Benjamin Disraeli

Habit change tips so far:

Tip One: Begin with the end in mind

Tip Two: Seek help and support

I am on a mission to lose 10kg. This actually links with one of my major values which is ‘Beauty & Excellence’. Part of the outcome I want requires me to change my exercise habit. I need to increase how often and how hard I workout. My GP told me that at my age I need to exercise like a Commando. Great!

This is my fourth week of CrossFit training, over and above my usual dabble with a bit of jogging, cycling & cage fitness. CrossFit is teaching me a lot about my character. For example, I love the saying, ‘Everything in moderation.’ What I am realizing is that I operate within a range of moderation when I do things. I love over-moderation for things I love such as food and wine and under-moderation for things seem overly challenging like CrossFit.

I feel I lack GRIT.

My first blog post featured a book called ‘Flourish’ by Martin Seligman. In it he explored the idea of grit versus self-discipline. He states that if we want to maximize achievement, it needs to come via self-discipline and a more extreme trait called GRIT.

GRIT is a combination of extremely high persistence with high passion for the outcome.  The more grit you have, the more time you will spend on a task multiplying your progress to your goal. There is a GRIT test which only takes about 5 minutes. My score was 3/5 (5 being the highest score). The good news is that a GRIT score can change. More effort equals more achievement.

This is where Habit Change Tip 3 comes in:

Do a 30 day challenge

I used to swear by the dictum that it takes 21 days to change a habit. I read recently that this is a myth. In fact research suggests that it takes more like 66 days. This can easily be kick-started though by completing a 30 day challenge. Do the new habit for 30 days and let GRIT take root.

I am proud of myself as I have been going to CrossFit everyday and fully intend to complete my 30 day challenge. Instead of ‘everything in moderation’ I am embracing ‘constancy of purpose’.

This week I also gritted (pardon the pun) my teeth to learn how to design t-shirts for sale on Red Bubble. One of them features the wonderful Be Challenged image from The Art of Being artworks. For other inspiration, download the free screensaver from The Art of Being or browse the galleries.

Sign up for weekly updates for more habit change tips or just because you would like to be on the Dream, Dare & Do journey.

Be the best version of yourself!

Robert Louis Stevenson

My last post shared habit change Tip One: Begin with the end in mind. Know your motivations, make sure it is something you intensely desire and know what the pay off will be for the habit you are changing – how will it look, feel and sound?

Before I share Tip Two with you though, I just need to say this:

“OW!!!” 

I am dragging my body into Week 3 of CrossFit training. I have been doing 3-4 sessions per week over and above my usual jogging, walking and cage fitness. My only result to date is extreme fatigue and the sorest muscles I have EVER had from any workout. If I was conspiracy theory minded I would also suggest that our scales are rigged so they do not budge from the last weight recorded!

I have been enthusiastic, fully committed and have told anyone who would listen that I was losing 10kg via the habit change of exercising harder and more regularly. Despite this I am still at square one.

This is where habit change Tip Two comes in:  Get help and support.

Luckily I am still in keen mode but am already seeing the benefits of support along the way. It has made me realize that not seeking help and support in the past has been a real weakness of mine in other areas of my life (note back to self).

My step-sister introduced me to CrossFit. She has been going for a few weeks longer than me. She was such an enthusiast despite her initial pain, that I couldn’t help being inspired by her and joining up. We have been in constant contact and she has been sending me inspirational videos and lots of supportive messages. Thanks Kyles!

The CrossFit trainer is also walking inspiration. He is someone who walks his talk and seems completely authentic. A grin, a follow-up phone call and a bit of sincere positive reinforcement have already gone a long way to ensuring I drag my sad and sorry body back to be transformed into the image I desire. The CrossFit Noosa community are also great and have bodies to die for.

