by AmyD | Sep 23, 2018 | Mindfulness, Success
In 2012, the New York Giants’ future seemed destined to end without a post-season berth. They were 7-7 and drowning in penalties, sloppy play, and low morale. After a particularly awful game, the next night the players attended chapel. There high school teacher, Gian Paul Gonzalez, spoke to them about being all in. According to Gonzalez, when playing poker and you feel confident in your hand, you go all in. Being all in became their rallying cry to action, and a call for each member of the organization to re-evaluate their commitment to success. Gonzalez challenged them to be their best selves. The Giants’ team players successfully went on to win the Super Bowl. When you know you have a winning hand, you don’t hesitate to take the risk. That’s the feeling leaders should inspire in those around them and in themselves whether they can clearly see the winning hand or not.
Throughout the course of our lives, we lose focus. At those times, we don’t present our best. That loss comes for a variety of reasons. For example, during the last few weeks, many have been tested by the throes of Mother Nature. Hurricanes, wildfires, and earthquakes have left many in our communities feeling harried. In these challenging moments, we have two choices—to present our best or not.
When we shift our energies from a negative focus, we reconnect to our goals. We can do so via mediation, helping others, and utilizing the team around us. When we do, we find success. We are able to rediscover inspiration and reignited spark. We must avoid being swept away in the sea of emotion that forces us to lose sight of the shore. Having a solid team to hold you accountable can help us remain tethered to our being our best.
One of the other ways we can remain focused is to train our brain to be focused on a singular task. According to David Rock, co-founder of the NeuroLeadership Institute, we should train our brain like a muscle. The ideal of multitasking has trained our brain to be unfocused. To train our brains to focus, we should start by spending small chunks of time concentrating on completing a singular task. Practice daily. If your mind wanders, redirect it back to the task at hand. Increase the time as you would when implementing a new workout regimen.
Another way to remain focused, in addition to brain exercises and mediation, is to pay attention to where you do your best work. According to Rock, most people do their best thinking when not in an office. So, pay attention to the location in which you are most focused. These are your touchstones, your focal points. Revisit these areas when you feel unconnected and need to reconnect to your goals.
When you feel unfocused or drifting from your goals, be an advocate for yourself. Seek out your team to help you reconnect and recommit. Getting the help you need when you need it is part of the success. That success can in turn, lead you to being your best. And, keep in mind, your team is generally well defined when you consider work, but in personal matters, your team can be advocates from a wide range of family, friends and even acquaintances that share a mutual concern or interest. Remember to accept your advocates and support from those unlikely sources so you can maintain your Power of Yes.
by AmyD | Jan 18, 2018 | Mindfulness, mindset
It is estimated that only 8% of the people who set resolutions at the beginning of the new year reach their goal. And, as you’ve probably heard dozens of times, most people have abandoned their resolutions by the end of February. While that may seem disheartening for many, most of these individuals may be able to receive better results with a slight change in the way they think and the way they speak to themselves.
What is Self-Talk?
Self-talk is exactly what it sounds like: talking to yourself. It may sound crazy but speaking to yourself, either aloud or mentally, in a positive way can have a significant impact on your everyday life.
Dr. Masaru Emoto conducted a study that can provide evidence of how positive self-talk can increase your overall quality of life. To perform the study, Dr. Emoto placed equal amounts of rice and water into two jars. One jar was marked happy, while the other is sad. Each day, he opened the happy jar and said: “thank you.” Then he would close the jar and open the sad container to which he yelled, “You idiot!”
Emoto did this over the span of 30 days. At the end of the month, what Emoto found was that the negative energy caused the rice water to become black and moldy. The water Emoto spoke to kindly, however, showed no signs of fermentation or mold.
Of course, your body is quite different from a jar of rice water, but the same is true. If you speak to yourself negatively day after day, your body will fill up with toxins that will prohibit you from living a happy, healthy life. On the other hand, speaking to yourself in a positive manner can do just the opposite. It can fill you with optimism, hope, and lead to better overall health.
You can use self-talk in many other areas of life as well, including those pesky resolutions. Using positive self-talk to reach your goals is simply about changing your mindset around a topic or goal. See how positive self-talk and changing the way you think can impact these common resolutions:
Lose Weight
Twenty-one percent of those who set resolutions settle on the overall goal of losing weight. When you think about the idea of shedding some pounds, you don’t necessarily feel great about yourself. Most people are focusing on numbers like pounds, measurements, and even cardio times.
