Tag: confidence

Jun06

Resiliency – Your Hero’s Journey to Peace of Mind

by Cheryl Brewster

How resilient are you? Let’s face it… left unattended, our resiliency can be worn down without our even knowing it! Have you ever found yourself in the position where the energy to be creative, focused and passionate seems a bit, well, shall we say challenged?  If so, you could be suffering from “resiliency burnout” which can happen with sudden, difficult, unexpected change, or over time, with constant stressors that don’t appear that big, but eventually take their toll.

Here’s what you need to know to keep resiliency operating at optimum levels:

Hands holding sapling in soil on black


Resiliency is defined as “that ineffable quality that allows some people to be knocked down by life and come back stronger than ever. Rather than letting failure overcome them and drain their resolve, they find a way to rise from the ashes.”   Even after misfortune, resilient people are blessed with an outlook that allows them to catch their breath, change course and carry on.

1. Get out of your head and into your heart
Mindfulness is a practice that focuses one’s full attention only on the present, experiencing thoughts, feelings, and sensations but not judging them. Judgment wastes an incredible amount of mental and emotional energy. Its labeling into categories takes us “out of flow,” out of awareness of what’s happening here and now and contributes to stress and perpetual mind-loops. To build resiliency “witness your experience as an impartial observer.” And when you catch yourself judging, see that as a form of growing awareness (yay me, I caught myself!) and kindly, gently bring yourself back to the present, in the here and now.

2. Embrace Grit
Personal resilience must be a radical commitment. Without it, you won’t sustain your highest ideals. You’ll be short-changing yourself and the people around you.  Angela Duckworth, at the positive psychology center at The University of Pennsylvania, discovered that “grit” and disciplined self-control predict more success in life than IQ or natural talent.” Grit defined as “the tendency to sustain interest in very long-term goals,”  combined with self-control, over months, years, and even decades, is key to attaining goals and living your true passion in life. Where do you need to make a radical gritty decision in your life? What would that look like? What impact would it have? How would it change the direction and quality of your life? How would it help you embrace uncertainty?

3. The One Minute Meditator!
To remain focused and productive throughout the work day, take mini-breaks to refresh and restore – set a timer so that for every 20 minutes, you take 60 seconds to do something fun:
Daydream about something really pleasurable.
Practice a minute of “Grit” and see/feel yourself totally overcoming challenge.
Be still and absorb the quiet effects of a beautiful picture.
Meditate on your top values.
Then launch back into your work feeling rejuvenated and refreshed.

Research has found this to be one of the most important tools for reducing work stress and increasing productivity – frequent mini breaks that reward and replenish….If science has proven that you’ll get more done, increase your confidence and self esteem levels, then isn’t that worth a 3 minute investment every hour? Imagine the power of potentials becoming tangibles!

4. Embrace Your Hero’s Journey
Mythologist Joseph Campbell uses the Hero’s Journey to describe the cycles of life that we all go through, including “the call” to be our authentic, best selves. The Inherent pain in such a journey is unavoidable; however it can feed our resilience.  Within this journey, we discover our shadow,” (in Jungian psychology, the unconscious aspect of the personality which the conscious ego does not identify in itself). Because we tend to reject or remain ignorant of the least desirable aspects of our personality, the shadow is largely negative so we tend to judge it. We experience inner conflict and struggle within ourselves. However, positive aspects may also remain hidden in our shadow. Resilience is our ability to recognize the shadow when it’s triggered, to remain the impartial witness and accept the gift of emerging consciousness. As Jung said, ‘there is no coming to consciousness without pain.” The paradox is that we can use this pain of growing awareness to actually feed resilience, not drain it dry. Having a clear understanding and foundation in the Hero’s Journey is life-changing and transformative.

Within these four steps, we see that resilience is both innate within us, yet requires nurturing and commitment.  Perhaps the bravest thing we can do, is to live a resilient life… the courage to come back, and keep coming back…that is the Hero’s Journey.

If you enjoyed this blog, let us know! Our mission at TheIntuitiveLife.com is to support your Hero’s Journey in transforming uncertainty into comfort, confidence and resilience. If you would like to learn more about Cheryl Brewster’s intuitive consultations, workshops or keynotes, we’d love to hear contact us here. For upcoming events, see our calendar.

