Category: Mindset

250 Questions to Ask Yourself

250 Quality Questions to Ask Yourself

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For decades, I’ve been fascinated by the life-altering effect of asking yourself empowering questions. 99% of people spend most of their waking day asking themselves the wrong questions.

Questions like:

  • Why did I say that?
  • Why did he do that?
  • Why did that have to happen?
  • What’s the world coming to?

None of these questions inspires great answers.  They usually serve to make us feel worse about a situation rather than better.

When you start asking yourself quality questions, you start getting quality answers.    When you ask empowering questions, you start feeling empowered.  And when you ask inspiring questions you start living an inspired life.

But what are these questions? I wondered about this exact question for years.

So I started making a list of empowering questions – the kind of questions that inspire better answers.

Questions that made me feel happier, more empowered, more joyful and more enlightened.

It turned out to be a very long list…

250 Questions to Ask Yourself

I’ve broken the list of questions up into sections so you can pick and choose which questions to use depending on how you want to feel or what you want to shift.

20 Questions to Ask Yourself to Raise Your Vibration

20 Questions to Ask Yourself to Raise Your Vibration

Pictures by Lee van Huyssteen of Belle Lumière Foto

  1. What is Your Highest vision for me? (c/o The Mindful Movement)
  2. What would the best version of me do now?
  3. How can I be of greater service to the world?
  4. What am I really here to do?
  5. How can I feel better now?
  6. Do I want to change the situation or do I want to feel better now?
  7. What can I do in the next 5 minutes to feel better now?
  8. Can I give myself permission to feel good before I get what I want?
  9. What if I just chose to feel better right now?
  10. How am I (insert word of your choice), right here, right now?  e.g. How am I happy? How am I abundant? How am I supported?  (the opposite of whatever you were feeling)
  11. How can I take the path of least resistance?  (c/o Abraham-Hicks)
  12. What does the world need from me today that I can readily and easily give? (c/o Mandy Morris)
  13. Is this fun?
  14. What lights me up?
  15. Will choosing THIS move me closer to my dream life?
  16. Will choosing THIS move me closer to who I am becoming?
  17. What would the person I’m becoming do now?
  18. What would my future self thank me for?
  19. What can I do that’s good for me (fun), good for others, and for the greater good?
  20. What can I let go of right now?

12 Questions to Ask Yourself in the Morning

Questions to Ask Yourself in The Morning

Examine the first thoughts that pop into your head when you wake up in the morning. If any negative thoughts come up, think of the opposite (what you’d like to be thinking instead) and pose it as a question.

Here are some ideas for you.

  1. What am I grateful for today?
  2. What am I focusing on?
  3. How can I focus on the positive today?
  4. What makes me feel alive?
  5. How can I choose LOVE today?
  6. How can I choose FUN today?
  7. How can I choose PEACE today?
  8. How can I choose PROSPERITY today?
  9. How can I focus on GIVING today?
  10. How can I be in SERVICE today?
  11. How can I light up the world today?
  12. What makes me smile?

12 Questions to Ask Yourself to Feel Free

Questions to Ask Yourself to Feel Free

One of my favourite questions I’ve asked myself for years to make me feel free of things that may be going wrong in my life, especially the little every day bothers and frustrations, is this one:

Will this matter in 3 years? Or even a year?  (Will I even remember I felt this way?)

The important thing to understand about emotions and most everyday situations is that they are fleeting.  They come up and go and getting upset, anxious and worried about them is usually pointless.

The Work by Byron Katie

While that question helps for small things, it is incredibly freeing to also question hurts that have been plaguing you for years.

Many people carry anger and bitterness into their dotage about things that happened to them in their childhood and struggle to let their resentment go and forgive those who hurt them.

What they don’t realise is that it’s their own thoughts now that hurt them, not the person who did them wrong way back when.
When I first read Loving What Is and started practising The Work by Byron Katie, I was able to let go of deep hurts from my own childhood and feel a joy bubbling inside me that I hadn’t felt in years.

Now, questioning my stressful thoughts has become a way of life and I let hurts go very quickly – nip them in the bud before they can fester and take on a life of their own.

How to Start Doing The Work

First examine, what hurts. Think of any situation or event that has caused you suffering in your life.

What makes you feel stressed, frustrated, angry, hurt or disappointed?  Make a list.

For in-depth preparation before you do The Work, you can fill out Byron Katie’s Judge Your Neighbor Worksheet.  You can download the worksheet and find videos of Byron Katie herself doing The Work at https://thework.com/

Now, pick the thing on your list that bothers you the most and ask yourself the questions below.

For example, you might write choose something as painful as abuse in childhood.

Here’s a little video I created for one of my online courses where I explain how to do The Work on the phrase “He (or she) shouldn’t have abused me.”

Doing The Work

Here are the questions in The Work that set you free.  There are four main questions and a few more questions if you find you’re working with a thought that’s sticking, not shifting easily.

  1. Is it true?
  2. Can I absolutely be sure it’s true?
  3. How do I react when I think that thought? (What happens?)
  4. Who would I be without that thought?
  5. Is there any (stress-free or peaceful) reason to hold onto the thought?
  6. What’s the reality?
  7. Whose business am I in?
  8. Can I think of a reason to let go of the thought?

Turn the Thought Around

Once you’ve asked these questions, it’s time to turn your thoughts around.

So you take the thought you chose and turn the thought around, by changing up the sentence, looking at it from different angles.

Let’s take the example above, he shouldn’t have abused me.

One turnaround could be:  I shouldn’t have abused him.

Think of all the times over the years when you were abusive to the person who abused you.  How did you treat them?

Another turnaround could be:  I shouldn’t have abused me. 

Consider how many times you abused yourself by thinking about or talking about the abuse.  Was this the abuse itself or your thoughts and memories of the abuse inflicting pain on you again and again?

Think of how you treated yourself every time you thought of yourself as someone who had been abused.  Did you think less of yourself or more?

Please note, that this isn’t about apportioning blame to someone or making them wrong.  Nor is it about taking the blame or making yourself wrong.

It’s about questioning the thoughts in your life that have caused you stress, pain, suffering and conflict in your life and then letting all that go.  It’s about letting go of resentment and choosing the path of peace. This is a process that helps you forgive past hurts and move on, free of resentment.

Diva Creation Game by Nicki Shira Byrne

I learned the Diva Creation Game from an awesome life and business coach named Nicki Shira Byrne.

Nicki is also the coach who taught me how to love clients into being.

She’s a real-life Diva (Nicki is a Singer) who has coined the phrase “divatude“.

The Diva Creation game I picked up a while ago while doing one of Nicki’s challenges.  Here’s how it works.

Think of something that makes you feel uncomfortable or stressed.

Then, play the Diva Creation game by asking yourself these 3 simple questions.

  1. How am I creating this?  (in my thinking right now)
  2. What would I like to create? (usually the opposite of what you’re experiencing right now)
  3. Who can I be right now to create this? (embody the feeling)

200 Afformations

200 Afformations

Sometimes called Askfirmations, these are Affirmations asked as Questions.

Personally, I feel they work better than affirmations because asking a question prompts your brain to come up with an answer. Your brain is wired to answer questions.

Afformations are questions you can fire that help you realize how great your life really is.

I’ve made a long list of 200 affirmations and not all of them may ring true for you at first. That’s okay because as you keep saying them, they will start evoking more positive thoughts and as a result, you’ll see your life transform.

