It’s like climbing a mountain don’t you think? Now I know a thing or two about climbing mountains and asking YOU if you care enough about yourself is a valid question.

How often do you say to yourself and others, “I wish there were more time in the day!” I know you would be lying if you didn’t think this at least once a day. Correct me if I am wrong! Time is a very precious commodity that we never get back so use it wisely.

Being a work at home mum inevitably leads to being in the same surroundings day in and day out. Getting out of the house to work for me is a real treat and something I have scheduled in more often with my mobile broadband connection.

If you work from home, you can probably identify with this. The other issues are of course that there is always something to be done around the house and if you have young children, they need attention too. So how do we find the balance and care enough about ourselves to do something about it?

Here’s a question for you and I want you to say it out loud so it really resonates with you.

“How often do I spend time on myself?”

Is it an hour a day?

An hour or more a week?

An hour or more a month?

I think you get the idea. And by this, I mean time just for you and you alone. Whether it be taking a leisurely stroll, meditating, reading a book, listening to your favorite music or maybe sitting amongst nature and listening to the birds! Whatever it is that brings you peace of mind - spend time doing it.

Do you think about the food you eat and whether it is “good” or “bad” for your body? I use those words loosely as one person’s idea of good and bad can be different to the next person.

Do you exercise and stretch your body to keep it flexible and strong? Do you do Mentalrobics for the brain to keep it active? Is this too much of a list for you?

These are basic things we can do for ourselves in the quest to caring for ourselves. I know when I hit 40 I felt fabulous… now a few more years down the track… time seems to slip by me so fast that I can’t keep up with all I need to do!

Does it show to those around you?

Do you care enough about yourself that it shows to those around you? Do your friends comment on a great hairdo or a nice outfit you are wearing? Perhaps your skin always looks great and you receive compliments about this. Or perhaps you showed compassion to another and word got around. You may find that you have more respect than before. That’s not why you would it, it would be a consequence after the fact.

Now you might be asking “What does showing compassion to another have to do with caring about yourself?” Well if you didn’t care about yourself, you wouldn’t be showing compassion. By showing compassion to another, you would have put yourself in their shoes and whatever it was that prompted you to offer them help would have been something that happened to you in the past or to someone else you know and what they went through during that time. If you didn’t care enough about yourself, then how can you care for your fellow man?

Care Enough About Yourself

Some of the things you may want to take on if you care enough about yourself are things that you are passionate about and it really could be anything you find joy in doing and linking pleasure to doing it.

If the traditional way of exercising is not for you, think about taking a dance class like Salsa or Belly Dancing for instance. You will find muscles you never thought you had in those classes, or find someone that has group exercise classes outside of a gym if it’s the gym thing that doesn’t appeal. A simple brisk walk or light jog for 20 minutes everyday may do the trick too with stretching before and after the event.

When it comes to do the grocery shopping, do it after you have had a meal so that you are not tempted to buy extras that you don’t really need. Shopping on a full stomach will lessen the chance of buying something that may not be so good for you and your body.

Grooming is another thing to take note of. Having your hair tidy, makeup done (if you wear makeup that is) and clean well kept clothes also shows if you care enough about yourself. You don’t need to have the latest fashion as the latest fashion doesn’t suit every body or personality type. Wear what you feel comfortable in and remember to check your shoes too. These are things you may not consider on a daily basis and especially if you don’t have to leave the house to commute to work. It’s easy to become nonchalant in this situation and awareness of this is important… well to me anyway.

So do you care enough about yourself? If you don’t, then who will?

While you are considering this, here’s another dance you may be interested in and I look forward to your thoughts. Watch this video… um… you could get out of your chair and follow along… perhaps!

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It’s funny you know… how many times can you recall saying that you can’t do something because you can’t afford it. I bet those words have sprouted from your mouth 1000 times or more over the years… or have they? Don’t worry, I also have been guilty of this in the past.

Since I started with personal development, my idea of not being able to afford something has changed to how can I afford something. We are all born into our own set of circumstances whether it be the country we live in or the family we are born into. We become conditioned in a certain way of thinking and that is what we believe to be so. So unless we change our thoughts and our idea about money, we may never be able to afford that cruise or that skiing trip or even that new car as an example.

Before I came across some of my teachers like Bob Proctor and Dr John Demartini from The Secret, I never believed that I could achieve any kind of financial freedom. I always believed that I had to go to school, get good grades, find a good job and then live off my retirement money which really doesn’t seem to be able to cover the bills for most retirees these days.So let me enlighten you on the 100 people story. The following facts exist for every 100 people at age 65 in Australia.

