by Dr. Heléna Kate | May 11, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
One of the things that I love about entrepreneurship is that it is a continual adventure. You never know what is around the next corner. Even when you think that you have it figured out the game changes.
It is not that it is any different than the rest of life. It is just a focused experience.
One of the things that happens is that we forget to see it as an adventure and we expect it to work out or get figured out or some other final state of order and control. This will never be the case. But if we embrace the journey and try to have some fun along the way we will have some wonderful experiences.
Right, but how do you do that when it seems like it is more of an ordeal than an exciting journey?
Well, first start where it is easy. Are you enjoying yourself when things are good?
As cliché as it sounds, have you stopped and smelled the flowers? What do you really care about and why? What makes you laugh and cry and think it is all worth it?
Then when things are a little more intense and the pressure is on, you can try not to label it negatively try instead to see what is happening as a challenge or even a game. If you can play with the events that come your way bad, good or indifferent they will be much easier to navigate.
Take a moment and brainstorms some ways that you can learn to embrace the adventure that is your life.
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | May 8, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
Most people agree that self-confidence is one of the most important factors in how well we do in life.
We are born with perfect self-confidence, but that is eroded by many factors as we grow up.
Instead of focusing on the things that drag down our confidence, it is important to remember the things that boost it. Whether we are going to a job interview, a first date, giving a speech, or just getting through the day, there are some basic ways that we can give ourselves that extra boost of confidence that will win the day:
1. Focus On Wins
Have reminders of your achievements in full view so you can see them every night before going to bed and every morning when you wake up. They can be trophies, awards achieved, or anything that you are proud of. If you have no visible record, write down at least five things you are proud having achieved and post them by the mirror in your bathroom and on the wall in your workplace.
2. Remember What You Are Proud Of
List all the things you are proud of. What can you put on your résumé? What did you do that took courage? Perhaps you moved away from your family, struck out on your own, or left an abusive relationship. Things that others would be afraid of doing, but you did them. How about the people you helped? Or maybe things you didn’t do, like say negative things about someone when everyone else was. Have you gone out of your way to help someone, when others might not have?
List these things and read them whenever you face a situation where you will need all your confidence.
3. Always Give Your Best
Give your best in all situations. The outcome may not be what you wanted, but you will come away feeling good about yourself–every time you do you will come away a stronger person. Stand up for what you believe in and what is right. Defend someone who is weaker, someone who is being bullied, or someone being treated unfairly. Resist the urge to go along just to get along. Be true to yourself and you will respect yourself and earn respect from those that matter.
4. Just Do It
We all are afraid of doing unfamiliar things for the first time, but those who succeed do things they have a fear of doing. Get into the habit of pushing your comfort zone and doing things you are a little bit frightened to do. Make a list of something every week and every month. They don’t have to be huge but require some courage for you to do.
Try taking a dancing class, going to a movie alone, or starting a conversation with a stranger. See how it makes you feel after. Keep track of these things on a calendar. Review them every so often, or before that big date, interview, or event that is going to demand all the confidence you can muster.
5. Keep Building Your Wins
Don’t get into comparing your win with that of others. Your achievement is as important as anyone else’s.
Only share what you are doing with those that totally support you. Confidence builds upon itself, and the more you think you can do, the more you will attempt and be successful at. Keep adding to your win list and watch yourself soar.
reblogged from fastcompany.com
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | May 5, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
Do you have a continual stream of thoughts negative or otherwise running through your mind at all times? Most people do if they have not taking the time to do something about it.
It is a symptom of our times and our culture. We are taught and encouraged to make all our decisions from our head and because of this our mind does what it is best at – it comes up with a million different options that often keep us ping-ponging back and forth and getting no where. So, what can we do about it? Here are 3 steps you can take:
Observation: One of the problems can be that we are not even aware that we are thinking all the time! This is one of the functions of meditation. If you are not into meditation take 5 minutes to just focus on your thoughts.
Getting Active: Being physically active helps us get out of our heads and to start to feel what is going on below our neck.
Reframing: Once you are in touch with your thoughts, you will want to work with them. So, when you come across a persistent negative thought you can work to reframe it. Reframing is changing it from a negative to a positive thought and practicing thinking and believing that new positive thought.
These three tips will start you on the road to getting out of your head. However, there are emotional reasons why we stay in our head. So very often if you are living from your head you need to explore and resolve these emotional issues so that they do not push you into your head in order to avoid them. This is a good place for you to get some help. Guidance will help you move more quickly through the challenging stuff.
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | Apr 29, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
I’ve heard the statement “just be yourself” so much. It sounds like an amazing thing to do, and I have wished many times that I could just do that. What I’ve wondered, though, is what in the world does that mean?
What if someone is a jerk to other people? Is it okay for them to just be themselves and go on being a jerk to everyone? How about people who are fearful of being around others and live a hermit-like life, avoiding people?
In my quest for answers I’ve found that it is very much possible to just be yourself. The person who is a jerk to others and the person who is afraid of social situations are, in actuality, not being themselves. Their real self is just being covered up with conditioned, fear-based thinking.
Our true self is who we really are when we let go of all of the stories, labels, and judgments that we have placed upon ourselves. It is who we naturally are without the masks and pretentiousness.
It is who we really are when we let fall to the floor the cloak of other people’s stuff that we have taken on.
Everything else that we claim to be when we say, “This is who I am!” is only a story.
