North Star Mental Fitness Blog

New Year's Power

As we approach the third week in the New Year, reaching your New Year's Resolutions may be becoming tedious and difficult.  You may be finding yourself becoming exhausted, because you're trying to attain your resolutions through will power alone. 

Some of us may have already quit and given up on achieving our New Year's Resolutions.

For those of you who have given up or who are struggling with maintaining your willpower, I would like to talk about New Year's Power.

From a mental fitness perspective, there are three necessary ingredients for success.  In order to be successful and experience continued momentum and confidence, all three ingredients are necessary.

New Year's Courage

New Year's Eve has passed and now we are in new year.  Perhaps you made New Year's Resolutions Now Is the time reaffirm our resolutions and courageously commit to living our resolutions for this year.

Now is the time to think of our lives and our resolutions.  Let us put our specific resolutions within the bigger picture of taking care of ourselves throughout the next year. 

At this time of year we can review our lives and realize how important it is to take care of ourselves. 

Lynn Bufka, Ph.D. good making New Year's resolutions in perspective when she said:

 “Remember, it is not the extent of the change that matters, but rather the act of recognizing that lifestyle change is important and working toward it, one step at a time.”

Lynn's quotation appeared in the AP Help Center article on Making Your New Year's Resolutions Stick.

Realizing what lifestyle changes you want to make and what lifestyle changes you do not want to make it is what I mean by taking care of yourself during the next year. 

It takes real courage to be willing to look at one's lifestyle with the intent of making beneficial changes for ourselves. 

It takes real courage to realize that we need to change what we've identified. 

It takes real courage begin to make the changes that we've identified.

It takes real courage to make the changes one day at a time. 

It takes real courage to make the changes, when we are tired, feeling miserable and circumstances are per to be overwhelmingly against us. 

It takes real courage to make the changes and feel good about ourselves on a daily basis, while we are progressing towards a long-range goal.

It takes real courage to reach our goals.

It takes real courage to continue the changes after we reached our goals.

As we progress through the year 2009, let us go with courage to take care of ourselves on a daily basis and actualize our resolutions.

Remember, We Live within the Environment Created by Our Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life and Mental Fitness Coach

 

Freedom from Problem-Solving

This is the most important blog I've ever written regarding about mental fitness. I want you to know "If you're fit in your head, you can deal with anything".

We live in a problem oriented society.  For many people life is a depressing merry-go-round of identifying problems and then trying to find solutions for their problems.  People spend most of their lives being preoccupied and worried about their problems, while frantically and incessantly pursuing solutions to their problems.  No matter how many successful solutions you find, life always seems to have more problems in need of solutions.

Before long people are captured by our societal norms and expectations to solve problem.  They live with barren lives consumed with problem solving.  Everywhere people look, there are problems.  Problems surface and resurface regularly.  Problems multiply like rabbits.  Problems, problems and more problems.  People soon live within an environment dominated by problems and the obsessive pursuit of solutions.

Yesterday, I had a very enlightening conversation with one of my clients, who clearly expressed a traditional work ethic.  She also explained how the traditional work ethic of identifying problems and constantly working to find solutions almost killed her.  She had sunk into a world of depression with suicidal ideation, because she could not find solutions to her problems.

This is what she told me.

Mental Fitness- Approval

Mental Fitness Thought for the Day:

Instead of waiting for other people to approve of me,

                       I approve of myself.

Remember, You Live within the Environment Created by Your Choices!

Dr. Hal

Life the Mental Fitness Coach

Sudden Change

Adversity in Life is inevitable.  Although we know there will be problems in life, we still can be easily devastated and discouraged when unexpected problems burst into our horizon and create chaos in our lives.

"Sudden Change was our term for how we respond to unexpected problems"

explained Bo Schembechler, the very successful coach for so many years at the University of Michigan.  "Turn Mistakes into Momentum" was a chapter in Bo Schembechler and John U. Bacon's book, "Bo's Lasting Lessons; The Legendary Coach Teaches the Timeless Fundamentals of Leadership".

Do you want to turn your mistakes and adversities into momentum for success?  Then read what Bo taught his players about Sudden Change.

Forgiveness Is a Choice

When your focus is on taking care of yourself, you'll have real choices to feel angry and hurt or you can make the choice to forgive.  It is important for you to determine in he specific situations whether it's best for you to remain angry and hurt or to forgive.

There are benefits that derive from being angry and hurt just like there are benefits that derive from forgiving.

I read an article from Newswise entitled "Learning to Forgive May Improve Well-Being".  This article appeared in Mayo Clinic Women's Health Source. 

Newswise wrote "Holding a grudge appears to affect the cardiovascular and nervous systems".  Other research findings were also reported.

Bill Cosby on Taking Care of Others

Bill Cosby is known for his ability to communicate very effectively and for his clear understanding of life.  He has clarified what is important for people to become successful in many facets of their lives.

"I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everyone".  This quotation from Bill Cosby expresses the focus and motivations necessary for people to become successful.

From a mental fitness perspective, it is important to learn how to stop pleasing others and focused on self-actualization.  The Big Choice is learning how to take care of yourself and center your life around taking care of yourself rather than others.

Remember, to take care of yourself today and stop trying to please everyone.

The Focus Point and Adversity

The most powerful Focus Point is where there is adversity.

Instead of reacting to the adversity, you are at a Focus Point to make the best choice for taking care of yourself!  Make The Big Choice!

The Power of Asking Questions and the Law of Attraction

Actualizing affirmations and energizing the Law of Attraction can be accomplished by asking questions.

Rowan from the blog, Rowan's Future of Choice, wrote an intriguing article "Finding the Right Question to Ask".

Affirmations and visualizations are methods used to release the Law of Attraction, improve performance and develop mental fitness. 

You can increase the power of affirmations, visualizations and the Law of Attraction by asking the right question!

Directions for Living

Mental Fitness is the result of focusing and committing to taking care of oneself!

"No one should ever be given the job of creating someone else’s happiness. It’s not possible. If you want to be happy, make yourself happy. You are the only one with the power to make yourself happy, the power to control your life, the power to create what you want."

Who said that?  Is he or she right or wrong? Are these Directions for Living right for you?