I even like my partner John’s seeming lack of support. He says things like “Can’t see you ever wearing those Desiguel Jeans you bought in Barcelona” and “Yeah yeah you are always trying things, this is just another one”. Well I will show you John Cook and yes I do try lots of different things and will reframe that whole idea with the quote:

“Age wrinkles the body; Quitting wrinkles the soul”

General Douglas MacArthur

A bonus the other day was talking to John’s son Matt and wife Tallulah. Matt had been training hard and lost 13kg this year. It turns out he did it with CrossFit and changing to a Paleo diet (this goes hand in glove with CrossFit apparently). Tallulah gave me a great Paleo recipe website. This provided fresh incentive because I knew nutritional support along the way was the next part of my journey in reaching my goal weight and transformed body.

My quote for the week:

“The only person you’re destined to become is the person you decide to be”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

and these are the jeans I will be wearing very soon (without the muffin top).

my 'as yet' unworn Desiguel Jeans from Barcelona

Thank you for joining me on the Dream, Dare & Do journey. For some visual inspiration download the free screensaver featuring the art of being images. My favourite image for this week is Be Connected.

To get the rest of my 10 Best Habit change tips, sign up for my weekly updates. Don’t forget to browse the online art galleries which showcase my original artworks or posters and prints on canvas.

I would love to hear your best tip for developing new habits or losing bad habits in the comment section below.

Be the best version of yourself!

P.S. I found out today the scales aren’t rigged afterall……I am on my way!!!!

NLP Pre-Supposition

In my previous blog I showed my completed Creatitivity Collage or Vision Board as a means of beginning to manifest some things into my ‘new’ life via the Law of Attraction.

Now that I know what turns me on, it links perfectly with developing some new habits. Afterall it is the small actions you take and the choices you make each day which will eventually see you manifest the things you want in your life, even if you are not consciously aware of how you are doing it sometimes.

If you too want some new things in your life, follow me as I provide my 10 Best Habit Change tips  over the coming weeks and the proof that they work. Subscribe now for my weekly updates.

This blog post started from a point of frustration. I started a ‘new’ life this year, taking time out from my previous work as a speech pathologist to focus on my artistic and health endeavours. I figured by my 50th birthday in March, I would be positively drowning in my creativity whilst flourishing my new svelte, toned, taut and terrific body that I longed for.

Wrong!

I realised that the NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) pre-supposition was true. I was working perfectly at what I wasn’t accomplishing in terms of my weight loss goal.

This did not sit well with my top value of ‘Beauty & Excellence’. There I was getting my hair done, my nails done, putting make-up on and dressing well as my ways of honouring this value whilst really yearning to be proud of myself for having earned a toned, fit and healthy body. The fact is I have not been able to shift more than 2 kilograms of blubber despite some half-hearted exercise and lifestyle changes.

Today for the first time I will say publicly that I am creating my 62 kilogram body and it is right there on my Creativity Collage. Right now I am 73 kilograms and that is going to change. I know that 62kg is a realistic number for me because that was my standard weight for a long time. The new habit I am committing to as part of the process is daily exercise.

My Number One habit change tip is:

“Begin with the end in mind” Stephen Covey

One of the other things I learned in my NLP training was to link this with the questions:

- What will you see? (A taut, toned, fit body and scales which say 62kg)

- What will you hear? (Lots of compliments from my friends)

- What will you feel? (Loose-fitting clothes; pride in my achievement)

If you too are working towards something it is really important that you intensely desire the outcome in order to be proactive in your actions, starting with just one at a time. As I outlined in my Creativity Collage blog, if you don’t have an intense enough desire it simply will not happen even if you start with good intentions. I realise I have not succeeded to date with my body image vision because I wanted it to happen by magic or osmosis or any other means except hard work and habit change. 

To prove that I am serious here is my ‘Before’ shot at my CrossFit training where I am implementing the new habit of daily exercise.

Jo’s ‘Before’ Body

Before deciding to bring a new habit into your life, decide whether you truly truly want it and whether you can ‘begin with the end in mind’. If you cannot answer ‘Yes’ from the heart, focus on something else that you really do want. You will save yourself a lot of heartache, guilt and frustration. 

I promise to show you my ‘After’ 62 kilogram body when it arrives. In the meantime, subscribe to my weekly updates to find out my other 9 best habit change tips. You can also download the free inspirational screensaver which features the art of being images. I particularly like the ‘Be Persistent’ image at present.

