by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Success, Vision and Goals
Let’s look at a different form of meditation from what most people think. Let’s look at Christian meditation. Meditating on words God has given you for your journey.
Joshua 1:8 This book of the Law (the Bible) shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you will be careful to do all that is written in it, for then you will make your way prosperous and then you will have success.
Stop and think about this passage and think about what was going on.
The Israelites had been supernaturally delivered from Egypt after 400 years of slavery. Then they faltered, doubting God could take them into the Land He had promised, so they spent another 40 years wandering around in the wilderness.
The generation of doubters had died, and Joshua was leading the group now. They were getting ready to go into the promised land and take it, and they needed all the faith they could muster. They also needed for God to be with them – accomplishing supernatural things for them.
That’s when Joshua was told to keep his eyes on God’s Word. To meditate on it day and night. And to speak it.
That’s the true meditation God has ordained for us as Christians. He wants us to move forward with His blessings on our lives. As we keep His Word before us, our faith rises and our focus stays on our mission.
My husband has a novel teaching about this. One of the meanings of the word “meditate” is to guard as a lion does its prey. My husband says that we are to guard over the word God gives us in that way. Hovering over it, and looking for anything which would try to steal that word from us. It’s our word and no one can snatch it from us!
So what do I suggest?
Take your Bible and get in a quiet spot. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you words for your meditation. When He gives you special words, those are more significant to you than any other.
For starters, if you are Seeking Word about Your prosperity:
Deuteronomy 8:18 (NASB) But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you the power to make wealth that His covenant may be established.
II Corinthians 9:8 (NASB) And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.
Or Maybe it’s Your Children:
Deuteronomy 28:4 (NASB) Blessed shall be the offspring of your body.
Isaiah 54:13 (NASB) All of your sons (children) will be taught of the Lord; and the well-being of your sons will be great.
Or Your Health:
Exodus 15:26 (ASV) I am the God who heals you
Psalm 103:3 (NASB) He pardons all our iniquities and heals all our diseases.
These scriptures are just starting points. Get your Bible and sit with God in a quiet state. Think about His goodness and His love for you. Then ask Him to bring you word to meditate on.
Think about the Word you’ve chosen. Say it over and over out loud. Then think about it even as you ngo about your day. Allow God to build on that Word. This will increase your faith in what you are doing and your faith in God prospering you.
Meditating on the Word of God will change your life.
by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Success, Vision and Goals
Do you stay in the moment or do you find yourself tuning out as you go about your day? Our challenge today is to take notice. Present focus is one of the hallmarks of a growth mindset.
That is, people who have a growth mindset tend to focus on the present moment rather than constantly dwelling on the past or dreaming about the future. Most people are the opposite, and the more of a fixed mindset a person has, the more likely they are to be fixated on the past or future rather than the present.
Which timeframe do you focus on more? Past, present, or future?
Think about it for a moment and answer honestly. See if you can come up with a percentage split of past/present/future. You don’t need to be exact -an approximation will do.
Chances are that it’s not the present moment. If it is, great -you can use the techniques here to improve your focus. But if not, you’ve got some work to do.
The best technique for beginners to use to learn to focus on the present moment is mindfulness practice. This is an easy practice you can do anywhere, anytime that will gradually ease you into focusing on the present more and more. It doesn’t require anything except a few seconds of your time and some concentration.
This is how it works. Sometime during the day, stop what you’re doing, whether that’s work, eating, or anything else. Close your eyes. Notice everything that’s around you. The feel of your feet on the floor. The itchiness of your new shirt. The smells coming from the kitchen.
Do this for about 30 seconds. Then go back to what you were doing. That’s it -no special time set aside. Repeat this several times a day. Gradually extend the time you spend to a minute. Notice what other people are doing around you. Really notice them -as people, not background objects.
When you’ve mastered this part of the practice, start doing it while you continue your tasks. Take notice of what you’re doing, whether that’s grocery shopping, typing on the computer, or cooking dinner.
Slowly extend the number of times per day you do this and the amount of time you spend doing it. You’ll gradually become more focused on the present moment all the time without even trying.
Regardless, learning to focus more on the present moment will help you improve your mindset and continue your self-development journey.
You and Your Clients will Stay in the Moment When You Strive to Take Your Promised Land. Those Promises God has Given to You. See the Package Here.
by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Success, Vision and Goals
Charls felt that he was getting in a rut. His job seemed the same. His after hours routine was the same.
