Roadblocks Are Shortcuts – The Affirmation Spot for Friday September 28, 2007

Today’s affirmation is:

“Roadblocks are simply shortcuts to something better than I had planned.”

Download an audio version of this affirmation set to music at The Affirmation Spot.

Today’s affirmation is a testament to our ability, indeed, our necessity to turn life’s obstacles into opportunities. There is an old saying that life is what happens to us on the way to our dreams. We think we are so smart and we have it all figured out and yet life, inevitably, throws us for a loop.

We have a choice. We can sit and pout because things didn’t turn out as we’d scripted them. Or, we can push forward with renewed determination.

 Sometimes – as much as we hate to admit it – the universe’s wisdom or God’s is sounder than our own. The very thing that messed up our perfected plans can be the key that unlocks whole new possibilities.

However, we cannot find the key as long as we view the detour as a curse rather than as the blessing that it truly is.

May your day be filled with roadblocks ready to transform into shortcuts to your success and happiness.

Peace…

Ray

The Affirmation Spot

Leadership – The Affirmation Spot for Wednesday September 26, 2007

“Leaders breathe life into the hopes and dreams of others and enable them to see the exciting possibilities that the future holds. Leaders forge a unity of purpose by showing constituents how the dream is for the common good. Leaders stir the fire of passion in others by expressing enthusiasm for the compelling vision of their group. Leaders communicate passion through vivid language and and expressive style.”

Page 18 of The Leadership Challenge, 4th Edition by Jim Kouzes and Barry Posner.

Like previous editions, the 4th edition of The Leadership Challenge is chalk-full of inspirational language and practical tools to develop your leadership skills.  The two leadership experts share their the latest  research and examples in a 25-year search to define the characteristics that transform ordinary people into extraordinary leaders.

 The validity of their research has been tested across time and culture. It turns out that the factors that create a great leader are pretty universal, and thankfully, a learnable skill.

Their research-tested model (they have interviewed nearly 75,000 people over the years) continues to center on “The Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership”:

1. Model the Way
2. Inspire a Shared Vision
3. Challenge the Process
4. Enable Others to Act
5. Encourage the Heart

The Five Practices are comprised of the “Ten Commitments of Leadership”:

1. Clarify values by finding your voice and affirming shared ideals.
2. Set the example by aligning actions with shared values.
3. Envision the future by imagining exciting and ennobling possibilities.
4. Enlist others in a common vision by appealing to shared aspirations.
5. Search for opportunities by seizing the initiative and by looking outward for innovative ways to improve.
6. Experiment and take risks by constantly generating small wins and learning from experience.
7. Foster collaboration by building trust and facilitating relationships.
8. Strengthen others by increasing self-determination and developing competence.
9. Recognize contributions by showing appreciation for individual excellence.
10. Celebrate the values and victories by creating a spirit of community.

Kouzes and Posner take you on a journey along the path of leadership you will not soon forget. If you are a leader or want to become one, this book is an absolute must.

Peace…

Ray

The Affirmation Spot

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Follow Your Bliss – The Affirmation Spot for Monday September 24, 2007

Today’s affirmation is:

“Follow your bliss!”

The late mythologist Joseph Campbell coined this phrase to describe his vision of what our life here on this planet is all about. He presented it as a kind of simplified mission statement designed to awaken us to to remember our potential and pursue it.

Most of you had dreams at one point in your life. There was a career you dreamed of or a passion that we really wanted to pursue. At some point, you lost touch with that dream. “Reality” intervened. You started a family, you began a career, and your life became so busy that your dream began to fade away.

The more time that went by, the more unrealistic your dream appeared. You had “responsibilities” and your dream seemed a little selfish in the face of them.

Maybe the time has now come to “follow your bliss!” Maybe your life has cleared a bit and there is time to revisit your priorities, or perhaps life on the cubicle farm has become so painful that you are ready to make a change.

This article appeared on the Yahoo! front page today. It is about people just like you who decided to follow their bliss.

You can do it just like they did! If you can’t drop everything and pursue your dream right this minute, OK. But there is nothing to stop you from reacquainting yourself with it or taking a few positive steps in preparation today. Take one step towards your bliss today and another step tomorrow. Each day you will be a bit closer to chasing your dream.

In the meantime, you might also find your days more enjoyable and fulfilling knowing that you are taking positive steps towards achieving your dream.

Peace…

Ray

The Affirmation Spot

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That Will Never Work! – The Affirmation Spot for Friday September 21, 2007

When I talk to people about using positive affirmations I often encounter comments like, “Well, affirmations are OK, but they just won’t work for me,” or “I could never do that.”

I always think, “Did I just hear you right?” You just used a (negative) affirmation and proved your own point incorrect by demonstrating how successful that affirmation is for you. You believe  you can’t do affirmations or that they would never work for you and your affirmation has come true!

Think about that for a moment. You think in affirmations all day long. You are constantly molding your experience of the world through a series of can/can’t are/aren’t statements in your mind (a.k.a. positive affirmations or negative affirmations).  An affirmation, after all, is only a statement that you can/can’t accomplish something or that you are/aren’t capable.

I love reading articles by folks who say affirmations are a fraud, useless, or self-delusional (more affirmations). The kinds of affirmations you think have a pretty high correlation to the outcomes in your life. When you think in positive affirmations about something your attitude and your actions fall into line and you generally succeed. When we harbor and express negative beliefs about something failure is almost sure to follow.

Positive affirmations are not magic pills. They don’t change certain laws of physics. They cannot always impact the quantitative, but they can almost always improve the qualitative.  For instance, a sixty year-old woman cannot affirm that she is twenty and wake up one morning 20 years old. However, the sixty year-old who affirms that she feels twenty is going to remain happy and active longer than someone who affirms all day how old they are becoming.

So, the questions really are these. If affirmations are just a fancy name for the kinds of thoughts we think all day, do you choose to think positively or negatively? Do you choose to believe you can or conclude we cannot?

You cannot prevent affirmations. They are an autonomic function of your mind. What you can control, though, is which kinds of affirmations you want to be pervasive in your life.

Whichever you choose, you will experience. Which will you choose today?

Have a peaceful and prosperous Friday!

Ray

The Affirmation Spot

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Dreaming While Awake – The Affirmation Spot for Wednesday September 19, 2007

Today’s thought is:

“Most people think dreams are only experienced when sleeping. A few enlightened souls recognize that dreams happen only when we become fully awake.”

Of course, our awakening occurs gradually over the course of our life or lives (depending on your belief). Some days it’s two steps forward and three steps back. Some days the chaos and the noise around us obscures the mountain summit.

However, the more we commit to our own awakening; the more we make it the focus of our lives; the more clearly our dreams come into view. We seem to be treading water, treading water, treading water, and then one day we realize we have slipped right into living our dream.

There is a kind of unconsciousness about the last step that allows us to ease right into a life we only, well, “dreamed” about.

Today, no matter what physical or psychological weather you face in your life; keep treading and keep your dream in focus.

Sleep is for rest. Our dreams are meant to be experienced with eyes wide open.

Have a peaceful and prosperous Wednesday!

Ray

The Affirmation Spot

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