Tag Archives: Mindset

Gratitude and Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

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Gratitude enables you to overcome your limiting beliefs.

Limiting thoughts and beliefs are false thoughts and beliefs that prevent you from pursuing your goals and desires. They can affect every aspect of your life from your wealth, health, relationships and emotional well-being. For example, if you believe you don’t deserve to be happy, you may never pursue your dreams or goals, and you will not be happy.
Gratitude in all things

Gratitude enables you to overcome and replace you limiting thoughts and beliefs with positive and abundant thoughts and beliefs. Further, your attitude, mood, behavior and thoughts improve when you practice gratitude.

The three keys to gratitude include :

  • Emote – to feel emotionally grateful
  • Extend – reach out and connect socially
  • Exercise – practice until it’s instilled

Be grateful in all circumstances, no matter what, both in good times and dark times. Although, it is easier to be thankful during good times than during hard times. The trials and sufferings in your life are there to strengthen you. They’re there for you to learn and grow.

Dr. Robert Emmons, known as the “world’s leading scientific expert on gratitude”, andis a psychology profession from the University of California, Davis and also the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of Positive Psychology, found that being more grateful can lead to increased levels of well-being and that being grateful towards a higher power may lead to increased physical health. Giving thanks to those you are in a relationship with (not only your family) will strengthen the relationship.

Studies found that persons practicing gratitude showed more optimism in life, reduced stress, depression, and anxiety levels. It is a continuous loop.  The more you experience gratitude and say ‘thank you’  the more you will find in life to appreciate. When you choose gratitude over happiness even your self-control is stronger.

Research found that patients with heart failure showed reduced symptoms of heart failure and inflammation, improved sleep, and moods through keeping a gratitude journal.

Daily gratitude exercise

  • Reflect on three things your grateful for
  • Feel the gratitude in your body and
  • Extend the gratitude to others

When you practice gratitude, you change your thoughts and beliefs about yourself. You are happier and experience greater joy in life. And, when you change yourself, you change your perception of the world.

Be thankful for everything that God has given you. Apostle Paul declared, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want” (Philippians 4:12, NIV).

An attitude of gratitude and a spirit of thankfulness make all the difference. Thus, to change your life and your world, change your attitude and in all things, practice gratitude.

References;

  1. https://www.virtuesforlife.com/33-gratitude-affirmations-to-transform-limiting-beliefs/
  2. https://billygraham.org/story/how-to-be-thankful-in-all-things/
  3. https://lovegodgreatly.com/be-thankful-in-all-things/
  4. http://www.thelife.digital/tl/articles/gratitude-is-the-best-attitude/

“I am grateful to feel stronger, wiser and more confident with each new day.”

Mindfulness

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Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

Mindfulness is about fully attending to what’s happening, to what you’re doing, to the space you’re moving through. It is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

The annoying fact that we so often veer from the matter at hand.

Our mind takes flight, we lose touch with our body, and pretty soon we’re engrossed in obsessive thoughts about something that just happened or fretting about the future. And that makes us anxious.

The practice of Mindfulness can help you overcome anxiety, worry and many of the stresses of life.

Mindfulness can be cultivated through proven techniques. Here are some examples:

  1. Seated, walking, standing, and moving meditation (it’s also possible lying down but often leads to sleep);
  2. Short pauses we insert into everyday life;
  3. Merging meditation practice with other activities, such as yoga or sports.

When we’re mindful, we reduce stress, enhance performance, gain insight and awareness through observing our own mind, and increase our attention to others’ well-being.

8 Facts About Mindfulness:

  1. Mindfulness is not obscure or exotic. It’s familiar to us because it’s what we already do, how we already are. It takes many shapes and goes by many names.
  2. Mindfulness is a thing we already have. We have the capacity to be present and we can cultivate these innate qualities with simple practices that are scientifically demonstrated to benefit ourselves and our love ones.
  3. You don’t need to change. Mindfulness recognizes and cultivates the best of who we are as human beings.
  4. Mindfulness has the potential to become a transformative social phenomenon. Here’s why:
  5. Anyone can do it. Mindfulness practice cultivates universal human qualities and does not require anyone to change their beliefs. Everyone can benefit and it’s easy to learn.
  6. It’s a way of living.  Mindfulness is more than just a practice. It brings awareness and caring into everything we do—and it cuts down needless stress. Even a little makes our lives better.
  7. It’s evidence-based. We don’t have to take mindfulness on faith. Both science and experience demonstrate its positive benefits for our health, happiness, work, and relationships.
  8. It sparks innovation. As we deal with our world’s increasing complexity and uncertainty, mindfulness can lead us to effective, resilient, low-cost responses to seemingly intransigent problems.

When we practice mindfulness, we’re practicing the art of creating space for ourselves—space to think, space to breathe, space between ourselves and our reactions.

References:

  1. https://www.mindful.org/how-to-practice-mindfulness/
  2. https://www.mindful.org/what-is-mindfulness/

Commit to Building Wealth

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“Change your mindset and change your life.”