In fact, to be honest, he was bored. No new challenges which really engaged him.
Then out of the blue an old friend came into town and challenged Charles to go sky diving with him. That was truly different from anything Charles had ever done, and at first he said, “no.” Yet with encouragement, he said oh, why not? Let’s go for it.
That was all that Charles needed to find new energy. Growing your mindset isn’t easy and takes time and work. One of the best things you can do to jumpstart the process is to try new things. The human brain loves novelty; novel (new) stimuli push it to grow and change. The challenge of trying something new jolts it out of old patterns and presents the opportunity for change.
This means that trying something new regularly is one of the best ways to improve your mindset. Give your brain new experiences regularly and it has to grow to accommodate and process them. It has no choice.
What kind of new experiences have this effect? You certainly don’t have to go sky diving in order to grow. All new challenges help to varying degrees.
You don’t have to do something large. Go shopping at a new store once a month. Try a new restaurant every week. If you really don’t like change, order a new entrée at your favorite restaurant each time you eat there. These experiences, as small as they are, are enough to catalyze the process of change and growth.
Of course, the greater the difference between the new stimuli and your everyday life, the bigger the response from your brain will be. Learning a new skill is near the top of the list of new experiences that will change your mindset. You don’t have to go back to school to learn something, pick something you’re interested in, from gardening to a foreign language, and start working on it in your free time. Your local library and the Internet are bound to have beginner’s instruction manuals.
The next step you can take is to make a list of things you want to try but never have and start marking them off. Put down everything you can think of -from the painting class to bungee jumping -and start doing it.
Travel is probably the best “new” experience for mindset and personal growth. When you travel, everything changes. All the stimuli are new.
The farther you go from home and the longer your trip, the truer this is. A weekend trip out of a town and a week in a foreign country will both dramatically increase your mindset growth, but the latter has more effect. If you can travel, do it!
You only have one life to live. Trying new things will improve your mindset and help your personal growth, but beyond that, it will help you live the best life possible.
It’s worth the effort. Start today!
P.S. Overcome your Limiting Beliefs Now!!
by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Vision and Goals
If you’re having trouble improving your mindset, part of the problem might be limiting beliefs that are holding you back.
A limiting belief is a false belief about yourself, other people, or the world around you. A belief that limits you in one way or another.
These beliefs develop in your childhood and have to be overcome as adults in order for you to grow.
Why does your brain develop these beliefs? Quite simply, it does so to keep you safe.
Your conscious mind isn’t developed until adulthood, which means your unconscious mind is in charge, and it can’t reason or rationalize. It only makes simple rules -good, bad, yes, no, this but not that -that are all designed to keep you safe and meet your basic needs.
There are many limiting beliefs out there.
A common one is “I can’t do X.” Whatever X is, you tried to do it or something like it as a child and got hurt, physically or emotionally,. So your brain created the limiting belief that you can’t do it. It sounds silly, and it is -to an adult. It’s a serious matter to a child, and your unconscious mind never progresses beyond that stage.
If a limiting belief is hampering your mindset, you’re going to have to overcome it to move forward. The first step is identifying the limiting belief. You need to put it into words. This may be easier said than done.
Do you think you can’t do something? Are you afraid of success (or failure)? Figure out what it is and write it down.
Next, figure out what benefits you’re getting from continuing to hold the belief. Your brain thinks it’s keeping you safe.
Safe from what? Write these down. Be thankful that the belief has helped you in the past.
Now it’s time to prayerfully move forward.
Ask yourself if the belief is true. Are you always unlikable? Are you always bad with money? Is every other person out to hurt you emotionally? Of course not.
Now, what is the emotion underlying this limiting belief? It’s often fear but can also be shame or embarrassment.
The next step is to determine what will happen if you continue to hold this belief. There are negative consequences to all limiting beliefs. Will you never get the promotion? Be single forever?
Finally, re-frame the limiting belief into something positive and turn it into a positive confession. Continue trying whatever you’re stuck on while repeating the confession. Don’t give up. Overcoming your limiting beliefs is hard but you can do it!
P.S. There are so many scriptures which help you in these circumstances. How to Take Your Promised Land is a great package for you and your clients. It’s Done-for-You Content, so you can edit these and share them in blog posts or articles, on social media, etc.
by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Success, Vision and Goals
Do you suffer from anxiety? If so, you’re not alone. Anxiety is running rampant in society today.
