In the first of the series, we looked at recognising your own story, and in the second part we explored the process of dismantling it. Now, we’re looking at how to rewrite your story.

This is the fun part! Your story can be written in any genre – comedy, drama, thriller, et cetera. First of all, you should think about your future and who you want to be in your story.

Your first story was the one you sort of landed in that was written for you based on your childhood and background. It shaped you and you had to find your way to create the world you want. Now, you’re in charge of rewriting your story and your future to one where you get to be the hero, the success story, overcoming your challenges along the way.

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Learning to reframe

A useful way to begin rewriting your story is to look back at the fundamental things that happened across the time of your life story. Who were some of the characters and how have you been perceiving those events? What have you decided was true because of the events and the way you were looking at them up until now? And then begin to consider that maybe there’s another way of looking at it. How could you turn each of those events so they become strengths you have developed?

An example of that might be somebody who arrived in a country as an immigrant under incredibly challenging circumstances as a result of war in their home country or a very poor childhood where their whole world was dishevelled.

In writing that, it could end up being a real tragedy, or it could be reframed as a story of a hero who found their way to another place by overcoming impossible odds and forging a new, successful world for themselves.

Every story can be reframed like that.

Finding the hero in every story

I (Rex) grew up in a strained family. My father was a soldier who had been at war for five years and became an alcoholic. As a result, he wasn’t able to show me love and I grew up believing I wasn’t good enough. By the time I got to my teens, my world told me I wasn’t lovable and I ended up on the streets.

So, rewriting that story meant that I had to look at my father as a very injured hero, who turned to drink and hid his feelings because he was in so much pain and agony from losing five of his best mates.

Now, my story is about me overcoming life’s challenges that came with going overseas on a ship and starting my own adventures. I ended up in all sorts of places like King’s Cross (Sydney) on the streets and I met villains and criminals, gypsies and hippies. I ended up finding my way through that and becoming a young entrepreneur who learned how to negotiate and deal with all sorts of different cultures.

I also learned not to judge people because I realised there was good in every person, which taught me to be extremely flexible in my understanding of human beings and how to love not only them, no matter what they brought to the table, but to love myself no matter what I had been through.

It allowed me to create a world by recognising that it wasn’t my fault. I was a victim of circumstance and yet it has taught me resilience, and self reliance and has given me the ability to adapt very quickly, no matter what circumstances I’m faced with. I’ve found that to be a very, very useful skill in life, especially in business.

Going through the motions of business

The important thing to remember when finding the hero in your own story is that heroes need obstacles to do their heroic duties. As you recognise the possibility of being your own hero, then your story should include the challenges you have overcome in order to get there. Remember the strengths that these helped you develop.

This is especially true in business, because businesses go through seasons. You have created a story about your business so far. Some of it recognises its strengths and maybe you are also focusing on the challenges instead of the power of the opportunities and solutions you are creating to move to the next level. The lovely saying, ‘You can’t teach a good sailor in a calm sea’ comes to mind because a truly good sailor has been through all of the ocean’s moods and survived them.

It’s a good idea to produce a mind map for your future story that explores the strategies you need to put in place to allow your business, your team and yourself to grow from these challenges. Include the amazing things you have overcome and strategies that became strengths along the way.

Start to map that out in your mind and notice how you would be thinking on a day to day basis to be implementing that way of thinking, that way of feeling and believing, and decision making to reach a greater level of mastery and success.

As soon as you envisage a successful future and business and family, or whatever it is you choose to have in your life, you start to create a story. And as you envisage having come through the trials and tribulations of life, you’ll be the kind of person who’s prepared to travel on a new adventure. Some of it’s known and some of it’s unknown, but all good adventures require the unknown.

Take authority of your life and map it out so you get the degree of success and outcomes and enjoyment that you choose. You are the author of your script; each thought that you have and each emotion that you choose to feel, whether consciously or unconsciously, is you rewriting your story. The more you take control over that, the more likely and more easily your story will unfold towards the outcomes you actually want. The unconscious links back to the way we are thinking about our selves, our life and our business journey and breaking old habits of thought create a new potential. Look for the useful lessons that helped you create the good and overcome the challenges and focus on the strengths you have developed to move forward. Maybe consider an Adventure Genre or whatever works for you..

