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The Positive Side of Positivity

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Whether it’s how you were raised, part of your genetics, or a conscious decision, it’s obvious that some people think more positively than others. Have you noticed that life seems to go more smoothly for positive people? There is great power in positive thinking, and it’s not just about feeling happier or being more optimistic. While these are great side effects of positive thinking, the benefits of it go much further and will help you achieve greater success in your life. 

The Benefits of Becoming More Positive

If being happier isn't a good enough reason to work on increasing your positive thinking, I’m sure that some of the following benefits will sway you to want to see the glass as half-full. 

The Snowball Effect

Recent studies have shown that positive thinking is directly linked to your brain's reward system and pleasure stimulus. This means that once your mind feels the pleasure that positive thinking...

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Make Your Comfort Zone Bigger

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As much as I enjoy the holidays, I'm always happy to get back to routine. With the buildup to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the New Year, it’s like six weeks of preparation and “unusual” days of visiting and celebrations. I love the time I get to spend with my daughter who has gone back to college now, and with my son who is nearing the end of his high school days. I know it won’t be long until he has left to follow his dreams, too. 

With a fresh year ahead, it’s the perfect time to take action on your own dreams. To do that, you need to step outside of your comfort zone; this is something you’ll have to do again and again. 

What Your Comfort Zone Is

I think most people imagine their comfort zone as a safe circle around them, where everything is predictable and cozy that doesn’t change. Surprise! Your comfort zone isn’t set in stone. It’s an artificial mental boundary that allows...

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Be Positively Limitless

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When it comes to achieving your goals or dreams, your success boils down to one simple thing: your mindset. If you keep a positive mindset, there’s no limit to what you can achieve. But if you allow yourself to sink into negativity, you’re going to stay stuck. So how do you flip the negative to the positive, even when everything seems hard? I’ve got a few ideas to help.

A Tale As Old As Time

I recently had the pleasure of reading a book for my friend’s book group. It’s called “The Dream Giver”, by Bruce Wilkinson. It's a short book, and the first half is a parable about the journey to following your dreams. Then the second half contains his steps to follow them. 

It felt like such a coincidence to pick up the book, because I’ve been talking about leaving your comfort zone this past month. I love reading different takes on the same topic, but the idea of leaving the familiar behind to...

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It's Time to Face Your Fears

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Two weeks ago I wrote about why pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is necessary for meaningful growth, and this week is all about facing the fears that are stopping you from doing just that. When you start taking steps out of your comfort zone and toward your goals, your fears are going to come out of the woodwork one by one. They are going to slow you down and distract you, and the only way to deal with those fears is to face them. 

Have you ever wondered why you are afraid of public speaking, heights, or financial insecurity, but the person next to you isn’t? The truth is that we create fears for ourselves, both subconsciously and consciously. Some are learned, while others are passed on to us from important people in our lives. Let's use the fear of water as an example.

Perhaps your grandmother nearly drowned while swimming in the river. She developed a fear of swimming in rivers, and never went in one again. When she had...

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You Get What You Expect, So Start Expecting The Best

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Have you ever noticed that you get what you expect out of life? That what you think is going to happen does? We all live with an unconscious expectation of ourselves and our own lives, and this expectation not only determines what we have in our lives, but it also represents what we're willing to settle for. It’s a very powerful emotion and one that few people ever learn to harness to improve their situation. That’s a shame, because whatever you expect with certainty is what you will get in your life.

Ralph Charell said, "Nobody succeeds beyond his or her wildest expectations unless he or she begins with some wild expectations." So what are your expectations for your life? Are you excited about your future or do you face it with apprehension, fear, or even dread? These thoughts can be about the far away future or what you expect for your day. 

Why We Keep Low Expectations

For many people, the future holds too many...

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Manage Your Mind Through Adversity

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The other day, my yoga teacher Kofi said “The Yogi is someone who takes responsibility for the thoughts that go through their mind.” I love the simplicity and deep meaning behind this quote, and it fits perfectly with my recent podcasts on managing your thoughts. This week, I want to talk about managing your thoughts when things aren’t going your way. 

Balance is a Myth

I find that many of my clients come to me feeling overwhelmed about having to do it all, while also wanting more out of their life. It feels like they can’t keep up in life as it is, so going after their bigger dreams seems impossible. My coaching approach is an active process, and I know (and want you to accept) that your circumstances and the balance between the different parts of your life will always be shifting. 

What this means is that I encourage you and show you how to take action in your life, so you can learn as you go....

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3 Practices to Make Your Brain a More Positive Place

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Last week I shared strategies on how to train your negative thoughts to be more positive because the thoughts that move through your head have everything to do with your confidence, success, and even your health. (Check it out here.) This week, I’m taking that concept one step further, and sharing how you can set up your internal environment for those positive thoughts to flourish. In other words, what can you do so that your brain is more receptive to the positive messages you're sending it? 

Studies show that you can prime your brain to be more open to feeling confident, positive, and to making healthier choices both for your body and your mind. You can physically alter your brain circuitry to promote more positive responses with simple practices that anyone can fit into their day. 

Give Meditation a Chance

Meditation has been around for literally thousands of years, and for good reason. If you’re the type of person...

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Train Your Negative Inner Voice to be More Positive

Listen Instead on The Extraordinary Life Podcast

We are exposed to a lot of negativity in the news and media, and you can try to avoid that. But you really shouldn’t have to be exposed to negativity in your own head. Your inner dialogue is one of the biggest influences on your confidence, self-esteem, and the results you create for yourself. If your negative inner voice is too loud these days, I have ways to help you turn that around. 

You Are Not Your Thoughts

Some people are naturally more positive and have an empowering inner voice. If that’s you, then that’s amazing! It didn’t happen by accident. Either you grew up with people that taught you to speak to yourself that way, or you've developed a positive-thinking habit and your life likely reflects that positivity.

For the rest of us that lean towards negative thought chatter, know that you aren’t alone. Researchers from the National Institute of Health estimate that we think about 50,000 to...

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What to do When Comparisonitis Strikes

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Imposter syndrome is nothing new, at least not in the many business and self-development groups I belong to (including my own!). Most of the discussions and tips about it focus on how to stop comparing ourselves to others, but there is another type of “comparisonitis” that is just as tough to overcome: comparing yourself to yourself. I had an embarrassing case of it myself recently that I think you will relate to.

The Dreaded Comparisonitis

Okay, “comparisonitis” isn’t a real word. But if it was, I’d define it as the loss of motivation resulting from the comparison to someone else that appears to be doing better than you are. And yes, that other person can also be you. It could be the younger you, an idea of who you should be, or even goals you once had but no longer align with. When I chose to bike a once-familiar route with my husband a few weekends ago, I had no idea that I’d face all of the...

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Challenge Your Thinking to Create Change

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As a life coach, it’s easy for me to see where my clients’ thoughts are impacting their lives and results. Seeing the same things for myself, however, is more of a challenge. Examining my thoughts is something that I’ve been working on, and I’m using a method called “The Model”. My own mentor introduced me to this framework, which was created by Brooke Castillo. Brooke says “The Model is the one tool you need to change anything in your life by helping you understand how your circumstances, thoughts, feelings, actions, and results work.” I’ve been using a variation of The Model as I work to uncover the thoughts that may be holding me back, both in my mind and in my journaling practice. 

Challenge Your Thinking with The Model

There are five parts to The Model which work together to help you understand why you are getting your current results, which in turn gives you the...

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