There are also new artworks for purchase in my originals gallery so you know I have been doing other things besides lamenting my blubber in the mirror. See you next time and remember to Dream, Dare & Do.

Be the Best Version of Yourself!

Mixed media artists Nancy Stockmann, Ann Baldwin & Mary Todd Beam have provided me with wonderful inspiration. Thanks to these women I am brimming with new ideas and techniques. 

Ann Baldwin is a master of layered collage work. After watching one of her DVD’s, I decided to do a Creativity Collage as an inspirational  art piece to myself.

A Creativity Collage is a visual representation of the things you want to Be or Do or Have in your life. Its purpose is the activate the Law of Attraction by selecting images and writing that invoke intense passion so that you begin to manifest the things you want into your life.

There is some science behind the Law of attraction. The brain has a filtering system called the RAS (Reticular Activating System) which sorts and evaluates incoming information and can tag information deemed as important. A Creativity Collage helps to program the RAS to tune into external stimuli that helps us move closer to our intentions.  We start to pay attention to our intentions in a visual way using both the conscious and subconscious mind.

The Law of Attraction has worked for me in the past although not via a Creativity Collage but the ingredients for success were the same.

I clearly recall driving through Sunshine Beach in Queensland with an old boyfriend and being awestruck with the glamorous houses and the ocean views. I remember an intense feeling attached to the thought “Wow it would be great to live here”. It was way out of my league at the time. Well guess what, I now live in a gorgeous place in Sunshine Beach through a set of circumstances that evolved (over 10 years) without conscious planning.

Another instance followed meeting a woman who had a silver Mercedes SLK 200 parked outside the business where she worked. I love convertibles and again remember connecting the image of the car with a thought and feeling of “I would love to drive a car like that”. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be able to own one but again through what I can only attribute to the Law of Attraction, I now drive my own Mercedes SLK 200 (this took about 3 years to come about).

My best manifestation was meeting John, the wonderful man in my life. After a big heart break many years ago, I sat down and wrote out the list of qualities that were important to me in a life partner. When it was done I put it away and got on with my life. I met John and we have been together for almost 10 years. I found the list some time into our relationship and there he was just as I had visualised with my written notes all that time ago. 

In each of the instances where I felt the Law of Attraction had been at work, I had connected a visual image with a feeling of intense desire.

In my quest to manifest new things into my life via a Creativity Collage, here is how I put it together:

• I completed a pre-collage list of all the things I would like to Be, Do or Have in my life; I kick-started the process by thinking about what I did not want in my life so that it was easier to then swap back to the opposites to reflect what I really did want.
• Writing is a powerful process for me so I decided to transfer the Be, Do & Have list to my prepared board with my some affirmations and the things I am already grateful for in my life.

creative collage - starting off

• I collected images that resonated with me and made me feel happy & optimistic when I looked at them; Apparently visual information helps to boost the subconscious mind into action; I included a picture of myself which is suggested as an important part of the process
• I planned my collage then began to glue, paint, add words and play until I felt it was complete

creative collage - the planning stage

• The finished product is going in my studio so that I can see it often; I have included the date I started it and a blank date to note when I manifest my new desires.

creative collage almost finished

I found a wonderful free resource when I was doing research for this blog called The Complete Guide to Vision Boards by Christine Kane. Other terms interchangeable with vision boards and creative collage include Treasure Map or Image Bank, should you decide to explore additional resources.

It has filled me with joy completing this project. I hope my Creativity Collage inspires you to do your own as you continue on your journey to Dream, Dare & Do. For instant inspiration download the free screensaver featuring the original 69 images from The Art of Being artworks or browse the galleries.

I would love to hear how the Law of Attraction or a Creativity Collage has worked for you. There is a comment link below and of course some share buttons if you would like to send this on to your friends.

Be the Best Version of Yourself!

William Blake

(cited from The War of Art )

In Live Before You Die – Part One, I explained that a spate of recent bereavements had made me think deeply about living and dying. I realised how short life could be and that I was creating my future eulogy and epitaph each day.This terrified me because I covet an ‘ambitious’ epitaph on one hand whilst a safe and ‘comfortable’  life also seems like an attractive option.