You can use this list of afformations any way you like.

You could read through all of them or just pick what you need for the day.

You could read through them out loud as a morning and evening rampage?

Pick one each day that resonates with you and journal or meditate on that one question.

Tap them in using the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), as I did in this video on how to clear money blocks using afformations.

21 Afformations to Call in a Wonderful Life

  1. How do my days get to be so filled with such joy and wonder?
  2. How is my life getting better and better every single day?
  3. Why do I love life so much these days?
  4. Why is every day filled with magic and miracles?
  5. Why does it feel so wonderful to be alive?
  6. How did I get to be so happy?
  7. Why does a perfect life come so easily for me?
  8. Why is life so good to me now?
  9. Why do I always feel so peaceful?
  10. Why do I always feel so joyful?
  11. Why does life feel so magical?
  12. Why is everything working out so well in my life?
  13. How did everything start slotting into place?
  14. Why do I have so many things to be grateful for?
  15. Why is my life so easy?
  16. How come things are so crystal clear to me now?
  17. Why does everything always go right for me?
  18. Why is it okay for me to be happy?
  19. Why am I so richly blessed in all areas of my life?
  20. Why am I worthy of an amazing life?
  21. Why is my life so wonderful?

13 Afformations on Feeling Awesome

  1. Why do I wake up every morning so full of joy?
  2. Why do I go to bed every night feeling so blessed?
  3. Why do I feel so alive?
  4. Why do I have so much energy?
  5. What makes me feel so safe?
  6. How do I get to enjoy such peace in my life?
  7. Why do I feel invincible these days?
  8. What makes me feel so protected?
  9. Why am I so calm?
  10. Why is it so easy for me to relax?
  11. Why do I feel so content?
  12. Why do I feel so loved?
  13. Why do I love being so healthy, wealthy, and happy?

32 Afformations on Self-Love

  1. Why do I feel so full of love?
  2. What makes me so lovable?
  3. Why do I love myself so much?
  4. Why do people say such nice things to me?
  5. Why are people so helpful wherever I go?
  6. Why do I feel so blessed wherever I go?
  7. What makes me unstoppable?
  8. Why do I love myself so much?
  9. How did I get to be so confident?
  10. Why do I take such good care of myself?
  11. How did I get to be so proud of who I am?
  12. How did I become so powerful and strong?
  13. Why is it so easy to know exactly who I am?
  14. How did I get to be so clear on who I am?
  15. Why do I feel so wonderful about who I am?
  16. Why is my vision so clear now?
  17. Why does everything make perfect sense to me now?
  18. How did I get to be such a great problem solver?
  19. How come I always have the best solutions?
  20. How did I get all this insight?
  21. Why can I always work out what to do?
  22. How did I find such perfect balance?
  23. Why is it so easy to have order in my life now?
  24. How did I get to enjoy such a clean, orderly environment?
  25. Why is my life so peaceful?
  26. How did learn to flow so wonderfully with life?
  27. How did I so easily and rapidly start mastering every aspect of my life?
  28. How did I get to live the life I always wanted to be living?
  29. Why do I feel so grateful for every little thing that comes my way?
  30. Why do I have so much to be thankful for?
  31. Why am I so thankful to be who I truly am?
  32. Why am I proud of myself?

12 Afformations for a Happy Marriage (or Relationship)

  1. Why is it easy for me to attract love and keep it?
  2. Why does my marriage work so well?
  3. What makes us perfect for each other?
  4. Why am I the best partner for him?
  5. Why is he the best partner for me?
  6. How did I choose such an awesome partner for me?
  7. Why am I so grateful for my spouse?
  8. How am I a thoughtful, appreciative partner?
  9. How am I being loving?
  10. How am I being caring and kind?
  11. Why am so loved?
  12. Why is my home such a happy place?

11 Afformations for Healthy Family Relationships

  1. Why do I have such a happy family life?
  2. How did I get to have such wonderful parents?
  3. Why am I so loved?
  4. What makes me such a caring daughter?
  5. What makes me such a beautiful sister?
  6. Why do I  have such a loving family?
  7. Why am I such an awesome mom?
  8. How did I become such a loving mom?
  9. Why am I such a great role model?
  10. Why is everything I do a blessing to all those around me?
  11. Why do my loved ones enjoy time with me?

15 Afformations for Loving Friendships

  1. Why do I draw so many wonderful people to me now?
  2. Why do people value and appreciate me?
  3. Why am I such a wonderful friend?
  4. Why do all my friends love me?
  5. How did I get to have the best friends?
  6. Why do I attract such interesting people into my life?
  7. Why do people find me so interesting?
  8. Why do I have so many friends?
  9. Why do people love to support me?
  10. How do I nurture such quality friendships?
  11. Why is it so easy to attract caring people into my life?
  12. Why do people love doing nice things for me?
  13. Why do I attract positive people?
  14. Why are all my relationships so positive?
  15. Why do I attract people who bring so much happiness into my life?

19 Afformations for Success in Business

  1. Why do I love the work I do?
  2. How do I get to do what I love?
  3. Why am I important to people?
  4. Why am I of great value to the world?
  5. Why do I always achieve everything I set out to achieve?
  6. Why do great opportunities keep coming my way?
  7. Why am I so good at creating wonderful opportunities?
  8. Why is it so easy to stay focused on what I’m doing now?
  9. Why is it easy to prioritize my most important tasks now?
  10. Why do my clients love to support me?
  11. Why do I always arrive at the perfect time?
  12. Why did that meeting go so well for me?
  13. Why do people value what I say?
  14. Why do I always know the right thing to say?
  15. Why am I always in the right place at the right time?
  16. Why am I such a magnet to success?
  17. Why am I making sales every day?
  18. Why do my ideal clients love working with me?
  19. Why am I making money in my sleep?

35 Afformations for Prosperity

How to Clear Money Blocks using Affirmations, Afformations and EFT

  1. How do I get to earn so much doing what I love?
  2. How does money come to me in expected and unexpected ways?
  3. How am I drawing money to me in every moment?
  4. Why do I deserve all this money?
  5. Why is it good for me to be wealthy?
  6. How does it benefit others for me to be wealthy?
  7. Why do I so easily attract everything I want now?
  8. How have I paved the way to money?
  9. How can I pave the way to more money?
  10. Why am I so lucky?
  11. How do I always get to be in the right place at the right time?
  12. How did I get to be so wealthy?
  13. Why am I so rich?
  14. Why am I a magnet for money?
  15. Why is my income rapidly increasing now?
  16. How did I get to be so abundant?
  17. Why does wealth come so easily to me?
  18. Why is it now so easy to manifest all I want?
  19. How did I get to be successful?
  20. Why is it so easy to have success?
  21. How is it that I never miss a trick?
  22. How do I rise up to conquer all challenges?
  23. Why do I always have plenty of money?
  24. Why is it easy for me to make money now?
  25. Why is my bank balance always growing?
  26. Why is my business such a huge success now?
  27. Why do such wonderful people love doing business with me?
  28. Why am I so good at managing my money?
  29. Why is it easy for me to save money now?
  30. Why am I so good at investing wisely?
  31. How does money flow so easily to me?
  32. What is the easiest way to make money?
  33. How is more money lining up for me right this minute?
  34. Why do I feel good about making money?
  35. How do I always have more than enough?

