’s a conversation you need to have, an important to do that is hanging over your head, your office door that is squeaky, the lighting in your office that needs replacing, a report you promised to send, whatever it is – write it down.

I literally go through my entire house and office quarterly and make a list room by room of undone stuff – I like to say these are the invisible monkeys on our backs, that over time create a level of stress that we unconsciously start to tolerate.

Then I make that same list with the people and relationships that are incomplete or need attention in my life.

Once I have everything down on paper and out of my head, I can prioritize my list and in what order I am going to handle these stressors.

The goal is to have an environment both mentally and physically that is clean, calm, and has space to support you. This is something that is easy to put off but so important to handle, you’ll feel the benefits of it immediately, I promise.

5. Be Grateful

Look for the good in every situation, even those you would normally view as negative.

It’s easy to be disappointed and get upset at others when things don’t go our way. But by being mindful that we’re all on this journey together and that none of us are perfect, allows us to appreciate our differences.

Accept things for what they are and being grateful for every piece of feedback, every amount of effort put in, every opportunity given, and even every opportunity missed.

Having a more positive outlook on life’s big and small events will tremendously reduce your stress.

Here’s a quick video on showing daily gratitude and making gratitude a habit.

6. Have Clearly Defined Goals

When you have clear goals, you have a clear direction on where you’re heading in life. And for the busy professional, having clear life goals means being productive with your precious time.  

One of the best methods of goal-setting is setting SMART goals.

Ensure that your goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bounded.

The more specific, the more likely you are to achieve them, and the easier it is to chunk them down.

With that level of clarity, it is easy to break down goals and ask, “What would actually be required for me to achieve this goal? How many hours would it take?”

Once you’ve identified the things that are most important to accomplish first, schedule those activities, and set aside the rest for later.

Clear Goals Make it Easy to Say No

When you’re ambitious, it’s hard to say no to opportunities, but in order to keep from feeling overwhelmed and to be successful in achieving your goals, you will have to get good at saying no to those activities, requests, and other time-stealers that don’t have a high payoff, remember the 80/20 rule.

It says that 80% of our productivity comes from 20% of our efforts. The key to being more efficient is to focus on the 20% that gets us closer to our goals.

Again, clear goals make saying no less stressful. One response that I have found helpful in saying no to people is, “It’s not against you; it’s for me.” Say no to the good so that you can say yes to the great.

7. Use Affirmations

Affirmations are simple, positive statements describing specific goals in their completed states.

An example would be:

“I am so happy and grateful that I am now completing a successful training event.”

Although they sound rather basic, these empowering mantras have profound effects on the conscious and unconscious mind.

Some of your stress may come from limiting beliefs. Positive affirmations will help replace your, “I cant’s” with “I cans”, and your fears and doubts with confidence and certainty. When there’s nothing in your mind to stop you, there’s nothing to stress about.

8. Focus on the Positive in Every Situation

This isn’t easy at first but it can become so over time. Learning to look at your “losses or what I like to refer to as lessons” as opportunities for growth allows you to keep your vibration high.

When you have a growth and learning mindset, you’re less stressed, which allows for more energy to focus on what you learned and what you can do with this new information, leading to more opportunities.

9. Remember to Delegate

Always remember you’re not in this alone.

I would not be able to accomplish as much as I do without my team.

Every high achiever has a powerful team of key staff members, consultants, vendors, and helpers who help manage projects and handle everyday tasks.

There’s nothing wrong with reaching out for help or letting someone else who is an expert at something take care of the work.

It’ll be the best use of your time and it will enable you to do more of the work you enjoy. And it’s not only relieving to have tasks taken from you, it’s also rewarding to see a team care about you and your goals.

Pick three stress relief tips to start doing today. Then notice how you felt after doing them. Tell me what you plan to do and share your experience in the comments. Learn more about the power of positive thinking and it’s role in stress relief. 

How do you get inspired and keep that inspiration alive, especially during tough times? First and foremost, you need something bigger than you to be inspired about. I think we are all born with a deep and meaningful purpose that we have to discover.

