Change your state in an instant

So we were having one of our stand up meetings at The Strength Temple HQ and brainstorming what we felt you’d like to hear about today.  Some of the most powerful techniques we teach as part of our Mindfulness Pillar are ways in which our clients can change their state in an INSTANT.  By state we mean how you are feeling in a given moment.

Before we go onto empowering ways to do this, it's important to cover an important point.  The reason that many people turn to drink, drugs, arguments, self harm or other destructive behaviours is purely about changing their state.  The power of these levers is in the instant effect that they have on your state.  Simply being mindful that this is the reason your are doing these things (if you do) is sometimes enough to start a shift in behaviour.  Techniques that you can employ to shift your state in a more supportive and empowering way for your body and mind are pure gold.  Cherish them.

There are many different ways to do this in our arsenal, but one of the simplest that we can give to you right now would be to start your own list of best quotes.  It might seem obvious as you read it, and this really works.

The following quotes are our favourites to motivate.  We have separate lists if we want to focus on different areas of our lives.  These might be love and relationships, growth, giving or our financial wellbeing etc.  For now we would like to give you our motivational quotes as a basis for you to start your own list.

We would absolutely love it if you would add some of your own to the comments section at the end of this post.  We are ALWAYS looking for new quotes to add to our master lists, so please share the love!

We have copies of these all over the place.  One of my favourite places is right in front of our running machine.  When the going gets tough reading through them motivates and changes our focus and ALWAYS gets us to the finishing line 😃  So copy and paste these and print them off.  Stick them on your fridge, or hang them up in your gym.  It will start to move you in a more powerful direction.

Have a mindful day, share this post to help others and don’t forget to…….

#respectyourtemple

"If you're gunna be a bear - be a grizzly."
Mahatma Ghandhi

"Life isn't about how many breaths you take, but the number of moments that take your breath away."
Unknown

"A man is not so much measured by his successes, as by the challenges he has overcome."
Adapted from Booker T Washington

"Never give advice unless you have walked the walk, because anybody can talk the talk."
Valencia Mackie

"Life is about using the whole box of crayons."
RuPaul

"We do today what others won't. We do tomorrow what others can't."
Jerry Rice

"Pain is weakness leaving the body."
Daniel J Evans

"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years."
Abraham Lincoln

"You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough."
Mae West

"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than anything on which it is poured."
Mark Twain

"The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity."
Dorothy Parker

"The difference between Ordinary and Extraordinary is the little word Extra."
Adapted from Jimmy Johnson

"Courage to start, strength to endure, resolve to finish."
Unknown

"You are the most prepared maniac I have ever met!" 
Nick Pugh

"Improvise, Modify, Adapt, Overcome." 
The Recruit (modified from a Marines quote).

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."
Aristotle

"Fear is your best friend or your worst enemy. It's like fire. If you can control it, it can cook for you; it can heat your house. If you can't control it, it will burn everything around you and destroy you."
Mike Tyson

"The highest reward for a man's toil is not what he gets for it, but what he becomes by it."
John Ruskin

"In order to be the best you can be it's OK to fail sometimes. It's never OK to give up." 
Unknown

"If you're going through hell. Keep going."
Winston Churchill

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Winston Churchill

"The two most important days in your life are the day you were borne and the day that you find out why."
Mark Twain

"The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have."
Vince Lombardi

"If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten."
Tony Robbins

"The mind is everything. What you think you become."
Buddha

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."
Martin Luther King Jr.

"You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
Gandhi

"Tough times never last, but tough people do.”
Dr. Robert Schuller

"You must expect great things of yourself before you can do them."
Michael Jordan

"You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take."
Wayne Gretzky

"Every ending, has a new beginning."
Laura McGrath-Scott
 

Powerful Thought Game to Transform Your Future!

The first time I did this my goal was to get out of rented accommodation and into my own home.  I didn’t think I had the financial capacity to do it and it was really getting me down.

Within 2 weeks I’d found a new home and placed an offer that was accepted. I also used it to stop smoking and change my career.  This stuff works!

A good way to really take some action towards something is to momentarily  consider what would happen if you don't.  Think of something you really want to change.  It could be anything - your fitness level, your finances, your relationship with someone (existing or imagined!), your diet, smoking, drinking or anything at all really!

Now, the following process can can feel a little emotionally painful in places, but it's worth it and will allow you to shed your fear and live in the now.  It's also important when doing this exercise to make sure you have a good half an hour of no interruptions.  Turn your phone off.  Find a quiet place.  Make sure you are comfortable.  It's a kind of meditation, and so light a candle if that's your thing, and get yourself centred.  If you can’t do it now, book some time in your diary for later and look forward to it!

Preparation is the key. Put all of this in place before you read on, or this won't work.  I want you to do this properly, and this will take me some time to write and explain, so return my investment in you by doing exactly as I ask, and don't cheat.  You will be rewarded at the end for your honesty.

The process requires you to stop at times. When I write PAUSE, do what I have asked, and don't read on until you have done this.  Promise me.  Don’t cheat yourself out of a better result.  It will work so much better if you follow these instructions to the letter.  After the pause there will be a long blank section to stop the temptation to read on before time.  When you are ready just scroll through these sections to the next stage.

OK - So have you prepared??  If you haven't PLEASE DON'T READ ON.  Get yourself set up.

I'm assuming that you're ready and have done all I asked.  I respect you for this, and wish you an interesting and enlightening journey. Let's begin. Be prepared to feel all the emotion associated with it.  I promise you will feel great at the end and have more clarity.

