September is Self-Awareness Month

August 31st, 2012 Posted in Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, Reflection & Learning, Self-awareness
Aug, 31 2012
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September is Self Awareness MonthAre you self-aware?

When I ask this question in my workshops, and it doesn’t matter if I am with CEOs, management teams, educators, parents, medical professionals, graduate students, or teens, the answer is a resounding: I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.

Yet, according to various studies and authorities, self-awareness is the:

  • #1 characteristic of a successful entrepreneur
  • #1 characteristic of a high performing leader
  • #1 characteristic of an authentic leader
  • #1 factor of predicting success in business

And we have been hearing in the spiritual realm for thousands of years that self-awareness is the #1 characteristic of a successful human being.

This is not surprising to me. Because everything we say and do first begins in a thought. Everything.

In my experience, most of us have not thought about our thoughts. We have no idea what we are thinking.

We don’t realize that we are making thousands of choices every day, thousands of decisions every day.

We don’t realize that most of our thoughts are rooted in fear, focused on what we don’t want –They’re not moving us in a direction that serves our true purpose.

We don’t realize that we’re not inspired.

I can’t even begin to describe how much power each and everyone of us has.

Every thought we have is creating — for better and worse — richer and poorer — sickness and health.

Individually and collectively.

We all have the ability to be self-aware, to notice what we are thinking, how we are feeling, and if we are in alignment with who we truly are and what we truly wish to create in this world.

We all have the ability to choose the thoughts we wish to hold, to create health and happiness and be creative, inspired, and impactful in everything we do.

Confucius once said: To put the world right in order, we must first put the nation in order; to put the nation in order, we must first put the family in order; to put the family in order, we must first cultivate ourselves.

This is true for us as individuals and as organizations, particularly in such fast-moving and volatile times.

I change the world around me by changing myself. And I change myself through self-awareness, self-mastery, and being on-purpose.

Are you self-aware?

 

For daily self-awareness thoughts and inspiration follow Managing Thought on Twitter or “like” Managing Thought on Facebook to receive them as they post.

I have dedicated my life and work to helping individuals and organizations develop self-awareness, think differently, think powerfully, and achieve significant, meaningful, and long-lasting results. If you are truly interested in practicing self-awareness and being inspired and impactful in everything you do, visit www.MindfulnessMonday.com and www.ManagingThought.com

For additional ideas on cultivating your life-well lived, check out this inspiring video: Resolutions, Intentions and Affirmations for a Life Well-Lived.

© 2012 Mary J. Lore and Managing Thought LLC All rights reserved.

 

 

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The Pursuit of Being Truly Happy

July 4th, 2012 Posted in Calm, Peace & Happiness, Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, Self-awareness, Vision, Purpose & Intention
Jul, 04 2012
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Mary Lore Pursuing True HappinessEvery July 4th, I am thankful to our Founding Fathers for their passion, their commitment, to our freedom to pursue that which makes us happy –our freedom to be who we truly are and to create what we truly wish to create in this world.

Are you exercising the inalienable right to the pursuit of happiness? Are you truly happy?

It is our nature to be happy. That’s our nature. If we are not, something is amiss.

I invite you to read or listen to this Forward ThinkingTM Reminder on the pursuit of happiness. It covers the difference between emotional happiness and true happiness.

I am having carrot cake today – to celebrate my independence, my freedom to BE happy, and sculpt the work in progress that is me.

© 2012 Mary J. Lore and Managing Thought LLC All rights reserved.

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It’s Time to Plant Your Seeds and Cultivate Your Intentions

May 25th, 2012 Posted in Goals & Resolutions, Inspiration & Motivation, Positive Thinking & Affirmations, Vision, Purpose & Intention
May, 25 2012
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Cultivating IntentionsHaving once owned a garden center and nursery and having a huge passion for gardening, I know this weekend is THE weekend to get our gardens growing. Now to me — growing gardens, growing companies, growing ourselves — it’s all the same. That’s the reason I use so many gardening analogies when I talk about developing self-awareness, self-mastery and being on purpose.

I approach Managing Thought® as if I were pruning a tree. When I prune a tree, the first thing I do is decide what I want to accomplish. Do I want to remove the dead wood? Create a certain shape? Bring in more light? More fruit or flowers? Growth upward or outward? Once I have my purpose, I begin to prune, first removing the dead and diseased branches. I then prune the branches that are crossing other branches, sticking straight up, or shooting from the base of the tree. These are appropriately called suckers because they suck up the water, nutrients, and sunlight from the viable branches. Once these branches are removed, I then prune and shape the tree to fulfill my purpose. After completing the process, I turn my attention to the daily culti­vation of the tree—how it is fed and watered and its exposure to the elements. This helps the tree resist stress and develop a strong root and trunk system. With less stress, the tree resists insects, disease, and damage. It thrives in its full glory.