Your purpose in life is not something you need to make up; it’s already there – you just need to discover it.

And when you do, when you really discover what you’re meant to do, it will be the reason you get up in the morning.

Finding Your Life Purpose

Prior to discovering your life purpose, it’s easy to become sidetracked, or feel uninspired, or feel like you’ve accomplished very little.

But, what if these feelings are simply feedback that you need to keep going, keep searching, keep discovering?

What if it’s the universe reminding us not to settle for mediocrity, to continue experimenting for the one thing that lights you up?

I also believe we’re all born with a set of talents and interests that tell us what we’re supposed to be doing.

Lot’s of times they come so naturally to us, we overlook them. We think finding our purpose is supposed to be more profound or hard, but what if it’s right in front of you the whole time?

Think about it; have you ever wanted to study something that you loved, but the more logical route was to do what “your parents or teachers or friends” thought you should do?

Maybe you wanted to be a potter or a musician but ended up in business school, because it was “logical or sensible”?

If so, you’re not alone, you’re just off track. You’re meant to be a potter!

I discovered my purpose accidentally when I took a psychology class in college, and at the time I was a Chinese history major who thought I wanted to become an international lawyer.

We all figure it out. It just takes some of us longer than others.

How to Get Inspired

With that said, sometimes I feel myself feeling lost and uninspired, and when I do I consult my intuition.

I do this because our subconscious mind is the source of our hidden genius and will always provide us with the knowledge and creativity we need to keep moving forward in the right direction with inspiration.

1. Meditate

An excellent tool to access your intuition, and deepen your connection with your highest self is meditation.

Just 10 minutes a day of meditation can yield powerful results and will make it easier for you to recognize your intuition when it speaks to you through words, images, emotions, or physical sensations.

2. Mastermind

Another powerful tool I have used in my entire career is the mastermind group. A mastermind group is a group of usually 6 to 8 people who meet regularly to push themselves towards their goals, hold each other accountable, and share ideas and resources with each other.

The more time I spend consciously building and nurturing my business network of advisers, colleagues, clients, students and fans, the more successful I become.

So be sure to make time to develop genuine relationships with people who inspire you or you are inspired to be like.

It’s all about making sure you’re surrounding yourself with the right people that are going to believe in you, challenge you, and push you forward even when you’re going through a challenging time.

3. Read Positive Stories

I also read positive stories, listen to motivational speakers, and read inspiring and uplifting books.

And I teach this stuff for a living – but it keeps me motivated, and reminds me to keep setting goals and keep dreaming.

And I am here to remind you, you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to, as long as you stay true to yourself and stay true to your dreams, and never, ever give up!

I know you can do it because you’re here – watching this video and subscribing to my content.

The Chicken Soup for the Soul series and The Success Principles are filled with inspirational stories that have helped many of my students’ keep going, and they will help you too.

4. Enjoy Your Success

And last but not least, take time to enjoy yourself and your success!

It’s important to step away from your work, breathe, and draw inspiration from the outside world. Whether you like to go to the beach, take long walks, or travel to new places, you deserve it and I want to encourage you to do it.

Seriously, I read a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology that said people who traveled to a different country experienced greater self-confidence, open-mindedness, and conscientiousness.

Imagine that! You can have fun and grow at the same time.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come back home from Italy, Bali, Dubai, Mexico, or some other country, and felt totally reinvigorated and with a fresh perspective on everything.

What are you going to do to get inspired? Are you going to take a soul-searching trip? Do you plan to start a mastermind group, or meet with friends who uplift you? Share what actions you will take to keep you inspired.

Related Reading:

Daily Affirmations for Positive Thinking

How to Use Tapping Therapy To Eliminate Fear & Achieve Your Goals

Visualization Techniques to Affirm Your Desired Outcomes

Are you in need of a good laugh? Few things are more beneficial to a person’s overall well-being than laughter. In fact, the benefits of laughter extend to better mental health and is an indicator of better physical health as well.