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The post How To Write A New Story For You And Your Business first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

He entered the industry somewhat by default, following in his father’s footsteps. His first role was with National Mutual (AXA) on a graduate program in 1990, which led him through a number of roles to become an adviser in 1997.

Now, he spends his days helping veterinarians and SME business owners improve their financial wellbeing and explore their financial options.

In the discussion Neil shares how important mindset has been in his work and the role Mind Matters has had in his development.

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Listen to the podcast here or continue reading below.

Episode Highlights:

• Who Neil is and what he does – father, runs a financial planning business
• ‘Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do’ – Neil’s mantra
• What makes Neil’s work right for him is that it’s right for his clients
• Key things Neil has learned over the years
• Owning his journey – comfortable in his skin and knowing his values
• What Neil is most proud of – growing from the low times and being open to new possibilities
• Managing state and emotion
• Looking inwardly for answers – it’s going to happen inwardly before it happens outwardly
• Time alone after divorce and learning about how manifestation works
• Neil’s time working with Rex and what he learnt
• What Neil’s future looks like – embracing the inner entrepreneur
• Injecting fun in the business – people stay because of the connection
• Making the complex simple
• Neil’s advice – align yourself with somebody who has the skills to ask you the right questions that will help you move along the path you choose

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• Neil Macdonald on LinkedIn
• Fairway Financial Website
• Fairway Financial on Facebook
• Fairway Financial on Twitter
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The post Neil Macdonald Interview – Embracing Your Inner Entrepreneur first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

As we explored in the first of the series, the human brain becomes habituated. It learns by engaging the nervous system, the memory system and the sensory system and repetition of patterns over time makes something seem ‘normal’.

So, to rewrite a story that’s habituated, you need to first identify the patterns, interrupt them and undo how they have been wired in a particular way. Essentially this means releasing it before replacing the old story with a new one.

As we’re looking at how to release the old story, it might be useful to reflect on your current story. What is the story you’ve been telling yourself? (You can read more on this in the first part of the series.)

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‘Listen’ to your posture

Taking time to reflect on your story and inner self talk enables you to recognise how you might be negatively impacting your decisions in everyday life, both personal and business.

An easy way to identify your story is by taking notice of your emotions, your posture and your breathing. Are you experiencing anxiety with shallow breathing or tense posture? Or rigidness and a defeated state, etc.?

Ask yourself without judgement, “Where is my posture in relation to me and my business world and in my life?” You’ll find that your posture is supported by a way of thinking or belief about yourself and the world.

A lot of business owners find themselves in a state of anxiety on a regular basis. If you’re one of them, it gives you an indication of where your attention is going and how you’re interacting with your team and with your business. It’s likely in a more reactive way, rather than taking a proactive approach.

If you find that you’re reactive in your work, especially when things get a little challenging, the role you’re playing in your story is dramatic since you likely tell yourself things don’t work out easily.

Reactive state

As we all know, it’s not easy to make effective decisions when you’re in a reactive state. The reactive state is connected to the way you are viewing the story or the genre, so often, in a reactive state, you are getting away from the ‘villain’. The villain could be anything from money struggles, or a rocky business partnership.

If that’s the way your emotions, posture and inner self talk are reacting, the brain will engage in that story; the villain will always be sneaking around in the back of your brain.

Instead of being reactive, think proactively. Ask yourself, “What do I really want to achieve? What could be the main alternatives that would help me achieve this? What are the likely effects over time of achieving this? What are the pros and cons? What are the potential risks and how do I mitigate those risks? You can then begin to release your old story to make for a new one and make clear choices on how you engage with your business and life.

Writing a new story

To disconnect from the old story requires you to interact with the being or the identity of the new story. When you connect to your new story, you’ll actually look at what you’re doing instead of just doing.

So, in your new story think about what your state is as a leader and then connect that with the new genre and what you actually want your new story to say about you.

You might recognise your old story behaviour as being negative. Instead of thinking, “Thank God it’s Friday”, or “Oh God, I’ve got to got to go to work again”, you can think more positively about what you can accomplish and the benefits of this.

As you think about your business and the work you have to do, start to notice where your feelings go when you think about money, your team, your sales and growth, et cetera.

It’s funny. You might think, “Oh, my god. How am I going to pay the tax bill?”, or you could look at it from a different angle, “Well, the tax bill is a lot bigger this year, which means we’ve made a lot more money.”

Depending how you engage in and think about the business will tell you what needs changing in your story.

