Help Your Children Wish Upon that Star

Who doesn't remember a time when they were young and wished upon a star?  Do you remember the hopes and expectations you had waiting for your wish to come true?  Why not evoke these same feelings in your own children?

Children can wish for so many different things these days.  They may wish to visit Disney World or they may want to spend the summer camping.  Or they may want something smaller such as a new toy.

Instead of wishing upon that star you can encourage your children to turn this wish into a goal.  Get them to write down this new goal and then together you can figure out how they can reach their goal.

Remember that it is never too early to teach your children the benefits of setting goals.  If you set your own goal at the same time you can show them that it is acceptable to change and tweak your goal as you go along.  It is very common for a goal to start as one thing and along the way it develops into something different.

The entire process of setting goals and reaching them can help your children in many different ways.  This includes helping them improve their self-esteem and self worth, and helping them boost their confidence levels.

In addition to the above benefits they will learn that they can reap rewards from setting goals.  This also helps them with developing a sense of purpose that will carry through the rest of their lives.

Setting goals either by wishing on a star or writing them down will show your children that they can have certain things that they want.  They will discover that the process can be fun and that dreams can and do come true.

Younger children will probably love the aspect of wishing upon a star while older kids will benefit more by writing them out and creating actionable steps.  Just remember to help your children make this a fun process along the way.  If the goal is too lofty you’ll need to help them break out the smaller steps that eventually lead to their larger goal.

Encourage older children to visualize themselves with what they are trying to achieve.  They may want to be able to shoot lots of baskets without missing.  Get them to visualize this as they close their eyes and see themselves shooting those baskets.

Another way to help your children reach their goal is by planning out their goals in more detail.  This can be done by creating more of a step by step plan with them.  This way they can see exactly what they have to do, and in what order, to achieve their goals.

During this process your children will see that wishes do come true by using a plan of action.  They will see that abstract desires and wishes can become a reality, especially when they decide to take action and do something about it.

Getting your children to set goals is an extremely powerful thing and something that will benefit them during their entire lifetime.  They will learn how to make plans, set goals and carry them out.  You are putting power into your child's hands.

These techniques can be applied to many different situations including doing homework, learning a new skill and taking exams.  Older children can plan out their steps for going to college and for choosing a career by making related goals.

Making wishes and setting goals can easily become a family affair.  Get everyone involved and see if you can't develop one strong goal or commitment for the entire family.

Wish Upon a Star

In the Disney film "Pinocchio" the beautiful falsetto voice of Cliff Edwards brings us that wonderful song "Wish Upon a Star".  I have included both a recording of the song and the lyrics below.

Most people think of this as a lovely fantasy for children, but nothing to do with real life.  They could not be more wrong.

I am not saying you need a falling star in order to make your wishes come true.  But if you look closely at the lyrics you will find so much in there that really is true.

Perhaps the most important and truest part is this: "Anything your heart desires will come to you if your heart is in your dream".  Truly put your heart into an affirmation and that affirmation will make your wish come true.

Spend some time now inwardly digesting these powerful lyrics as you listen to Cliff's sweet voice, and then make them a part of your manifesting strategy!

When you wish upon a star

Makes no difference who you are

Anything your heart desires

Will come to you.

If your heart is in your dream

No request is too extreme

When you wish upon a star

As dreamers do.

Fate is kind.

She brings to those who love

The sweet fulfillment of

Their secret longing.

Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through.

When you wish upon a star

Your dreams come true.

Fate is kind.

She brings to those who love

The sweet fulfillment of

Their secret longing.

Like a bolt out of the blue

Fate steps in and sees you through.

When you wish upon a star

Your dreams come true.

Affirmations that Work

Have you ever really wanted something badly, and sat there saying something like "I really wish I had .....!"?  The gap might be filled with "loads of money", " a great boyfriend", "a big mansion in the country", "more confidence" - you name it!

Or how about "I wish I wasn't .....!"?  This might be "so fat", "so poor", "so lonely", "so nervous" etc.

Well if you have done that, at least it shows something within you understands the need for affirmations.  But unfortunately the first of these formats is so weak it is more likely to give you the opposite of what you want, and the second is far worse and is almost CERTAIN to give you the opposite!

