CoachCherri.com – The Transition Coach

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.”

–Ralph Waldo Emerson

Who are you? Why are you here? What are your beliefs about life? For many years, finding the answers to these questions has meant going within. But what does that mean?

There is a Power within each of us that will direct us to our perfect health, perfect relationships, perfect careers, and which can bring us prosperity of every kind. In order for us to have these things, we have to believe first that they are possible. Next, we must be willing to release the patterns in our lives that are creating conditions we say we do not want. We do this by going within and tapping the Inner Power that already knows what is best for us. If we are willing to turn our lives over to this greater Power within us, the Power that loves and sustains us, we can create more loving and prosperous lives.

We cannot allow what I call “Power Enemies” to erode our energy and cause all kinds of distractions in our lives they hold us hostage and keep us from experiencing an abundance life. 

These enemies are characterized as:

• No knowledge of who we are
• Keeping ourselves locked into what happen way back when
• Listening to others instead of what’s inside of us
• Staying in unhappy and unhealthy situations out of fear
• Stuck in excuses for our lack of movement towards something greater for ourselves

We have the choice to use our Power in any way. If we choose to live in the past and re-hash all of the negative situations and conditions that went on way back when, then we stay stuck where we are. If we make a conscious decision not to be victims of the past and go about creating new lives for ourselves, we are supported by this Power within, and new, happier experiences begin to unfold.  Also we sometimes contribute toward the creation of every condition in our lives, good or bad, with our thinking, feeling patterns. The thoughts we think create our feelings, and we then begin to live our lives in accordance with these feelings and beliefs. I like the analogy that author Louise Hay wrote in her book, “The Power is Within You”:

Imagine that your thoughts are like drops of water. One thought or one drop of water does not mean very much. As you repeat thoughts over and over, you first notice a stain on the carpet, then there is a little puddle, then a pond, and as these thoughts continue, they can become a lake, and finally an ocean. What kind of ocean are you creating? One that is polluted and toxic and unfit to swim in, or one that is crystal clear and blue and invites you to enjoy its refreshing waters?

We are meant to be wonderful and loving expressions of life. Life is waiting for you to open up to it–to feel worthy of the good it holds for you.  Life is here to support you. Trust the Power within you to be there for you.

Try tapping into your inner power by:

• Believing Anything Is Possible
• Getting still in a quiet space
• Asking yourself simple, profound questions that require you to look inside your heart
• Letting your intuition guide you
• Feeling the riches and abundance of life
• Seeing things with new eyes, hearing with new ears and experience new ways of thinking

You have everything you need within you to make your own choices, decisions, achieve your dreams and find your purpose.  Getting in touch with who you are and living an authentic live…that’s true for you is powerful. There’s nothing mystical about it ..you just have to keep your lamp burning, by putting oil in it.

” Champions aren’t made in the gyms.  Champions are made from something they have deep inside them¾a desire, a dream, a vision.”

-Muhammad Ali

I haven’t been an avid watcher of the 2008 Olympic Games but the swim matches have caught my attention a little.  Much as of the hype has been on twenty-three year old Michael Phelps’ 8^th gold medal history making wins, who  was diagnosed as a child with ADD (attention deficient disorder), according to a recent interview on Good Morning America with his mother.  Most of these athlete’s have a mountain moving story of obstacles they had to overcome to reach their goals. 

 Take for instance Dara Torres, whom the media keeps repeatedly emphasizing that she is forty-old years old, the oldest swimmer to compete and qualify for the Games.   I loved it when she made the statement, “the water doesn’t know how old you are“.  Torres had to have surgery to remove a bone spur that caused a partial rotator tear in her right shoulder.  Although she had to miss four weeks of training, it was said that she didn’t miss a beat during the Olympic trials.  

 A true Champion is defined as a valiant fighte, who understands the Universal Law of Cause and Effect.  This law generally means that you reap what you sow by putting in time, energy, and effort over and over again until you inevitably enjoy the results and rewards.  It doesn’t come with a disclaimer: give up at the first sign of injury, disappointment, defeat, fear.  It simply means give it all you GOT and SOME. 

 The CHAMP and the CHUMP

 Let me compare a few qualities of these two characters famously made by San Jose State College’s sprint coach Bud Winter, in his book titled ” So You Want To Be A Sprinter”.

 The “CHAMP” has the WILL TO SUCCEED.

