Surrender is not giving up.
Surrender is not giving in.
It’s trusting in something bigger than yourself.
Slowly unfolding.
Something you can’t quite see.
Quietly expanding.
In your favour.
Behind the scenes.
Video of Post: The God Box
Surrender
Category: Emotional Freedom
Freedom is realizing you have a choice.
Freedom doesn’t come from holding on.
Freedom comes from letting go.
Again and again and again.
Too often we are hard on ourselves for having to release the same thought, emotion, person, or situation over and over again.
When in fact this is how life goes.
Letting go and surrendering are an ongoing process. And as necessary for our mental health as eating is for our physical health.
We must eat three times a day. And sometimes we have to surrender (thirty) three times a day.
And that’s ok. That’s how life flows..
F R E E D O M
If you only had ONE YEAR to live:
What would you STOP doing?
THE CHOICE IS YOURS
Video of Blog Post: Click Here
Emotional Freedom Technique for Social Anxiety & Imaginary Audience
Have you ever felt like you’re being watched?
Judged and scrutinized.
Like all eyes are on you and every potential error you make?
Everyone experiences this phenomenon from time to time, especially when trying out something for the first time.
Think back to the first time you gave a dinner party, swung a golf club, wrote a college exam, or posted your first blog online.
Social Anxiety and Heightened Experiences
Individuals with social anxiety experience this sense of being watched (and thought about) significantly more than the average person.
Independent of skills and expertise.
Why is this the case?
The Imaginary Audience
One potential explanation is a psychological phenomenon called imaginary audience experienced frequently in adolescence.
- A concept first introduced by social psychologists David Elkind and Erik Erikson in the 1960’s.
Think back to how easily embarrassed you were as a teenager.
- If you wore the “wrong shirt” to school, it felt like everyone was gossiping about you and your entire social life would end as a result.
Resulting in perpetual self-consciousness, distorted views of how others saw you, causing in a tendency to conform for fear of sticking out.
- Limiting your freedom to express outside the norm for fear of collective banishment and reprisal.
What does the research say?
Using the Imaginary Audience Scale as a Measure of Social Anxiety in Young Adults
Two studies explored imaginary audience phenomenon among college students.
Imaginary audience behavior was found to be related to measures of social anxiety, self perception, and personality.
Furthermore, imaginary audience scores were more strongly related to anxiety than abstract reasoning.
These results suggest that imaginary audience experiences that persist into early adulthood have more to do with social anxiety than with cognitive development.
Original Source: Click Here
Simple Things on Repeat
The next time you imagine you are being watched, talked about, or judged by others, remember that imaginary audience IS AN ILLUSION heightened by social media, physiology (eg., lack of sleep), and overthinking.
- When in truth, people are so focused on themselves (and their phones), that there is a 99% chance that no one cares what you are up to or how you are performing.
This is a very good thing!
CARPE DIEM
Today’s Freedom Mantra
Live like nobody’s watching. Love like nobody’s watching. Succeed like nobody’s watching. Fail like nobody’s watching. Write like nobody’s watching!
Video of Post ⇒ Click Here
Free Yourself 🦋
EMOTIONAL FREEDOM TECHNIQUE
1. What would you stop doing if you only had one year to live?
2. What would you start doing if you only had one year to live?
3. What do you need to let go of to feel a sense of happiness, well-being, and peace?
4. What and who do you no longer want to be obligated to?
5. What joy do you wish you had more time for?
CONTEMPLATION TIME
Take a long deep breath and meditate on your answers. You’ll be surprised at what your soul has to say.
YOU GET ONE LIFE.
Make it yours.
Dear Readers:
This video is equally a note to you + me reminding us to live with discernment and wisdom. For not everyone in our life appreciates the limits of our time and energy. And that’s ok. For we are the magic wand. We have the power to make choices. We have the ability to overcome social conditioning. We have the authority to change what and who we want in our lives. What and who we give our energy to unnecessarily, repeatedly, unconsciously.
WE HAVE THE POWER TO CHOOSE.
This ^ is freedom.
Choice and transformation go hand in hand.
“Empowerment is realizing you have a choice.”
My mission in life is to encourage people to own their choices – no matter how big or how small. In doing so, individuals will uncover the magnificent power that lives within them.
Embracing the power to choose one’s emotions, thoughts, and reactions to life’s circumstances is the key which unlocks personal freedom and empowerment.
Video ⇒ The Psychology of Change
POWER OF CHOICE
Becoming aware of choice points, big and small, is the beginning of the path to transformation.
Choosing a path uniquely suited to you – is your way out of disenchantment and your way into a life of purpose, passion, and peace.
CHOOSE THE CHANGE
- Are you ready to claim your life as it is right now?
- Are you ready to let go of the past and live in the present?
- Are you ready to take back your power and the reins of your life?
- Are you ready to fully witness your life as it unfolds directly before you?
- Are you ready to choose the change in your life, instead of it choosing you?
The choice is yours.
Coaching & Speaking Services ⇒ Click Here
Rest in Truth.
Truth is truth.
Let them gossip. Let them chatter. Let them say what they choose to say.
Because at the end of the day truth is truth.
And nothing can stand in it’s way.
Rest. Relax. Sit back. Breathe in deep.
Stop trying to convince anybody and everybody of anything and everything.
At the end of the day time will tell.
Rest. Relax. Sit back. Breathe in deep.
When the dust settles and the sun sets truth is truth.
And it shall set you free.💫
Fear is an illusion.
Don’t be fooled by fear.
Look it directly in the eye.
Fear distorts reality.
Fear exaggerates the truth.
Step back. Take a pause.
Remember who you are.
You have overcome great adversity.
You have faced this phantom before.
