When You Can’t Decide (WT554)

When You Can’t Decide (WT554)

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by Shirley Dalton | 5 Feb, 2021 | Blog, Mindset

WT 554 When You Can't Decide

I don’t have any trouble making a decision, unless I can’t make a decision.

That sounds odd, don’t you think.

Here’s what I mean.

Ross and I had wanted to get e-bikes for about a year now.

About a month ago we decided to purchase them. (As a side note, you haven’t made a decision until you take action.)

Ross did the initial research to get a ballpark figure for what the bikes might cost. There was a huge variation in price.

We narrowed it down to a couple of brands.

Ross researched the distributors and stockists (many of whom had none in stock).

Finally he found a business that specialised in e-bikes and which had a number in store that we could test ride.

We both test rode a couple of the bikes. I liked some of the features of them, but there wasn’t one bike that stood out.

“I don’t know. I’m not quite sure”, I said to Ross as we drove off.

What I did know was that I was getting desperate to buy one.

I couldn’t decide.

We went back the following week and test rode the same two bikes. Nothing had changed. I still couldn’t decide.

A new bike had arrived at the shop and the assistant had only assembled it that morning. Ross rode it and liked it.

I rode my 2 bikes again, doing my best to decide which one to buy.

I looked at the new bike and just as we were about to leave, I asked to ride it.

As soon as I took off, I knew it was the one.

It was comfortable. It had power and it was manageable. The strange thing for me was that this bike was the same as one I had ridden the week before and dismissed. What was different this time?

It had different brakes, but that didn’t make a difference to how it handled or how it felt.

Ross had changed the seat and handlebar settings.

Wow, I loved this bike.

As I rode back to the shop, I smiled and said, “We have a Winner”.

I felt the assistant’s relief.

All that had to be done was to pay for the bikes and organise for a new sturdy bike rack for the motorhome.

I can’t wait to go riding this weekend.

Now to the point of the story. I don’t have any trouble making a decision, unless I can’t make a decision.

Ross and I have learned over the years to trust my intuition. If it’s an “I don’t know”, it’s a “No”.

There is always something better to come.

How about you?

What sort of decision maker are you?

What do you do when you can’t decide?

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Life is Always Working for You (WT549)

Life is Always Working for You (WT549)

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by Shirley Dalton | 1 Jan, 2021 | Blog, Mindset

WT 549 David Bayer_Shirley Dalton Graduation

This time last year I was preparing to fly to the US to graduate as a Transformational Mindset Facilitator with David Bayer.

The year ahead felt full of possibility and excitement.

Two months later, in March 2020, I again headed to the US to attend David Bayer’s 3 Day Powerful Living Experience.

At the same time, another world-wide event started to make its impact on us. Of course, that was COVID-19.

As we flew back to Australia from Orlando, via Dallas, Sydney, Melbourne and Launceston, it felt like the world was shutting down behind us. Like the ending scene in the TV show Get Smart, where all the doors close behind him.

Wow! What a year.

We arrived in Launceston to a 2 week quarantine period. Thankfully we could self-isolate in our motorhome. For this I am eternally grateful, as I am to our friends who supported us by shopping for us and providing us with 2 week’s worth of groceries.

Wow! What a year.

As I write to you today on the eve of New Year’s Day 2021, I am grateful for one of the learnings from David Bayer.

“Life is ALWAYS working for you, even though at times it may not be to your preference.”

Let’s just reflect on that for a moment.

Think about the year, 2020.

How has it worked for you, even though at the times, it may not have been to your liking?

At first, I didn’t like having to self-isolate. I didn’t like having my travel plans interrupted when we all went into lock down. I didn’t like having to cancel my face to face Leading Yourself and Leading Others experience and yet, as I look back on the year, I can see that Life was working for me.

I was safe. I was in Tasmania. I found a way to run the leadership experience online. This saved the participants 50% in cost not to mention travel.