Nov27

Growth Through Struggle

by Cheryl Brewster

It’s inevitable. Struggle, heartbreak, challenge, disappointment and adversity are all a part of life. Although we may be intellectually accepting of this fact, remembering this emotionally  can be another story.    “The necessity for struggle… forces individuals to expand, develop, progress, and become strong through resistance. Struggle can, and does, become either an ordeal or a magnificent experience through which the individual expresses gratitude for the opportunity to conquer the cause of the struggle.” This proven principle by one of the world’s greatest influencers Napoleon Hill,  is a key tool in personal effectiveness and begs the question:

How do we ensure that struggle while initially, can feel like an ordeal, doesn’t stay that way? How do we transform  struggle into a magnificent, triumphant experience?

1. Focus your Thoughts!
The only thing you ever have control over is your freedom to choose. You may not be able to control events, but you CAN control how empowered or dis-empowered your response is. Thoughts are things and are incredibly powerful! Are you aware and directing your thoughts toward what you want, or swept away by what you don’t want? Which leads us to the next step….

2. Have a clear desire or purpose
A clearly defined purpose is an agreement that you make with yourself to control and direct your thoughts. It creates a compelling vision that that keeps you true to what’s most important. Purpose is like the “overdrive” in a car – when we need that extra power to climb those steep  hills, we have it when we need it. Without purpose, we don’t have the overdrive or the GPS… with purpose…. we are ASSURED that whatever comes up, we can handle it – we’re willing to pay the price of temporary discomfort, defeat or failure and keep going!  Over time, we learn to  overcome distraction, overwhelm and fear; our focus is on the deeper resources inside that help us enjoy life as we accomplish goals, even in the midst of the struggle…. because the struggle after all is meant to make us stronger, which leads us to….

3. Practice emotional cleansing everyday
Simple or advanced, emotional clearing techniques are essential; consistently using the ABCs of Intuition (Aware, Breathe, Connect) puts you back in charge…. awareness of what’s going on, breathing to release limitation, the old story, with it’s knee-jerk reactions,  etc., removes huge internal limitations. The more aware we are that resistance is natural and normal, it naturally dissolves to reveal the gems beneath it. Which brings us to the next key step to connect to those hidden gems and use them…..

4. Inner Contemplation
Ask how the person you wish to become would handle the struggle – a wonderful, dynamic panorama of ideas will appear on your mental screen… you’ll feel the options and possibilities in your body. Once you’ve done that, go into stillness to simply be.  The power of this step is getting you out of the mind trying to figure things out, and into an EXPERIENCE.   The power of stillness is huge! It’s what taps us into the subconscious  mind where solutions we weren’t able to access previously, are available. Insights may come immediately or later in the day, but guaranteed, through this process more insights, empowerment, confidence and the power to manage thinking does come, which takes us to the next important step…..

5. Take inspired action
Baby steps or massive action, from this place of inspiration, you’ll “know” the right thing to do. Self confidence blossoms, new energy appears and a sense of peace that comes from the underlying truth that all “really is well in my world,” emerges, which naturally creates the next step of….

6. Gratitude
The benefits that couldn’t possible have existed without the struggle are revealed; again it may happen immediately or later, but in the proven work of Napoleon Hill and other great thinkers, there is always “the seed of equal or greater benefit” in all hardship. This is the eternal truth of life’s promise… the question is, do we actually believe it?

These 6 Power Tips use the positive side of resistance… the negative side is refusing to consider that a positive side to struggle could possibly exist. This is aversion, and as Steven Cope warned in “The Great Work of Your Life”, aversion affects our capacity to see clearly and has severe consequences:

  • When we are hating something, we do not tend to see it clearly.
  • We see the object of our hatred as all bad-not a mixture of bad and good and neutral as it really is.
  • And finally and probably most painfully aversive states are separation states, from myself and from others.
  • I hate this moment. Get me out of this moment. I do not want it to be like this.
  • Aversion is a seat in hell.  It separates us from now.
  • When the mind is colored by aversion we can never be at ease-can never have a moment’s peace

Struggle then, takes on a whole new meaning – it’s the aversion to struggle that creates the problem, that evades peace. We either believe that struggle can make us stronger or we don’t. We either embrace its blessings and possibilities or refuse to change our viewpoint. We either invite the promise of guaranteed  magnificence or slip into life as a doomed painful ordeal. Struggle forces us to think, it can break our hearts and bring us to our knees, but it will never, ever leave us abandoned… we do that. The call to action then is from this moment forward, to embrace struggle for the benefits it brings… NOW!

cheryl75Cheryl Ann Brewster is highly regarded in her skills as a Business Intuitive, Transformation Coach and Speaker. She specializes in supporting  those  keen to expand personal and professional effectiveness through the power of intuition and soul-centred business practices. To join her mailing list and/or daily inspiration  or to learn more, contact her at: TheIntuitiveLife.com.

 

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