Your Monday Minute - The 2nd Step of the Formula
Welcome to another edition of Your Monday Minute! Last week we discussed the first step in the Passion Test Process to create a life that you LOVE (click here for a refresher)! This week we're moving on to the second step: Attention.
What you put your attention on grows stronger in your life. Watch this week's Your Monday Minute to learn more and then, reader, read on!
Make sense? How about a real life example to clarify? Since many of my readers and viewers are parents and nearly everyone else has some experience with children, I'll share with you the story of when I decided to stop yelling at my children.
I was a big, serious yeller. You wouldn't think it of me, would you? But I'm a passionate person and that translates into every area of my life. I had been on this personal growth and development path for several years (well, a lifetime, really, but that's another topic) when I realized that the old excuses no longer jibed with me. I was at the point where I had become my own coach, calling myself out on any crap I was still throwing out there, like, "What else can I do?" "They only listen when I yell," and other such things you may have spewed a time or two yourself. I felt like a great mom most of the time, but man did I lose my temper a lot. 3 kids + a (kid-like) husband + the stress of life. Good excuses, right? Excuses keep us stuck and I was (and am) on the fast-track of growth.
As it does, the Universe put a post in my path by a woman who was calling herself The Orange Rhino. There was a 30-day challenge to "yell less and love more." It was just what I needed! I felt so relieved that I wasn't the only one out there struggling with this issue.
So, I began the challenge and set my INTENTION (remember, part 1 of the formula?) to STOP YELLING. I managed to get a few days under my belt before snapping again and becoming a thunderstorm over my children. Then a few more and eventually almost two whole weeks! Confession: the last 5 of those days were spent in Oslo completing my Passion Test Facilitator training. I slipped just a day or two after getting home.
I was yelling less and I could see a definite affect on my children, which was great! But I was still yelling far too often to feel good about it. Then, everything that I had learned in Norway clicked into place. What was I putting my attention on again? To "stop yelling."
My attention was on yelling! When that became clear in my heart and mind I immediately rephrased my intention to "speak with loving kindness to my children." Now, all of my attention was focused on speaking with loving kindness. That's a big difference. Can you see and feel the change in your own physiology when you read those two phrases?
"Stop yelling" vs. "Speak with loving kindness"
You get more of whatever it is that you are putting your attention on in your life. Set a positive intention, give it positive attention and you'll get positive results. It worked wonders. I still yell once in a while, but there is such a dramatic shift in the energy of my relationship with my children and therefore with myself. I broke the guilt and drama cycle by setting a very positive, loving intention and we have all bloomed because of it. I stepped more profoundly into integrity, as well, which enabled me to love myself more and fully embrace that I really do matter.
Attention: You Matter!! Now go and act like it and I'll see you next week with the 3rd step in the formula to create a life you LOVE!
Do you have any examples of how this has worked in your life? We'd love to read them! Please, share below! If this post resonates with you, I welcome you to do that other kind of sharing, too! Share buttons below!
*** Photo Credit to Harold.Lloyd via Flickr.com