3 Quick Tips for Creating A Magnificent Year

Here are three quick tips for creating a magnificent year:

1.  Pull forward the good from the past year

Whatever your disappointments may be from the year before – shake them off and pull forward what you’ve learned and what you appreciate –- highlights from your year.

Drawing a blank?

How about asking yourself, if you did know, what would they be?

In fact, take a moment and write 2 or 3 of the “learnings” or “highlights” down right now as they come to you.

Next…

2.  Sow daily toward what you want.

Here’s a key question for you:

Are you sowing daily toward what’s important to you, even if it’s only a few minutes a day?

Maybe it’s spending more time with your husband or wife…or your kids…or learning something new.

Rather than getting stuck in “all-or-nothing” land, start asking yourself what steps you could take a few minutes a day to sow in this area that’s important to you.

For me and my family a few years back, I made a decision to start sowing a few minutes a day toward growing a network and a business that was totally new to me, and at a time when I had no “extra” time…so that I wouldn’t be in the same or worse situation (working more and more hours away from the family) a year later…5 years later…10 years later…and that decision, and consistent sowing over time, has totally transformed our lives and allowed me to be home with my family while growing an international business that’s now touching lives in multiple countries around the world.

How about for you?

What’s an area that you want to see changed in the months ahead?

What plan and daily steps can you put in place to start moving in that direction?

Remember, it’s the direction you’re heading that’s more important than where you are right now.

3. Live from possibility rather than from pressure.

As you look forward – rather than feeling pressure – whether it’s pressure because of your finances, your health, or some other area of your life – rather than focusing on what’s still “not there” or how far you have to go – start looking at what’s possible.

What’s possible today?

What’s the next step I could take (in this area) today?

Or as the team at Access Consciousness likes to ask, “What else is possible?”

Play in possibility.

It feels different, doesn’t it.

My wife has a wonderful phrase “we’ll be met”…referring to the mystery, wonder, and power of being met by something beyond what we can fully see and control ourselves.

As long as we take the steps we can take, and keep our heart open, it’s amazing what can come into our experience.

Be open to be amazed.

And keep taking the steps you can take right now toward what you want, trusting that “you’ll be met” and eventually enjoy the fruit – of something that grows beyond just what you can see from your vantage point right now.

Live…and sow…from possibility rather than pressure.

It’s both more enjoyable and more fun!

Here’s to a powerful and transformational year for us all!

Dr. Ben

P.S.  To further assist you with step #1 and anchor a state of appreciation and gratitude as we enter a the rest of the year, here’s a wonderful video that was just shared with me by a friend. Enjoy!

What Are You Comparing To?

Been pondering something we do everyday, almost without
thinking, that powerfully affects how we feel about ourselves
and what we’re doing.

The neat thing is that as we become aware of this, we can
consciously use this tendency in a way that purposefully
benefits us.

Whether it’s with our health, our weight, our “productiveness”
and “success”, our parenting, our relationships, or something
else…

…I’ve found that how we feel in a given moment is often
directly impacted by what we choose to “compare to.”

Even just for ourselves—-are we comparing to what’s gone before,
and noting the progress we’ve made…or are we comparing to
what hasn’t happened yet, and feeling frustrated or overwhelmed,
or even a “failure”?

It’s interesting how our brains work.

Dan Ariely, a researcher formerly from my alma mater MIT, a
great TED speaker, and author of Predictably Irrational, has
pointed out that human beings tend to assign value only in
reference to something else.  I once heard him give the example
of Olympic medalists, asking, “Who do you think is generally
happier with their medal – silver medalists, or bronze medalists?”

The natural thought would be that silver is better than bronze,
but his research showed that the bronze medalists were generally
happier, and his reasoning was that the silver medalists looked
at the gold and felt badly that they came so close and didn’t
“make it”, whereas the bronze medalists looked at all the others
who didn’t get a medal, and were glad they got a medal at all…

So back to us and our daily lives – now that you know your brain
is constantly looking for references to “compare to” and decide
how to feel, you can choose to compare in ways that feel good…

that inspire you to move forward…

rather than ways that overwhelm you or shut you down.

How?

Begin by finding something to appreciate…something you’ve done
well, something that’s gone well…maybe right now it’s just your
own awareness or the potential for things to be different now
that you’re thinking differently.

Next, focus on progress…compare in ways that you feel good about
the progress you’re making…if there’s no outward “progress” yet,
begin by noting that your direction is different.

Perhaps the progress is simply that you’ve held a certain focus or
direction longer than before.

In fact, what direction you’re heading is so much more important
than where you are right now.  (You can read more about that here.)

In the meantime, throughout the day, ask yourself, “What am I
comparing to?” and consciously choose comparisons that inspire you
to move forward, rather than those that make you feel small or
inadequate.

Deal?

How about leaving a comment about your own comparisons and
experiences below.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Dr. Ben
P.S.  Been enjoying this music from Hayley Westenra as I write this,
and thought I’d post it directly for you here. Enjoy!