If you need any more reason other than enjoyment to invite a few friends over and spend the afternoon telling jokes, watching funny YouTube videos, and swapping hilarious stories, consider these benefits of laughter.

1. Laughter Boosts Your Immune System

First, laughter boosts your immune system. Negative stress can cause your body to release chemicals that weaken your immune system, making you more likely to contract a disease.

Laughter, though, reduces negative stress and, in turn, prevents those chemicals from being released.

Laughter also promotes the release of T-cells, which are specialized immune system cells that fight off sickness. Next flu season, you may want to consider laughing as much as you can!

2. Laughter Promotes Good Heart Health

Laughter has been shown to both lower blood pressure and improves blood flow, both of which lead to better cardiovascular health and reduce your chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke.

3. Laughter Creates Bonds

If two people are laughing together, they will feel more emotionally connected.

This makes laughter a great tool if you are going on a date or trying to make friends with a coworker.

If you can get them laughing and laugh yourself as well, the two of you will both feel more connected to one another, and you will both leave the experience feeling more positive about the other person.

4. It Burns Calories

While you may not want to skip your workout routine in favor of watching stand up comedy, it’s still true that laughter does burn calories and can promote weight loss.

According to a study by the International Journal of Obesity, laughing for 15 minutes can burn 10-40 calories by raising your heart rate.

5. Laughter is a Great Energy Boost

When you laugh, your body increases its oxygen intake and releases endorphins.

Among many other positive effects, these two things can provide you with a quick, refreshing boost of energy.

6. Laughter Reduces Stress

The endorphins that laughter releases not only provide you with an energy boost, they also are a powerful way to reduce stress.

Endorphins work to reduce stress by counteracting the output of the stress-causing hormone cortisol and providing you with a sense of euphoria.

In fact, the effects of endorphins in the body have been compared to the effects of drugs such as morphine and codeine, except without any danger of addiction or dependence.

7. Laughing Improves Confidence and Performance

The ability to laugh at yourself when you make a mistake is a truly valuable trait.

Laughing at yourself allows you to build confidence and keeps minor setbacks from dragging you down.

If you can laugh something off rather than letting it fester in your mind, you can move on much quicker and avoid letting a small problem become a major one.

8. Laughter Helps You Better Retain Information

People tend to remember funny things more than anything else. If you develop the ability to find humor in the things you read and hear, you’ll be much more likely to retain the information you receive.

Likewise, if you want to get a point across to someone else in a way that they will be more likely to remember, make it funny.

This is one major reason that educators, writers, and speakers often do their best to instill humor into their material.  

If you’ve ever taken a live seminar with me, you know that I start every session with as many as 15 to 18 cartoons.

The laughter that ensues accomplishes three important things: it lets people know that we are going to have fun.

It makes people feel more favorably bonded and connected to me. But most importantly, it helps people remember what I am teaching them.

9. Laughing Works Out Your Abs

Want to get six-pack abs? Laugh more often.

Laughter causes the muscles in your stomach to contract in a similar way to doing crunches or situps.

This is why you may feel your stomach hurting after a long period of heavy laughter.

10. Laughter Can Help Prevent Cancer

Laughter has been shown to increase the levels of Interferon-Gamma in the body, which in turn promotes the release of B-cells, T-cells, NK cells, and immunoglobulin, and it also helps regulate cell growth.

Not only can all of these things help boost your immune system, they may also help prevent the growth of cancerous cells.

So with the intention of having you laugh right now, let me share a recent joke I heard with you.

The famous Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi often walked barefoot which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also ate very little, making him rather frail, and with his odd diet he often suffered from bad breath. This made him a super calloused fragile mystic hexed with halitosis.

Post your favorite joke in the comments below and let’s all have a good laugh. Make sure to keep it clean though. Thanks for that. If you’re interested in learning more about positive thinking, click the button below to get a free Guide to Everyday Positive Thinking.

Everything found in the universe is made up of energy. This goes for both physical and nonphysical objects.