Be productive and supportive

From there you can start to focus your attention on where you realise you need it to be, and can begin to put strategies in place that will eliminate the stress and allow you to reach your end point.

While you are noticing these things, it can be useful to take note of when your thoughts, self talk and posture are not productive or supporting you in achieving your goals. Then imagine you could select it and delete it.

There are a number of powerful tools, skills and resources that we use to help our clients do this. Releasing your limiting decisions and stories that have been taken onboard and are now habits will enable you to take the time to select and choose the most useful decision and strategy in each moment. Whatever’s been decided in the past can be cleaned up and new options presented.

Mentors can really help walk you through your story, your patterns and habits, and learn how to let go of what isn’t helping you achieve business success.

What you can do yourself is take the time to notice these things, and understand them. You’ll likely know when you’re not being useful as a leader, so notice those not-so-useful behaviours and moods and write them down. It can also be useful to actually ask your team, “What do you think I do well?” “What could I improve that would make our business better?”

We encourage you to go away and take notice of your patterns, behaviour and moods and ask yourself, “Will they get me to where I really want to go?”

Rather than being judgmental when you take note of these things, tell yourself, “I’m moving into a time in my life where I’m going to release and let go of the strategy of any dysfunctional story.” That way you can amplify your more useful strategies and add to them to take the place of the ineffective ones over time.

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The post How To Break Free From The Stories Holding You Back From Business Success first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

He has over 25 years’ experience in training, educating, career transition, workforce transformation, and business improvement through effective leadership.

Steve’s work life journey began in public relations, marketing and then one day he found his role was made redundant. He used the opportunity to really think about what he wanted to do and went on to start a fashion label, become a teacher and a radio and music DJ.

He’s also the author of ‘Beyond The Money’, which looks at the mindset needed to transition from full-time work into the next stage of people’s lives.

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Listen to the podcast here or continue reading below.

Episode highlights:

• Steve’s background story – a degree in business and his first job in public relations marketing
• Steve’s role being made redundant gave time to really think about what he wanted to do
• Building his own fashion label in the 90’s
• Going back to University to become a teacher in Australia and then moving to the UAE as a Business Economics teacher
• Returning from the UAE as a radio and music DJ
• Combining his two loves – learning development and teaching development and training and executive coaching
• Steve’s thoughts on having the right mindset in business
• How Steve created new direction
• If time and money wasn’t an issue, what would you do?
• Figuring out your likes and dislikes and creating your business around that – knowing where to spend your time and where to outsource work
• Steve’s biggest obstacles over the years – over-analysing and staying focused
• A look at Steve’s book, ‘Beyond The Money’  a practical guide for people moving out of full-time work and into the next stage in their lives,
• Successful men need to mentally prepare to leave the workforce and move into the next stage of their lives
• The tough times in Steve’s life that have shaped his learning and mindset in business
• How being present has worked both for and against Steve
• Steve’s opinion that ‘the clearer the vision, the more likely it is to happen’
• Steve’s thoughts on Mind Matters and how we’ve helped him

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• Steve Mendl on LinkedIn
• Beyond The Money Website

The post Steve Mendl Interview – Transitioning Into Active Retirement first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

In this installment, we’re asking, is everything we say in the moment original? Or do we have a set of patterns that are established over time that form our way of operating, our way of speaking, and our way of believing? Do those potential patterns create the idea of us, the world that we step into every day and the results we get?

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Telling your story

When we tell our individual story, even though it’s usually unconsciously, it’s not uncommon to set up a series of limitations.

We tell ourselves stories and create a frame of reference for who we are, what happens in business, and how we perceive other people, and often lock them into being a particular way, even though they’ve changed over time.

It’s no secret that we think the brain is a marvellous mechanism. One of the unique things it does is allow us to practice method acting or character acting. Great character actors like Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Geoffrey Rush are able to identify and step into their character, using every part of their sensory intelligence until it becomes believable.  When it becomes believable, they sometimes have trouble coming out of that character.

Now, imagine a child arriving on the planet and developing a character that becomes that child’s way of operating yet might not fit with the authentic curiosity-driven self. That can start to create limitations on where our perception goes and what we think is possible.

What’s the story you’re telling yourself, and how does it support your success and enjoyment of life, or limit you?

