Tag Archives: universal truth

It’s Time to See Change in a New Way

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Question: What does an 86-year-old woman doing an absolutely awesome gymnastic routine, a 74-year-old fitness instructor, and a 101-year-old running a marathon have that you don’t have?

Answer: The belief that they can do it.

Regardless if your goal is to walk again after an accident, to lose 10 or 100 pounds, or to climb a mountain, at the core of achieving anything is the belief that it is possible.

One of the biggest limiting beliefs that we have as a society is that we decline with age. One way to test if this is true is to look and see if it is a Universal Truth—meaning it is true regardless of who, what, when, or how.

The examples below clearly demonstrate that being in awesome physical shape is possible at any age.

What happens as we age is that we change, but change does not mean decline unless that is how we define it. Our minds are powerful enough that if you expect to see decline, you will. And just about everyone believes in this decline and are using all the people who believe it to justify their belief.

Imagine what would be different about your life if you looked for examples of people doing what you want as a reason to believe it can be rather than using everyone else as an excuse not to try?

Another way to shift your beliefs is to reframe the story you have around change. For instance, lots of people think that with age they have to give up running because of the impact it has on their bodies. A reframe might look like:

  • Perhaps this is actually the opportunity to take up another activity—such as biking or yoga—which you are even more passionate about?
  • Perhaps this is the opportunity to train smarter or look into other solutions, such as changing running techniques as described in Chi Running and elsewhere.
  • Perhaps slowing down and walking really helps you connect with Who you are and what you want out of this phase of life?

Only you know what the right reframe would be for you, but creating a new story of what the change of time means opens you up to the possibility of continuing to grow, improve, and evolve—body, mind, and spirit.

How do you want your life to look as you get older? What beliefs are getting in the way of achieving that vision? What can you do today to begin seeing change in a new way?

Together we can do it!

 

86-year old Johanna Quaas demonstration on FX – “Turnier Der Meister” Cottbus 2012

74 Year Old Female Body Builder only started exercising at age 56.

101-year-old runs the London Marathon

 

 

Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net

 

 

 

Do You Believe That’s Possible?

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On this day of your life, I believe God wants you to know that how bad things may look right now means nothing. It’s how good you know they can look with God’s help that counts.

Neale Donald Walsch

Are you focused on the problem or are you focused on expanding your belief and knowing that everything is always working out for you?

If you said, “Yes, but” or wanted to explain to me how things really aren’t working out for you, then you’re focused on the problem. And you are getting more of what you’re focused on.

Achieving anything first begins with the belief that it is possible. If you don’t believe it, how hard are you going to work? How much are you willing to try before you give up? How much will you sabotage your own efforts to prove yourself right?

One of the most famous examples of this is Thomas Edison. It would take him almost two years of failed attempts, new discoveries and prototypes before he would find success in creating the carbon filament light bulb.

After Edison’s seven-hundredth unsuccessful attempt, he was asked by a New York Times reporter, “How does it feel to have failed 700 times?”

He responded, “I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work.” It is said he tried over 6,000 different carbonized plant fibers looking for a carbon filament for his light bulb.

Do you think he would have continued undaunted if he didn’t believe that he would ultimately find the solution that would work?

How can you begin stretching your beliefs to accept that wellness and wellbeing—or the essence of whatever it is that you want—are possible?

There are many, many ways, but here are a few:

  • Disregard what others have told you. Unless it is a Universal Truth, meaning it is true no matter who, no matter where, no matter how, then it does not have to be true for you.
  • Stop struggling. Relax and just accept that where you are is just where you are in the journey. Things are shifting and changing, even if you can’t see it.
  • Expect a different outcome. Just because you’ve tried something in the past doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try again. Analyze what didn’t work before and try again with the new information.
  • Have a little faith. Trust that All-That-Is (God, the Universe, Source Energy, Higher Coach—whatever works for you) not only has the power to make the planet rotate so perfectly that we can predict when the sun will rise and set and the pattern of stars across the night sky, but also can bring about the solution that is best for everyone involved.

What can you do to begin stretching your beliefs to accept that what you want is possible? What happens to your actions when you begin to believe and then know? How much more fun is the journey to where you want to go?

Together we can do it!

Photo from www.freedigitalphotos.net

Are You Getting Adequate Rest?