Related: What’s a Money Blueprint and Can You Change Yours?

27 Afformations for Vibrant Health

  1. Why is it so easy to be so healthy now?
  2. Why is perfect health so easy for me?
  3. How did I get to have such vibrant health?
  4. How did I find it so easy to change my lifestyle?
  5. Why am I so healthy now?
  6. Why is it easy now to feel so attractive and beautiful?
  7. Why am I so slim now?
  8. Why do I love my healthy lifestyle now?
  9. How did it get so easy to focus on self-care?
  10. Why do I love exercising now?
  11. Why am I so confident now?
  12. Why is it so easy for me to remember what I learn?
  13. Why is studying easy for me now?
  14. Why do I feel so fantastic now?
  15. Why do I sleep so well now?
  16. Why do I have so much energy?
  17. Why do I wake up every day feeling amazing?
  18. Why are all the meals I cook so delicious and nutritious?
  19. Why do I love my daily exercise routine?
  20. Why do I love my daily walk?
  21. Why am I such a great cook?
  22. Why am I so happy when I look at myself in the mirror?
  23. Why do I love the way I look?
  24. Why am I so physically healthy and strong?
  25. Why am I my ideal weight?
  26. Why am I so emotionally healthy?
  27. Why is it easy to express my feelings?

15 Afformations for a Divinely Guided Life

  1. Why is it so easy to follow my Divine Guidance?
  2. Why am I so filled with Divine healing light?
  3. What makes me feel like I’ve found heaven on earth?
  4. Why is the world filled with such awe-inspiring beauty and wonder?
  5. How did I get to be filled with so much light?
  6. How did I get to be a light in this world?
  7. How did it become so easy to light up consciousness as I do?
  8. How did I get to be filled with so much joy?
  9. Why did God choose me?
  10. How am I being loving?
  11. How am I being forgiving?
  12. Why is my life so peaceful?
  13. How did learn to flow so wonderfully with life?
  14. How is it that my life overflows with all the goodness life has to offer?
  15. Why am I so thankful for all this and so much more?

3 Life-Changing Questions to Ask Yourself

Life-Changing Questions to Ask Yourself

Try out these questions if you want to shift your perspective on how you live your life.

1.  If I were to die tomorrow, would I feel at peace knowing I had lived a full, happy, loving and meaningful life?  Or would I die with my song unsung?

Phrased as an Afformation:  How did I get to live such a full, happy, loving and meaningful life?

2. Do I make people feel wonderful about themselves?

Phrased as an Afformation:  How do I make people feel wonderful about themselves?

3. What would I like my loved ones to say at my funeral?  (What legacy would I like to leave?)

The 3 BIG Questions to Ask Yourself

For as long as we’ve been on this planet,  philosophers, sages and people of all races, religions and creeds have pondered the 3 big questions, each finding their own answers by going within.

How do you answer the big 3?

  1. Who am I?  Want a quick answer to this one?  Try the Who Am I Quiz  It’s fun, free, and easy to do and kicks up some interesting insights into your personality.
  2. Why am I here?  (What is my purpose?)
  3. What is the meaning of life?  (Why are we here?)

250 Questions to Ask Yourself

So there you have it, my list of 250 quality questions to ask yourself when you want to feel happy, inspired and empowered. 

What questions do you ask yourself on a daily basis?  And do you feel they uplift you or bring you down?

Update:  8th July 2022

Want to get daily inspiration based on these questions?  Join our community on Facebook, Mindful Metamorphosis.

How to Empower Women

Top Ways to Empower Women in Business

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Ways to Empower Women in Business

When you think of ways to empower women in business, it’s pretty hard not to think of the opposite, the people or circumstances that disempower women.

It can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking of women as victims, sidelined or overlooked by men in power, marginalised, underpaid and more prone to hitting that glass ceiling.

Yet, if you’re a woman, empowering women starts with empowering yourself.

How to Empower Yourself

How to Empower Yourself

Empowering yourself starts with breaking out of that victim mentality and believing in yourself.

It’s not about the system, we know it’s broken, but we also know there are many, many women who rise to the top.

It’s not about them.  It was never about them.  It’s about you, who you are, what you want and what you’re prepared to do to achieve success.

When you believe in yourself, you will have the faith that opportunities will come your way and be ready for them when they do.

When you believe in yourself, you will get educated.  You will find a business mentor and accept their mentorship.

Related: Here’s Why Your Career Needs You to Keep on Learning

You will create a vision for your future, figure out your goals and put an action plan in place to achieve them.

You will commit to the hours and the weeks and the months it will take to see your vision become a reality.

And once you’re empowered and take on a leadership role in your business, you’re in the best place to empower other women.  Because empowered women empower women.

Now, YOU can become a business mentor. Now YOU can make a difference.

Why Focus on Women Empowerment in the Workplace?

The primary motivation to prioritize women empowerment in your business is, in many cases, varied organizations are often more successful. This is because women leverage many different perspectives, are innovative and offer deeper insights into their customers.

In our article below, we share 4 top ways to empower women in your business.

4 Top Ways to Empower Women in Your Business

Top Ways to Empower Women in Your Business

1. Connect Female Employees with Female Mentors

An efficient way of changing the way women think and provoking action is by introducing them to strong female role models within the industry and your company.

For instance, if a female employee is just starting her career, introducing her to more experienced female employees like entrepreneurs or women in leadership roles can be advantageous in assisting her with defining her career path.

A strong mentor-employee connection could also help with building trust among female workers in the company and their own ability to thrive in their profession.

This is especially true in a workplace that is predominantly male-dominated. Introducing them to women in senior roles can give them the confidence boost they need to work hard towards landing influential positions going forward.

Women leaders like Nancy Etz are all about giving women the tools to empower themselves by mentoring young women as well as by offering various scholarships.

2. Remind Female Employees They are Valuable

When you think of ways to empower women in business, it's pretty hard not to think of the opposite, the people or circumstances that disempower women. Read on. #howto #empowerwomen #waystoempowerwomen #empoweryourself #empoweredwomenempowerwomenWomen in workplaces that are mainly male-dominated often feel intimidated to voice their viewpoints, for fear of being dismissed or viewed as being too outspoken.

It is essential to remind women that their opinions matter and that they are valuable team members. There are various ways that your company can incorporate values.

The first step is bias awareness and training since you will not know what you are doing wrong until your actions are addressed head-on.

You can also promote a safer work environment where everyone feels confident to voice their concerns or challenges. Promote an open-door policy where female employees can turn for assistance.

3. Accommodate the Personal Needs of All Employees

Everyone has lives outside of the business. It is essential to encourage them to pursue their interest and needs, irrespective of their gender.

For instance, permit parents to knock off early when necessary, support an overall work-life balance of fellow employees, provide competitive parental leave, and be flexible wherever it is possible.

When employees flourish in their personal lives, they are more grateful to work for a company which in turn boosts productivity and loyalty. Don’t just encourage it, but be proactive about it. Organize family days and team-building exercises.

4. Vote for Female-Related Initiatives

It is essential to empower the women in your company by striving towards gender equality and enhancing the future of the work culture in your business.

Women are significantly under-represented in various sectors of the working environment. Hiring an equal gender workforce is a sure way to make a positive difference in your business, showing that both women and men employees are equal and valued team members.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed these 4 top ways to empower women in your business. I encourage you to start implementing them to create a better workplace for everyone.  Just remember to start with yourself.