Basic physics and chemistry tells us that a physical object, such as a building, a tree, or this book, is made up of billions of individual atoms—little energy bundles that interact and bond with other atoms into many forms including water, metals, plants, soil, plastics, wood pulp, and other raw materials used to manufacture physical objects.

Nonphysical things—including thoughts, whether positive or negative thoughts are also made up of energy and, can also “bond” and interact with aspects and objects of our physical world.

How We Interact With Positive and Negative Energy

It’s well known, for instance, that our brain waves are a form of intense energy that can be easily detected with standard medical equipment—and that can interact with our physical world as any other form of energy would. Perhaps you’re wondering, what do I mean by “interact with our physical world”?

Have you ever thought about a distant friend, only to get a phone call from them minutes later?

Have you ever driven down a highway wondering whether you’ll get a speeding ticket—only to see flashing red lights in your rearview mirror?

That’s your brain waves interacting with your physical reality.

How to Create Positive Results in Your Life

Luckily, it’s also possible to use your thoughts to intentionally create the positive results you want in your life.

If you’ve ever desired something intensely for months, only to suddenly receive it through serendipitous means—or step into a situation where it was provided to you—that was also your thoughts, intention, and desire impacting your experience.

The world, as we have created it, is a process of our thinking and it cannot be changed without changing our thinking.

Albert Einstein studied this phenomenon in 1935 when he experimented with quantum mechanics—the idea that energetically activating a particle on one side of the universe created an instantaneous response in a “partner” particle elsewhere in the universe.

Columbia University professor Brian Greene explains it this way:

“According to quantum theory and the many experiments that bear out its predictions, the quantum connection between two particles can persist even if they are on opposite sides of the universe.”

In other words, something that happens over here can be entwined with something that happens over there.

A number of other documented experiments have also proven that thoughts can rapidly travel through space and either be picked up by others or have an effect on matter.

We also know from polygraph (or lie-detector) tests that your body reacts to your thoughts—changing your temperature, heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate, muscle tension, and how much your hands sweat.

When you are hooked up to a lie detector and are asked a question such as “Did you take the money?”

Your hands will get colder, your heart will beat faster, your blood pressure will go up, your breathing will get faster, your muscles will get tighter, and your hands will sweat if you did take the money and you lie about it.

These kinds of physiological changes occur not only when you are lying but also in reaction to every thought you think.

Every cell in your body is affected by every thought you have.

How Negative Energy Affects the Body

Negative thoughts affect your body negatively—weakening you, making you sweat, and making you uptight. Positive thoughts affect your body in a positive way, making you more relaxed, centered, open, and alert. Positive thoughts cause the secretion of endorphins in the brain and reduce pain and increase pleasure.

Psychiatrist Daniel G. Amen has named the limiting thoughts we hear in our head ANTs—Automatic Negative Thoughts.

And just like real ants at a picnic, your ANTs can ruin your experience of life. Dr. Amen recommends that you learn to stomp the ANTs.

1. First, you have to become aware of them.
2. Second, you have to shake them off and stomp them by challenging them.
3. Finally, you have to replace them with more positive and affirming thoughts.

The key to dealing with any kind of negative thinking is to realize that you are ultimately in charge of whether to listen to or agree with any thought.

Just because you think it—or hear it—doesn’t mean it’s true.

“You want to constantly ask yourself, “Is this thought helping me or hurting me?”

“Is it getting me closer to where I want to go, or taking me further away?”

“Is it motivating me to action, or is it blocking me with fear and self-doubt?”

You have to learn to challenge and talk back to the thoughts that are not serving you in creating greater success and happiness.

How to Become Aware of Your Negative Thoughts

My friend Doug Bench recommends writing down every negative thought you think or say out loud and every negative thought you hear anyone else say—for 3 whole days! Make sure that 2 of the days are workdays and that 1 is a weekend day.

Ask your spouse or partner, children, roommates, and fellow employees to catch you and impose a dollar fine every time they hear you uttering a negative thought.

In a recent 5-day workshop I conducted, participants had to put $2 in a bowl every time they said anything that was blaming, justifying, or self-negating.