An affirmation is a positive statement that focuses your mind on something you want to achieve, but does so in such a way that you begin to believe subconsciously that you already have it, and that also (ideally) is associated with positive energy and feelings about what you "have achieved already".  It works by aligning you with whatever it is you want, and sending a message to the Universe to attract that to you.  If you do it properly it is just like the law of gravity - it cannot fail.  But note carefully - I did say "if you do it properly"!

The problem with most attempts at affirmation is that they are in the wrong tense, not associated with great feelings, and very often stated negatively.

Here are the three rules on creating affirmations that really work:

1. Always frame your affirmations as a positive statement, not a wish or want and NEVER a negative statement.
2. Always frame your affirmations in the present tense, not the future.
3. Always associate strong positive emotions with each affirmation.

Here is an example of what I mean:

"I wish I didn't live in this awful house in this terrible town!"

This statement is guaranteed to keep you trapped in exactly what you don't want.  Even if you move it will just be to another awful house in another terrible town!  Why?  Because your subconscious mind is a bit like a rather stupid giant (or sometimes a badly programmed computer).  It hears the words "awful house" and "terrible town" and responds by attracting these things to you.  Your fault - you have written the program badly!

But now listen to this:

"I live in a wonderful house in a really great neighbourhood!"

See the difference?  Now you will start attracting whatever it is that will get you set up in that wonderful house in a really great neighbourhood!  Especially if you start visualizing it, imagining yourself living there, and start recognizing how great it makes you feel.

Take a look at whatever it is you want to achieve and start working out the right affirmation for it, following the three rules I have given you.  Then make sure you USE your new affirmation, repeating it when you wake, during the day, and before you go to sleep.  See just what a difference that begins to make in your life!

If you want to get a great series of positive affirmations to help you achieve your goals, try these here:

"Goal Affirmations"

If you want to take rule 3 even further I suggest you make what is called a "Mind Movie" which will really instill those positive emotions and make your affirmation so much more effective.  You can find out more about "Mind Movies" by going here:

"Mind Movies"

Achieve Any Goal

Do you have some goals in life you would really like to achieve?  If not, you have probably come to the wrong blog!

In this short video by John Assaraf, one of the stars of "The Secret", you will learn how you can visualize, affirm and achieve any goal:

If you want to get a great series of positive affirmations to help you achieve your goals, try these here:
"Goal Affirmations"

If you want to what John Assaraf says to the next level I suggest you make what is called a "Mind Movie" which will really instill positive emotions and make your affirmations so much more effective. You can find out more about "Mind Movies" by going here:
"Mind Movies"

Meditation and Stress

by

Winnie A McBride

Stress is one of the biggest problems in our society today. Many of the issues that people have with their health, performance at work, and life in general can be linked to stress. It can also be linked to how they respond to the various types of stress in their lives. It is important to note that there are many different types of stress just as there are many different ways to meditate and obtain the benefits that meditation has to offer.

There are both good and bad forms of stress. The good type of stress is the type that triggers motivation and productivity. It is the type of stress that is primarily the pressure to succeed provided that that pressure does not become overwhelming to the point of obsession. This type of stress can be considered positive. Negative stress is the type that ends up translating into worry and anxiety as well as the feelings of helpless and hopelessness. This type of stress does nothing for the body and can have negative implications to the health of both the mind and the body.

Meditation offers the opportunity to eliminate negative forms of stress or turn them into positive influences. The mind is a powerful tool and is incredibly versatile. As a result, of this versatility meditation can help you to change the way you view stress, respond to stress and use stress in your life. Generally, individuals respond to stress negatively when there is a conflict or past issue, which the stress triggers. This could be a time when work was viewed negatively and there was a direct effect on productivity for example.

Meditation allows you to view thoughts in a singular fashion and can help you to analyze and take notice of small things, which you may not be consciously aware of that are causing you to respond in a particular fashion. By resolving these issues, or altering the way you think about them, something that is easy to do when you are in the quiet calm created through the meditative state, you can change how you handle the stress in your life.

This may sound difficult to do but it is remarkably easy once you learn the process and become familiar and comfortable with it. It is a good idea to start with using meditation as a relaxation technique. This gets your body and mind used to reaching the calm meditative state necessary to ensure your success. You may want to experiment with various techniques to find the one that works best for you. Guided meditation techniques work well for individual who are just beginning to look into meditation and its benefits. These techniques are designed to walk you through every step of the process. This can help to eliminate any worries or anxieties that you may have about getting started. Once you become experienced in meditation you can easily reach the calm meditative state with just a few breaths and change how you are responding to the stress created from both internal and external sources.