This post was sponsored by Nancy Etz. All opinions are my own.

What's Healthy About... really?

What’s Healthy Eating About… Really?

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What’s Healthy Eating About?

The first time I started questioning whether I really knew what healthy eating was about, was almost 30 years ago. I moved to a small town in the Klein Karoo called Montagu and met the renowned fruitarian, Essie Honiball.

At the time, Essie was 67-years-old and the picture of health, a joyful, sociable lady with boundless energy. She would come down to the hot springs, where I worked, to swim with her friends.

Essie told me she felt and looked younger than she did in her 30’s when she was dying of TB (Tuberculosis). She firmly believed that switching to a diet almost exclusively of fruit, nuts, and seeds was what saved her.

Essie Honiball lived to the age of 89.  Here’s an interview with Essie at age 86.

What Do We Need to Eat?

In Biology and Home Economics class at school, I had been taught we all needed to consume a varied diet of meat, fish, starch (grains), dairy, vegetables, and fruit.

The lesson was clear. If you’re not eating a balanced diet consisting of all the recommended food groups, you won’t get all the nutrients you require for good health.

  1. Proteins
  2. Carbohydrates
  3. Fats
  4. Fibre
  5. Vitamins
  6. Minerals
  7. Antioxidants
  8. Water

Yet I discovered that for some people, it was possible to live on fruit alone.  This idea blew my 20-year-old mind.  I didn’t become a fruitarian myself, though I’m sure it must have encouraged me to eat more fruit.

I went through my own health challenges in my late 20’s and started tuning into what my body needed. I started juicing and doing fruit and veg cleanses. I discovered that my body functioned best on fresh fruit and veggies.

It was while I was cleansing and juicing that I felt my healthiest, my energy levels were always through the roof, I was slim, happy, sleeping well, and free from pain.

Yet, for years, I kept following the healthy eating guidelines we were taught at school.   Eat all 5 food groups, have everything in moderation, drink 8 glasses of water, sleep 8 hours a night.  I knew the drill.

That’s what I was taught at school and so I believed it was the truth.  But is it?

Related: Aligning All 8 Dimensions of Health and Wellness

What are We Designed to Eat?

On 9th September 2020, I made the switch to a wholefood plant-based diet.  My friend Mariana called me from Joburg for a catchup chat and encouraged me to look into it.

Mariana had been suffering from debilitating bouts of rheumatoid arthritis and found that she was able to virtually reverse her condition if she ate a plant-based diet. When she slipped back to eating normally, her symptoms would flare up again.

Mariana sent me some YouTube links to videos by Doctors who advocate a plant-based diet and I found the information so compelling, I decided to join Mariana in following a plant-based lifestyle.

One of the segments I found really interesting, was this. Humans are not designed to eat meat. We think we are because again, we were always taught at school that humans are omnivores, but it turns out we are not.  When you look into our physiology, it appears that we are actually natural herbivores, plant-eaters.

If you look at our jaw structure, we are not built to be carnivorous. We can’t kill an animal and tear it apart with our teeth.

Would we eat these piglets?And instinctually, we don’t want to.

If you saw a little rabbit or piglet with a broken leg on your path, what would you do?  For most people, our natural instinct would be to comfort and do what we can to save the wounded animal.

What would a dog or cat do in the same situation? Pounce!  And gobble it up. Because they are natural carnivores, meat-eaters and happy to prey on defenceless creatures.

The thing is, that by the time we see fresh meat in freezers at the grocery store, it’s been neatly chopped up, cleaned and packaged and we don’t think of it as a creature at all. We didn’t have to kill it ourselves so we don’t spare a thought for the life of the animal we are about to eat.

What is a Wholefood Plant-Based Diet?

It’s kind of like a vegan diet because it’s mostly vegetables, fruit, and grains but the emphasis seems to be more on eating plants and whole grains for optimum health.

You can call yourself a vegan and eat fried chips and loads of processed vegan delicacies.  That’s not the idea with a wholefood plant-based diet.

On the other hand, you can call yourself wholefood plant-based and sometimes eat eggs, dairy, fish, poultry or meat, from the best possible sources, such as organic, grass-fed, pasture-raised or wild-caught.

We were taught at school to eat a balanced diet of meat, fish, dairy, grains, fruit, and veg but what's healthy eating about, really? What were we designed to eat? And which foods makes us feel best?Why Eat a Plant-Based Diet?

I’ve found that people choose to live a vegan or plant-based lifestyle for three compelling reasons:

  1. To protect animals from harm
  2. To protect the environment
  3. To protect themselves from preventable diseases

What to Eat on a Plant-Based Diet?

So, what do people consume on a plant-based diet?

  • Vegetables – in season, fresh and organic where possible
  • Starchy vegetables – such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, butternut
  • Fruits – including berries and melons
  • Nuts – ideally raw, unsalted macadamia, walnuts, brazil nuts and cashew nuts, almonds and nut butters
  • Seeds – such as pumpkin, flax, chia, sesame, sunflower and hemp seeds
  • Whole grains – such as rolled oats, brown rice, quinoa etc.
  • Legumes – chickpeas, lentils, peas, peanuts, black beans, etc.
  • Unsweetened plant-based milk – soya milk, almond milk, coconut milk etc.
  • Healthy Fats – avocado, coconut oil, olive oil
  • Plant-based protein mushrooms, tofu etc.
  • Herbs and Spices – including seasonings like nutritional yeast
  • Coffee, Tea, Herbal Tea

How to Eat More Fresh Fruit and Veggies? 

We’ve got so used to reaching for yummy goodies loaded with unhealthy sugars that we forget to eat our fresh fruit and veg.

Here a few quick tips to help you get in more fruit and veggies on a daily basis.

  1. Buy a variety of fresh, fruit and veggies, including berries, melons, nuts and seeds
  2. Begin each meal with raw, fresh fruit or veg or salad
  3. Aim to eat at least 5 different colours at each meal
  4. Begin or end your meals with veg and lentil or bean soup
  5. Make fresh smoothies or juices as snacks

Related: What is Health and Wellness About?

What Not to Eat on a Plant-Based Diet?

  • Fast food and fried foods – pizza, hamburgers, hotdogs, fries
  • Refined Foods – white bread, pasta, doughnuts, cakes, cookies, biscuits
  • Packaged and convenience foods – crisps, biscuits, health bars, frozen dinners
  • Processed animal products:  bacon, ham, macon, etc.
  • Processed vegan products – such as vegan meat, butter or cheese
  • Artificial sweeteners – and food or sauces containing artificial sweeteners

What to Avoid on a Plant-Based Diet?

Many plant-based advocates follow a vegan diet but if some feel they need to supplement their diets with animal sources, for whatever reason. If you’re going to introduce some form of animal product into your diet, follow the guidelines below.

  • Meat – eat very rarely, and if you do, make sure the animals are grass-fed, pastured and treated humanely, where possible
  • Dairy – as above
  • Poultry – free-range, grain-fed and organic, where possible
  • Eggs – as above
  • Seafood – wild-caught from sustainable fisheries, where possible

What’s Healthy Eating About?

So, what’s healthy eating about… really?