I did this painting a little while ago and it reflects my dilemma at the time – Do I choose the safe life or the creative life? I called it, ‘Where She Stops Nobody Knows.’

Where she stops nobody knows. Available for purchase in the online originals gallery

I can pretend to live a creative life and tell all my friends I am an ‘artist’ now but never actually deliver or I can live a creative life and deliver ie be successful.

There is danger, effort and fear involved in the second option. I did not understand these issues initially. I thought at first I simply had poor time management and took steps to manage this which I outlined in my blog, ‘What Does 24 Hours Mean To You? I then came across the most amazing book, ‘The War of Art’ that gave me the true answer to the difficulties I was experiencing in the transition to my new life as an artist and blogger.

 Steven Pressfield is a writer of note. He states that writing is not the hard part, it is the sitting down to write that is hard. It has a name:

RESISTANCE.

It made so much sense when I read: ‘Most of us have two lives. The life we live, and the unlived life within us. Between the two stands Resistance.’ One is run by the Self who wishes to create and the other by the Ego who likes things just the way they are.

Pressfield says resistance is the most toxic force on the planet. It leads us to succumb to drugs, alcohol, gossip, illness and the like because we are not doing the thing that our heart or inner genius is calling us to do.

Many activities commonly elicit Resistance and I felt like Pressfield could see into my soul. I suddenly understood why I was experiencing difficulties moving forward in some important areas of my life. My current resistance is in: 

• The pursuit of a creative life
• Getting serious about weight loss
• Being serious in the long-term in my aim to help others

The War of Art explores a number of activities that may be more relevant to you and your life.

Basically resistance is anything that means rejecting short-term gratification in favour of ‘long-term growth, health or integrity’.

It made me think of the experiment using children and marshmallows. Each child was told that if they could eat their marshmallow whenever they liked, but if they could wait a certain amount of time they could have two marshmallows. Apparently the children who could delay gratification were more successful in later life. I wonder what I would have done as a child? What about You?

Resistance can be seen as the enemy within and we all have it. It will tell you anything to keep you from doing your work (so true). The more something is calling your soul, the more resistance you will have in pursuing it. 

RESISTANCE IS FED WITH FEAR. Just as you think you might be mastering it and the finish line is in sight, it will harness forces. Julia Cameron in The Artists Way calls it a creative U-Turn.

RESISTANCE IS SELF-SABOTAGE. The best thing we can do as a creative is to serve as an example and an inspiration to others.

Symptoms of Resistance:

1. Procrastination
2. Getting into trouble
3. Pre-occupation with sex, TV, gossip, alcohol, food etc.
4. Creating drama in our lives
5. Self-medication
6. Being a victim
7. Getting sick
8. Feeling a low-grade misery
9. Criticising others to feel better about yourself
10. Rationalizing things
11. Feeling you need healing or a workshop to get fixed

Pressfield says that if you are riddled with self-doubt and fear they are good signs you are on the right track. He says the more scared you are of doing your work or calling, the more sure you should be that you have to do it.

The million dollar question – How to you beat resistance?

Some answers:

•          Do the work – no excuses
•          Be ready to confront self-sabotage every day.
•          Commit to full-time.
•          Love what you do.
•          Stop thinking like an amateur and turn Pro. 
•          Know how to be miserable.
•          Be patient.
•          Be organised.
•          Keep going in spite of the fear.
•          Master technique.
•          Seek a teacher.
•          Don’t take things personally – success or failure.

Mark McGuinness sums it up beautifully when he states, ‘The real magic happens inside, in your mind and heart. Only you can commit to making your dream happen whatever obstacles stand in your way.’

What I found stunning in The War of Art was that towards the end Steve Pressfield begins to describe psychic forces that ‘support and sustain us in our journey towards ourselves’. He calls them muses and angels. The scary thing and I feel goosebumps as I write this, is that I started fiddling with a canvas I started ages ago and couldn’t finish. This time an angel appeared and here are the initial stages of what will become a finished product. Perhaps I have more allies on my side than I know.

angel muse stage one

angel muse stage 2

Pressfield states,’When we sit down and work, we become like a magnetised rod that attracts iron filings.’ He says creativity is a gift to the world and everyone in it so give what you have got.