Being open to possibilities

We often hear people say, “I can’t be free of the business. It’s tying me down.” Or, “The markets aren’t right so that’s why I’m not getting ahead.” While that may be true to some extent, it’s also a story that’s been set up, that keeps us within that limiting pattern. Therefore, we’re not looking for other options or other opportunities and possibilities that actually exist.

What opportunities might open up if you were able to be a little more free in the business? Would that allow you to strategise differently rather than running around telling yourself you’re worn out, pressurised, and not free?

We encourage you to be open to the possibility that you are in a story that is motivated and driven and exciting and adaptable. In other words, you’re able to adapt and change to varying circumstances and seasons. Or do you limit yourself in some way – is that your story?

Rewriting your story

Think about your story’s genre and characters. What character do you play? The power broker, victim, unstoppable business owner? Think about the way your business is running in your story and its culture. Take notice of these things and consider whether your story needs to be rewritten.

Essentially, your story is a set of made-up decisions and belief structures that you’ve adapted to over time. They’re the sort of things you might say to justify your position, to make excuses. It’s also where you look for evidence of your mistakes and what is and isn’t working. And yet there are a lot of other possibilities beyond where our current attention is.

So start to pay attention to the feelings attached to your story. Is it a drama? Is it an adventure? Is it a horror story? Is it a comedy? Is it war and peace? What if there were other possibilities?

Whatever genre you’ve unconsciously decided upon, there will be subtle nuances, actions, and strategies that you put in place and certain things you say over time; they’re part of your story.

Adapting your brain

The brain is capable of adapting and taking on a character that is functional or dysfunctional, dynamic or mediocre. You can take on ways of dealing with change. You can take on ways of dealing with problems, and you can also fall apart.

When you understand the ins and outs of your story, you can then start to consider what type of story you would write when your business and personal lives are getting the outcome you want.

Just as a method actor can look at a character they take on and adapt to their physiology, adapt to their way of thinking, adapt to their way of speaking and their tone, you can become who you need to be as a business owner. It’s a skill and it’s your choice to use it.

To help with the process of adapting your brain, you might like to access our specially created ‘double induction’ meditation audio. The technique used in the audio helps disengage the conscious mind and let the subconscious create new possibilities through the imagination. You can access the audio here.

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The post How To Recognise The Stories Holding You Back From Business Success first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

As well as stopping us from reaching our goals, self-sabotaging behaviour can make us less committed altogether.

Catherine is looking at common behaviours among business owners and how, with the right mindset and strategy in place, you can reach your goals.

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Finding your financial identity

A classic example of self-sabotaging behaviour can be seen in people who want to improve their fitness levels or lose weight. It’s a common goal for many, but often people stick with old habits instead of following a new exercise regime or choosing healthier foods – things that will likely help them achieve their goal.

This is just as true in business, where money can be a real trouble area and a source of frustration for many. In our experience, this is especially true for people who have been employed in the past and go on to run their own business.

A business could be doing well, with money and revenue flowing in each month, but many business owners become frustrated when there isn’t enough money to support their lifestyle on top of running the company.

There can be a few reasons for this and things to be mindful of so you don’t fall into the same trap. The first is to be aware of your previous reference structure. Sometimes, we get too used to a particular income; our mind sets the bar and we keep working and playing within that framework. Unconsciously, our behaviours or strategies that we use within the business keep us there because we don’t move to expand our possibilities our belief structure.

It’s normal to want to move through different thresholds of income and profit in business, but it can be difficult to do so. Each level of profitability begins with an upgrade in your beliefs and identity. Without that, you can’t expect to be able to reach the level of business success you’re chasing.

Don’t play the blame game

Another common self-sabotaging behaviour that often crops up when we don’t hit the level of success we want to is blaming ourselves and others for not being where we think we should be. All blame does is create more frustration and stops you from thinking clearly. Yes, there may be some things you need to change, but if you’re too busy placing blame, you won’t be able to find the cause or understand exactly what you need to change.

While there may be beliefs, ways of thinking, strategies, actions, and self-talk that keep you at the same level rather than moving upwards, a number of issues can taint your mindset and stop you from achieving your goals.

For example: the business is doing well, the revenue is growing but profit is not moving forward. In that case, you may need to look at strategy. Where is the money going? Is there more expense going out than there is coming in? More importantly, it’s your mindset that you bring to the business, or any situation in life, that is at the root of success.

Learning from experience

Think back to a time when you’ve set yourself a goal, whether it’s in business or personal life. Did you actually achieve it? Or did you feel like you were going round in circles and nothing ever happened?

