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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I Don’t Even Know What to Ask (WT534)

I Don’t Even Know What to Ask (WT534)

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

WT534 I Don't Even Know What to Ask

During the week one of my friends rang me out of the blue.

She lives in Queensland and it was lovely to hear from her.

She’s normally jetsetting around the globe running events, which have all been put on hold, of course, until we can travel again.

“Shirley, it’s the school holidays in a few weeks and we just need to get away, so I’m looking at hiring a motorhome”, she said.

“Wonderful! Where are you planning to go?”

“We want to go to Airlie Beach and up and down the coast. The thing is I’ve never done this before so I thought I would ask you for some advice. I don’t even know what to ask”, Sandra replied.

I’m not going to bore you with the details of the conversation and the questions she didn’t have or the advice we gave. That’s not the point of the thought.

The point is, I am always so impressed with Sandra’s openness to ask for help. She is a very smart woman and understands the power of having people in her network.

She doesn’t have any limiting beliefs about having to do it all herself. She doesn’t have any limiting beliefs about asking questions or what people might think of her when she does ask. She simply calls and asks.

How about you?

Do you understand the power of your network?

Are you open to asking for help, even when you don’t know what you don’t know?

More importantly, do you take the advice and act on it?

In fact, I had another conversation with a colleague today who also mentioned how supported she felt these past few weeks, as she realised the power of her network and the willingness of the people in her network to help her as she and her family navigated the purchase of a house in a different state to her home state.

When you’re doing something new or going somewhere you’ve never been before, it’s okay to ask for help and advice. This is something that Ross and I have learned over the past 18 months as we’ve travelled around.

We’d never driven or camped in a motorhome before. Heck, we left the tap fittings on the tap at the first caravan park we stayed at and didn’t realise until we got to Canberra and had no pipe fittings. Luckily for us, the chap in the van next to us had a spare and loaned us one until we purchased one and a spare the following day.

It’s okay to ask, even when you don’t know what to ask. Go ahead and ask anyway. You might be surprised at how much joy your network actually gets from helping you.

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Stop Looking For The Wrong Evidence (WT532)

Stop Looking For The Wrong Evidence (WT532)

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by Shirley Dalton | 4 Sep, 2020 | Blog, Mindset

stop looking for the wrong evidence

You know that your brain is a goal achieving machine. Right! It’s going to go and find you the answers to the questions you give it. It’s also going to go and find you the evidence for whatever it is you are focusing on.

Stop looking for the wrong evidence.

Here’s what I mean:

Say you decide that your work colleague or your partner or your friend or a relative doesn’t like you anymore. You decide that they are upset with you for something that you did or didn’t do. They haven’t said anything to you. (Of course they wouldn’t, nobody likes confrontation.) Your brain starts looking for evidence to back up what you’ve decided. This is how the brain works.

I’m writing about it this week because so many of my legends (clients) and colleagues have been telling me about their woes and sharing with me all the evidence they have backed up to prove they are right.

Stop looking for the wrong evidence.

You get what you focus on, so focus on what you want; not what you don’t want.

In essence you are creating or manifesting the scenarios. You know you are.

Stop looking for the wrong evidence.

Instead start looking for the evidence for the things that you want and are grateful for. This will ensure you get more of that.

And if there really is a problem between you and someone else, go and talk to them about it.

Often times I’ve accused Ross of being in a mood or being cranky with me because I’ve interpreted his facial expression or manner and decided how he’s feeling and what’s going on. When I do confront him he gives it straight back to me with a “That’s your xxit. Deal with it.”

“Ouch!” He is right though. I’m reacting to the story I’ve told myself and then looking for evidence to back it up.

Have I made myself clear for this week?

Stop looking for the wrong evidence.

Go look for the evidence for what you want. It’s there. You’ve just been filtering it out.

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Hi Ho It’s Off to Work We Go (WT531)

Hi Ho It’s Off to Work We Go (WT531)

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by Shirley Dalton | 28 Aug, 2020 | Blog, Mindset

off to work we go

It’s been miserable in Tasmania the past few days. The weather has been wild. Lots of wind and rain and snow in the mountain areas.

“So what?” you might think.

Well it doesn’t stop the penguins, plovers or pademelons from their daily routine.

I’ve been so impressed watching the wildlife as we travel around. It doesn’t matter what the weather conditions are, they’re out fishing and foraging for food.

They don’t complain. They don’t wake up and moan, “Oh, I don’t feel like it today. I think I’ll have a doona day. I think I’ll stay in bed. I’ll ring in sick.”

Nope! That doesn’t happen.

Hi Ho it’s off to work they go.

David Bayer often references nature when talking about mindset. He’s on a mission to end all suffering. Now that doesn’t mean physical suffering; he’s talking about our psychological suffering, which of course comes from our thinking.

If you look to nature, there is no (psychological) suffering.

Watching the animals has made me aware of how much I look for excuses to not do things. It’s also made me away of how much my “stinking thinking” causes my misery.

As I sit here getting buffeted from side to side in the motorhome, the wind seems to be getting stronger and stronger. I am grateful. I am grateful I have you to write to and I’m grateful to be inside, out of the weather, even though I now have to go out because the motorbike just blew over and hit the motorhome. OMG!

How about you?

Are you causing yourself misery?

What can you be grateful for?

Next time you find yourself in a less than optimal state, how about you remember the animals. Don’t dwell on your thinking and just get yourself into action.

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It’s the Same Old Same Old (WT529)

It’s the Same Old Same Old (WT529)

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by Shirley Dalton | 14 Aug, 2020 | Blog, Mindset

It’s the Same Old Same Old

Have you ever found yourself saying, “it’s the same old, same old”?

According to Dictionary.Cambridge.org, it’s a phrase that’s “used to say that a situation or someone’s behaviour remains the same, especially when it is boring or annoying: Most people just keep on doing the same old same old every day.” 

Doing the same old same old behaviour concerns me when we apply it to work that we don’t want to be doing and in some cases, work that we “shouldn’t” be doing.

Another of my favourite phrases that is relevant to our discussion this week can be abbreviated to “HABU”.  “HABU” stands for “Highest And Best Use”. Of course, we’re talking about your genius, your skills, your contribution and your time.

As I’ve been working with members in our Leading Yourself and Leading Others membership and fellow travellers on this journey of life, I’ve observed a common theme over the past few weeks.

Many have been lapsing back into old habits. They’ve been seduced back into doing tasks that they don’t want to and isn’t their highest and best use.

How about you, does this apply to you, too?

It’s something I have to watch for myself as well. Making a decision and sticking to the plan tests us all.

The way forward is to look at our beliefs. If our beliefs are not in alignment with the results we want to achieve; we simply won’t achieve them. We can’t. It’s not possible because our beliefs dictate our destiny and they generate our thoughts. 

We might think that we’ve made a decision and are actually taking action, however, we often find that we can sabotage ourselves and not stick to the decision or commit to the discipline of the action and thus find ourselves back doing the same old same old.

For example, you can’t decide to start delegating and then continue to do the tasks yourself. If your beliefs are not in alignment with delegating, you’ll find all sorts of reasons and excuses as to why you must keep doing the tasks. Your vibration will also ensure that you attract people or situations into your life that prevent you from moving forward. 

This is a very serious topic. I want for you, what you want for you. Maybe it’s time to change those beliefs; make some new decisions and start looking for the evidence to support your new decisions. This is Mindset 2.0; stacking the evidence to prune your old neuro pathways and rewire your brain so you can stop doing the same old same old and start doing the things that you say you want to do.

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