START

Sit quietly on your own with no distrations. Now consider your life where you are now. Really think about your current situation, the current thing you either don't have, or behaviour you would like to change, and allow yourself to "feel" everything.  Take a couple of minutes, don't rush.  How do you feel about this thing?  Breathe deeply.

PAUSE - do this then scroll down to the next part...

OK. Once you are focused on this, you need to consider what you want.

I want you to focus on this for a minute, and more importantly the perfect scenario. Imagine a balanced life.  Imagine you have changed the bahavious you want to change, or achieved the goal you imagine.  Close your eyes and focus using pictures - make them colour, sounds, smells, touch and taste. This process uses what's called the "theatre of your mind". There are no rules, no restrictions, it's all up to you to make it real.  Really take time to describe this to yourself as if it’s happened.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

Have you done this? If you haven't thought about the perfect situation go back and start over - it won’t work properly unless you do this exactly as I describe.

If you are still being good, awesome.  Enlightenment is round the corner!  Does it almost seem real because you ave taken the time to really feel it, and imagine it with colour, sound, smell - everything? 

Good - Now for the more difficult part.

In a minute, I want you to close your eyes again, and see yourself in 1 years time WITHOUT what you wanted to happen.  Not just the actual habit or thing, but all of the things you would have missed out on, or how your energy levels will still be low.  I want you to really FEEL how things are with nothing changing. Use all your senses again. OK do this now.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

Have you done it? If you haven't stop right now and do it bofore reading on.

OK. Now I need you to do the same thing, but forward yourself 5 years into the future.  You still haven't changed, or achieved the thing you wanted.  How old are you now?  What are you doing?  What is missing in your life because you haven't simply gone for it?  Do you have any regrets?  Really feel it. Don't skip the steps.  Do this now for a minute or so.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

OK. Now launch yourself 10 years into the future and do this again.  What has happened.  How is your physical body and health.  What are you doing?  What have you missed out on.  What are your wider friends and family doing?  What do they think of you?  Again for a minute or so close your eyes and really FEEL the situation like you are there 10 years from now.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

OK. I should think you're feeling pretty rubbish by now, so lets really raise the bar. I want you to project your life 25 years into the future.  This will be hard, but really see yourself without what you want.  Where are you.  What do you look like.  What have you missed out on?  Are you happy?  Do this for a minute or so, and use all your senses.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

OK.  I am sorry to have had to do that to you. It will be more than worth it though.  The thing is:

NONE OF THAT HAS HAPPENED

Feel relief. Feel thankful for your current situation and that you have the opportunity and power to bring any change in your life you desire.  Bring yourself back to the present.  Breathe deeply and give yourself the opportunity to take another look at your future.  This bit is amazing.  Take your time before you start, because you have just gone through quite alot.  Have a sip of water or something.  Breathe for a while and feel relaxed in your surroundings and body.  All that stuff hasn't happened, so let's design your future the way it WILL AND SHOULD BE!

So you've thrown away all of the future you just envisaged - BIN IT!!  Lets do this again.  This time, FEEL everything in the theatre of your mind for what would be going on in your life if you go for what you want or change what you need to change.  In 1 year from now, if you have that perfect relationship, what are you doing?  If you have decided to change your diet and take regular exercise how do you look and feel, what are your energy levels like?  Where are you?  Give this some thought for a minute and close your eyes.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

You guessed it - starting to feel a little better.  Now it gets better and better.  5 years get's a chance now. Do it again. Don't skip the steps.  Really take time to enjoy the feelings that you are experiencing having achieved what you wanted.  If it was a new relationship - are you married (if that's what you wanted)?  Do you have children.  What do they look like.  If you wanted a new house - where are you living.  What is everyone doing around you in your new life? Feel everything. Get into minute details. Don't hold back.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

OK - That's great, now let's go for ten years. Don't rush this. Have a good look at yourself. It's tempting to rush at this point, but really take time to experience your new life as it will happen. What are you up to now??? Did you stop smoking or drinking?  Where have you been travelling to in the world?  Amazing! Take as long as you want.

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

GREAT! Now let's go for the big one. 25 years from now in your desired situation how do you feel?  Is there a picture of you on holiday somewhere on the wall? Feeling great, looking fantastic; amazing?  Think of EVERYTHING. Take as long as you want and enjoy and relish in the experience!

PAUSE do this then scroll down to the next part...

Right - bring yourself slowly and gently back in time to the present.  Have a think for a minute about the two scenarios you have just allowed yourself to consider. The ying and yang of your future if you will. One - not what you want, the other - what you are perfectly capable of. Which one do you want to focus on and do everything in your power to go for and attract?

You might want to try this exercise with a friend if they have an open mind and are perceptive to it.  There is a share button at the bottom of the post.  We’d love to impact on as many people as possible to reach their dreams.  Please spread the word.

If I were you I'd sit and reflect for a while. Feel content in your power to design your future. You really have all you need to make it what you want.  Just don't be afraid to go for stuff.  If you get hurt or knocked back, what the heck.  All you have is a lesson in how not to get there, so try something else.  It's not what you know - it's what you do.

If you don't make mistakes, you won't make anything, and your life will rush away from you.  The past does NOT equal the future.  You have the power to go for what ever you want, and it starts right now.

Oh - and don't rush, enjoy the journey :-)

#respectyourtemple

Rich