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Getting adequate rest is vitally important to being able to maintain physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy. Do you ever feel so tired you have to force yourself to stay awake? Do small problems sometimes elicit big emotional reactions? Do you get things done through sheer willpower even though you’re exhausted?

You may not be getting adequate rest.

I certainly saw a huge leap in my ability to react appropriately, get things done, achieve physical goals, and see situations more clearly when I made getting adequate rest a priority and worked my life around that. And I see those things deteriorate if I don’t consistently follow my self-prescribed guidelines for getting enough sleep.

What I also noticed, however, was that getting tied to a specific number of hours of sleep or type of rest created limiting beliefs about what I could and could not do. If I didn’t get that magic number of hours of sleep one night, I would expect to feel bad and struggle the next day. And so I would.

But did it have to be that way?

One day I asked myself if getting that certain number of hours of sleep every night was a Universal Truth, meaning it is True no matter who, no matter what? I recognized that it wasn’t. I could actually point to several high-functioning people who consistently got less sleep and did just fine.

This meant that a certain number of hours was then generally true for me. Those magic hours were still the goal I wanted to shoot for, but that if for some reason I didn’t get those hours it didn’t automatically mean that my day would be an energetic struggle. In other words, I could occasionally get less sleep and still have a great day.

So I began changing my thoughts about sleep. If I naturally woke up in the middle of the night, I asked myself what I wanted to do. Did I want to get up and accomplish something? Relax and meditate? Ponder what I would consider the perfect solution to a situation? Or just bask in appreciation of my life and the world?

And occasionally things come up in the evening that mean I don’t make my bedtime, and sometimes, I just make a different choice.

In all of these situations I give myself permission to do what feels right and still get up and feel vibrant, alive, and eager the next day.

I still strive to consistently get that magic number of hours of sleep every night, but my goal now is to get adequate rest—whatever that looks like on any given night. And I can monitor my energy levels to let me know if I’m tilting toward needing more sleep.

What does adequate rest mean for you? How does getting adequate rest impact your energy levels? Where might you be creating limiting beliefs about the amount of sleep you are or are not getting? How does getting adequate rest impact the quality of your life?

Together we can do it!

 

Harry Potter and the Quest to Be You

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In previous blog posts I’ve professed my love of Harry Potter. More often than not, when I put a book down with a satisfied sigh and desire for the story to continue, it was labeled for children or young adults.

But as an English major, embracing my love of children’s literature felt taboo. I “should” read novels that improve my mind, challenge my humanity, and inspire deep book-club conversations.

While I certainly can analyze prose and burrow around for deeper meaning, I really don’t enjoy it. That’s not what inspired my love of reading as a child. What I loved then—and now—was the flight of imagination, the struggle between good and evil, with good always prevailing, and a foundation in a Universal truth, such as there is nothing more powerful than love.

It took me a long time to embrace this preference as a part of Who I am and to let go of those books that lay neglected on my coffee table either unopened or partially read because they were what I “should” be reading. It took me even longer to stop pretending that I was reading those books and instead share my enthusiasm for the children’s book I was currently in love with.

While embracing my preference for something as inconsequential as reading material may not seem like a big deal, determining what you enjoy and accepting that instead of struggling with what you think you “should” like based on other’s expectations is an important step in being the best possible version of you.

My not acknowledging this part of me led to long bouts where I didn’t read anything at all because I felt so guilty about not liking what I “should” be reading. It inspired a failed try to join a book club that resulted in spoiled friendships. It generated a lot of self-doubt and –criticism, and the fear of other’s judgments kept me from connecting with people who actually do share my passion.

In short, it contributed to my overall feeling of unhappiness and created a lot of negative, catabolic energy that released stress chemicals and other harmful physical processes. It inhibited my ability to achieve optimal wellness and a vibrant life.

Part of being the best possible version of you is letting go of Who you think you should be and embracing Who you really are.

There is a fine line, however, between determining and doing the things that you love, and drawing a boundary around yourself and automatically rejecting new things and experiences. This shuts off personal growth and can also keep you from pursing the ever-changing mark of the best possible version of you.

The perfect balance in the Quest to be You is letting go of what you don’t like, embracing what you do, and looking for new things, people, and experiences that align with you.

Where are you holding on to something that you really don’t enjoy? What is something that for whatever reason you haven’t allowed yourself to enjoy before? How do you feel when you embrace that, and do more of that? What else would be fun to explore?

Together we can do it!

Photo by jannoon028 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net