There are a number of reasons for this. Like, simply not having any real frame of reference or strategies for how to achieve the goal. Your experiences in life provide skills, strategies and ways of thinking that create the results you currently have.

In order to achieve different results, your ways of thinking, beliefs, strategies and motivation need to be aligned. They need to be congruent with what you want to achieve as opposed to what you’ve achieved up until now, which requires a different mindset.

Find your motivation

Another major common setback is not having clear goals. It’s useful to really think about how achieving your goal would affect all areas of your life.

Unless you have a clear vision of what it means to achieve your goal, it will be very difficult to keep your attention focused on your goal, or to get the momentum necessary to achieve it.

So, think more deeply about the real motivation for you. What value will achieving your goal give you? What is it about your goal and the desired outcome that gets you out of bed in the morning?

If your goals are linked to a deep core value – that inner drive – the motivation will come more naturally. Your goal and the actions you need to take to reach it will become more inspiring and you will naturally move strategically towards the goal.

Redirect your attention to where you want to be

Your thoughts and self-talk can also ‘sabotage’ your goals. It’s important to pay attention to the way you speak to yourself to recognise when you might be contradicting or conflicting with your own values and abilities.

I took notice of this myself recently on a skiing trip in Europe. I and my small group were guided down steep terrain. Most of the people in my group baulked and stopped and I reacted with anxiety and hesitation. When I noticed my negative thoughts and feelings, I was able to take control of my breath, calm the hesitancy and talk myself through the situation so I was realigned with my goal of getting to the bottom.

By redirecting my attention, I was able to keep it there and was then able to think clearly, reassuring myself that I knew what to do if it got too steep or I felt unsafe. It was quite enlightening; I then realised what I tend to do in business and other areas of my life when the environment suddenly changes or obstacles are thrown my way.

A state of fear

The next time you find yourself moving away from your goals ask yourself where your attention needs to be. Whichever environment you’re in, you have the skills to be able to move through it, but when you panic or let fear overtake, you can’t access them.

It is not neurologically possible to be able to think clearly and efficiently and access your executive functioning, problem solving and effective planning strategy part of your brain if you’ve allowed yourself to go into a state of fear.

To be able to shift that state to move your attention from survival mode and amygdala hijack mode, you need to calm it down by taking slow, deep breaths. As an adult, you probably need ten slow, deep breaths to move the state, to calm the adrenaline and cortisol in your body.

Follow in successful footsteps

Setting up goals for the future is all very well, but if you have no skills or previous experience of achieving your goals, what do you know to be true?

Having a role model who has achieved the same or a similar goal to yours will help you focus your attention. Imagine stepping into their shoes and think about how they would approach their goal. What do they believe? How do they think? You’ll soon notice what’s possible when you have a different mindset. It can also be helpful to think about how they might perceive you and looking at what you identify with.

If it’s improving your business, then being that successful businessperson, that highly magnetic business owner, may be the identity you need to start practising seeing yourself as. You need to learn to think of yourself as more than capable of achieving your goals rather than less than capable.

So find someone who has a strategy that works to achieve what you want and find out what steps they put in place. It can be useful as it allows less trial and error and more likelihood of success. But ensure that you can build a frame of reference, and begin to notice and imagine yourself achieving, thinking, feeling, and talking to yourself in the way that someone who has achieved your goal would.

Imagine your achievements

You might also find it useful to spend some time each morning imagining you are experiencing the success you are wanting; think about the affects achieving your goal would have on you, your relationships, your health, your wellbeing, your bank accounts, your team, your family and your sense of self.

More importantly, to achieve your goal you need to give up any idea that you are purposely sabotaging your goals and stop beating yourself up because you haven’t got there yet. Instead, allow yourself to realise that maybe the strategy you’re using isn’t the right one.

Clarity over your destination makes it much easier to reach it, and at the end of the day, achieving your goal depends on you. You can make corrections along the way if you need to; if your actions lead to a result you weren’t expecting, change the action, change the strategy and encourage yourself.

With the right mindset and strategies in place, you can achieve your goals and get to where you want to be.

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The post Reach Your Business Goals: How To Avoid Self-Sabotaging Behaviour first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

Let’s take a look at how you can create a mindset that will not only enable you to develop more skills but also to improve as a leader, enjoy business success, and create a balanced lifestyle.