If you need more information on meditation go to http://selfhelpscoop.com/. You can find information on other self-help topics there too.

Brain Entrainment

If you are serious about improving yourself you may already have come across the term "brain entrainment".  Perhaps you have even used it yourself.  There are numerous self-improvement products in the market which use brain entrainment as an integral part of their process.  But what actually is it?  Is it safe to use, and does it work?

You probably already know that different states of mind are associated with different brainwave frequencies.  If you can change the frequency, you can change the state of mind.  For example, you can induce sleep, become happier, more positive, more able to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve.

There are various ways of altering your brain frequency.  One very powerful method is meditation.  Another is using sounds which cause your brainwaves to fall into step with them - and this is what is meant by brain entrainment.  Regular use of either meditation or brain entrainment techniques will allow you over time to be able to enter your required state of mind at will without relying on any external stimuli or formally entering into a meditative state.

Brain entrainment could be compared to an effect the Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens discovered over 350 years ago.  What Huygens discovered was that if you lined up a series of pendulum clocks all slightly out of time with each other they would eventually all move in time.  Likewise, if your brain receives a signal slightly out of step with its own brainwaves, those brainwaves change and fall in step with the new signal.  This is brainwave entrainment in a nutshell.

It is perfectly safe to use, although if you have a medical condition such as epilepsy or are otherwise prone to seizures you should consult your physician before attempting to use it.

Certainly it works, as long as it is used properly.

If you are interested in finding out more about how brain entrainment could be used to help you with your own self-improvement efforts, check out this video:

"Brain Evolution System"

Willpower and Goals

Are you the type of person who has a lot of willpower to see a project through to its completion or do you feel your willpower is lacking? While many people think that some people have more willpower than others this is simply not true. Everyone has the same amount of willpower - what is different is the way you choose to use your willpower. 

It is easy to blame your lack of willpower for the choices you make and for giving up. How many times have you heard someone say, "I just don't have the willpower to follow through?"

The real question is: Do you really want to achieve your goals, or are you happy to continue using the excuse that you do not have enough willpower?

If you really want to achieve your goals, then you certainly can.  You simply have to make sure you have the right mindset and know you can achieve them. Make sure, though, that you are setting realistic goals. You may find, for example, a goal to run this year's marathon may be unrealistic if the last time you did any exercise at all was 10 years ago!

Take a look at each of your goals and make sure it IS realistic within the timescale you are setting for it. Sit quietly and envision yourself achieving it. If you can do this, great! If not, it may be time to scale back on it a little until you really can visualize the right outcome. Then, as you progress towards that goal you can always expand it until eventually you are achieving the original goal which was initially too ambitious.

I want to emphasize that "realistic" here has nothing to do with what others around you may be telling you. Your realistic goal may be considered far to ambitious by your friends and family, but that is not what counts.  What matters is what YOU can internalize as realistic.

Now that you have realistic goals, sit quietly again and picture yourself once you have achieved that goal. If your goal is to lose 10 pounds, visualize yourself wearing the clothes you will now be able to wear. See yourself in the mirror and admire your new, well balanced body. If your goal is to speak a new foreign language fluently, see yourself surrounded by native speakers of that language, having a great time with your new friends. Whatever your goal, really internalize all the positive outcomes of achieving it.

Do this frequently until it becomes a habit.

Create a picture board, or mind map, of your new life once you have achieved your goal. Just looking at this picture board should energize you and make you determined to achieve it.

Now, every time you feel your motivation lacking, your willpower slipping away, just look again at your picture board and visualize your life after you have achieved your goal. Do you feel your motivation return, your willpower strengthened? You certainly should! If not, you are either working on the wrong goal or you have not yet really visualized properly the difference it is going to make in your life!

Don't forget, of course, to create the write positive affirmations for your goal as well. I am not going to explore this important subject here, but check my blog and other positive sites for articles on affirmations if you are not completely familiar with how and why you should do this.

Shifting your mindset will probably not happen overnight. Usually it will take time and effort on your part. Just remember that nothing is impossible if you really want to achieve it, so your focus at the outset MUST be to ensure you have that strong desire to achieve it.

Finally, remember that goals change over time. You must be ready for this and adapt as necessary so you can continue to achieve your evolving goals.