• 25 are dead

• 20 have annual incomes under $10,000 (below poverty level)

• 51 have annual incomes between $10,000 and $35,000

• 4 have annual incomes over $35,000

• yet 1 in every 100 is a millionaire

Here’s another interesting fact:

When Social Security was started, there were 16 people working for every one person on the program. Today, that ratio is 3:1 and in the next 12 years, it is projected to be 1:1 (Source: The Millionaire Next Door)

Scary stuff I say! It’s not a pretty picture that is painted here. So if the idea problem is that we don’t have enough money, how are we going to change our way of thinking and turn that around?


Affirmations

I have found that using affirmations is a great way to help re-train the brain if you like and change that prior conditioning that I was brought up with. I love my parents and I am grateful that they gave me life and because they came from a generation that was born before WWII, when there was a real scarcity factor, that is the way they were conditioned and therefore passed it onto me. So, by using affirmations, it has helped me to think differently and scarcity need not be a factor any more. After all, we do live in an abundant universe where we have all that we need. We just need to tap into the abundance.
Some examples of affirmations are:

• I am grateful that I live in an abundant universe

• I now release any and all barriers to my financial and personal success

• I earn, save, spend and invest my money wisely

• My money creates more money

• Every thought I have is transformed into abundance

Simple statements that can be read every day at different intervals throughout your day. You can repeat them whilst showering in the morning to start your day in that state of gratitude and abundance. I even know a couple of people who get on a rebounder and chant their affirmations while they are bouncing! Whatever works for you is great and if you need to adjust the words in the statements a little to make it feel right for you, all the better. Go ahead and create your day to one of abundance. These were examples I thought I would share with you.

Now if you have read this and think that money is not important, I challenge you to walk into a supermarket, fill up your trolley and try to walk out without paying for it. How far do you think you will get? Money is important. Some people would like to have more of it so I am sharing a few things that have helped me change my mindset around it and learn how to make it and how to make it work for me! I am on my way to achieving the financial freedom that I desire and live the life I love to live. How about you?

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In my last post I talked about being an adrenalin junkie which made me stop and think about what I was actually saying. Through attending many personal development seminars and training with NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming), I have learned that whatever you say you are, you are. This is not something new to me, and there are times when I do use the wrong language. I should know better you would think… well, I am human after all

Since then, I have had a paradigm shift. I had a dream last night that I was bird hopping along the ground not being able to make out the tops of trees, but instead, all I could see was the grass stalks and some twigs and leaves. When I flew up into the sky I could then make everything out. I could see the trees in relation to the ground and the grass. I could even make out a valley and a body of water. Things seemed much clearer from up above. I noticed that the higher I flew, the more of the landscape I could see. Even the approaching clouds threatening a change in the weather.

Why am I telling you this. I am telling you this because from a distance, I could see the whole picture and not just what was down on the ground level. There are times when all you can see is what’s right in front of you. All the menial tasks that must be done on a daily basis. These tasks are just as important as the big ones. I have read that the art of successful living calls on the ability to pull back and see the big picture… take time out to re-focus.

There are some spiritual disciplines that favor retreats to be able to reconnect with your Higher Self or Spirit, whichever you would like to call it. This is also another form of nurturing your emotional intelligence. If you can take the time off and make it to such a retreat, fantastic! If you are limited with your time because maybe you work on your own or you have family commitments that you cannot pull away from at the drop of a hat, there are other ways of re-connecting and grounding yourself.

Here is a list that may give you some ideas:

1. Take one day off and make it a vision quest where you carry one question in your mind - What do I do next? Let it simmer while you walk, meditate, swim or just stare into space!
2. Take one hour to sit in amongst nature - be it a park, the beach, or even your backyard - and just shut everything out. Don’t think about a thing.
3. Go and have a full body massage and DO NOT talk through the process. I say this because when I worked in the beauty industry and clients would come in for a massage, there were ones who tended to talk throughout the whole hour. Not very relaxing and they missed the point of having the massage… although, some would come just to vent their troubles.
4. Run yourself a nice, deep bubble bath and burn essential oils with candles around the bathroom. The citrus oils are uplifting while peppermint and rosemary are invigorating.

Pulling back and regaining your focus is a must to be able to function at your highest potential. If while you are working and you seem to be procrastinating, notice this and ask yourself this question: What can I do in the next 20 minutes that will take me in the direction I want to go. It could be writing a letter, making a phone-call, paying a bill, joining a gym or even enlisting the help of a coach. It will different for each of you depending on what your goals are. Think of it as writing an outline of a novel and not the whole book.

These are some guidelines to consider.

• Think big.
• Think small.
• Learn to go back and forth easily between your points of focus.
• If you dream too much, you may get lost in unproductive tasks.
• If you are run off your feet with details and other’s demands, you are in danger of losing focus on the big picture.

My goal is to follow and stick to these guidelines so that I may become someone whose bigger dreams drive and inspire others. Let me know how I am doing from time to time.

Change Your Thoughts and You Can Change the World

I would like to leave you with this video that shows how your thoughts can change your focus and in turn, change the world as you see it. Enjoy!

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