Begin it now.

Keep Going.

Do it or don’t do it.

If you have enjoyed these musings, with great acknowledgement to Steve Pressfield and Mark McGuinness, please share it with your friends using the share options below or subscribe now for my weekly blog updates.

I would love to hear about how you are beating resistance and how you invoke the muse and there is a comment section below.

Before you leave, don’t forget to download your free inspirational screensaver of the 69 original The Art of Being images or browse the online galleries for further inspiration on your journey to Dream, Dare & Do.

Be the best version of yourself!

Dr. Seuss

Jeff Goins gave me a call to action in a blog he wrote.

Write something dangerous.

Death has been on my mind.

Martha died 7 December 2011.

Matt Golinski’s family died on 26 December 2011.

Sam died 2 January 2012.

My dad died 4 February 2012.

Tom, a best friend’s dad, is dying.

Death has been in my face.

I am grateful because it has made me think about what it means to ‘live before you die’ and the double entendre contained in that phrase.

It also made me think about epitaphs and eulogies.

A wikipedia search gives some definitions which I have paraphrased.

Eulogy: From Greek meaning ‘Good Words’. A speech in praise of a person or thing, especially one recently dead.

Epitaph: A short text honouring a deceased person. Most are brief records of family, or career or perhaps an expression of love and respect eg ‘beloved father of…’ Others are more ambitious.

I wrote my dad’s eulogy. He was 78 when he died and I had known him for 49 years. When I wrote his eulogy I remember thinking, ‘Wow, I didn’t know all that. What an amazing man!’

“We live for a moment in time but our lives have changed the world forever”(Epitaph)

Each day we are shaping our eulogy and epitaph.

I feel momentarily (or possibly monumentally) terrified.

I realise my terror comes from coveting a more ‘ambitious’ epitaph.

What about you?

In Live Before You Die – Part Two, I will explore what keeps some of us in the comfort zone of life rather than going for the ambitious epitaph.

Until then, live before you die, cherish your relationships and decide to make a mark on the world but not a carbon footprint.

Be the best version of yourself! Inspire yourself with the free inspirational screensaver of the art of being images and explore the online galleries.

"Bee" Effective from The Art of Being artworks

It is funny how things can turn full circle. Last year I picked up The 4-Hour Work Week  by Tim Ferriss. He plans his life around doing the things he wants to do now rather than waiting until retirement or for some other life event to shape his future. I immersed myself in his ideas and began shaping my ‘new’ life.

His philosophy incorporates aspects of good time management and strategies for income generation using the internet.

I have gone full circle because whilst I took on board his overall life philosophy with gusto, I came to realise it was not backed it up with good time management and the income support part is definitely a work in progress.

Time Management for Creative People is an e-Book recommended to me early on. I silently pooh-poohed the need for it. For goodness sake, in my old life I had organised conferences, planned itineraries for lengthy overseas trips, scheduled back to back client appointments  and worked to tight project deadlines. 

What I didn’t realise was that living a creative life is very different from a 9-5 life. I had a flashback to when I was 14 and my dad got posted to The Australian National University in Canberra for a year. One minute I was  an ‘A’ student attending an all girls Catholic school and the next a 14 year-old with raging hormones let loose in an ‘Open-Learning’ co-education environment. My grades dropped dramatically for a time because I lost the routine, the regimentation and the expectations previously surrounding me.

Fast forward back to my new life and again I am struggling with similar issues. My vision was a few days per week  spent blissfully painting and creating artworks whilst the other days were for blogging and business. My confession is that I have only done ONE painting in 3 months which was probably done on a weekend just like in the old days when I was a speech pathologist. I was cross with myself.

Here I am  in this new life with 24 hours each day to use as I like but beating myself up when I see them get squirreled away with lovely but unproductive activities (in the scheme of things), like walking on the beach, newbie blogger tasks like learning how to blog, reading blogs, reading, figuring out Twitter and Facebook and general procrastination activities like reading emails, doing housework, making a cuppa or sussing out a new recipe. That was not the plan.

