Manage Stress During the Holidays and Every Day: Focus on the Essence of What You Want

December 19th, 2011 Posted in Audio and Video, Calm, Peace & Happiness, Goals & Resolutions, Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, Stress Management
Dec, 19 2011
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With plays, parties and events to attend, cards to mail, gifts to buy, guests to prepare for, and year-end initiatives at work, you may find yourself tied up in ribbons. Focusing on the essence of what you want is one of the most powerful ways of thinking to reduce stress and bring about peace of mind and happiness during the holiday season and throughout the year.

During stressful times, we may find ourselves consumed with thoughts of worry, self-criticism, frustration, and even anger. We may feel we have too much to do. We may feel we’re doing things we don’t want to do or not doing the things we want to do. We can rise to a new level of consciousness, restore our sense of purpose and reclaim our peace of mind by focusing on the essence of what we want.

For some practical tips to help you discover the essence of what you want, click here to read Mary’s blog in its entirety on the Vistage Executive Street Blog.

My next series of blogs and daily thoughts and inspiration is focused on managing stress. There are three posts a day. Follow or visit Managing Thought on Twitter or “like” Managing Thought on Facebook to receive them as they post or come back to this blog daily and view the Daily Inspiration on Twitter feed in the right-hand menu bar.

For more on reducing holiday stress, listen to my Forward Thinking™ podcast.

 

If you would like to help me help others restore their sense of purpose and reclaim their peace of mind, go to Mary’s PBS Pledge Special to learn four ways you can help.

© 2011 Mary J. Lore and Managing Thought LLC All rights reserved.

 

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Lessons Learned from “What was I Thinking?”

September 24th, 2011 Posted in Calm, Peace & Happiness, Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, Positive Thinking & Affirmations, Reflection & Learning, Self-awareness, Thankfulness, Vision, Purpose & Intention, Wonder, Possibility & Creativity
Sep, 24 2011
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Mary Lore Rodin The ThinkerYesterday I posted a blog called  “What was I thinking?” in which I chronicled everything my brain and I thought when, just as my flight was boarding, I discovered I lost my wallet. As you might imagine, I had a lot of thoughts during the ten minutes that followed!  (To see that post in its entirety, click here.)

Upon reflection on the entire dialogue between me and my brain, I see several profound lessons on the significance of self-awareness and the power of thought:

  • My brain’s job is to quickly present to me all the thoughts and emotions that it has stored from the past in a similar compartment.
  • When something happens that is different from what I expect, my brain quickly presents to me fight, flight and freeze thoughts.
  • I am making thousands of decisions and choices everyday. I can choose to be aware of these decisions or not. As for me — I want to know what I’m deciding!
  • When I look AT my thoughts, instead of FROM them, I have the ability to decide if  the thoughts presented to me by my brain are useful in the present moment–or not–and choose the thoughts that are of highest and best use.
  • My brain always follows my lead. My wish is my brain’s command! It’s always waiting for me to tell it what to do. If it doesn’t hear from me, it does whatever I have practiced in the past.
  • My thoughts are rooted in either love or fear. They are either inspired or they are not. I can always choose thoughts rooted in love and be inspired.
  • My ideas build upon whatever I am focused — for better or worse! When I focus on what I want, my ideas move me in that direction and my actions are inspired.
  • When I focus on what inspires me, I get back to my true nature. I am happy, healthy, creative, expansive, full of energy, and inspired. I am in touch with my highest awareness. I know what to do next and how to do it and doing it is easy, effortless and fun!
  • Stuff happens all day long. I can either let my brain decide what happens next re-acting past thoughts and emotions or I can choose to create what happens next.
  • In every moment, in every thought, I have the power to become who I wish to become and create what I wish to experience.
  • My thoughts shape my character my circumstances, my destiny and my success.
  • Thoughts of thankfulness, wonder, vision and purpose are truly powerful and bring about significant results.

Oh — My brain wants to add this one: When I put my mind to it, anything is possible!

Do you know what you are thinking?

For more on how to how to harness your mental power, check out my book (there is a reason it has received six best book awards!), audio, video, and many other resources available at www.managingthought.com and connect with me on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn for daily inspiration and powerful thoughts.

© 2011 Mary J. Lore and Managing Thought LLC All rights reserved.

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The Power to Choose Significance

September 18th, 2011 Posted in Audio and Video, Life Transitions, Reflection & Learning, Vision, Purpose & Intention, Wonder, Possibility & Creativity
Sep, 18 2011
7 Comments »

Mary Lore and Gregg Simmons 9-18-2005On September 18, 2002, I was in Taos, New Mexico for a week-end retreat. At the time, I was in the process of dramatically changing my line of work, transitioning from the world of finance and crisis management to the world of Managing Thought®. I had never been to a retreat before and the only reason I went was to meet Taoist Master Ni Hua-Ching. He had fully dedicated himself to help people raise their consciousness and bring about a better world and I wanted to learn first-hand how he had constructed this life for himself.

As it turns out, Master Ni didn’t show. He returned to China and put the retreat in the hands of his two sons. My first thoughts and emotions were of disappointment. I wanted to speak with Master Ni. Only Master Ni could make this retreat worthwhile for me!

I quickly recovered and with full faith that something valuable and meaningful could be gained, I wondered what it could be. I went to breakfast, sat down and looked across the table into the eyes of an amazing man who I married three years later, on September 18, 2005 – Gregg Simmons.

During our time together, I gained so much.

  • He helped me expand my capacity to love deeply, laugh heartily and live life fully.
  • He saw the love and light in me, held up the mirror so I could see it too, and he encouraged me to share this light with others.
  • He introduced me to his friends who are now my friends.
  • When he died suddenly just three months after our wedding, friends and family said it was a shame that our time together was so short. Because we were so in the moment in each of our moments, it felt like we were together forever. He helped me experience the true power of being in the moment.

As I reflect on this, I find a valuable and meaningful lesson.

On the surface, it seems that September 18th is a day of great significance for me.

To me, the real significance is in the moment, in the choices I made when I learned that I wouldn’t be meeting Master Ni. In that moment, I could have chosen to remain disappointed or get angry, leave the retreat or skip breakfast. I could have been so caught up in my emotions that I didn’t notice Gregg, or listen to him, or caused him to be disinterested in me.

Because I chose to wonder how I could gain something valuable and meaningful from the retreat to help me be of service to the world, I met the man who helped me to do just that.

I have the opportunity for significance all day long every day. As “stuff” happens, I always have the opportunity to choose who I wish to become and what I wish to create in this world.

I have the power to choose significance.

How can you choose significance today?

For more on this, read or listen to the Forward Thinking™ Reminder, Choosing Intentions.

P.S.  Gregg Simmons, it is my honor and joy to have been your best friend, lover, confidante, teacher, student and fellow adventurer.  Thank you for introducing me to carrot cake. I am enjoying a piece as I write this and I raise my plate to you!

© 2011 Mary J. Lore and Managing Thought LLC All rights reserved.

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