It was amazing to see how fast the bowl filled up.

However, as the 5 days went on, there were fewer and fewer automatic negative comments as everyone became more aware.

What if you could learn to always talk to yourself like a winner instead of a loser?

What if you could transform your negative self-talk into positive self-talk?

What if you could silence your thoughts of lack and limitation and replace them with thoughts of abundance and unlimited possibility?

What if you could replace any victim language in your thoughts with the language of empowerment?

And what if you could transform your inner critic, who judges your every move, into a supportive inner coach who would encourage you and give you confidence as you faced new situations and risks?

The good news is that all of this is possible with a little awareness, focus, and intention.

Write down every thought that you have for 3 days. This may surprise you. As you become more aware of your negative comments you’ll be able to clear your negative energy.

Finally, I want you to answer this….

What is your most common negative thought? “I can’t? I’m not good enough? If I do that I’ll fail? I can’t say what I really think? It’s too dangerous to stand up for what I believe?”

What would be the opposite thought that you could choose to think instead? Write it below in the comments.

If you want to learn more about the power of positive thinking and how to banish negative energy and thoughts, download my free guide Think This, Not That: Your Guide to Everyday Positive Thinking.

Learning how to believe in yourself will open up endless possibilities in your life. At times you may find this difficult to do. The truth is that we’ve been conditioned throughout our lives to doubt ourselves. We must retrain ourselves to get rid of our fears and self-doubt in order to build self-esteem and self-confidence.

Everything you have in your life is a result of your belief in yourself and the belief that it’s possible. Here are the four most important steps to learning how to believe in yourself. Practice them and you’ll be amazed at the results:

• Believe it’s possible. Believe that you can do it regardless of what anyone says or where you are in life.
• Visualize it. Think about exactly what your life would look like if you had already achieved your dream.
• Act as if. Always act in a way that is consistent with where you want to go.
• Take action towards your goals. Do not let fear stop you, nothing happens in life until you take action.

Let’s take a look at each of these steps…

Believe it’s Possible: You Always Have a Choice

In order to believe in yourself, you first have to believe that what you want is possible.

Scientists used to believe that humans responded to information flowing into the brain from the outside world. But what we now know is that instead, we respond to what the brain — based on previous experience — expects to happen next.

In fact, the mind is such a powerful instrument; it can deliver literally everything you want through the power of positive expectation.  

This is the importance of always holding a positive expectation that what you want is going to happen. It is simply a choice and a discipline of the mind.

CASE STUDY: Zander Fryer and The Power of Believing It’s Possible

Zander was an ordinary person, but he made the extraordinary decision that has led to him leading an extraordinary life. Zander worked for a large tech company whose technology was used by Disney, Facebook, NBC, DirecTV, and at 27 years old he decided to quit his job.

After reading the Success Principles, Zander realized that his job really wasn’t for him. His mentor asked him, “What would you do if you couldn’t fail?” Zander immediately said that he would be a trainer and a mentor to others.

Watch Zander’s powerful testimony below.

Does Zander’s story sound like you? Do you know that you need to make a change? Do you feel like you’re stuck in your job or feel like you’re unfulfilled in what you’re doing in your life?

Zander believed it was possible first, leaned into his dreams, and his path to success created itself.

During my 5-day Breakthrough to Success Live Training Event I’ll teach you how to believe that whatever you want it possible. I’ll show you how to live your purpose and fulfill that empty feeling you may have been experiencing.

Visualization: See What You Want, Get What You See

By adding a visualization practice to your daily routine, you will naturally become more motivated to reach your goals. You’ll start to notice you are unexpectedly doing things that move you closer to your ideal life.

Suddenly, you find yourself volunteering to take on more responsibility at work, speaking out at staff meetings, asking more directly for what you want, and taking more risks in your personal and professional life – and experiencing bigger pay-offs.

One way to do this is with a motivational vision board. A vision board is a graphic representation of exactly what you want in life. You look at it every day. Use it to visualize exactly where you want to go.

