Balance is essential for personal and professional growth. It enhances every important aspect of life.

In the words of Josephine Rathbone, “If we could learn how to balance rest against effort, calmness against strain, quiet against turmoil, we would assure ourselves of joy in living and psychological health for life.”

However, anyone with a hectic schedule and many responsibilities will agree that achieving balance is not as simple as wishing for it. It requires a plan.

Begin with Your Priorities

When seeking balance, we begin by asking, “What is most important at this time, and what needs to change?” The key is to make an intentional choice for a more balanced life, first by looking at what could be possible. When we are in balance, we feel as though we have that choice, that we are in “the driver’s seat”, and we can choose to see from new perspectives.

Some folks prefer “living in the fast lane”, enjoying the most active life possible. Others are at the point where they want to slow the pace, perhaps dedicate more time to their family, a personal calling, or life-long dream. Balance is unique for each individual.

So today is another day. Let me ask you a simple question: How are you feeling right now?

You see, the way you are feeling is an indicator of what you are in the process of creating. If you feel good, you are creating good things. If you feel bad, you are creating bad things. When you feel either good or bad, you are in effect magnetizing yourself to other things that are good or bad.

Ever had a day that started off wrong and only got worse? You know why? Because you started feeling bad, and the universe corresponded to that feeling and created more situations that would make you feel bad. The Law of Attraction states that you magnetize into your life those things which are in resonance with you. If you are putting out unhappy vibes, the universe will bring you more things to give you unhappy vibes. If you are putting out good vibes, the universe will bring you more things worthy of good vibes.

You see, the universe doesn’t care if you like something or not – it just creates according to your output. So the trick is to catch yourself when you begin to feel bad, and alter your mood so that you feel good. There are many easy ways to do this.

First of all, music can change a mood incredibly fast. Some people surround themselves with music that matches their mood, and in some cases this is great. If you are sad, however, and you play sad music, you are simply lending more of your energy to sadness, which will continue to be attracted to you. So play music that you would normally play when you are in a great mood. This will lift your spirits quickly.

Another way is to take a break from all of the stresses around you, close your eyes, and visualize yourself doing something you love, or being somewhere you love, or with somebody you love. Let your imagination run wild for awhile, and only imagine things that make you feel good. Think of moments in your life when you were extremely happy and replay them in your mind. This is another good way to shift your mood, and daydreaming can be accomplished almost anywhere at anytime!

Finally, you can always engage in an activity you enjoy. Play a sport, watch a TV-show, take a warm shower, or do anything that makes you feel better. Depending on where you are in the course of your day, this may or may not be practical.

The trick is that you want to change your mood as quickly as possible, because the energy you are holding is busy creating in the background of your reality. The worse you feel and the longer you feel that way, the more quickly you are manifesting more bad things. A good thought or emotion is much more powerful than many bad thoughts or feelings, so its easy to get yourself out of that mode and negate it before you ever have a chance to actually manifest something else negative into your day. Set your intent and give it a try!

Namaste!

jonpeeoh ( jonpeeoh.com jonpeeoh.com) is a new website devoted to raising consciousness, magick, and teaching others to take control of their powers as creators of their own reality.

There are common steps associated with goal achievement. They are:

- Aim high.
- Write your goals down.
- Set a time limit or deadline.
- Identify those people, and organizations that can help you reach your goals.
- Consider multiple facets of your life including family, career, health, etc.

I have often been asked if there is more to the process of goal achievement than these steps. My answer? Yes there is.

While the goal setting process outlined above is quite valuable, and perhaps fundamental, I have found nuances to the goal-setting process, typically not discussed. Here are seven steps that will accelerate your goal achievement.

Step One: Assume Success: It All Begins With The Way You Think

Top achievers think differently. First they conceive, plan, and work on their goals with a level of expectation that is foreign to most people. They do not say, “I’ll try this, and see what happens,” or “This might work, you never know.”

Achievers proceed toward their goals with a level of confidence that cause others to think they have inside knowledge about how to make their goals a reality. It is this level of expectation that gives them the laser focus needed to see possibilities that most do not see. More importantly, they are actually “living,” their goals long before they are achieved.

Step Two: Identify and Focus On Your Primary Goals

Intensifying your focus on a few goals is often easier for those beginning to refine their own goal achievement process. Having just a few goals makes each goal much more real because you cannot get lost in a lengthy list of plans and projects. As you develop more experience and confidence in the goal setting process, you can expand your goal list and potentially work on 10, 20, or 30 or more goals at the same time. However I recommend that most people trim their goal list down to a very manageable group of 7.

Step Three: Examine And Clarify Your Beliefs and Values

A big obstacle for many seeking accelerated goal achievement is being out of sync with their goals. That is, many “say,” they want to achieve certain things but do not really believe in their ability to achieve their goals or totally value their goals. As a result they unconsciously minimize their ability to achieve their stated intentions. To reach you goals fast you have to be sure that your goals really reflect your true beliefs and values. After setting your goals, be honest with yourself about whether these are really your beliefs and commitments.