Instead of focusing on losing weight, consider switching your mental focus to getting healthy. Resolving to get healthy in the new year is more positive than simply losing weight. Instead of focusing on your weight, think about reaching a healthier you. Ask yourself how many times throughout the day you thought about yourself in a positive light, opposed to thinking about your weight or health negatively. Training your mind to think positively can make all the difference in your overall success.
Get Out of Debt
About 12% of those making resolutions in 2018 are making financial goals for the year. For many, this includes attempting to pay off massive amounts of debt. While being in debt may be overwhelming, using positive self-talk and changing your mindset can help reach your goals related to debt.
Instead of saying you want to get out of debt in 2018, consider telling yourself that you are striving to increase your cash flow throughout the year. Earning more cash will undoubtedly help you pay off the debt you have. You should also celebrate your progress. Don’t focus on thoughts like “I still have $20,000 to pay off.” Instead, switch your focus to your successes, like “I’ve paid off $500 of my debt.”
De-Clutter
Fewer than 10% of resolution-makers resolve to de-clutter but many of them are likely thwarted because of the negativity their minds associated with the word this word and concept.
The prefix de means privation, removal, separation, negation, detract, descent and degrade. Clutter means a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass. Not exactly positive phraseology with the combination of the two.
If you have ever to clean a closet, garage, attic, the junk drawer…, it is easy to focus on the huge task at hand, become overwhelmed, and quit or procrastinate. Instead of focusing on the clutter, place your focus on getting more organized. When you are working on your things, celebrate small successes. For instance, many people would focus on how much work they have left to do. Change the way you think about it by placing your focus on what you have accomplished. “I have cleared almost half of the garage!” vs. “I still have half of the garage left to de-clutter.”
To change the way you think about yourself, your goals, and your abundance, you’ll need to address your current patterns. I can help! Schedule a confidential discussion to see how this process works. Contact me via email at [email protected] or schedule a call directly on my calendar.
by AmyD | Nov 1, 2017 | Addiction, Choices
The desire for instant gratification is a part of the human condition. Quick fixes, such as pain relievers that have been in the news recently, mask the original problem without addressing it. The desire to have these problems go away immediately and the reliance on external gratifications systems are leading our country into an epidemic of addictions. When experiencing an injury, typically an individual will go to the doctor.
Seeking help to resolve the pain caused by an injury maybe be the root cause of some cases of addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control, an estimated 1 in 5 patients with a non-cancer related diagnosis are prescribed opioids in a doctor’s office. Opioids are a class of drugs that interact with nerve cells in the brain and nervous system to produce pleasurable effects and relieve pain. Opioids include several types of drugs: oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, fentanyl and heroin. These drugs relieve physical pain and send a message to your brain that you are no longer injured. That is all an illusion created by the blocked pain receptors. Opioid pain relievers only mask the pain, they do not heal or aid in the repair of the original cause of the pain.
Not everyone who is prescribed a pain-killer or an opioid becomes addicted. However, addictions in general follow this pattern of masking pain, whether that pain is sourced from the physical body or the emotional body. CBS News recently reported that state Attorney Generals are questioning drug companies about how opioids are made and marketed. They are getting fed up with the 12 deaths per day caused by this drug. It’s unlikely that you will meet someone who hasn’t been touched by the effects of opioid addiction. My graduating class alone lost 22 individuals over the years due to this debilitating disease. It’s sad.
All of this begs the question: why are we so accepting of this mask? We know that concealing our pain causes a negative effect on our lives. Masking that pain aggravates our original physical and emotional injuries thus perpetuating the cycle of pain. That cycle spreads to our loved ones and begins to affect other aspects of our life, creating divides in our personal relationships and hindering personal and spiritual growth.
Speak to your doctor or counselor to take the first steps in recognizing the source of your pain and the best steps for healing. In a previous blog post, I discussed how meditation positively impacts your brain. Mindfulness will put you in the appropriate state of mind to face your problems head-on. And if traditional and main-stream methods don’t seem to work for your, consider energetic healing.
Energetic healing or energy work cleanses the body and energies to expedite the healing process for both physical and emotional pain. It works deep to the root of your pain source. While the root of physical maladies is usually recognizable, very often, the root of emotional maladies is not quite so easy to identify. My work with individuals often focuses on peak performance. In the process of reaching that peak, we strip away all of the energetic clutter that is an encumbrance. This same process can help you heal. I want to help you remove the mask and live life full of joy and love. You can learn more about my bioenergetic work on my website and sign up for a session.
by AmyD | Apr 25, 2017 | Leadership, Mindfulness, Spirituality, Success
In my last blog post, I discussed how your emotions impact your physical health. Your body is an entire system of thought, that communicates with itself so it can heal from illness and injury. Right now I’d like to shed more light on how mental awareness and long term meditation not only impact your brain, but also your mental and physical performance.