For me, it’s a wholefood plant-based diet, because of what I’ve read and researched about the many health benefits. And also because of how I feel when I’m eating loads of fresh fruit and veggies.

Essentially, you get to decide what healthy eating is about for you.  We are all different and our bodies respond differently to what we eat.

What I can tell you, is that your taste changes very quickly when you make the switch to a plant-based diet. Foods you thought you could never live without (like cheese, cream or meat) no longer hold their appeal.

I invite you to try it out for a week or two and see how you feel.

This post was sponsored by Anti-OxidantFruits.com. All opinions are my own.

8 Dimensions Health Wellness

Aligning all 8 Dimensions of Health and Wellness

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8 Dimensions Health Wellness

Health and Wellness have been a big focus in my life.  I started teaching Aerobics when I still in High School and took over my Mom’s gym shortly after I finished school.

A couple of years later I also started studying and practising a number of different modalities, including Aromatherapy, Reflexology and Shiatsu.   I became particularly interested in holistic health and healing.  I was fascinated by how the mind, body and spirit are all connected.

I delved deep into every aspect of health and wellness over the years because I wanted to know how every secret on how to live long and prosper.

And yet, it took Harold at Bodybuilder Solutions to introduce me to the idea of the 8 Dimensions of Health and Wellness. Have a look at this post: https://bodybuildersolutions.com/the-best-resources-for-mental-health-and-physical-wellness/

And, here they are.

All 8 Dimensions of Health and Wellness

I’ve placed them in the order that makes it easiest for me to remember, starting with the 4 that align with some of the chakras (or energy centres in the body).  I used their corresponding chakra colours on the infographic below.

There is a tremendous benefit in aligning all 8 dimensions of health and wellness. Because that's when you feel a sense of peace, satisfaction and well being. Do you know all the 8 Dimensions of Health and Wellness? If not, discover them in my latest post as well as keys I've learned over the years to help me align them. This post was sponsored by Bodybuilder Solutions. All opinions are my own. #8DimensionsHealthWellness #8DimensionsWellnessChart #8DimensionsWellnessInfographic #health #wellness #wellbeing #selfcare

1. Physical (the base or root chakra)

2. Emotional (the sacral chakra)

3. Intellectual  (the solar plexus)

4. Spiritual (the crown)

The last 4 are not energy centres in our body but relate to aspects of our daily lives that can impact our health and wellness.

5. Social (Relationships)

6. Occupational (Work)

7. Financial (Money)

8. Environmental (Surroundings)

Related: What is Health and Wellness About?

While it’s virtually impossible to be focusing on all 8 of these all the time and have them all in perfect balance, it’s certainly something worth striving for.

You might put so much of your time and energy into mastering one aspect of your life that the others go out of kilter.

On the other hand, when you achieve success in one area it may give you the confidence and motivation to tackle other areas of your wellbeing.

And there is a tremendous benefit in aligning each dimension of health and wellness and feeling they are all working together in harmony. Because that’s when you feel a sense of peace, satisfaction and well being.  A feeling that all is right with your world and you’re doing just fine.

In this post, I’ll aim to give you some of the keys I’ve learned over the years that have helped me achieve this alignment in my own life, in the hopes they help you too.

Let’s take it from the top.

1. Physical Health and Wellness

Physical Health and Wellness

Deep down I think we all know the answers to this. They are simple to learn, but not easy to implement.

  • Exercise regularly (at least 30 minutes, at least 3 or 4 times a week)
  • Eat nutritious foods (especially plenty of fresh fruit and veg)
  • Get enough sleep (6 to 8 hours a night)
  • Drink enough water (around 8 glasses a day)

Those are the basics.  We all know them but we get caught up in what this expert claims and what that diet promotes and what that organisation recommends.

Related: Natural Ways to Support the Immune System

Here are my personal keys to making these work for you.

Exercise

You’ll only do it regularly if you love it and can incorporate it into your life. So find something you really enjoy doing. For me, right now, it’s walking my dog and jumping on the trampoline with my son, because that’s all I have time for.   But at other stages of my life, it’s been swimming, gym, dancing, yoga, pilates.   What moves you?

Nutritious Foods

I recently went wholefood plant-based which means I mostly eat a healthy vegan diet. Though I know that’s a big ask, so if this just sounds too extreme to you, please start adding more fresh fruit and veg into your diet and avoid eating overly processed foods and especially processed meats.

I have discovered it’s a brilliant lifestyle choice, especially if you are overweight or have heart disease, Type 2 diabetes or any other preventable health condition.   But don’t take my word for it. I’m just following the experts.

Here’s a great overview of plant-based nutrition by Dr Anthony Lim

Disclaimer: Please note that none of the recommendations in this post is intended to replace the advice of your Medical Doctor. Please consult a doctor or registered health practitioner if you have any health concerns.

Sleep

Stop all digital activity, including watching TV at least half an hour before you go to sleep to have a good night’s rest.

Hydration

Water or tea is best.  One or two coffees a day is fine. A glass of wine a night (or your favourite drink) is fine but don’t overindulge too often.  In my book, sodas are a no-no.  I could go into the long explanation of why but then we’d never get to the rest of the post. 

2. Emotional Health and Wellness

Emotional Health and Wellness

We all want to be happy and free from anxiety, yet, sadly, most people aren’t.  We live in a world where millions of people are suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, insomnia and nervous tension and have resorted to medication for relief.

There are many natural ways to be happy and free from worry and I believe it starts with choosing happiness.

Once I made a conscious decision to live a happy life, the natural ways found me.

Here are some of the things that make me feel happy and at peace.

  • Guided Meditation or Visualisation
  • Being out in nature
  • Being in contribution
  • Caring for loved ones
  • Playing with or reading to my children
  • Caring for pets
  • Dancing, singing or listening to music

But what about those stubborn or particularly heavy emotions you just can’t seem to shake?

I’ve found Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT or Tapping) to be most useful in helping me release unwanted emotions.

For example, here’s a tapping session I did on Disappointment.

Once you know the basics of how to EFT, you can tap on any emotion that’s upsetting or depressing you.

The deeper you go, the more relief you feel, which could mean working on childhood wounds or past hurts that have stuck with you for years.

Related: How to Stay Positive During the Pandemic

3. Intellectual Health and Wellness

Intellectual Health and Wellness

To be healthy intellectually, it’s important to use your mind by doing things like:

  • reading
  • study
  • research
  • travelling
  • and other intellectual pursuits that broaden your mind

It’s equally important to clear your mind of stress, worry and limiting beliefs.

I read a funny meme at a coffee shop the other day.

It said: “Give me coffee to change the things I can change and wine to accept the things I can’t.”

I’ve discovered that what causes most of our pain, suffering and stress is believing things should be different than they are.

So my best piece of advice for a happy life is to accept those things you can’t change and change the things you can.  i.e. Do your own inner work.  Let go of all those thoughts about what others did or should have done, what they said or should have said.

Instead, turn your thoughts to who you are, who would like to be around and what you would like to do with your time. Be in your own business.

Again, easy to say, not so easy to do. Until you meet Byron Katie and use her simple technique to unbundle those stresses and beliefs and turn them around.

Byron Katie designed a process of questioning your stressful thoughts, called The Work.

Here’s Katie doing The Work with someone on How to Have a Clear Mind and Healthy Body.

The Work is a great way to get clear on the thoughts that have been holding you back or dragging you down, sometimes for years.