Step Four: Immerse Yourself In The Process Daily

This is an important step that many goal setters are unaware of. Top achievers “live” their goals. Many unconsciously work with their goals every day. It’s a good idea for you to take this approach consciously. I believe strongly in working with my goals twice a day at minimum, once in the morning, and once in the evening.

I have spiral notebook in which I write my goals. In that notebook I have also developed my “Statement of Achievement.” This statement opens my goal list and closes my goal list. It sets the tone for the goals to follow. I recommend that you write your own, Statement of Achievement and that you write your statement and your list of goals twice a day. Sometimes you’ll want to even go back more and recite the statement as it occurs to you during the day.

Step Five: Recognize and Act On Your Intuition

Balancing your internal process with your external process is step five of my accelerated goal achievement process. First you want to become sensitive to the ideas and solutions that are presented to you thousands of times daily.

You are always receiving ideas, insights, and greater details that pertain to your goals throughout the day. Once you decide to really focus on your goal setting and achievement this will become more noticeable. It’s important that you capture this information. Carry a journal with you and write down the sparks of insight you receive throughout the day. These are the quickest paths to your goals. When you take action on these items you will be led into circumstances that will, in turn, set you on a direct path to your goal.

Step Six: Overcome Your Resistance

We all tend to hesitate, re-consider, and even procrastinate. We have impulses that we ignore. There are actions we won’t take. We don’t make calls. We don’t write letters. We don’t send emails. Sometimes others will offer ideas and suggestions, but we don’t want to be counseled or coached. There are so many examples of how we resist achieving our own goals. You must become conscious of your resistance and learn to breakthrough this resistance.

Step Seven: Establish Positive Triggers

You can and should train yourself to remain focused on your goals and your ability to achieve them by establishing psychological triggers that bring you to the right focus and state of accomplishment quickly. Pyschological triggers include words that quickly bring you back to your aim, images representing the successful accomplishment of your goals, and even music that affects you emotionally and gives you the feeling of success and accomplishment.

Achieving your goals requires the right thinking and the right actions, sometimes for an extended period of time. However, these tips will help you develop a winning strategy that will keep your progress steady and pointed in the right direction.

André Taylor is an entrepreneur, a highly paid consultant, and one of today’s dynamic voices on business and personal success. He’s the author of a collection of audio and video programs including the business-building system, 81 Lessons of The Natural Entrepreneur. For more than 25 years, André has been involved in enterprise management and the discipline of personal and organizational development. Combining broad range experience in high-growth industries, and an uncommon understanding of the lessons of business and personal resilience, he provides extraordinary insight and commentary on the subjects of entrepreneurship, leadership, sales, marketing, innovation, and growth.

There has been a lot of buzz about the power of positive thinking.

I think there is a misconception about positive thinking. Most people think that you have to force yourself to think positive.

I don’t know about you, but when I’m in a low mood or haven’t had enough sleep, I can be a little cranky and no positive thought can change that.

The truth is that our true nature is that of contentment and happiness and when the negative thoughts pass we return to that state.

The problem is not that we don’t think in the positive, it’s that we get caught up in our own negative thoughts.

“That’s my gift. I let that negativity roll off me like water off a duck’s back. If it’s not positive, I didn’t hear it. If you can overcome that, fights are easy.” — George Foreman

I think like George Foreman we have to let the negative thoughts roll off of us, learn to relax and try not to think about anything, positive or negative. Just relax, take a nap or just daydream and eventually a good feeling will come back.

“When I examine myself and my methods of thought, I come to the conclusion that the gift of fantasy has meant more to me than any talent for abstract, positive thinking.” — Albert Einstein

By the way, if you’re not in a good mood and are cranky and irritable, let those around you know. This has helped me more in my relationships than anything else.

You will see the people around you open up and relate to you instead of thinking you are attacking them. Also you start to notice when others are in a low mood and defenses drop.

Our ability to think is an amazing thing. But if I tell you to not think of a purple elephant, you will think of a purple elephant.

“I never looked at the consequences of missing a big shot . . . when you think about the consequences you always think of a negative result.” — Michael Jordan

If you try to think positive it will seem like a chore, but if you can realize that the negative is just a thought and will eventually pass then the positive will come naturally.

Realization of your true nature is more powerful than trying to think your way out of negative thoughts. To know that thoughts are just thoughts and thoughts and the feelings that come with them will change from moment to moment, you begin to not put much emphasis on if they are positive or not. You just flow with your positive feelings and you learn to navigate through the negative ones.

It’s impossible to never have negative thoughts, but with a little understanding you can see them for what they really are… Just thoughts.

Lonnie Young is a certified meditation teacher who now teaches the art of successful living. To learn more about Lonnie’s work visit secretstosuccessfulliving.com secretstosuccessfulliving.com