Studies reveal that meditation has an age-defying impact on the the brain. Those who commit to long-term meditation have more gray matter in the regions of their brain that are responsible for sensory perception, memory and decision-making. Older meditators, around 50 years old, had the same amount of gray matter in their cortex as 25-year-olds.
Whether you’re a professional athlete or a CEO, you can benefit from habitual meditation and awareness exercises, which not only strengthen your brain against the impacts of aging, but also increase your peak performance. Here’s how:
Hyper-Awareness
My clients who practice meditation and mental awareness report dramatic, positive changes in their perceptions. Through a disciplinary practice, they’ve cultivated a mindset that is clear, free from distraction, and responsive to changes in their environment. My professional athletes in particular have integrated mental awareness into their physical training regimen. The increased awareness of their surroundings allows them to anticipate their opponent’s next move with more precision than before. They know the drill. They can predict, with laser-like accuracy, when their opponent is interrupting the flow that they’ve established through their mental and physical rituals.
This altered state, called a “flow state” by experts, elevates them to a peak performance that gives them the ultimate advantage over their opponent.
Physical Well-being
Meditation inhibits chemicals like cortisol, which are associated with chronic stress. Stress hormones like cortisol and epinephrine wreak havoc on our bodies, and keep our brains from sustaining that healthy gray matter so crucial to our mental focus and our memories. Chronic stress also creates a buildup of negative energy in our bodies which increase wear-and-tear. It’s why some professional athletes report being more injury prone when they’ve stopped meditating or practicing mental awareness.
Long term meditation can act as preventative for the harmful stress placed on the body. Discipline in the art of meditation and mental awareness allows you to react quickly and gracefully to everything around you. You begin to “think on your feet,” which prevents career-ruining injuries and promotes the holistic healing of your body, mind, and spirit.
If you’re in a career that requires you to be on top of your game, at all times and all places, meditation and mental conditioning is what puts you at a competitive advantage. Ask me about Peak Performance Mentoring that can catapult you to a place among the elites. Visit my contact page or email me at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you!
by AmyD | Apr 13, 2017 | Health
Recent studies have shown that negative emotional and mental states, including anxiety and depression, can increase your risk of injury or illness. Professional athletes in particular are susceptible to these devastating self-fulfilling prophecies. Did you know that athletes who are stressed out about getting sick are 5 times more likely to get injured?
The good news about self-fulfilling prophecies is that they have the opposite effect. You can re-direct your emotions and your thoughts so that you can be free of illness and injury. If you’re a professional athlete, these techniques can make or break your success as a competitor. Here’s how it works.
Each part of our body sends out a chemical signature, an energy vibration that directs other parts of our bodies to follow its lead. For better or for worse, depending on our emotions, this phenomena creates a perfect symbiosis. For example, it’s proven that stress hormones, fueled by negative mental states, actually increase your risk for heart disease, diabetes, and obesity.
Catabolic energy that arises from negative mental states also manifests as pain. You know that tight, squeezing feeling you get in your chest, when you’re in emotional distress? That feeling is caused by trapped energy lodging itself into your emotional core, forming what’s called a Heart Wall.
We often think of the mind and body as separate. This is a figment of our collective imagination. There is no boundary between the mind and the body, because every part of the body has neuro-pathways that are perfect communication with all the other parts. Did you know there are so many neurons in our gut that scientists actually call it our “second brain”? The body is an entire system of thought, and that means that we have more control over what occurs within it than we ever imagined.
Instead of increasing our risk of injury or illness through negative mental states, we can encourage our body to maintain it’s health and well-being by giving off positive, anabolic energy signals instead. For example, if you practice the art of gratitude even when you’re sick or injured, your body will follow suit- acting as if you’ve already been healed and are well!
It’s up to you. You can either manifest disease and injury, or healing and wellness. If you’re a professional athlete, the choice is pretty clear.
How can you improve your physical health? Here are the very basic ways that all individuals, athletes and non-athletes alike, can begin manifesting positive energy today:
- Exercise regularly
- Get plenty of sleep
- Meditate and practice mindfulness
- Maintain well-balanced diet
- Practice gratitude
- Practice mental resilience
Some of us must be free from illness or injury in order to advance our professional careers. If you’d like an Energy Assessment, to find out where your energy is blocked and preventing you from abundant physical and emotional health, visit my website and send me a message on my contact page. Let’s start this journey together, today.