 I have now decided to ask myself every day:

“What will you thank yourself for achieving by the end of today?”

Cheryl Richardson discusses the idea of Spiritual Endurance learned from Caroline Myss. It is about understanding that you can’t do 10 things at once as well as you can do just one thing. When you are creative you need to put your passion into action but this cannot happen if you let yourself get scattered across diversionary and distracting tasks which do not invest in your creativity.

Another reason things turned full circle for me was because Tim Ferriss’ name came up again today in that e-Book I finally read Time Management for Creative People. Mark McGuinness understands how creativity can seem like a distant dream. He maintains that creative work needs concentration so we need to manage the stream of demands and information that comes at us.

Creativity demands organisation with structure, discipline, habit and routine. Time management allows workflow so that creative time has the luxury of freedom, rule breaking and inspiration.

I learned 12 things from this book and they are working:

1. Make a creative rhythm and routine for your day
2. Get up early
3. ‘Ring fence’ time for your creative work
4. Work on your own projects first each day
5. Work on ‘important but not urgent’ tasks rather than just reacting to ‘urgent and important’ tasks
6. Pick your most creative time of day and use it to create
7. Set up rituals that link you to a particular state eg mood music, a favourite pen or notebook, a cup of tea in your favourite mug
8. Avoid derailment by distractions eg turn off the email, turn off the phone
9. Realise that inspiration won’t come without perspiration, discipline and hard work
10. Creative flow needs time management and a single-minded focus on work
11. Put things off until tomorrow eg only deal with the emails you got yesterday and put them in a folder called ‘Action’; Put emails you haven’t dealt with into a folder called ‘Backlog’ and deal with them in bursts until it is empty
12. Have a ‘Mind like water’ which means not keeping stuff in your head eg use an in-tray, inbox, to-do list then start reviewing and weighing up your priorities for the day or week

I am so proud of myself today thanks to this book. Priority number one was to exercise and priority number two was to finish a draft of this blog. I completed these before looking at emails, Hootsuite or other people’s blogs. I set up my email action and backlog folders which was such as relief as old emails and unread blogs had been haunting me and making me dither. I turned the phone to silent, put on some good music and thought about my reward when I had finished (Mojo and I are off to the beach any minute as it is low tide).

Mojo the Schnauzer and me

I have learned so much about time management and my priorities from this book. Maybe you too can utilise some of the strategies to help you Dream, Dare & Do. The ‘Be Effective’ image is on your free screensaver or visit the online galleries for other inspirational posters or prints on canvas.

This is the ONE painting I have done in 3 months but I know now there will be many more.

There are some other time management tools and resources below. If you enjoyed this article I would love you to share it with a friend using the share buttons below.

Be the best version of yourself!

 The Creative Habit

Getting Things Done

Get Everything Done

The 7 habits of Highly Effective People

Pinterest

Evernote

43 folders

Lifehacker

Moleskine

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I have just come home from a breakfast for International Women’s Day (IWD) run by Zonta.

The guest speaker was Dr Helena Popovic. Within 2 minutes I was scrambling to find my pen for notes which are in the form of hieroglyphics over my entry ticket. Helena’s credentials list medical practitioner, fitness trainer, expert in brain, mind & motivation, lifeline counsellor and adventurer.These are the ideas I took away from her presentation and I promise to tell you the two 3-Letter words you need in your life before the end.

1. The brain is an eavesdropping entity and it believes whatever you tell it either good or bad.
2. A journey of 1000 miles begins with the first step.
3. Unless you use possibility thinking you give yourself an artificial ceiling of what is possible.
4. Celebrate your wins; Celebrate the hits rather than lamenting the misses.
5. Words affect you physically. (I saw this first-hand when Helena got someone out of the audience and got her to hold her arms out to the side at shoulder level whilst saying “I am strong” at which  point Helena tried to push her arms down but couldn’t budge them much. She then got the woman to do the same action with her arms whilst saying “I am weak” and her arms were easily pushed down. Powerful stuff).
6. “If you think you can do a thing, or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” Henry Ford.
7. The word ‘can’t’ chokes your brain
8. Obstacles and challenges are not something to fear.
9. Give compliments because the brain releases neurotransmitters which increase excitement and when you are excited you are more motivated.
10. Passion, excitement and enthusiasm are brain fuel.
11. Excitement is to the brain as love is the heart.
12. It is better to aim too high and miss than to aim to low and hit.
13. Keep learning
14. Keep socially active and nurture friendships
15. To age well have a great attitude, exercise and eat good food.
16. Get a good night’s sleep.
17. Pause and Be Still during the day.

