How do I improve my health?

How can I find peace of mind?

How do I simplify healthy eating habits?

How do I become debt free?

All of these and more are great questions and questions I believe are one of the most powerful ways of changing our lives for the better.

Questions help us find out where we are in our lives and what we need to do each day to get to the place we want to be or to remain in the state we are in.

Each day I ask myself the question which is the title of this article.

What is the most effective use of my time?

Then I take steps to live the most fulfilling day I can.

Do you use the power of questions?

David

P.S. The first time I ever learned about the power of asking ourselves particular questions was when I read the works of Tony Robbins. His work might be of interest to you. Learn about Tony Robbins

I believe personal development is a life long experience and I enjoy each and every new discovery. Two weeks ago I discovered something I have been looking for over the last few years to help nourish my mind and body more effectively. It might be of interest to you.

It is a book by Richard Bandler one of the co founders of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP). This book finally (for me) puts into simple words step by step actions you and I can use to take control of our emotions. So we can use them to energize not de-stabilized our lives. All the other NLP books I have read have been very complicated.

Indeed, I have been a big fan of NLP for a quite a few years and if you remember parts of my seminars I have shared some of the tools I have learned. Today I am just going to share one of Bandler’s ideas on How to Feel Wonderful and really soon I am going to display here a more comprehensive review of the book Get the Life You Want by Richard Bandler which comes with an educational CD at no extra charge.

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How to Feel Wonderful

Step One

Take a quiet moment and focus on a time in your life when you felt really wonderful.

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Step Two

With your eyes closed imagine in as much detail as possible the event as if you were experiencing it again right now. If it was a fantastic vacation use your memory of the scenery and people to generate images and sounds and colors to really start to ignite the experience as if it was now.

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Step Three

As you build up the experience in your mind right now take a moment to notice how your body is responding.

How does your body respond when you have good thoughts and images rolling around in your mind? Focus on where you are experiencing the positive feeling in your body and as Bandler says ‘spin’ that feeling faster and faster so that it gets more and more intense. You most likely will start to feel even more positive sensations.

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Step Four

As you ‘spin’ the emotion to a greater intensity think now of a time in the future when you would like to feel positive feelings instead of negative feelings.

For example, perhaps you want to have a positive feeling when you are at work and the day is stressful. As you are ‘spinning’ your wonderful feeling start adding images and thoughts of doing your work during stressful times yet you still feel good. With practice you may be surprised you could start feeling good when you used to feel stressed.

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There you go.  Without copying Richard Bandler’s words I hope I have given you a sense of one of the exercises he shares early in the book. He offers many more approaches to help us all in many areas of our lives. Of course, it would be better you read his words. Naturally, since this book has helped me I do recommend you check it out. Follow this link to learn more about Get the Life You Want: The Secrets to Quick and Lasting Life Change.

Enjoy a wonderful day,

David

Did you ever wish you had planned ahead for a difficult day? - photo by D. Hennessey

There has been days when I have woke up in the morning and wondered ‘Okay, what do I need to get done today?’ When I have this thought I know I am in trouble when it comes to my personal time management.

After many years testing and retesting time management systems that I have come across to help me achieve more effectively my daily goals I realized that I needed an ‘action list’ often called a ‘to do’ list BUT I recently realized I was reviewing my ‘to do list’ at the wrong time of day.

I had been reviewing my list first thing in the morning when I needed to review it briefly as one of the last things I did at night.

When I review my list as one of my last things at night (note: my to do list includes personal, family and work items) I can confirm they are definitely actions ‘to do’ and not actions ‘not to do’.

Then as I go to sleep I set my subconscious mind to work on the successful completion of the tasks the next day. This helps me have clear thoughts of motivation when I wake up. So I get out of bed with my priorities already established for a fulfilling day.

Yes, I do look at my list in the morning as I start to take action but I know it is what I want to do because I planned it the night before.

Note: If my ‘to do list’ is not inspiring enough to get me out of bed I definitely need to review the list and put priorities on their or the list is more of a ‘Not to do’ list.

Your friend on the journey,

David