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Misconceptions of the mind

The mind is a marvellous mechanism but there seems to be a misconception that we are born with a brain that thinks for us. Or, that it is somehow influenced by an external entity called the universe, that often “gets in the way” of our success.

We’ve been lucky enough to meet and work with extraordinarily successful people in all walks of life, and we’ve noticed one of the key reasons for their success is their understanding of the brain and how to train it.

The brain is commonly termed these days as a neuro-plastic mechanism, meaning it is flexible, adaptable and is able to change its mind, so to speak. How? By you choosing to practise new beliefs.   They use an effective l strategy for this even if sometimes they are not consciously aware of it.

Having a solid foundation

Like anything in life, where we become good at something, we practise  an effective strategy. We practise our muscles to be flexible in yoga; we practise breathing to hold our breath for longer; we learn skills in sport; and we practise good behaviour over and over again.

We learn to practise the basics, even when we become high performers, because they are the foundation for the behaviour we want to be instinctively operating. It’s practised to the point where we no longer have to think about concentrating on it or doing it.

This is where most people fall short. When things “aren’t going right”, most people wait for the brain to deliver  and tend to give up when the things they want don’t manifest themselves.

Instead, you need to learn to understand that if you want to excel in some way, or grow your business, you need to first identify excellent behaviour in that area.

To do that, look at what you want to achieve and at people who are getting the results you want for yourself. With the help of a coach, you can pick out the behaviours responsible for those results.

Undoing bad behaviour

Once you narrow it down to particular behaviours, you can start practising those  more effective behaviours and work to get rid of those that aren’t up to scratch.

The work is learning to undo bad behaviour – the habituated thinking and beliefs – which takes practise, coaching and patience. Rather than thinking you’re lacking, inadequate or just not smart enough, and giving up, you need to recognise the only way to overcome it is by changing the way you think and behave.

They say practise makes perfect.  More importantly to understand is that practice of a behaviour makes it more permanent in our nervous system.  Practice of a useful behaviour makes it perfect for the results we want. Just as practice of an unuseful strategy makes it perfectly performed but not for the results we intend.

But you mustn’t overlook the journey you will take to get to where you want to be – everybody is unique and the time it takes to learn new habits or behaviours to reach success varies from person to person.

The variables are never-ending. It can depend on how attached you are to the old (bad) behaviour, and how far you are from reaching your desired goal in the first place. Yet, it is inevitable that, with the right  practise, you will become a master over time.

When you let go of the idea that you are not capable of achieving what you want, you will realise that you are not your behaviour or your thoughts. Your thoughts are practised and habituated more than you might realise.

More than 90% of the time, we think we’re coming up with an original statement or thought, but it’s actually the same sort of statement we always make. It’s easier to notice this in friends or colleagues; they might repeat certain cliches or statements that actually link to a way of believing or to ideas that are not supportive of what they aspire to.

The importance of perseverance

This is something I’ve been learning myself recently since I decided to try my hand at rope jumping, or skipping. I’ve watched fighters and boxers do it, and like plenty of others, I thought ‘I will do that”. I soon realised I was not a natural and after trying and trying but being defeated by the rope, I started thinking, “Maybe I haven’t got the gift, maybe I’ll never be able to do it”.

Instead of giving up, I decided to practise a little each day until I’m able to do it consistently. I looked up Buddy Lee on the internet, who is an Olympic gold medalist fighter , and signed up to his course that teaches you to jump rope.

Of course the first thing he said was, “Start with the rope behind your legs, bend your knees and make sure the conditions are right and just do one.” So I did. When I got good at doing one, I tried to do more and more. I found that over time, my brain was trained and able to understand what it was that I intended to do.

Now, I can do 50 or 80 with a little rest and then another 50 or 80 at quite a fast pace. I know that over time, if I practise a little every day, I will get better and better because that is how our brain works.

Everything we do, everything we aspire to, requires practise and it all starts with one movement, which we need to get correct and which we can build upon. Eventually, the unconscious mind takes over once it gets into the rhythm. It becomes like muscle memory and therefore becomes natural.

Open to change

How can you apply this to your business? Take a look at your business, where it’s excelling and where it needs work, and think about what you need to change so it operates the way you want it to. Then think about what your lifestyle would look like when your business is doing well.

It doesn’t matter how much money is in the bank, or whether the business is struggling. Let go of your judgement of yourself and your team, and be prepared to go through what it takes for you to get the result you want consistently.