I’ve found the best breakthroughs in my own life have come when I start out by doing The Work and then shift into EFT if big emotions come up.

These processes sound simple but they are life-altering. Try them out for yourself, especially on your most painful experiences and you are likely to see what I mean.

4. Spiritual Health and Wellness

Spiritual Health and Wellness

Our spiritual journey is deeply personal and a path only we can walk. This journey is usually ignited by the religion, faith or path we have followed since childhood.  For me, that faith was Christianity and it led me to A Course in Miracles.

Learning and teaching A Course in Miracles has given me tremendous peace.

Here’s one of my favourite lessons in A Course in Miracles.

Lesson 47, God is the strength in which I trust.

The spiritual perspective is that pain and suffering are caused by believing we are separate from God.

In a sense, this is the same concept Byron Katie teaches, just in different words. Where Katie might call it questioning what is or questioning the truth, on a spiritual level, when we question what is, we are questioning God.

When you draw nearer to God in…

  • prayer
  • praise
  • meditation
  • stillness
  • communing with nature, or
  • when you give love, and
  • forgive yourself and others..

you access your God-mind where you can safely embrace the peace that passes all understanding.

Related: Mama, When Last did You take Care of You?

5. Social Health and WellnessSocial Health and Wellness

Social health and wellness relates to our relationships.

We all know that if we are in an abusive relationship, whether it’s a parent, partner, child, work colleague or friend, it can take its toll on our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

We also know that when our children “get in the wrong crowd”, their health can suffer.  Peer pressure and social pressure can drive people to do things they would never do on their own.

Just as unhealthy relationships can be devastating for our personal wellbeing, healthy relationships can turn our health around.There is a tremendous benefit in aligning each dimension of health and wellness and feeling they are all working together in harmony. Because that's when you feel a sense of peace, satisfaction and well being. #8DimensionsHealthWellness #8DimensionsWellnessPin

In my life, I’ve been extremely fortunate to have wonderful parents as role models.  My Dad was a Minister so I grew up in the Church. That really helped me build a strong healthy social structure within a loving community.

That foundation helped me seek out healthy role models at school and in the workplace.

It is far more difficult for children who grow up with unhealthy role models at home, to make healthy choices in their adult relationships.   This is where public service becomes important.

Our relationships with those in authority are extremely important, especially when we are younger and still building our strength and courage to stand up to authority when needed.

One amazing Grandmother, one child-centred Teacher or one caring Sunday School Teacher can change the trajectory of a child’s life and make the world of difference in a community.

If we want to see a healthy society, the responsibility falls on each one of us to give back to the community in whichever way we can.

6. Occupational Health and WellnessOccupational Health and Wellness

For me, occupational health and wellness have always started with being passionate about your work.

Job satisfaction is a huge part of your overall happiness as well as your health and wellbeing.  After all, most of us are working for the greater part of our day.

What’s interesting to note is that job satisfaction seems to have increased in 2020, according to this article: https://legaljobs.io/blog/job-satisfaction-stats/.

Perhaps the pandemic is creating a happier workforce because more people have been able to work at home or perhaps it’s because people value their jobs more now that so many jobs have been cut during the pandemic.

My best advice on the work front is similar to my advice on exercise. Find something you love to do, something that makes your heart sing, something that makes you jump out of bed in the morning.

Get to know your personality, your strengths, your weaknesses and be your biggest advocate.

7. Financial Health and Wellness

Financial Health and Wellness

Our relationship with money is usually complex.

Financial wellness is not only about how you make money, spend money or save money but also how you think and feel about money.

We grow up with a number of beliefs around money and they are not always healthy.

If you faced lack in childhood and you don’t address your money beliefs and money blocks, you may be facing lack in adulthood too.

So I would start by doing the internal work.

  • Examine your money beliefs and create new healthy beliefs.
  • Figure out why you want to make money
  • Where you want to spend your money
  • How much you want to keep and
  • Where you want to invest your money
  • And then you can turn your attention to the how.

If you’ve been hitting a few money blocks, you may find these money afformations helpful.  Afformations are much like affirmations, except they are questions rather than statements.

Isn’t it interesting how all these dimensions tie-up?  When you look at one dimension, you can see how each plays into the other.

  • Your work affects your finances.
  • Your thoughts and feelings affect your finances.
  • Your relationships affect your finances.
  • Your physical health can affect your work which in turn can affect your finances, etc.

And of course, vice versa.  Each dimension of health and wellness impacts the other.

8. Environmental Health and WellnessEnvironmental Health and Wellness

Your environment can affect your health in many ways.

For example, living in the city is considered more dangerous to your health than living in a small town out in the countryside. Not just because of the faster pace, traffic congestion and added stress but also because of the smog and noise pollution.

Cities bombard and sometimes overload our senses.

Your home or work environment can also affect your health. Most people find living or working gin a chaotic or cluttered environment to be more stressful than a clean, well-organized home or office.

And then there’s our impact on the environment, how we contribute to the health of our environment.

We all know by now that we can make simple lifestyle changes to improve our environment:

  • Recycle
  • De-clutter
  • Conserve Water
  • Plant trees and flowers
  • Use natural products
  • Consume less (minimalism)

But did you know that the single most impactful thing you can do for the environment is to stop eating meat?

Animal agriculture is having a devastating effect on the environment.

This video explains how the meat and dairy industry works.

Here are just a few ways eating a vegan or plant-based diet, positively impacts the environment:

  • Saves water (because our livestock consumes a lot more water than we do)
  • Reduces greenhouse gases, the leading cause of climate change
  • Reduces air pollution
  • Protects the rainforests
  • Protects endangered animals

Of course, the choice is always yours.  It’s not easy to stop doing something you’ve done all your life, especially if it’s something you enjoy, like eating meat or cheese.

I have found that when I find enough compelling reasons to make a change, I make it.  And it sticks.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoy implementing some of my key pointers on the 8 Dimensions of Health and Wellness into your life.  I invite you to play with these ideas.

Try one or two of them on and see if they fit.  I’d love to hear which ideas resonated with you. Feel free to leave a comment below.

This post was sponsored by Bodybuilder Solutions. All opinions are my own.

Disclaimer: Please note that this article is not intended to replace the advice of your Medical Doctor. Please consult a doctor or registered health practitioner if you have any health concerns.

How to Stay Positive during the Pandemic

How to Stay Positive During the Pandemic

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How to Stay Positive During the Pandemic

Let’s face it, since the onset of the global pandemic, it’s not always been easy to stay positive. What with lockdown, social isolation, and having to use hand sanitizer and wear face masks all the time.

Yet we all have to do our bit to stay safe and prevent the spread of the virus.  Because people are hurting, hospitals are packed to capacity and many of us have either battled Covid-19 ourselves or lost loved ones to the disease.

In this post, we will be sharing our tips on how to stay positive during the pandemic and remain as comfortable as possible.

Mask Ally for Comfort

Invest in Mask Ally to Make Wearing a Mask More Comfortable

Some of us who work in industries that deal with lots of walk-in customers are forced to wear masks all the time.  As well as teachers and pupils, lecturers and students and everyone in the medical field.

It is often not very comfortable with your glasses fogging up, having trouble with breathing, and your lipstick clinging to your mask, not to mention your face overheating.

But, these are just some of the discomforts we have to face until the pandemic blows over.