If you think you can improve your financial situation, you’ll do exactly that.

“Change your mindset around wealth,” said Mandi Woodruff-Santos, co-host of the “Brown Ambition” podcast. “Tell yourself it’s possible to build wealth, that you can learn anything, and that you can do it! Once you begin to internalize your ability to build wealth, it makes it easier to take the steps needed to increase your earnings, start investing and learn along the way.”

It’s important to realize that no one is going to change your life for you. you must make the decision to learn, to grow, and to improve your life. The most important thing is that you get started!

There are five areas to work on in order to create the most efficient and effective change to your mindset – Your beliefs, fears, perspective, self-talk, and support.

CHALLENGE YOUR LIMITING BELIEFS

Limiting beliefs are the stories we tell ourselves about who we really are: shy, overweight, undeserving of love or success. But, they can be replaced with empowering beliefs.

Nearly everyone has some measure of limiting beliefs that prevent them from realizing their dreams and achieving great milestones. Those who are able to challenge and overcome them go on to achieve their goals. Those who don’t continue to live in negative patterns – and often don’t even realize it.

By rebuilding a positive set of habits, we are able to reach new levels of success* in all aspects of our lives.

FACE YOUR FEARS

When we have identified and gotten honest with ourselves about our belief system, we can then go deeper by really examining our fears. When we examine our fears, we ask ourselves questions like; what is the surface level fear? Where is it coming from? Is it a real or perceived fear? What is the underlying fear? What can I do to change my experience of it? And other such questions.

Fear is a destructive emotion; we often carry fears that we don’t need to. Overcoming your fears is a major step toward how to change your mindset for success.

SHIFT YOUR PERSPECTIVE

Learning how to change your mindset can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes all it takes to change your mindset forever is the smallest shift in the way you see the world. One choice that we can easily make is the meaning that we give to our experiences. Tony Robbins says, “Nothing in life has any meaning except the meaning I give it.” Do we see challenges as obstacles – or as opportunities?

When we start to make changes to our perspectives, we consider things like; how am I responding to situations? What am I doing, what am I thinking, what meaning am I giving things that I experience? When it comes to our perspectives a small shift with massive results.

CHANGE YOUR SELF-TALK

When you’re thinking about how to change your mindset, do you find yourself mired in negative thoughts? If you do, focus on your language to change your mindset. Change your self-talk starting with how you begin your day. If you plant positive language in your head at the beginning of the day, you’ll feel more energetic. You might find it effective to make a mantra for yourself, depending on how you’re feeling.

Change your mantra as often as you need to, in order to maximize your own power. In addition, remember that it’s okay to need to correct your course many times during the day.

To keep your positivity flowing, surround yourself with people whose mindsets reflect where you want to be. And remember, setbacks are normal. Bounce back from setbacks by reminding yourself why you want to change.

GET SUPPORT

Find some like-minded people whom you can share your experiences with, learn, and grow together.

These days it is pretty easy to find a group or forum online though you might need to try a few before you find a community that really resonates for you. In time many of the people in your life will see you grow and change and want to know more but for now, just find a few people who want to create change in their mindset (or have already done so) and enjoy the process!

References:

  1. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/top-expert-money-advice-better-230111509.html
  2. https://www.gobankingrates.com/money/wealth/top-expert-money-advice-for-how-to-better-build-your-wealth/
  3. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-changing-your-mindset-can-change-life-the-mind-and-body-co/

Thought of the Day

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There are no limitations to the mind conditioned for success and achievement.

“Try as hard as you wish and you cannot be happy unless you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

Work with all the strength at your command and you cannot accumulate more than barely enough to live on unless you BELIEVE IN YOURSELF!

The one and only person in all this world through whose efforts you can be supremely happy under all circumstances, and, through whose labor you can accumulate all the material wealth that you can use legitimately, is YOURSELF!” —Napoleon Hill

When you believe in your ability to succeed…you completely transform your life.

Consumers Falling Behind on Monthly Payments

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AT&T announced that “more of its customers are starting to fall behind on their bills, a sign that rising costs are pinching many households even for services most Americans consider essential,” writes Drew Fitzgerald in The Wall Street Journal.

The company executives reported that subscribers were paying their monthly phone and internet bills on average two days later than a year ago.

Rising interest rates and higher prices on everything from groceries to gasoline this year due to decades high inflation have pressured consumer sentiment. “When you have 9% inflation, it tends to hit those in the low end of the market really, really hard,” said John Stankey, AT&T Chairman and CEO.

Dividend payout ratio matters

The dividend payout ratio is the amount of dividends paid to shareholders in relation to the total amount of free cash flow the company generates. In other words, the dividend payout ratio measures the percentage of free cash flow that is distributed to shareholders in the form of dividends.

AT&T’s current dividend commitment is for around $8 billion annually, or $2 billion a quarter. The company generated $1.4 billion in free cash flow in the second quarter, far short of the $4.7 billion that analysts were expecting. It means that AT&T’s free cash flow for the quarter didn’t cover its dividend commitment in the period.