If you’re willing to change the idea that you’re failing, and open to finding a new mindset to bring to your business, you’ll soon start to feel and see the difference.

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The post The Power Of The Brain: Think Your Way To Business Success first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

What’s worse is our brain then creates even more frustration and daily problems, because that’s the way it operates. So how can we overcome it? By simulating experiences and learning to adapt.

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Understanding your neurology

The brain is very multifaceted and is actually like a simulator. That means you can use it to remember the past, imagine the future, or be in the present and flip back and forth.

Using your brain – your simulator – to practise, visualise and create scenarios enables you to work towards that vision. So, for us to create a successful business and life, we need to habituate useful behaviour and thoughts within the brain to help us align with our vision of success.

Sometimes, no matter how hard we work, we just can’t seem to take the business to where we want it to go. We can become stuck and our journey to success plateaus, or we’re held back by obstacles. It’s almost like a self-fulfilling belief; that ‘no matter what I do, I can’t get what I want’.

Perhaps part of what you’re trying to achieve is to develop your business as a vehicle that drives the kind of lifestyle you want for yourself and your team. The interesting thing is, we can only create within the confines of our current thinking and feelings. That’s where we set up the circumstances of our future.

Mapping out your future

We invite you to change your thinking not only by listening, but to actually change your thinking to listen.

Too often, business owners use an old blueprint, if you like; old habits and ways of thinking and reacting to life, and wonder why they can’t get to where they want to be. They won’t reach their vision and full potential without creating a new blueprint for the life they want to lead.

So, it’s a little bit like using our past habits of thinking, feeling, emotional states, and limitation of our perceived reality to create something that’s in our vision.

In order to move into the vision, we need to be able to start to imagine and create a state of flow. We need to ensure the vision is so clear that we start to stimulate, within our own neurology, feelings of gratitude, enjoyment, relaxation. When we’re in a state of relaxation and appreciation, our brain and heart start to come into more cohesive, effective thinking. So, that’s the state that’s going to be useful; allows us to see the obstacle as a pathway to new solutions.

Practising new reactions

How often do you feel frustrated and angry, or have feelings of sadness and hopelessness throughout your average working day? You’ll never find a solution to the obstacles if you continue to think and feel those things.

Instead, you need to practise and encourage more successful, more resourceful, proactive states of emotion. No matter what obstacle is in your way or appears to be in your way, respond with ability, which is what true responsibility and mastery is.

So, when things aren’t going the way you want, rather than getting frustrated and thinking negatively, take a deep breath and make yourself fully aware of the situation without judgement. Take the time to understand what your obstacles are, accept them, and connect to your vision. Think about what steps to take that would move you closer to your outcome, By doing that, you can actually influence the outcome, rather than surrender to the stress and drama – you can build a new simulation in your brain that will serve you better in the future.

You need to start to build and practise enough to create new neurological patterns that will allow you to change how you respond, in order to change circumstances for the future.

Ask the right questions

When you’re faced with a difficult time or stressful decision to make in your business, make sure you ask yourself the right questions so you can respond in a way that won’t make your situation worse.

Ask yourself: what do I actually want? What can I change now? What do I need to leave for later? Come up with a minimum of 3 alternatives tor strategies and think them through to their likely results over time. Which is most likely to take you towards your intended outcome. Weigh all that up, let go of being frustrated, and over time, you’ll learn to make the change and the tiny improvement in the mind.

The first place this initiates is in the brain. And the first place where you start to influence it is in the simulation ability of your mind – to imagine what you actually want and start to notice who you need to be to get there.

One of the qualities of a culture that survives is adaptability. So, rather than reacting, adapt. And slowly, brick by brick, you’ll find you have the world that you really want more often.

At the end of the day, changing your life starts with you. If you continue to give in to the negative thoughts, and let the frustration take over, nothing will ever improve. Instead, stay focused on what you can improve and how, and be grateful for the ability to create and recreate circumstances moment by moment.

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The post Beat Business Stress – How To Influence Your Brain To Achieve What You Want first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

The reason it doesn’t work comes down to the way the brain operates with conscious and unconscious perspective – the neurological patterns and networks that are formed within our physiology, our brain, and our nervous system.

You could tell yourself over and over that “money comes easily to me”, but since that is a conscious mind statement, your unconscious mind wouldn’t be in agreement if it has a different set of beliefs.