Here’s some good news.  If you have to wear a mask all day, there is a way to stay comfortable. We have come across an excellent product that can do just that.

Mask Ally is a mask holder that you wear inside your mask to create some breathing space between the mask and your face.

The Benefits of Mask Ally

      • 3D Mask holder support that allows you to breathe easier.
      • Extra room that avoids your glasses fogging up
      • Made with superior food-grade silicone that is washable, safe, and reusable
      • No more lipstick smudges in your mask
      • Prolonged mask life
      • Increased airflow prevents your face from overheating
      • Keeping your mask cleaner for longer with less contact

Mask Ally is offering a special discount. Scroll down to the end of the post for details.

Combat your Stress Levels through Relaxation

Stress can be very bad for your emotional, physical, and mental wellbeing. Stress can lead to all sorts of health effects like headaches, anxiety, fatigue, social withdrawal, chest pain, and more.

Making time for yourself to relax can assist with reducing these side effects and allow you to reboot and refocus your energy on positive thoughts.

Connect with Loved Ones

Connect with Loved Ones

We all try to avoid social contact and opt for staying confined in our homes, but you can still connect with friends and family online. You can video chat with them on your phone or laptop and share your experiences. Sometimes all you need is to talk to your best friend or a loved one to feel better and to cope with your current situation.

Exercise Frequently

Looking after yourself and your body is essential, now more than ever. Exercise is not just beneficial for physical wellbeing but also emotional and mental wellbeing. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins that help you with feeling more positive. You can go for a family walk or do stretches and exercises in the garden. Don’t forget yoga is an excellent exercise for body and mind.

Tips on how to stay positive and remain comfortable during the pandemic. Sponsored by Mask Ally, a mask holder that creates breathing space inside your mask. #howto #staypositveduringthpandemic #maskallyTake Breaks from the News

I know it is easier said than done but reading, watching or listening to the news can be upsetting when you are reminded repeatedly of what we are facing currently.

Keep yourself informed but remember to only look for updates on the pandemic on reliable sources. Fake news can do a lot of damage and with situations like these, you are bound to come across plenty of it.

Accept what You Can and Cannot Control

There is only so much that you can do to control the situation and to remain safe. Remember to focus and acknowledge the feelings you are having and make the most of situations and safety measures that are within your control.

Conclusion

We hope that you have found this article helpful and that we have done our bit to assist you with staying more positive during the pandemic.

What’s kept you the most positive during this last rather unusual year? Feel free to share in the comments below.

This post was sponsored by Mask Ally. All opinions are my own. 

Mask Ally is offering you 35% off AND free shipping via this link.

How to get over the fear of public speaking

How to Get Over the Fear of Public Speaking

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You step up to the mic, hands trembling, heart pounding.  You look out at the sea of faces hoping your jacket will hide the patches of perspiration forming under your arms.

At this point one of two scenarios can play out.

Scenario 1: The terror overtakes you.  

Your entire body starts shaking uncontrollably, you stumble over your first few words and run off the stage with your head in your hands.

Scenario 2: You take control.

You take a deep breath, stand up tall, smile and scan the room as the audience settles down… and you’re off.  You’ve got this.  You launch into your speech confidently, passionately and you deliver your message with the perfect combination of power, ease and grace.

The goal of this article is to guide you to this special hallowed ground, where the stage becomes your safe place, where scenario 2 plays out for you. Every time.

How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking

How to Overcome the Fear of Public Speaking

This post was sponsored by Sam Haskell

If the thought of public speaking causes you to sweat and have heart palpitations, it is quite possible you have glossophobia – the fear of public speaking.  And you are definitely not alone.  Glossophobia is one of our most common fears.

The words public speaking can cause anxiety and fear in many people’s minds who are otherwise confident and highly competent in their professions.

So why do people put themselves through the torture of public speaking when there are so many other methods of boosting business exposure?

Because stepping up and speaking in public gives the impression that you’re a leading light in your field of expertise.

It’s a way to set yourself up as an authority, a thought leader, much like becoming an Author, but with one difference – it’s instant. One Ted Talk, one talk on an international stage or one YouTube video gone viral and you could set yourself up as an instant expert.

Public speaking also offers effortless referrals as well as better sales opportunities.

But we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Let’s quiet those fears.

Here’s a step-by-step strategy that will help you become a confident speaker.

Step 1:  Start Small

If you’re a newbie when it comes to public speaking, begin small.  Practice in front of friends and family. Or get yourself a tripod for your smartphone or webcam and start making videos – for no-one to watch at first.

Once you’re confident in front of one or two people or in front of your own camera at home, you can start speaking to small groups and gradually move your way up to larger audiences from there.

Keep in mind that the size of the audience doesn’t make any difference (except that the more people in the audience, the more energy you have to feed off).  If you’re familiar with your topic, your jitters will start disappearing quickly.

Golden Tip:

No matter how big your audience, speak as if you’re speaking to one person, your best friend.

Speak as if to one person

Step 2:  Prepare Thoroughly

Nothing is as effective in easing your fear of speaking in public as knowing your subject, inside and out.

It helps to create a connection with your audience which is achieved through having confidence in your knowledge.

Practice your speech a few times before getting on the podium. And remember to have some back-up material just in case you have a bit more time left over.

Golden Tip:

Whether you attribute this to Brian Tracy, Dale Carnegie or Aristotle, most orators agree that a good speech follows this simple formula.

Tell them what you are going to say.

Say it.

Tell them what you said.

Step 3: When using Slides, do this

Most business presentations are drawn out monologues with seemingly endless bullet points and PowerPoint slides.

Some may suggest you discard the PowerPoint speech and rather make your material the focus point of the speech.

But if you need the security blanket of a slide presentation to jog your memory and keep you focused, here’s a tip for you.

Use one image, one word or one-phrase on each slide to promptly convey your message.

Golden Tip:

Harness the power of emotion.  Use visual images that are humorous, touching or shocking (depending on your subject matter).  This helps you emphasise your core points and also ensures your audience remember them.

Emotive Slides

Step 4:  Reframe

Nervousness and excitement are flip sides of the same coin. They create the same bodily reactions.

So in your mind, if you just reframe your nervous jitters as excitement jitters, you’ll be fine.

You can use that energy to deliver a powerful talk.

Golden Tip:

Expect the crowd to adore you – and they will.

If the thought of public speaking causes you to sweat and have heart palpitations, it's possible you have glossophobia. Here's how to overcome this common fear. #HowtoGetOvertheFearofPublicSpeaking

Step 5: Open Strong

You will be at your most nervous just before you start your talk.  So get very clear on how you will open your speech.

Give a lot of thought to how you will get the audience’s attention. Consider opening with a question, some light humour or a personal story.

Start with the end in mind.  Remember that in your introduction, you are setting the stage for your conclusion – tell them what you are going to tell them.

Rehearse your opening paragraph a few times so there’s no chance of you stumbling or mumbling those first few words.

Power poses are proven to work.  Do a power pose or look in the mirror, take a long deep breath, and tell yourself you are confident and you’re going to ace this.

Golden Tip:

If there’s nowhere to practice a power stance privately before you go up on stage, consider doing it with the audience – get them to stand up with you, smile and raise their arms in the air or high five the person next to them.

This way you’ll all have a state change.

This is especially important if you notice that the crowd is looking bored or restless after the last talk.  Movement acts as an icebreaker, and helps your audience feel more relaxed and receptive.

