Have you ever proclaimed your intention clearly to have something in your life and BOOM!
So there is a lot of truth in the cliche saying, “Clarity is power”, is there not?
It’s as if the Universe was waiting for you to show up powerfully and clearly, ready to serve up what you ordered. But this magic can happen only when you are truly aligned
So you’ve culled the insights,
Make sure you celebrate your wins! We often feel silly doing this, but let me tell ya, it is super important. Your brain loves to win, and giving yourself the gift of celebrating your achievements goes such a long way to inspire you to reach even higher.
Motivation is part chemistry, part psychology, and part environmental influences.
So let’s use all three to achieve your Vision!
The next step in our process is to Believe in the Possibility. It’s all outlined in my in-depth guide, ENVISION 2019: The Essential Guide to Planning the Best Year Ever. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, do so now, so you can follow along!
Before we dive into the process, I want you to consider what a
When you envision this, consider how your beliefs shape your thinking. And I want you to commit to upgrading those beliefs. Deal?
Most people fail because they only focus on the action steps without doing the inner work first.
That’s why we call this Visionary Yoga – because in Yoga, we understand that it is the inner world,
The Story of the Baby Elephant
We are all creatures of habit and conditioning, much like the circus elephant. Do you know how they train an elephant not to run away?
They take them when they are still young and tie a strong rope around their necks and attach the rope to a secure pillar. The baby elephants try to walk away, but can’t. They struggle with this for some
This goes on day by day – they put a rope over the baby elephant’s head – they struggle, then they give up.
After many repetitions, the baby elephants have internalized the limitation. When the rope is put over their heads, they no longer resist because they know it is futile. That is why in a circus you often see giant elephants standing still with a rope tied around their necks that isn’t attached to anything at all.
It’s a sad scenario, but we each have this dynamic at play going on subconsciously.
The only way to undo this conditioning is to consciously reawaken your capacity for true freedom. This is Inner Yoga in action!
So first, let’s recognize, that is RE-COGNIZE these essential truths:
Truth #1: Your beliefs shape your reality.
We tend to experience what we
And that shapes our outcome…which means, they shape your reality.
So for many of us, our first main obstacle to achieving our Goals and Dreams is the fact that we doubt we can. We believe they are out of our reach.
This explains why the number of people who achieve their goals in their 20’s is far greater than the people in their 50’s. It’s a sad statistic, but the greater number of setbacks we have experienced in life, the less likely we are to believe we can prevail.
We’ve all been there – disappointment turns into frustration, then anger, sadness, depression, and eventually becomes the dreaded demon of them all – cynicism.
It’s helpful to understand that this vicious cycle is really just a function of self-defense mechanism.
We can practice self-understanding, self-compassion, and self-forgiveness, and break this cycle.
Cynicism is poison. The road it leads to is an ever-shrinking horizon, ultimately leading to bitterness. We all know bitter people, don’t we? They are the ones who try to crush others’ dreams because watching others succeed makes them feel wretched about themselves.
When it shows up in your thinking, especially in the context of your dreams and aspirations, don’t beat yourself up. Just recognize it for what it is, and replace that thought with the understanding that your past does not have to equal your future.
It’s worth repeating: Your beliefs create your reality.
The important question to ask ourselves now is, “What kind of adjustments could you make to your thinking to change your perception of what’s possible?”
As simple as it may sound, this is powerful! This one question can change the course of your destiny.
It’s like flipping on a switch.
History is full of stories that illustrate how a change in thinking resulted in a radical change in outcome.
Take running the 4-minute mile, breaking the sound barrier or journeying to the moon.
This is why Einstein famously said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
And perhaps not as famous, but
“Whatever you think can’t be done – someone will come along and do it!”
So the first key difference between an unmet goal and personal success is the belief that it can be achieved.
At this point, if you’d like to jump right into this step in my planning guide, ENVISION 2019: The Essential Guide to Planning the Best Year Ever download the guide here and start on the exercises under Step 1.
Now for the second Truth…
Truth #2: Some beliefs are detrimental to your happiness.
A prime example of this is scarcity thinking. We all know people who are so tightly bound, they are always looking for the rock bottom discounts. They will make you pay for the restaurant tab, even if they called the meeting!
The thing is, any worthy Dream or Goal is going to stretch you, and that means it will bump you up against an obstacle. People who are scarcity-minded will approach obstacles assuming
But Abundant Thinkers are different. When they come up against an obstacle, they call it a challenge, not a problem.
They believe there are many paths to reach the same goal, so they don’t give up. They’re confident there is a solution at hand, even if it’s not apparent at first.
So…what’s your mindset?
And how do you know when you have fallen into the trap of a limiting belief?
In his book, Making Habits, Breaking Habits, which I highly recommend, author Jeremy Dean offers us three useful parameters.
- Black and white thinking – this all-or-nothing approach can discourage us. Perfectionists fall victim to this kind of thinking.
- Personalizing – this kind of thinking attributes random negative events to us personally, such as “I’m unlucky”, “see, I can’t make this work!”
- Catastrophizing – this is when we take a small mishap and blow it out of proportion. For example, saying “that was a total disaster” when you get one rejection notice.