More than 18 percent of the adult population in the U.S. alone suffers from an anxiety disorder (that’s over 40 million people). Millions more suffer from less severe manifestations of the disease, which nonetheless affects their mental health and daily lives.
In other words, if you are anxious, you have lots of company
So why are we talking about anxiety with mindset?
These two are very connected.
If you have a fixed mindset, you aren’t more prone to anxiety than others with a growth mindset. However, researchers have shown that people who already have issues with anxiety find some relief when they start developing more of a growth mindset. These people end up with much less anxiety – and less depression as well.
Researchers have studied this extensively, using mindset interventions to help cultivate a growth mindset in the subjects. This effect has been seen in many studies, in both men and women, and in both adults and adolescents.
These effects are persistent as well. That is, they don’t disappear after the study ends but last for the long term. One study found them persisting almost a year later.
To put it another way: cultivating a growth mindset can reduce your anxiety over both the near and long term.
The mindset interventions used in these studies were generally the same ones recommended to help anyone cultivate a growth mindset. Journaling, affirmations or confessions, trying new things, and prayer.
As expected, different treatment methods worked better on different people; everyone is a unique individual who responds differently to different stimuli.
Cultivating a growth mindset had other benefits besides lowering anxiety in the studies. It reduced stress, increased resilience, and encouraged participants to keep trying difficult tasks.
There’s no downside to trying to change your mindset. You don’t have to worry about side effects or other problems popping up.
If you suffer from anxiety, working to cultivate a growth mindset is one of the best ways you can manage your anxiety and reduce it over the long run. It may not cure your anxiety, but it will make it significantly better.
Start today and begin living the life you were born to lead!
(Important note: if you have a genuine anxiety disorder and not just anxiety, it’s unlikely that cultivating a growth mindset alone will be enough to treat your anxiety. Please seek help from a licensed healthcare professional as well.)
Building your Faith really helps with anxiety. Check out How to Grow Your Faith. This Done-for-You Package will help you and your clients.
by Suellen | Meeting the Challenges, Success, Vision and Goals
How did you like reading about good habits yesterday? Well, here are five more.
Each of these has other benefits besides improving your mindset. Any of these will help you improve your life overall. They will also help you cultivate your growth mindset.
Don’t think you need to attempt all of them;.
First try a few and see which ones work for you.
1. Eat healthy food
Food is fuel for the body and the mind. What you eat affects how much energy you have, how well you can focus, and your overall mood. Make a habit of eating healthy food and you’ll be rewarded with better health and a better mindset.
This doesn’t mean you should never eat junk food, but it should be a rare occasion.
2. Start an exercise habit
Exercise is good for you in so many ways and has profound, positive effects on your mindset. Occasional exercise will help you improve your mindset but making it into a habit is better.
You don’t need to train for a marathon. Get in the habit of taking a daily walk, go swimming, take up yoga or another gentle workout like tai chi, or do anything else that appeals to you.
The main criteria is that you make it into a regular habit, at least several days a week.
3. Prioritize sleep
Nothing makes you feel better than a good night’s sleep. And nothing makes you feel worse than a bad one.
Most people in the modern world are chronically sleep-deprived. If you want to cultivate a growth mindset, don’t be one of them.
Prioritize getting a good night’s sleep every night. Aim for 7-9 hours every night and you’ll be refreshed and ready to go the next day.
4. Take regular breaks from social media
Social media is fun and lets you connect with friends, but it has a downside. Too much social media lowers your self-esteem and makes you more prone to depression.
It’s all too easy to forget that most social media posts are people’s highlights and not their daily lives. It’s safe to say that many posts are more than highlights, they are exaggerations. Everyone wants to look good on Social Media, and you can see the results.
5. Do something creative
Creativity is one of the most necessary yet often neglected aspects of being a well-rounded person. The challenge involved in it will make you grow and improve your mindset.
All you have to do is look at nature to realize that our God loves creativity. We are made in His image, and our creativity expresses that likeness.
Aim to do something creative every day, or at least several times a week. Write, color, paint, draw, play a musical instrument -the options are endless.
Little by little we grow and change. Every little positive habit we can develop helps us get there. To a better mindset and a happier, more productive life.
