For Life To Get Better, We Must Get Better!!

In the days when ships were powered by wind and sail, seamen feared entering an area of the ocean near the equator known as the doldrums. Once in the doldrums they could encounter calm waters and light wind or simply no wind at all. Sometimes a sailing ship would lie becalmed and helpless in the doldrums for weeks waiting for the wind to blow. Then either light unpredictable winds or sudden fierce squalls would blow and they could continue their journey. People also get caught in the doldrums. Waiting for winds that they think will create the conditions where they can move forward in life. In the meantime just like the sailors of old, they become dispirited and uninspired. However unlike a sailing ship we need not wait for prevailing winds. Change and growth can come at any time that we decide to change our thinking, our beliefs and take action to remove ourselves from the doldrums. Often one of the reasons people don't take the time to improve their quality of life, is that they think things will somehow just get better. They live their life in hope that their job or business will somehow improve. They hope that some lucky combination of circumstances will come about and as a result, they will finally be recognized and rewarded. Unfortunately this isn't how life works. How life works is; for things to get better, we must first get better. For things to improve, we must first improve. If we want to become more successful and happier in life, we must adopt a more effective approach. The starting point of all change is in the mind, or more precisely, in how we think! Am I saying all we must do is improve the quality of our thoughts and we will improve the quality of our life? Yes! In fact, everything pivots around this fundamental truth. Success comes from results. Results come from actions. Actions come from thoughts. So, when we think more effectively, we take better actions, and produce better results. As you are the one who is responsible for your thoughts, you must decide how successful your life will be. It is always your responsibility, because only you have control of your mind. Beliefs are magical things, they are at first thoughts and yet they are more than thoughts. Our beliefs comprise; how we come to know and understand things, give meaning to things, and create energy, emotions, and actions. Meaning doesn't exist out there in the world. Meaning exists only within the mind as we connect and link ideas with experiences. At birth, we have no beliefs. They develop as our perceptions, understandings and learning's grow and become a form of focused awareness. Beliefs develop over time from our experiences. We construct them via the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and meanings that we develop about various concepts. Beliefs are very powerful, helping us to have a sense of certainty and direction in an unpredictable world. So if we wish to get better we must start by developing better beliefs. And you can chose to change any one you want to by first identifying a limiting belief, and then creating a new counter-belief that better supports you. Then become willing to let go of the old belief, and adopt the new. Simply accept any resistance, and then repeat the process until you can state the new belief congruently. Manifesting your dreams and desires into reality does not depend on your education, your ethnicity, your cultural heritage, or your current environment. It is solely the result of how you think and what you believe. One of the most important beliefs we can adopt is that in order to succeed and be happy we should be constantly improving the quality of our lives, by constantly growing and expanding our thinking. The last word is from Anthony Robbins: "Success or failure begins with belief. Whether you believe you can do something, or believe you can't, you're right. Even if you have the skills and resources to do something, once you tell yourself you can't, you shut down the neurological pathways that can make it happen. If you tell yourself you can do something, you open up the pathways that can provide you with the resources for achievement."

To Your Success,   Lloyd Dobson

How To Take Responsibility For The Results In Your Life

Taking responsibility is a state of mind. It occurs when we own our decisions and actions, and become pro-active about the things we must do in order to fulfill our dreams. Self-responsibility isn't for the faint a heart, or for those with low self-esteem. It's not for those whose value, and self-worth is conditional, or whose emotions are always in play. Self-responsibility is vital to a fulfilled life. Because when we stop accusing, blaming, and complaining, we then get on with life. We recognize what we must do, and do it. So how can we create this state of mind? Here are some markers to the self-responsible person. They are proactive. They continuously question and learn. They first identify and then live their values. They take deliberate decisions. They initiate action and enthusiastically pursue their goals in life. They bounce back from disappointments. They're aware of their resources, and strengths. They make bold decisions and follow through. They hold themselves accountable, and also allow others to hold them accountable. They are socially responsible. Self-responsibility can be described as the practice of being responsible for the results we want. Not hoping, or demanding that someone else will 'do' something while we sit on the sidelines and observe. It's through self-responsibility that we attain personal power. And if the key issue is being accountable for the results we want. How then do we do that? How do we develop responsibility for our thoughts, our choices, and our actions? The answer lies in a deep seated belief that we can make a difference. That we can always do something, that there is always some action we can take. And that we can trust our powers of mind, emotion, speech, and behaviour to navigate our way through life. It's a state of mind where we trust in ourselves and our ability to figure it out. Knowing we can acquire the necessary knowledge, we can develop whatever skills we require, and we can make life happen. As we develop and commit ourselves to the results we want, then self-responsibility is simple and profound. It's about manifesting all that we are capable of experiencing, becoming, having, feeling, thinking, choosing, giving, and contributing. When our thoughts are healthy, appropriate, and empowering, we then often have peak experiences. And we all have these from time to time. Those who are able to attain this state, step into a situation where they can completely access their full resources. We recognize these people as the experts, the masters of some art, craft, skill, or science. When we relate meaning and performance to this state it reveals a pathway for unleashing our potential. Whenever we act without reflecting on meaning or connecting with our highest calling, the less motivation we will have and the less effective we will be. We are all responsible for living our own life. No one can do this for us. Believing in entitlement, that the world owes you, the government owes you, your family owes you, and playing your life 'small' will sabotage your success. To unleash our potential each of us has to accept, acknowledge, and act on our own inner powers. Only then can we take the initiative to discover our strengths and weaknesses and take action to discover what makes us most fully ourselves. In this we are seeking how we can best express our unique contributions and through that create a successful life, make a significant difference, and leave a meaningful legacy. Here's your critical thinking exercise for this week. Complete this sentence stem and generate at least ten endings. "If I were to take full responsibility for making my dreams and goals come true, I would...." Don't worry about whether the endings you write are positive or negative, that's not the point of the exercise. The point is to increase awareness. It is to download the responses from your non-conscious mind about self-responsibility. Doing this will then allow you to decide which of the responses best serve you. You can simply keep and reflect on the best and discard the rest. To your success! Lloyd Dobson