Acting as if: Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?

One of the most effective ways to establish a success mindset is to act as if you are already the kind of person who has created the ideal life you want to live.

Ask yourself: If you had already achieved your dream, what kind of person would you be? Who would you have as friends? What type of clothes would you be wearing? How would you act? How would you treat others? Would you tithe a portion of your income to your church or favorite charities?

Whatever actions you identify, start taking them now. By acting “as if,” you will become the kind of person who is capable of creating the kind of success you want – and this will trigger your subconscious mind to find creative ways to achieve your goals. Using SMART goals to define target times is even more effective in this manner. You will start noticing anything that will help you succeed. Best of all, you will start acting on this opportunities, because you will have the confidence that your efforts will yield great results.

CASE STUDY: Jake Heilbrunn and the Power of Acting as if

Jake realized that he had chosen a path that didn’t align with what he really wanted. He decided to take a leap of faith and pursue his dream of traveling the world and helping people. Jake hopped on a plane to Guatemala and spent four months teaching English to children. He found a sense of peace and purpose within himself.

Listen to his testimony here:

Take Action Toward Your Goals

I’ve noticed this is where a lot of people get stuck. You can understand all these principles, and you can set your goals, and say your affirmations and do your visualizations, but ultimately nothing happens if you don’t act on them.

The biggest reason most people don’t achieve their goals and realize their dreams is that they don’t take action, and the number one reason people don’t take action is fear. And, what I tell them is that fear is normal, and as soon as you experience fear, you need to take action.

CASE STUDY: Austin Bauer and the Power of Taking Action

Austin was living a pretty good job and had a good life. He realized he was in a career that he didn’t want to be in. His mentor told him that he couldn’t run from his problems, what he realized was that he needed to find a community of like-minded people and attended Breakthrough to Success. Ultimately Austin was empowered to be himself and live a life that made him happy. Listen to Austin’s story here:

Take Action and Join Me Live!

Now is your chance. If any of these stories inspired you, it’s time for you to take action. I want you to join me for my Breakthrough to Success Live Training.

Remember, when you believe in yourself and believe success is possible for you, and take action on that belief, your life will begin to magically unfold. And you’ll discover that the universe will guide you and support you.

Consciously and subconsciously you’ll begin to recognize opportunities that you would have normally not seen in the past. I want to tell you about an opportunity that can help you jumpstart that breakthrough in your life.

Now it’s your turn to experience those same breakthroughs to be yourself. I want to strongly encourage you to take the next step today and join me for this live training.

I will personally be leading every session of this experiential training. It’s not a pitch fest or sales seminar disguised as something else. It’s truly a unique, 5-day live training with me, where I’ll take you in-depth through all of the concepts and strategies we barely scratched the surface of today.

During my 5-day Breakthrough to Success Live Training Event, I’ll teach you how to believe that whatever you want it possible. I’ll show you how to live your purpose and fulfill that empty feeling you may have been experiencing.

If you have put your passions to the side for too long, or you have yet to find them, at Breakthrough to Success you’ll learn how to find your passion by aligning it with your personal and professional life.

With my help, you’ll begin to create new successful habits that replace the ones that no longer serve you.

And by learning how to more skillfully apply the Law of Attraction and taking more inspired action, you’ll attract the people, wealth, and abundance you deserve into your life.

Most importantly, you’ll learn to listen to your intuition, be more positive and mindful each day, and have the power to ask for what you want, making you unstoppable in any situation. Thanks for reading about how to believe in yourself and for more information on Breakthrough to Success, click the link below.

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT EXACTLY WHAT YOU’LL LEARN DURING BREAKTHROUGH TO SUCCESS

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Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps that will get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than on all the other distractions that life presents to them. They think about their successes in the morning and practice day and night meditation as well.

Successful people are constantly proactive in the pursuit of their chosen objectives.

An important part of any focusing regimen is to set aside time at the end of the day—just before going to sleep—to meditate on your successes, review your goals, focus on your desired ideal future successes, and make specific plans for what you want to accomplish the next day.