I also found this neuroplasticity article by Helena that adds padding to my notes.

And no, I have not forgotten the two 3-Letter words you need in your life. Firstly lose that four letter word “can’t” from your vocabulary. Replace it with these two 3-Letter words:

“How can…..?”

A wonderful focus on solutions rather than problems.  I am already asking myself:

“How can I make my day more productive?”

“How can I increase my blog audience?”

“How can I create more art?”

“How can I get more inspired?”

I immediately feel open and unblocked to continue my Dream, Dare & Do journey.

It seems fitting to include some of the images from The Art of Being artworks to focus on – Be Excited and Be Vital. 

The images can be downloaded as part of a free inspirational screensaver or you can browse the galleries for selected images to purchase as a poster or print on canvas.

If you know others who might like this article and the work of Dr Helena Popovic please share it using the share option buttons below.

Be the best version of yourself!

I love this card and wondered at the same time why I had picked it today. I opened up my emails and the answer was there.

An email from a friend who has been an incredible and encouraging support as I set up my blog and online art shop. She told me she had become so inspired by what I was doing that she had also decided to set up a blog. Now the thing is, my friend is an amazing achiever and when she sets her mind to something nothing will stop her. Suddenly I found myself swamped in a negative wash of comparisons, competitiveness, inadequacy and self-criticism.

I was a bit taken aback by my reaction so I went for a run to Hell’s Gates in the Noosa National Park. It is one of my favourite places in the world. One day it is a mosh pit of foam and sand and on other days it is a pondlike with the occasional turtle surfacing near the rocks. A bit like thoughts.

Hell's Gates Noosa Heads

In times past I have held on to annoying and negative thoughts and wallowed in them. Now I use the wonderful question that I learned in Russ Harris’ book The Confidence Gap and ask:

“But is it helpful?”

The answer was a resounding ‘No!’ He states that even if you decide that your thoughts are true, if the answer to the question is ‘no’, it as a signal to do something purposeful, proactive and productive about it. I ran it out.

Harris also talks about the ideas of fusion and defusion. Thoughts are simply words and images and we become fused when we attach emotion to them. We can defuse them instead with a great technique called ‘notice it, name it’. It is used to defuse negative thoughts and stories we may have about ourselves. It fits well with the idea of association/dissociation I learned when I became an NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) practitioner. If you are associated (fused) you see things through your own eyes. and when dissociated (defused) you see yourself like a third party watching yourself or watching your thoughts. It gives you emotional distance.

As I ran I said to myself, “I am noticing competitive thoughts” and “I am telling myself the ‘I am not good enough story again’”. I then used another technique to let those thoughts float off like leaves up a stream. I felt so much better after using these simple but effective techniques. I found I had moved on to the ‘doing’ part of my day rather than continuing the struggle with my thoughts or trying to repress or avoid my feelings.

I acknowledged that this time in my life was not about being competitive and comparing myself to others. It was about owning my power, owning my journey and simply enjoying the day to day process of being in the moment and loving my life.

Enjoy your journey today too and be perfect….as you are. Make it even better by defying any cranky pants thinking with the notice it, name it technique as well as visiting the inspirational art of being gallery or download the FREE Art of Being screensaver or share it with your friends.

Be the best version of yourself!

Positive and negative are directions. Which direction do you choose?
by Remez Sasson

Years ago Julia Cameron inspired me with her teachings in  The Artist’s Way. I was recently given another of her books The Creative Life – finding your true North. In it she describes Nigel, also known as her Inner Censor, visualised as a gay British designer, whose standards she can never satisfy.