I had been saying that I wanted to have an online business. Well, the universe delivered. My business was totally online for many months.

I also discovered how important physical touch is to me as I yearned to hug my legends and be in the room with them.

Life is always working for you.

As we prepare to start 2021, how about spending a few minutes to reflect on how 2020 actually worked for you.

Spend a few minutes in gratitude and see the blessings from 2020.

You might just find a whole heap of evidence to show you that Life is Always Working for You.

I wish you everything you want and more for 2021.

P.S. I am so excited to announce that we’ll be holding our Leading Yourself and Leading Others Experience IN PERSON, FACE TO FACE in Newcastle, NSW, Australia in February 2021 – Thursdays and Fridays 11th, 12th, 25th and 26th February.

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Christmas Comes Every Year Whether You’re Organised or Not (WT548)

Christmas Comes Every Year Whether You’re Organised or Not (WT548)

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by Shirley Dalton | 25 Dec, 2020 | Blog, Mindset

WT 548 Christmas comes every year

It’s Christmas morning and I’m a little late with our Weekly Thought.

Firstly, wishing you a very happy Christmas or Holiday Season.

It’s been a big big year for all of us and with all the challenges, there are still so many things to be grateful for.

I’m grateful to be on this journey with you. What an adventure we are having.

This adventure called Life.

It’s not about the destination because we’re all headed to the same place; back to where we came from.

It’s about the adventure; it’s about the journey.

As I reflect on my journey, I am grateful for some wise words of wisdom from a group of amazing ladies that I volunteered with, in a tiny charity called Make Today Count.

Our little charity supported people and their families who were dealing with a life threatening illness.

We each had our special gifts to contribute to the organization and the people we supported.

My gift was the ability to organise things and get things done.

It was during one of our committee meetings that I was beating myself up for not having completed a task.

“Shirl, Christmas comes every year, whether you’re organized or not”, said one of the ladies.

This stopped me in my tracks. It wasn’t even near Christmas but she was right.

Here it is today and I’m a little late with the weekly thought.

I was a little disorganized this week and Christmas Day arrived anyway.

My encouragement to you this week is to take the ladies’ advice. The message and the learning I took from them is not to get all hung up about what’s done and not done. Things happen, whether we’re ready or not. Things happen whether we’re organized or not.

It’s called life. You may as well enjoy it.

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Take Some Time For Yourself (WT547)

Take Some Time For Yourself (WT547)

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by Shirley Dalton | 18 Dec, 2020 | Blog, Mindset

WT 547 Take some time for yourself

Do you need permission to take time for yourself?

If so, consider your leave application approved.

I remember, years ago, I was working with an Ayurvedic Holistic Practitioner. At the end of the session she invited me to make another appointment.

“Do you have anything after hours?” I asked.

“Why?”

“Well, I work through the day and I have employees”, I answered.

“Shirley, you own the business, right?”

“Yes.”

“You work late at night, some days?”

“Yes, of course.”

“You work weekends?”

“Often.”

“Then how come you won’t schedule an appointment for yourself during work hours when you know it’s beneficial to your health?” she asked.

“Well, I have employees and I want to be a role model. I have to turn up to work.”

“Some kind of role model”, she said.

“What do you mean?”

“You work all week, you work late at night, you work on weekends, who would want to own a business?”

“Ouch. She had a point.”

“Wouldn’t you rather inspire your team know you had the freedom to work when you wanted and to be able to schedule appointments during work hours?”

Ouch again. “Yes.”

“And besides”, she added.

“I don’t want to work after hours, so how about we schedule 10:00am next Monday.”

<name>, that was the beginning of me taking time for myself. From then on, I never worried about scheduling appointments for myself during work hours. I was so grateful for the lesson.

So it’s your turn now. Take a look at your schedule. Take a look at the hours you are working. Take a look at the type of role model you are.

Take some time for yourself.

If you do, you’ll certainly be happier, healthier and a great inspiration and role model to your people.