In addition to these parameters, you observe yourself carefully, you’ll see there are 3 broad categories of limited thinking:
1. Assumptions we hold about the world.
For example, you may have the thought “It’s impossible to start a new business now; the economy is terrible!”
Or, “I can never get ahead because the management where I’m working sucks.”
There may be some truth to these statements, which is what makes them so tempting, but they are rarely the whole picture. We’ve got to be diligent about blanket statements we make like this, because the reality is, by saying the world is like this, we make it so!
Words have power, and we can use words to create a vision of the world we feel empowered to live in.
2. Limiting beliefs about others.
Have you ever written an email to someone, and when you don’t receive a reply within 24 hours, you think, “He hasn’t responded yet. I guess he’s not interested.”?
We believe these assumptions are true, even though they are untested, and they can severely limit your vision of what’s possible.
3. Limiting beliefs about ourselves.
Yoga teaches that anything you state after the words “I am” is very powerful. For example, have you ever told yourself “I’m just not good with money”, or “I am too (fill in the blank) to have this Dream!”?
Beliefs like these will block any progress you want to make in life.
So, it’s time to flip the switch on these debilitating beliefs! 
If you’re ready to jump into doing the Step 1 of my Visionary Planning Guide, go ahead!
Download it now, and do the exercises up to page six.
Now for the Third Truth about Beliefs:
Truth #3: You Can Upgrade Your Beliefs
All I can say is, Thank God for that!
Not only did I used to think “I’m no good with money”, I used to believe “I’m too shy to teach a group class”, “I have to work till I’m exhausted to earn good income”, and “The world wants me to keep me playing small”.
Yes, this is scarcity thinking and cynicism personified!
So I can personally attest to the power of being willing to look at your deeply held beliefs. It’s not easy at first, but once you really see the beliefs for what they are, you’ll be amazed at how quickly they can be transformed.
If you want maximum effectiveness for the least amount of work, shifting your inner beliefs gives you the best bang for your efforts. The results are astounding.
Once I shifted “I’m no good with money” to “I’m a responsible steward of my money and money loves me. I attract money wherever I go. I always have more than enough to live a rich life, and to be generous with others.”, I really came to have all the money I need to not just to live comfortably, but to travel the world and live the lifestyle I loved.
Another big one for me was transforming the notion that you had to work till you’re exhausted to make a decent income. Once I released this belief and replaced it with “I’m being of greatest service when I serve with ease and grace”, the shift was amazing.
Suddenly, I had time to attend to self-care, get enough rest, and have time for the creative work that I loved! I wondered by I had not chosen to think differently earlier.
The thing is, many limiting beliefs have a kernel of truth in them. That’s what keeps us holding on to them forever – they appear so convincing!
I’d love to know in the comment area below, what’s the belief you know you need to shift? C’mon, be honest! Let us support you in your inner shift!
Remember, for each comment post below, you get one entry into a final drawing for a one-on-one consultation with me where we’ll work together to:
- Clarify your vision
- Identify your hidden challenges and
- Get motivated with a New Clarity to take your Best Next Steps toward your Dreams.
So don’t be shy!
Now, how do you flip an old negative belief?
Try these steps:
1. Flip it. Yes, simply state the opposite of what you believe.
2. See if you can make it even better. For example, if you have the belief “I’m not good enough” (and honestly, who doesn’t have that belief crop up from time to time?), you might find the thought “I have greatness inside me” more inspiring than simply “I’m good enough”. So try it on, and choose the version that truly inspires and lights you up from the inside.
3. Re-frame. Even if there is some truth to the old belief, such as “I’m not a numbers person”, you can reframe it to “I’m getting better with numbers every day”, or even “I may not a natural with numbers, I’m empowered to collaborate with a person who is.”
Whatever your new belief is, make sure you write it down!
4. Practice seeing through the lens of that new belief.
Start living from the perspective of this new, liberating truth. It might feel a bit awkward at first, like trying on new glasses. But try it on, and keep it on – before long, your vision will eventually adjust to seeing with the new glasses, and it will become your New Normal.
Every time you catch the old belief rearing its ugly head, edit it in your head and say the new belief to yourself, out loud.
Start living your new belief as if it’s true.
As a human being, you do have the power to shape your reality. So use it!
Know that your future does not have to equal your past.
There is a Visionary being inside you that is waiting to be awakened, and that Visionary sees your life from the Space of Possibility.
The future is a blank canvas you can paint on. But first, let’s embrace these three Truths about Believing:
Truth #1: Your beliefs shape your reality.
Truth #2: Some beliefs limit you.
Truth #3: You have the power to upgrade your beliefs.
Now, let’s get to work! Download my ENVISION 2019: The Essential Guide to Planning the Best Year Ever here and start on the exercises under Step 1.
In the next step, we’re going to craft the one-year vision of our life. This is my favorite step!
I want to acknowledge you for the growth-oriented Visionary that you are, taking the time to work on your mindset.
Remember to share the belief or beliefs you are committing to shift for 2019. It’s a HUGE achievement just to recognize your beliefs, so congratulations! You ROCK!
Now we’re ready to move on to Step 3: How to Craft Your One-Year Vision. See you there!