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Don’t let negative connotations take charge

An affirmation is just a set of words. Many people think that by writing out a statement they want to believe is true daily, or saying it regularly, it will eventually become true for them. But, if you’re repeating a set of words that really have no meaning to you, your feelings, emotions and physiology won’t be aligned with the statement. Put simply, there needs to be alignment in order for it to be able to make any difference to your beliefs.

If the affirmation is the opposite to our past experience, it will also stop it from becoming true for us. For example, if your experiences with money have been negative, where you’ve experienced poverty or difficulty in making money, that will be ingrained in your memory. Your habituated thinking and nervous system will trigger those negative connotations whatever the context.

An affirmation can be poetic and beautiful to listen to, but it needs to change at the unconscious level to have an effect. So, it is imperative to practise affirming language with conviction, the correlating physiology, tone of voice, emotion and gestures so the deeper story can begin to change to become a part of us.

Leave the past in the past

If you want affirmations to be able to change your beliefs and therefore your life, you need to understand the way you think.

What do you say or think when you have bills to pay? Or something breaks within your business and needs to be fixed or replaced? Do you feel frustrated, exasperated, fearful or dubious, or are you accepting of it and feel okay? Whatever your predominant thoughts and feelings are will dictate whether the statement you are declaring to be true or want to be true will actually make a difference over time,

It’s important to remember, though, that your personal history and culture don’t need to be a part of your current world. More often than not, those negative circumstances don’t exist in our lives anymore; it’s part of a past story. If they do still exist, you need to take a look at your environment and the way you live and decide what strategies you need to put in place to be able to change it, both externally and internally.

The way to do this is to tidy up your history so you can write a new one; you need to physically change the world around you to have the tools to build a new experience. You also need to change your inner thinking patterns and beliefs to align with your new world to avoid an internal clash.

It is quite easy to identify and clear up limiting beliefs and patterns that you may have been carrying for some time and to start to create new perspectives but it needs precise skills to do this.

Face the world with an adult mind

As Alice in Wonderland says, “I sometimes believe six impossible things before breakfast.” You don’t rise to the level of your ability, you actually fall to the level of your belief structure. While affirmations may be useful, by themselves, they are just meaningless words.

Being more mature and facing the world with an adult mind means you’ll be able to recognise if you’re facing an obstacle or difficulty in life. You’ll be well equipped to adapt and move around the obstacle to get to where you want to be.

You don’t need to keep or hold onto the pain or the doubts of that obstacle as you work your way through it; you can just learn from it and move on.

As children, we didn’t have the skills to be able to do that but by learning the skills, like we teach at Mind Matters, you can be resilient and skillful in your thinking so you can let go of ideas and thoughts that don’t serve you.

Forming new habits is possible. When we move into internal agreement with our affirmations, a whole world of possibilities opens up.

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The post Aligning Your Mind With Affirmations – The Key To Success first appeared on Mind Mattrz.

In this episode, Rex chats to British extreme sports lover Pete. His love of alpine skiing and climbing, and a background in the military, means he has learned some valuable life lessons that can serve you well in the unpredictable world of business.

This interview was made possible through our connections with high level elite military operations personnel. Pete’s last name has been withheld as he is still an active operative.

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Listen to the podcast here or continue reading below.

Episode highlights:

• A bit on Pete’s background – joined the Royal Marines in 1994 and served 10 years in various countries including Afghanistan, Bosnia, Iraq, Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone
• Pete’s work as a military contractor for the past 15 years – Private Security Detail
• How Pete manages emotion and pressure
• Failure is a challenge in life – be happy being you
• Pete’s education in the remote highlands of Scotland where everything revolved around the outdoors
• Boarding school is not always privilege – Pete thinks it’s a miserable experience
• Always look for improvement, not the problem
• Practice makes permanent – always practice your skills if you can to improve
• Pete’s advice to business owners – have courage in your convictions
• Having courage isn’t easy
• Why Pete doesn’t like civilian life – it’s too mundane; not enough variety
• Where Pete gets his satisfaction from – he loves to serve and help people
• A story about Pete’s grandfather – a Spitfire pilot and time spent in a German war camp
• Being able to compartmentalise your life so you can put a strategy into place
• Life isn’t a perfect journey

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The post How To Survive The Ups And Downs Of Business first appeared on Mind Mattrz.