Why Meditate at Night?

So, why do I suggest night meditation?

The reason is, whatever you read, see, listen to, talk about, and experience during the last 45 minutes of the day has a huge influence on your sleep and your next day.

According to some recent research, during the night, your unconscious mind replays and processes this late-night input up to six times more often than anything else you experienced during the day.

This is why cramming for school exams late at night can work and why watching a scary movie before bed will often give you nightmares.

This is also why reading good bedtime stories is so important for children—not just to get them to fall asleep, but because the repeated messages, lessons, values, and morals of the story become part of the fabric of the child’s consciousness.

Sleep Meditation

As you drift off to sleep, you enter into the alpha brainwave state of consciousness—a state in which you are very suggestible. If you drift off to sleep after watching the late news, that is what you’ll be imprinting into your consciousness—war, crime, automobile accidents, rape, robbery, murder, gang wars, drive-by shootings, kidnappings, natural disasters and corporate scandals.

Think how much better it would be to read an inspiring autobiography or a self-improvement book instead.

Imagine the power of meditating, listening to a self-help audio program, or taking the time to plan your next day right before you go to sleep.

Nighttime Meditation Techniques

Here are two exercises that will keep you positively focused and moving forward at the end of the day.

1. The Evening Review

The first is a very impactful night meditation technique called “The Evening Review”.

This is a powerful exercise to help you more quickly install a new positive behavior like punctuality, a new habit, like listening more, or a new quality, like patience or mindfulness. You’ll be amazed at how fast this technique can lead to permanent change.

It is very easy to do. You start by sitting with your eyes closed, and taking a few deep breaths., After you feel more relaxed, give yourself one of the following directions:

 Show me where I could have been more effective today…

 Show me where I could have been more conscious today…

 Show me where I could have been a better (and then fill in your profession— a better manager, teacher, coach, salesperson, etc.) today…

 Show me where I could have been more loving today. …

 Show me where I could have been more assertive today. …

 Show me where I could have been more (and just fill in any quality or characteristic) today…

As you sit calmly in a state of quiet receptivity, you’ll see that a number of events from the day will come to mind.

Just observe them without any judgment or self-criticism. When no more events come to mind, take each incident and replay it in your mind the way you would have preferred to have done it had you been more conscious and intentional at the time.

For example you might see yourself being more patient in the checkout line at the supermarket or more patient with your young daughter as you were getting her to help clean up her room, or being more assertive and speaking out more boldly in your staff meeting at work.

This little bit of effort to visualize yourself doing a more conscious and intentional job in alignment with your chosen values and goals creates a subconscious image that will help to more easily evoke the desired behavior the next time you find yourself in a similar situation.

2. Visualize Your Next Day the Night Before

Another powerful tool to keep you focused on creating your life exactly as you want it to be is to take a few minutes after you have planned your next day’s schedule and visualize the entire day going exactly the way you want it to.

Visualize everyone being there when you call them, every meeting starting and ending on time, all of your priorities being handled, all of your errands being completed with ease, making every sale, and so on.

See yourself performing at your best in every situation you will encounter during the next day.

This will give your subconscious mind all night to work on creating ways to make it all happen just as you have visualized it. We also now know that every thought you think is broadcast out to the universe on what my friend and success coach Robert Scheinfeld calls the “inner-net.”

So when you are visualizing your ideal day, you are also sending out your intention to the other people and into the universe!

Try This Night Meditation for Yourself!

Get into the habit now of nighttime meditation. It will make a huge difference in your life. If you want to learn more about meditation click the button below to download my free 4 Step Meditation for Beginners.

You can learn more about the benefits of meditation in this post, too!

Try this “Evening Review Meditation” before you go to bed tonight. And then take a few moments to visualize yourself completing all of your goals for the next day. Come back and share your experience of how it felt in the comments section.

Related Reading:

Daily Affirmations for Positive Thinking

How to Use Tapping Therapy To Eliminate Fear & Achieve Your Goals