Spring Ahead! 2 Powerful Habits to Move Your Life Forward

"Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values... your values become your destiny." ~ Mahatma Gandhi

Spring symbolizes a time of life, rebirth, and growth. As the clock springs ahead and the sun dances across the sky a little longer each day, we embrace the season's arrival and the energy it brings.

So how will you spring ahead in your own life? Here are two powerful habits to adopt:

Release Limiting Beliefs
Like a tree sheds its leaves in autumn and grows new ones in the spring, you possess the ability to release limiting beliefs and replace them with positive ones. Many of your limiting beliefs are learned; you were not born with them. Therefore, they can be changed.

To replace limiting beliefs with positive ones, practice this simple process: write down 2-3 limiting beliefs. Replace each one with a positive belief. For example, replace "I can't make good decisions" with "I make positive choices that help me live my best life."

Each time you begin stating an old belief, repeat the positive belief 10 times. Do this until the new belief becomes something you say automatically.

Travel Your Own Path
Sometimes you may compare and contrast your life with the successes others achieve. You may feel self-pity and wish for their lives and successes.

First, give gratitude for the blessings in your life. Then, recognize that you can achieve your heart's desires. However, the path you travel to get there is your own.

Once you accept this, it becomes easier to travel your own unique path. As you move forward on your journey, you may ask God/the Universe/Higher Power to help you manifest your desires and/or fulfill your purpose.

Whenever you become aware of your desire to travel someone else's path, remind yourself of your unique journey. Choose to believe there is enough for everyone; and that in your life, abundance can blossom from possibility into your reality.

The more you integrate these habits into your thoughts and actions, the more they help you move your life forward.

Want To Be Happier? Stop Looking Outside Yourself

"Expecting something outside of you to get better in order for you to make your life work...is something for you to take a hard look at." ~ Dr. Wayne Dyer

Have you ever told yourself you would be happier if you won the lottery, had a better job, lost weight, or found a new love? If so, you're not alone.

People often believe something outside of themselves will make them happier. For some, more money would indeed solve daily challenges such as the ability to pay bills. For others, a change in their weight or work life might boost their mood.

The truth is, external elements bring only temporary happiness. Once you have enough money to pay your bills, have lost weight, or have fallen in love, your happiness subsides and you begin looking for the next external element to make you happy.

When Hollywood director Tom Shadyac began making millions through hit films such as Ace Ventura and Bruce Almighty, he noticed that as he acquired huge mansions and fancy cars, he wasn't any happier. After facing his own death, Tom gained clarity and purpose and gave up most of his material possessions. He documents his journey in the movie, I Am.

Happiness begins within you. Love and appreciate yourself, choose positive thoughts, be grateful for what you have, and make the most of your situation. The things you take for granted everyday...clean water, electricity, clothes...are blessings for someone else.

When you choose to live in this way, you attract more positivity and happiness into your life.

In the words of Buddha, "There is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way."

To Set Yourself Up For Success Ask This Important Question

As you set out to achieve your goals and dreams, you may be asking what you need to do in order to bring them to fruition.

Another important question to ask is, "Who do I need to become to get from where I am to where I want to be?" Who you are is not a matter of what you do for a living. Rather, it is a matter of who you are on the inside.

Here are a few questions to consider (and why to consider them) as you assess who to become:

Am I grateful for what I already have?
Why: Be grateful for what you already have before expecting more.
This also means being grateful for your challenges because they serve a purpose in your life. "If you start focusing on what you have and what you're grateful for, you will begin to see more." ~ Oprah Winfrey

Do I operate from my ego or from humility?
Why: The ego is the source of many of our problems.
As Eckhart Tolle states in his blockbuster book, A New Earth, "Many people don't realize until they are on their deathbed and everything external falls away that no thing ever had anything to do with who they are."

Do I genuinely care about others?
Why: Life is largely about caring for your fellowman.
When you care about others you enrich their lives and ultimately your own. Watch this short, powerful video of a CNN Hero who does exactly that.

Do I choose positive thoughts over negative ones?
Why: Whatever you give your focus and energy to, that is what you attract into your life.
You may not always be able to control what happens to you in life. However, you can choose your attitude.

As you assess who to become to get to where you want to be, consider qualities that will strengthen your character, attract opportunities into your life, and positively set you up to manage the successes (and setbacks) that come your way.

Gratitude During Difficult Times

"Gratitude is one of the most neglected emotions and one of the most underestimated of the virtues."
-Dr. Robert Emmons

At some point in life, we all face challenges. It may seem odd to be grateful during moments of adversity; however, gratitude is not reserved only for the good times.

According to Mike Robbins, author of Focus on the Good Stuff, "It seems counterintuitive to be grateful for challenges. However, most of us have had really difficult things happen to us, and looking back on some of the most painful challenges, many people (myself included) honestly say that they’re grateful to have had those difficult experiences."

So why be grateful during tough times? When you look back at those moments quite often you will see the positive results of those experiences. For example, they may have allowed you to grow as a person, strengthened your character, increased your knowledge, or led you to new, greater opportunities.

In the book The Power of the Platform: Speakers on Life, I briefly describe how I faced personal financial difficulties. In retrospect, I realized how that experience led me to new and rewarding opportunities including the opportunity to inspire others to live their best life.

Moreover, the philosophy I developed was this: I cannot expect to receive more (opportunities, abundance, rewards...) if I was not already grateful for what I had.

As you express your appreciation this Thanksgiving, take what may seem like a counterintuitive approach and give thanks for your life’s challenges. Reflect on how those moments have or will positively impact your life.

Unleash your brilliance without boundaries,
Christine

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