Moving Beyond Blockages ..... 8/31/14

       Whenever we apply healthy alternatives to an area of struggle in our lives, we are creating a better today.  Acting like a victim is a choice, not a
destiny.
       These are three blockages mentioned in previous post:

1. Fear, anxiety, being
stuck.
2.    Negative beliefs, thoughts and self-talk---self-sabotaging.
3.    Lack of clear, specific goals. Not having SMART goals:  plans that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic with a time framework.
Action Steps
Overcoming Fear
 One client suffering from anxiety and fear realized she had to:

Stop Doing
1.   Being engrossed with the news.  It was getting her down. .
2.   Stop condemning herself.  A passage that she is memorizing, to counteract her worrisome habit is:

Condemning my imperfections has never enhanced my appreciation of life or helped me to love myself more. 

Start Doing:
1. Read and meditate upon inspirational literature.
   a.  Fill her head with positive thoughts.
2.  Memorize an encouraging affirmation, to use as a shield, when emotionally upset, feeling attacked by our own emotions.
3.  Spend time with family, out in nature, doing something that will discharge the tension within her. She will go hiking with her children, in the woods.
4.  Develop her network of Safe People.  When with them, we feel more energized, alive and become a better person because of our time with them.

Lacking Motivation
For a client who lacked specific goals (number 3 above)  the steps he wrote for himself were:

Stop Doing:
1.  Indulging myself, giving in to laziness, a lack of discipline.
2.  Getting off track
     a.  Use priorities, making SMART goals out of them. (See number 3 in the first paragraph above.)
3.  Making excuses.
    a.  Listening to negative self-talk that justifies inaction.
4.  Yielding to electronic slavery: the internet, TV, smartphone usage: ie. texting, et. al.

    He is limiting watching TV to two hours a day. Until now, he would watch it until 1:00 a.m.

5.  Going to bed late.  He is applying the principle: "He who rises early three morns saves a day of time."

This same client wrote the following as his antidotes:
Start Doing
1.  Go to bed earlier.
2.  Recruit family members to test me, as I memorize the quote on the right:

     We don't have to stay stuck. We can move forward.  Dwelling on the challenges we face in life only makes them loom larger and more disturbing.  Growth happens when we make the effort to transcend our self-imposed limitations.

     I am tired. This is the best I can do for now.  My best for today is good enough.

     Here's wishing you a great, grateful and successful week!