Step 6:  Speak Naturally

Becoming a master at public speaking does not entail memorizing your entire presentation word for word.

It’s worth memorizing key points and prompts and some examples and subtopics to talk about.

Show up as your authentic self.    Be as natural as you can.

Share some of your personal stories. This is always a good way of connecting with your audience.

Golden Tip:

Speak with passion. Your audience doesn’t care about how much you know, or how smart you are, they care about what’s in your heart.

Speak from your Heart

Step 7:  Engage Your Audience

Starting a monologue presentation places the onus on you to inform and entertain your audience.

Engage your audience by encouraging two-way interaction by asking questions, or cracking a joke here and there.

If you are going to use humour, just make sure it’s relevant and in good taste.  Laughter works.

And so do tears.  The goal is to help your audience remember your message and when they feel something during your speech they are a thousand times more likely to connect with what you’re saying.

Golden Tip:

Make eye contact with a few people in the audience during your talk.

Step 8: Close Strong

Every bit as important as your opening is your close.  A good close takes careful planning and just like the opening, should be rehearsed.

Your close is your conclusion or summary, the chance to tell them what you’ve already told them by highlighting your main points.

Again, you can harness the power of storytelling or humour to drive your points home.

End your speech with a challenge or call to action.  

And if the audience isn’t already on their feet giving you standing ovation or calling for an encore, give them an indication that you’re finished by thanking them for listening.

Standing Ovation

Golden Tip:

To increase the dramatic effect and power of your speech, think of your speech as an exquisite concerto.

Aim to build up to a crescendo at the end of your speech (raise your voice).  Increase your tempo as you dash out your most important points. And then slow it right down to a whisper as you deliver your last impactful sentence.

One Final Tip

The power of your imagination is strong. If you focus on your fear of public speaking, seeing yourself shy and uncertain on stage, that’s exactly who you will be.

Instead, use your imagination to visualise yourself on stage confident and in control, delivering your message with power, ease and grace.  Be the inspiration to the world you were always meant to be.

Your message is powerful. Do it justice. Write that brilliant speech and deliver it with passion. Step up and SHINE. You’ve got this.

How to Clear Money Blocks using Afformations and EFT

How to Clear Money Blocks using Affirmations, Afformations and EFT

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How to Clear Money Blocks

I recently completed a stunning 21-Day Money Mindset Reset by Elise McDowell of House of Brazen.

In this post, I’ll share some of my favourite takeaways from the course as well as a little twist on Money Affirmations, a lesser-known form of Affirmations taught in Noah St. John’s Secret Code of Success.

This fabulous course helped me:

  • Identify what my money blocks are
  • Learn how to clear money blocks
  • Feel what it’s like to have lots of money
  • Recognise how much money I’ve already manifested
  • And manifest more money

You can get the course on Teachable from House of Brazen. *This is an affiliate link.

How to Clear Money Blocks Using Affirmations

There was an exercise in the 21-Day Money Mindset Reset on creating powerful Money Affirmations which I found really useful.  However, I’ve added my twist – based on what I’ve learned about Afformations from The Secret Code of Success.

What I’ve done in this post, slideshow and video, is to take the Money Affirmations you’ll find in this post and converted them into Money Afformations.

What are Afformations?

Afformations are very similar to Affirmations except that they are questions rather than statements.

Why I like using Afformations is because I know that the minute you ask a question, your brain starts searching for the answer.  So as you fire these questions out, the answers start coming to you.  The invisible starts becoming visible, showing up in your physical world as your thoughts become reality.

Personally, I like to use both: Affirmations and Afformations.

Read more about Afformations vs Affirmations here.

Here’s the slideshow of all the Afformations I crafted to shift my money blocks.

Money Afformations from Lauren Kinghorn

How to Clear Money Blocks Using EFT (Tapping)

Elise McDowell also included a fabulous EFT session in her 21-Day Money Mindset Reset.

What is EFT?

EFT is the abbreviation for Emotional Freedom Technique and most people refer to it as Tapping.

It’s the best technique I know to release any unwanted or negative emotions or shift limiting beliefs – fast.

What you do is tap on pressure points while you talk through the thoughts, feelings and beliefs that are coming up for you and especially those that you feel are holding you back or robbing you of your joy and peace.

How Does EFT Work?

The way I understand EFT from my Shiatsu training, is that each pressure point relates to an organ in the body and each organ in the body stores a different kind of thought, belief or emotion.

So when you tap on the pressure points, the body can release the emotions that are stored in the organs.

How to Clear Money Blocks Using Afformations

I’ve been using EFT for years but I haven’t thought of using it for this purpose (to clear money blocks), so I’ve really been having fun with it lately.

I’ve recorded a few EFT sessions related to the topic Tapping for a Year-End Bonus, Tapping on Money Blocks and Money Affirmations and created an EFT Playlist on my YouTube Channel.

In this video, I’ve done an EFT session, tapping on the Money Afformations you’ll find listed below (and in the slideshow above).

Money Afformations

What work can I do to ensure money comes to me now?

What work have I done to ensure money comes to me now?

How have I paved the way to money?

How can I pave the way to more money?

How can I lay the foundation to attract money?

How can I manifest all the good things I want?

How am I great at manifesting money?

How is money coming to me now?

How am I in flow?

How does money come to me in expected and unexpected ways?

My favourite takeaways from House of Brazen's 21-Day Money Mindset Reset and my take - How you can use EFT, Affirmations and Afformations to clear money blocks. #howtoclearmoneyblocks #Afformations #AfformationsvsAffirmations #EFT #Tapping #EmotionalFreedomTechniqueWhy do I deserve all this money?

What am I focusing on?

How am I focusing on happiness today?

How am I focusing on giving today?

How am I choosing work that gives me joy?

What will I love doing today?

How can I manifest money whenever I want it?

How does it feel to be debt-free?

How does it feel to be financially free?

What positive thoughts do I have today?

How am I drawing money to me in every moment?

How does money flow easily to me?

How am I healing my relationship with money?

How does having money make me feel? 

Why I do deserve to have money?

How can I choose joy today?

How can I visualise myself having money?

How can I choose to feel wealthy right now?

Am I counting my blessings?

How many gifts have I been given?

How is more money lining up for me right this minute?

How am I open to receiving money?

Am I open to a life of abundance?

How can I feel so happy I draw money to me?

How does money come to me in fun, easy and surprising ways?

How can I feel good about money?

How do I always have more than enough?

How can I make financial wellbeing my new reality?

What is the easiest way to make money?

How excited am I to receive money? 

How do I have all I want and need?

Would You Like to Clear Your Money Blocks?

Here’s your prescription.

For the next 21-Days:

Tap on your Money Afformations and/or Money Affirmations in the morning and evening.

Or better still, learn what your money blocks are and how to create your own personalized money affirmations by doing Elise’s 21-Day Money Mindset Reset.

You can find all Elise’s House of Brazen courses on Teachable. * This is an affiliate link.

Please leave a comment below if you try tapping on these afformations and affirmations. I’d love to hear how it goes for you. Which do you find more powerful? Affirmations or Afformations?

*** If you purchase anything through a link in this article, you should assume that I have an affiliate relationship with the company providing the product or service that you purchase, and that I’ll be compensated in some small way at no extra cost to you.