As the festive season approaches, please Take Some Time for Yourself.

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Sharpen Your Brain (WT512)

Sharpen Your Brain (WT512)

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by Shirley Dalton | 23 Oct, 2020 | Blog, Mindset

WT512 Sharpen Your Brain

You might be familiar with Steven Covey’s book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People”. In the book, he talks about the concept of “Sharpening the Saw”. His metaphor is that if you were to spend 8 hours cutting down trees, he invest 6 hours sharpening the saw. Don’t quote me on the exact numbers, it has been a while since I read the book.

The point is, he would invest the time in making sure his tools were in tip top condition to be able to do the job easily, quickly and efficiently which would ultimately produce more result.

The same can be said for us. We need to make sure our equipment is in tip top condition. I am referring to your brain and your mind of course.

With the current isolation, I’ve noticed that many people are starting to struggle mentally and emotionally from not being connected to their workmates and family members.

We can alleviate some of the struggle if we “sharpen our brain”.

Here are a couple of quick tips to help you do that:

  1. A couple of times a day, stop and think about all the things you can be grateful for right now. According to David Bayer, gratitude is your credit line to the universe. It will help you raise your energy.
  1. Do some exercise, even if it’s only a walk outside. Do something and get your body moving.
  1. Do something you enjoy. When you feel good, you raise your vibration and when you raise your vibration and get into the Powerful State, more ideas and inspiration will come to solve problems.
  1. Be aware of your thinking. If it doesn’t feel good, it’s not true. Look for the opposite of what you are thinking and find the evidence for how that is true.
  1. Visualise the outcome you want. Your brain is a goal achieving machine. It will bring you what you focus on, so focus on what you want, and finally, 
  1. Maybe the most important, ask yourself better questions. Instead of asking, “Why is this happening to me?” “Why aren’t I coping with this?” Ask a better question, “What can I do to cope better?” “How can I make the most of this situation?”

If we look after our equipment, if we maintain it, we will be able to get the most out of it. 

Are you looking after your equipment?

What Did You Used To Do? (WT 536)

What Did You Used To Do? (WT 536)

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by Shirley Dalton | 2 Oct, 2020 | Blog, Mindset

WT 536 What Did You Used to Do?

Catching up with one of my legends over the past couple of weeks, he was sharing what he did over the weekend.

Finding himself with some time to himself he decided to go for a drive and a bushwalk.

He ended up sitting by the ocean at the end of the walk and as he sat, almost meditatively looking out over the ocean towards the horizon, he became aware of all the things “he used to do”.

These were things that he used to enjoy, like bushwalking and playing sport.

As he sat and pondered on this, he wondered why he had stopped doing the things he loved to do.

It’s a great question.

What did you used to do that you enjoyed that you no longer do?

I used to enjoy sewing. When I was younger (a lot younger), I used to sew a new blouse or skirt or dress each week. I used to feel so good to have something new to wear each week, that hardly cost anything and that looked and felt great. I designed and made my wedding dress and my cousin’s bridesmaid outfit. You may not know this about me – I studied dressmaking at TAFE for about 4 years and completed a teaching degree to become a High School Home Economics teacher.

I used to love to cook and sew.

What happened?

Saying we have no time is no excuse. We always seem to find the time for the things we want to do and if we don’t then it could be a limiting belief that goes something like, (and remember it’s often unconscious), “I don’t deserve to enjoy myself.” “I feel guilty if I enjoy myself.”  “I own the business, I have to work hard. I have to be a role model.”

This week I invite you, on behalf of Mark, (thankyou Mark) to ask yourself the question and then to be open to exploring the answers.

Are you carrying around some limiting beliefs?

Will you allow yourself to do the things you used to do that you enjoyed?

Remember, everything we want comes from a powerful state and one of the best ways to get ourselves into a powerful state is to do things we enjoy.

It’s the weekend. Please do something you enjoy.

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