References:

  1. Drew Fitzgerald, AT&T Says Customers Fall Behind, The Wall Street Journal, July 22, 2022, pp. B1-B2.
  2. https://www.barrons.com/articles/att-stock-dividend-yield-earnings-51658426833

Thought of the Day

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“You are never too old to set another goal, or to dream a new dream.” ~ C.S. Lewis

The legendary Alexander the Great, king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia, lived only to the young age of 32, but he built a great empire. During his 13 year reign, he conquered the eastern Mediterranean, Egypt, the Middle East, and parts of Asia in a remarkably short period of time.

You don’t need to match Alexander the Great’s accomplishments, but think intently about what you want out of life. And, once you do, focus on your burning desire in life and chase it with all your energy.

We never know when our journey will come to an end.

Mary McLeod Bethune: The First Lady of the Struggle

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“Believe in yourself, learn, and never stop wanting to build a better world.” ~ Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune.

Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was an educator, philanthropist, humanitarian, and civil rights activist who founded the National Council of Negro Women and served in several capacities during the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, including head of the Division of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration and advisor on selecting officer candidates for the Women’s Army Corps.

Tireless, talented and committed to service, Dr. Bethune founded Bethune Cookman College and served has its president. While leading the school, Dr. Bethune also held leadership positions in several prominent organizations.

Because of her dedication to improving the conditions of African Americans, she was called “The First Lady of the Struggle.”

A statue of the Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was unveiled in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol, making Bethune the first Black American to have a state statue in the hall’s collection.

“I plunged into the job of creating something from nothing…. Though I hadn’t a penny left, I considered cash money as the smallest part of my resources. I had faith in a living God, faith in myself, and a desire to serve.” ~ Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune

References:

  1. https://www.internetpillar.com/mary-mcleod-bethune-quotes/
  2. https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-educator-mary-mcleod-bethune-honored-with-state-statue-at-u-s-capitol/

The Power of Faith

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“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.” ~ Voltaire

What is the Power of Faith?

One example of the “power of faith” is to imagine that you’re a passenger on a Boeing 747 jetliner and trusting that the law of physics applies regarding the lifting force generated by aircraft wings are sufficient to allow an inanimate cylindrical object that has a mass of several thousand kilograms to sustain controlled flight at an altitude of over thirty thousand feet for several hours and several thousand miles.

Faith is believing and trusting that aeronautical engineers properly designed the passenger jetliner, that manufactures, such as Boeing or Airbus, correctly assembled the technological complex flying machine, and that government agencies, like the FAA, reliably certified the jetliner as safe you’re currently flying on as a passenger.

Finally, faith is accepting that the pilots at the controls are adequately trained and experienced to fly the multi-engine passenger jet, that the maintenance technicians were competent and skilled in their duties to maintain the aircraft systems and prevent catastrophic failure while the aircraft is in flight, and that the operations watch standers are cognizant and alert to ensure no other aircraft will share the same volume of airspace at the same time with the jetliner in which you’re a passenger.

Bottomline, most things we do in life, such as flying the friendly skies, are based solely on conscious or subconscious faith.

Faith is believing, trusting and accepting the unknown or that which you cannot know for certain. In a way, faith is believing and trusting what you cannot be entirely be certain about.

It’s the complete and absolute trust or confidence in someone or something. Educator Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune was quoted as saying, “I plunged into the job of creating something from nothing…. Though I hadn’t a penny left, I considered cash money as the smallest part of my resources. I had faith in a living God, faith in myself, and a desire to serve.”

Believing and having faith in yourself will ensure you achieve your loftiest goals. You can say that faith is the key to living a better and more fulfilling life.

“Faith is the first factor in a life devoted to service. Without it, nothing is possible. With it, nothing is impossible.” ~ Mary McLeod Bethune

Gratitude

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“Integrate gratitude into your daily life.”

It’s essential to find gratitude every day.

Gratitude means thanks and appreciation for all things. It’s the state of feeling grateful — a conscious, positive emotion one can express when feeling especially thankful for something, whether intangible or tangible.

Robert Emmons, in a Greater Good essay, “Why Gratitude Is Good”, argues that gratitude has two key components:

  • “First, it’s an affirmation of goodness. We affirm that there are good things in the world, gifts and benefits we’ve received.”
  • Second, people should “recognize that the sources of this goodness are outside of ourselves. … We acknowledge that other people—or even higher powers, if you’re of a spiritual mindset—gave us many gifts, big and small, to help us achieve the goodness in our lives.”

“Gratitude is “an affirmation of goodness and a recognition that this goodness is sourced outside the self.” This doesn’t mean that life is perfect and peaceful, but when you look at life as a whole, gratitude encourages you to identify some amount of goodness and joy in your life.” Dr. Robert Emmons

References:

  1. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/gratitude/definition
  2. https://www.brownleeglobal.com/gratitude-research/