It was only in my 20’s that I too became aware of an inner voice that admonished me as ‘Joanne’, said bad things, made me feel bad and influenced my decision-making. My Inner Censor, although alive and well, doesn’t have a name but she can be really mean.

In the past I wanted to eradicate her but I now know this is not possible so I have learned to deal with her and other types of negativity along the way.

Dealing with the Inner Censor

Most of us have about 70 000 thoughts per day which equates to about a thought every second of the day. Whilst some thoughts are positive, a majority are negative, repetitive and about old stuff. Many of the self-help brigade of the 1990′s promoted negative thinking as bad or wrong, but from an evolutionary standpoint, negative thinking served to keep our ancestors alert, safe and alive in prehistoric times.

These days I realise that negative thinking is part of our make-up however there are methods to keep us moving forwards rather than backwards. I use three methods that engage the power of words.

1. Positive Affirmations

Louise Hay is the doyenne of positive affirmations. Her power thought cards were a major influence for The Art of Being project in 2007.

In preparation for writing this, I have surrounded myself with favourite inspirational products. I have chosen a power thought card that says: “I release all fears and doubts”. It was just what I needed to drown out my inner censor who wanted to demoralise me with: “Who do you think you are?”, “You don’t know what you are doing” etc etc.

What is an affirmation and how does it work?

An affirmation is a positive statement to counteract and override a negative belief. You cannot have a positive and a negative thought at the same time so you set up your positive intention even if you don’t believe it 100% when you start.

Use a simple phrase that encourages you to succeed and make sure:

1. It is in the present tense ‘as if’ you have already succeeded
2. It uses only positive words
3. It feels right
4. It uses words with power and feeling
5. It is short and easy to remember
6. It counteracts something negative in your life

A current affirmation of mine is: “I write a hugely popular blog “. Take a minute to write your own affirmation about one of the areas below which you wish to succeed in or make changes to e.g. I am in a fulfilling and loving relationship.

• Work                                      
• Relationships                       
• Health & fitness                    
• Personal development
• Wealth
• Home
• Leisure

Affirmations can be particularly powerful when read aloud and placed where you can see them eg on the bathroom mirror, on your steering wheel, in your diary etc.

When you start it is quite normal for the mind to go into resistance, negativity and Inner Censor mode. Just notice it for now and keep affirming.

2. Inspirational quotes

I began collecting inspirational quotes years ago from books and the internet and then began to make up some of my own. The poetry and pithiness within them inspires me. I tend to write them up on mirrors or in a special journal. Those that seem right for me today are:

“If it’s meant to be; it’s up to me” Terri Gulick

“Be inspired by your own life” Jo Johnston

“Be not the slave of your own past – plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep, and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience, that shall explain and overlook the old.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

           3.   Inspirational images + words

The third way I enjoy the power of words is using them with images. The left side of the brain processes words and the right side processes images. The right side also deals with negative emotions and unconstructive thinking.

The Art of Being images integrate the best of both worlds. Each of the original 69 artworks include a phrase embedded with an image about ways of being eg Be Loved. By focusing on the image and word, you can set an intention to have more of that state or mood or value in your life. If you would to spend some time with the art of being images, visit gallery or download the FREE art of being screensaver . If you are drawn to an image, ask yourself:

“Why am I inspired by or drawn to this image or message?”

“How can I be more like this?”

“What do I need to DO to be like this?”

“When will I start?”

“Who do I know who is like this already?”

“How did they do it?”

OR Pick an image as your Mission Mood which can be purchased as a poster or print on canvas if it is a longer term goal.

This is one of my artworks called “Spending time with Frida Kahlo”. I used inspiration from a portrait Frida had painted of her sister. Around the outside it says “When you are right, your world will be”. I painted it at a time when my Inner Censor was getting too much airtime. It is available as a poster or canvas print from Jo’s Gallery.

I believe there is a power in words that can override the Inner Censor and keep you on the Dream, Dare & Do journey. I would love to hear your comments, inspirational quotes or how you use the power of words in your life.

Ps. I was coming home today and this was on the window of the car in front:

“Love, Peace, Sunshine”

Be the best version of yourself!