• Follows a goal oriented training plan.
• Accepts pre game nerves but keeps anxiety and worry to a minimum.
• Focuses on personal goals without letting distractions of what others are saying or doing.
• Shows poise and courage in a crisis.

 The “CHUMP” has the WILL TO FAIL.

• Fails to prepare themselves/and or equipment properly for competition.
• Gets injured or ill regularly especially just prior to the competition.
• Expects times to “just come” or come easily because ” I’ve been doing the training.
• Never trains or practice drills unless the conditions are perfect.

 Choose which character you want to emulate as you go after whatever it is you desire. Should you decide to be a gold medal winner, take note of their body language: feet firmly planted, body erect, shoulders back, head up, smiling, eyes aglow and one or both arms thrust triumphantly in the air.  Now is not the time to look timid.  Go for the Gold…Act like a Gold Medal Champion.

“Life has no limitations, except the ones you make”

-Les Brown

 We are living in an unpredictable economy at the moment.  And if we continue to listen to the media, they would have us believe that we are facing the same fate of the Great Depression.  That alone is enough to keep you depressed and discourage with all the other personal stuff you’re combating on a daily basis.  If you are feeling discourage consider shifting your thoughts to what could be – not on what’s not currently working.  If you are the type of person who likes to keep up with current events, try counteracting the negative with a fresh view of new possibilities.  This is a creative time for CHANGE albeit political, professional or personal. 

 Sometimes we get so bogged down in our current reality that we forget that we encounter adversities everyday, yet we find a way to overcome them.  For instance you get sick – you go to the doctor or seek out a remedy; your car unexpectedly breaks down – you find a way to get it fixed; your boss berates you in front of the team – you learn to keep a cool head and confront the issue at a more appropriate time; gas and food prices are soaring – you experiment with ways to cut back on a few things without letting it completely disrupt your lifestyle. The point is… nothing should limit you from experiencing life to the fullest.  Stuff happens.  Don’t let the pain of one season be the judge of what your outcome will be.  Start planting seeds not weeds into your life.

 The words we use can be a detriment on our psyche and distort our vision of how we view the world.  You’ve often heard –our words create our thoughts, our thoughts create our actions.  Don’t let your words become a distraction to your imagination of endless possibilities. Words like won’t, can’t and should are “possibility killers”.  They cause you to retreat from a position of power, courage and achievement presuming defeat.  You have the power of choice – believe that “All Things Are Possible”.

 Consider this:

 ALL - a word that indicates no limitations, go for the gusto.

 THINGS - a word with a long-lost ancestral meaning of “time” – there’s an appointed time for  everything.

 ARE - a word that resonates hope.

 POSSIBLE - a word when spoken fulfills dreams. 

Don’t get side-tracked by the world and its troubles.  Let purpose drive you to your destiny and guide you to your strategy.  Do what you can –where you are.

In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out.  It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.  We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.

-         Albert Schweitzer

How often do we think about the words we speak to ourselves and other’s around us? Our words have power and they impact our lives in a negative or positive way.  We get so caught up in the rhetoric of speaking the truth, that we don’t’ realize what’s truth for one person, may not be truth to another and especially how to speak the truth.

Some of you may remember this old story about a group of frogs, who went leaping through the forest one day when two of the frogs suddenly fell into a deep pit. All of the other frogs gathered around the hole to look down on their two fallen friends. They all began to sadly shake their heads and to croak out dismal warnings. “It’s too deep!” croaked one frog. Another croaked that there was no way that they would ever be able to get out of that pit alive.

The two fallen frogs began to continuously jump as they tried to get out of the pit, but the frogs that were watching kept croaking louder at them that they might as well stop because they were as good as dead and just wasting their time. One of the two frogs finally gave up and heeded the pessimistic advice of the frogs at the top. He quit jumping and literally “croaked” and died.

However, the other frog leaped even harder than ever and to the surprise of all the other frogs he jumped right out of the deep pit. The other frogs asked him, “Why did you keep leaping even though we yelled and croaked at you to stop?” It was then that the frog explained to them that he was deaf and he had thought they were cheering for him and yelling words of encouragement to him the entire time!

The moral of the story is…sometimes you have to turn a “deaf’s ear” to the people who don’t believe in you or support you in what you are striving to achieve.  Believe in yourself and take a leap of faith.

Story source: www.themotivationdoctor.com