Using Your Mind for a Change in 2009

Using Your Mind for a Change in 2009
by Sunny Massad

There may be many explanations for why you doubt or criticize yourself. You may feel as though you should be further along than you are in some area of your life or that you never quite measure up to your own standards. But if you can use your mind to demean yourself, you can also use it to uplift your spirit. Even if it is outside the realm of your personal experience, your mind is capable of being in service of your dreams and values. Once you learn how, the very act of changing your mind can immediately enhance the quality of your life experience.

The way you think determines how you feel; and how you feel determines how you behave. So if you do not like the course you are on, challenge your thoughts and beliefs; challenge what you tell yourself. But, as you know, making changes requires taking risks. If you want to grow, if you want to challenge yourself, you may have to risk the temporary loss of security, because as soon as you step out of your comfortable patterns, fears can arise. Support and encourage yourself to take risks by providing that extra nudge or kick in the pants to expand your comfort zone.

More often than not, fears relating to change are based on the fact that you don’t have enough information or you don’t have a clear step-by-step plan of how to even get the information necessary to begin. Whether boredom, dissatisfaction, desire for a new experience or crisis motivates you to do what you fear, the first step is mental preparation. Painful and stressful experiences, like the unexpected ending of a relationship or a career, can feel like a slap in the face. But such experiences can also serve as motivators to get you to make positive changes in your life.

If you feel panicky about a change you think you want to make, you might consider plotting out small but consistent steps to prevent you from feeling overwhelmed. Any time you come to a step that is beyond your own ability, you will have to add a step for learning. But even in the planning stages, you can step back to gain perspective. Ironically, despite the fears, you will become more comfortable and confident once you begin!

If you would find it helpful to challenge the beliefs that might sabotage your aspirations for 2009 and then to transform your vision into a plan, join me for my annual workshop to ring in the new year.


Using Your Mind for a Change in 2009
This is a roll-up-your-sleeves workshop where you will spend time in self-reflection and in plotting your vision for the future. You will identify doubts, fears, or other emotions that might arise as you plan, so that you can take steps to insure that those feelings do not prevent you from taking action. You will be given worksheets and exercises to help you to reframe self-sabotaging stories so that you can leave with step-by-step plans for the new year. Please bring a calendar or day planner to write on.

Sunday, January 4, 2009 - 1:00pm - 4:00pm - 1958 Kalakaua Avenue - Tuition: $50
Registration required three days in advance
Call 848-5544 or register online at: http://www.hawaiiwellnessinstitute.org/coursesandeventsregistration.html

Dr. Sunny Massad, a certified hypnotherapist specializing in motivation, utilizes simple NLP (neuro linguistic programming) and self-hypnosis techniques in this workshop. If you need to get motivated but find it difficult to organize yourself alone, this workshop is for you.