This wolf is a mirage.
Only your strength, your courage, and your untapped powers are real.
Resources to help you break free from the illusion of fear:
Understanding Fear: Identifying Cognitive Distortions
Overcoming Fear: Fixing Cognitive Distortions
Repost from October 2017 — Click Here.
Stop Complaining. Start Changing.
“Go 24 hours without complaining and watch your life start changing.”
The next time you’re tempted to complain about the same thing over and over again, direct that same frustrated energy into your highest, loftiest goals. Consciously swap one complaint for one baby step towards your dreams. Same energy required. Magically different results.
To view the full version of my TEDx Talk — click here. 🎥
What habit do you want to break free of? What changes are you willing to make?
Face it – You’re Strong!
Everything you’re afraid of – you’ve already experienced.
Afraid of commitment?
(You’ve been dumped.)
Afraid of failure?
(You’ve failed.)
Afraid of rejection?
(You’ve been rejected.)
Afraid of being broke?
(You’ve been without money.)
Fill in the blanks for me..
Afraid of being _________?
(You’ve been _________.)
And then vow to erase that fear in your life.
By facing your fears head on.
Remember – you have been here before.
You have more knowledge and experience than you recognize.
You are braver than you realize.
You have faced this fear before.
You have survived this fear before.
And you have thrived because of it.
(You may not realize it – but you have.)
Face it – you’re strong!
And you have the power to kick this fear right to the curb.
Once and for all!
Your final challenge is to embrace your power.
Full on!
Fear is an illusion.
Don’t be fooled by fear.
Look it directly in the eye.
Fear distorts reality.
Fear exaggerates the truth.
Step back. Take a pause.
Remember who you are.
You have overcome great adversity.
You have faced this phantom before.
This wolf is a mirage.
Only your strength, your courage, and your untapped powers are real.
Resources to help you break free from the illusion of fear:
Understanding Fear: Identifying Cognitive Distortions
Overcoming Fear: Fixing Cognitive Distortions
Lay down your burdens.
No more futile tests.
No more unrelenting trials.
No more self inflicted tribulations.
Lay down your burdens.
Let. Them. Go.
Take a breath. Take a rest.
You have strengthened from your burdens.
You have overcome great obstacles.
You have developed. You have grown.
You have earned your freedom ten times over.
Trust your wisdom. Trust your wings.
This is your time to fly.
Trust the music.
Stop expecting others to validate what you hear (see and feel).
The music is not “out there”.
The music is in you.
A beautiful melody that only you can hear.
Listen. Be still. Take a long deep breath.
Fear not who you are. Fear not what you hear.
You are the symphony.
Trust the music that is in you.
And dance a little freedom dance.
For all the world to see.
Related Post: I believe in you.
Nature soothes my soul.
This photo was taken on one of my daily hikes up Blue Heron Hill.
One of my favourite places to go at the end of a long wintery day.
Each breath. Each step. Shifts me higher.
To a place of perfect peace. At one with the great big beautiful sky.
A divine connection. No words necessary. Heaven on earth indeed.
Related Post: Always looking up.
Where do you go to calm your mind and soothe your soul?
Curing the disease to please. One no at a time.
“You can be a good person with a kind heart and still say no.”
The Beauty of NO.
When you learn to say no to something you no longer want to do, to people you no longer want to spend time with, to projects you no longer have time for, your world does not get smaller.
Your World Gets BIGGER.
Each time you have the strength to say no to takers who drain your time, your energy, your resources, your patience – you create more space for each authentic, heartfelt, luminescent, unconditional, absolute YES!
More Room for YES.
Each time you have the courage to say no to people pleasing – you create more time (for the people, projects, and places that truly matter), more truth (about who you really are, and what you really want to do), more opportunities (to make a meaningful difference in this world), more freedom (to follow your dreams, your destiny, your calling), and ultimately, more genuine happiness to share with this great big, beautiful world.
This is your world. This is your life. This is your time to shine!
To change your life, change your habits.
What’s the one habit you have been vowing to change for good?
What are you waiting for?
The right time?
The right place?
The right person?
Today I challenge you to wait no more.
For now is the right time.
For here is the right place.
And YOU are the right person.
Helpful Video: How to Embrace Change
Blaming keeps us stuck.
When something goes wrong, how do you respond?
Externalize the problem and blame someone else for it.
OR
Take responsibility for the problem and search for a solution.
It is only when we acknowledge our contribution to life circumstances that we have the power to change for the better.
Click here to learn more about Locus of Control.
Writing in One Word.
In One Word: Describe how you feel when you write.
Writing makes me feel ALIVE!
For me, writing is all encompassing.
The words become the beat of my heart.
The words become the oxygen I breathe.
The words become all that I touch, feel, and see.
For me, writing is all encompassing.
I am the words. And the words are me.
How does writing make YOU feel?
Related Post: Happiness in One Word.
Your destiny awaits.
Life is too short to be sidetracked by the opinion of others. Stay true to your higher purpose. Your destiny awaits.💫
Follow your feelings.
Instead of focusing on what you want TO DO.
Focus on how you want TO FEEL.
Desired Feeling ⇔ Supporting Behaviour
- Strong ⇔ Move your body.
- Valuable ⇔ Help someone.
- Lighthearted ⇔ See a funny movie.
- Joyful ⇔ Go dancing with friends.
- Free ⇔ Unshackle from daily regimes & routines.
- Inspired ⇔ Spend time with immigrants.
- Peaceful ⇔ Look up at the stars.
- Empowered ⇔ Do what makes your heart sing.
How do you want to feel today?
What could you do today to augment how you want to feel?
Which action or behaviour supports your chosen, most desired emotion?
Related Post: Shifting Positive