Below are some steps that have helped me in uncovering my real nature, which is that being outside of the accumulated thoughts and beliefs that I have collected over a lifetime.
1. Get in touch with your inner child.
If you ever watch small children, you will notice just how free they are and how little they care about what other people think of them. They are happy and in the moment.
They are their true natures. They have not yet been socialized to “fit in” to a society that squashes that. They don’t care if people think that they are silly while they dance in the front yard for all of the neighbors to see.
Children are just pure love and light. If you really want to get in touch with your inner child, become freer. Play, have fun, enjoy the moment, do cartwheels in the front yard.
My son has taught me this more than anything. He has helped me to see just how stiff and serious I can be. Thanks to him, I have tapped back into something that was forgotten.
We play roles to fit into society and we suppress our true nature out of fear of what others think. If you find yourself worrying about being judged, remember that is merely just the socialized you, not the real you.
2. Become more aware of your thoughts.
You may be shocked by the number of negative thoughts that run through your mind on any given day. After so long, our reality begins to take shape based on all of these conditioned thinking patterns.
Become more aware of the quality of your thinking. Allow yourself to sit quietly every morning before starting your day for just five to ten minutes.
Yes, thoughts will come and go, but just allow them to do that without getting attached to them. Just observe them. When you are finished, continue observing the mind throughout your day.
We have so many unconscious beliefs that we have taken on over the years that were probably handed down to us from somebody else, and that we believed to be who we are. Becoming more aware of the quality of your thoughts, letting go of the old beliefs, and becoming more present can help in revealing your true nature.
We are all so much more than those old negative thinking patterns would ever allow us to believe.
3. Follow your intuition.
This is probably one of the most important factors in being yourself. I ignored my intuition for the longest time because I felt so obligated to others. Their happiness was more important than my own.
I lived at home until I was twenty-five, ignored my urges to move to a new city, and stayed in unfulfilling jobs because I was so afraid of what other people would think of me, of failing, and of stepping out of my comfort zone. Because of this, I was incredibly unhappy.
I will tell you this, from my own personal experience: When you start following the little nudges and urges that you get, you will have hopped onto the magic carpet ride of awesomeness.
It doesn’t mean that you will never have bumps in the road again, but when you are in alignment with your soul, you will always be steered in the best possible direction.
For me, it started when I followed my intuition out of a job where I was miserable, which was way out of character for me. I had nothing lined up, but thanks to my intuition, I landed back on my feet within a few months in an awesome new job.
Now, before you go quit your job, you can begin with small things, such as following through when you feel the urge to make a phone call, send an email, or take a different route to work. When you get into the habit of doing this with small things, it will make it easier to say yes to the big things, and to trust.
How do any of these things help you to just be yourself? Because they help you to be in alignment with your true nature.
Your authentic self is the real you that is beyond all of those conditioned beliefs and thinking patterns that you have accumulated throughout your life.
I was once a shy, reclusive, depressed, angry person—but I wasn’t “being myself.” While it is important to love and accept ourselves for where we are at the moment, looking back now, I see that I suppressed my true nature in order to please others and to fit in.
I began going within and doing spiritual study and practice in my late twenties, and have since become more aware of how much I was identified with my victim story, how I would play roles depending on who I was with, and just how much I cared about other people’s perceptions of me.
I had lost touch with my natural self and stuffed it away in a box. Whenever I would notice myself getting attached to the stories and labels in my head or would catch myself playing roles with others, I would just breathe and relax into the moment without any labels or judgments.
It was a challenge because I cared so much about being accepted by others. So I would ask myself, “How would I act right now if I had no cares of what others thought of me?” I realized that who I naturally am without anything else added is perfectly okay.
When you let go of the old ways of thinking, follow your bliss, and do what you love, you begin to align with happiness and peace. These are all indicators that you are connected with your true nature. You are then allowing your real self to shine forth in all its glory.
Victoria Ayres is a Certified Life Coach and writer. For inspiration on living a life of presence, passion, and purpose, please visit www.VictoriaAyres.com
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by Dr. Heléna Kate | Apr 27, 2014 | Dr. Heléna Kate's Blog
If you are anything like me, you have stacks of self-help books on our shelves –some read, some not. Each book, conference, seminar is another person telling us what it is that we need to do to be happy. And, we read it and we think, this is it. I have it. I am going to finally be able to make those changes and be happier, thinner, more in charge.
And then what happens next is NOTHING. We go from inspiration to flat line and wonder what happened.
Well, I am going to let you in on a couple secrets. The first secret is that the answer that you are looking for doesn’t exist.
The second secret is that all the information in the world is not going to help if you don’t know how to apply it.
Bottom line is that self-help is a business and that business has been structured to make as much money as possible. So, they sell the dream. The dream is that there is an answer and if you know it then you will have the keys to the kingdom –so to speak.
It is not that they are lying to you. Many of these \”experts\” are brilliant and extraordinarily insightful and you will benefit from their work. The problem is not their work it is that you are led (and way too willing) to believe their work will provide you with –the ultimate answer.
So what will it give you? All that information will provide you with a bunch of potential insight. The problem with this is that if you do not know how to apply it, it won’t matter that you have it. Without understanding how the information fits your life and how you can personally apply it to get results you are SOL.
How you apply this type of knowledge is essential to it having any effect on your life at all and that is the piece of information that is not getting passed along. So, when trying to figure out which next step to take, look for someone who is not just talking about the answer but also how to implement it.
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