To manage our thoughts, we can follow the same process. Before we plan or strategize anything—a career, vacation, marriage, education for ourselves or our children, a corporate initiative—we can decide what we want. Before we say or do anything, such as interact with our family, children, or signifi­cant others, or converse with a customer or coworker, we can decide our purpose. We decide what is of significance. We decide what we wish to create in our life and our work.

Then we watch our thoughts and prune those that are destructive and diseased –the thoughts that don’t bring us peace or inspire us. We notice and prune the thoughts that are at cross-purposes, or sucking up our time, energy, and money. These are the thoughts that block our light—our true reality. We practice shaping our thoughts, creating our intentions, and focusing our thoughts, and ultimately our actions, on what matters to us.

In doing so, we accomplish our purpose and fulfill our intention in each moment. We cultivate ourselves daily and develop a strong mind, body, and spirit. We resist stress, disease, and damage. We thrive in our full glory.

What seeds are you planting? What intentions are you cultivating?

The next series of daily thoughts and inspiration are on self-cultivation.  Follow Managing Thought on Twitter or “like” Managing Thought on Facebook to receive them as they post.

For additional ideas on cultivating your life-well lived, check out this inspiring video: Resolutions, Intentions and Affirmations for a Life Well-Lived.

© 2012 Mary J. Lore and Managing Thought LLC All rights reserved.

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The Pursuit of Happiness

June 30th, 2011 Posted in Calm, Peace & Happiness, Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, Self-awareness
Jun, 30 2011
1 Comment »

“The pursuit of happiness,” is listed in the United States Declaration of Independence among the unalienable and sovereign rights of man. The Dalai Lama teaches that the purpose of life is happiness. In the workshops I do, whether we are discussing a life well-lived, a job well-done, a great relationship, a corporate culture, or a well-executed strategy, when we ask what is the essence of what we truly want, the answer is always happiness. Corporate leaders, blue collar workers, moms and dads, sixth graders, teens, seniors, and spiritual advisors — we all want to be happy.

There are two kinds of happiness – emotional happiness and true happiness. Emotional happiness is momentary. Fleeting. Reactive. It doesn’t last and attachment to emotional happiness eventually results in its opposite—sadness. For example, I may experience emotional happiness when I have won something, or accomplished a goal or when someone agrees with me. I may experience emotional unhappiness when something happens that is different than what I expect, what I believe, or what I have learned.

True happiness, on the other hand, remains steadfast no matter what happens. It is long-lasting. Creative. True happiness arises when I am in alignment with the highest and best vision of myself, no matter what is going on around me. For example, I experience true happiness, when I am thankful, when I am in a state of wonder and possibility, when I am on purpose, helping others, making a difference, or utilizing my unique talents.

We all have the ability to be truly happy in any moment. That’s our true nature. It’s how we are thinking that causes us to realize our true nature–or not!

Everything we say, do and create first begins in thought. Our thoughts create. We are always creating — for better or worse. Individually and collectively. We are  always creating what we feel and what we experience from this day forward.

When I started looking at my thoughts, I became aware of the power of my thoughts—aware that each thought I have is either creating the experience of true happiness or not. I could stop re-acting and start creating. As “stuff” happens, I could take the opportunity to decide what’s the highest and vision of myself that I could be in response to what has happened. I could practice choosing thoughts that make me truly happy – that are in alignment with who I am and the highest and best vision of who I aspire to be.

It was a big aha! for me to realize that I am responsible for creating my own happiness. Being happy is my choice. Being happy takes practice. If I want to be happy, I practice choosing and creating happiness. I practice being happy.

Thanks to our Founding Fathers, we all have the ability to pursue happiness, to BE truly happy.

Let’s make our Founding Fathers proud.

Will you join me?

For my Forward ThinkingTM Reminder on happiness, click here to listen to audio, download a PDF or read online or click here to read another blog post on the topic.

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

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Replacing Weak Thought Patterns with Powerful Thought Patterns

June 17th, 2011 Posted in Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, News, Self-awareness
Jun, 17 2011
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Replacing Weak Thought Patterns Mary LoreWe shape our thoughts by choosing our intentions, asking ourselves powerful questions, and making powerful statements to ourselves. We also shape our thoughts by replacing weak thought patterns with powerful thought patterns.

In my book, Managing Thought: Think Differently. Think Powerfully. Achieve New Levels of Success., I refer to the book Power vs. Force by David R. Hawkins, MD, Ph.D. I mention that the energy of a thought can be measured and that “the difference in power between a loving thought and a fearful thought is so enormous as to be beyond the capacity of the human imagination to easily comprehend.”

When I first read this, I was taken aback. I experienced an incredible aha! Until that moment, I approached my work and my own self-cultivation by looking for what was wrong and then working on making it right.

Another big aha! for me was learning that what I considered to be less virtuous bad thoughts were neither good nor bad. They were merely a function of viewpoint, which is the accumulation of my thought patterns.

The biggest aha! for me was the realization that by lifting my thoughts higher and higher each day, I make a difference.

The current theme of my Daily Inspiration Thoughts of the Day is Replacing Weak Thought Patterns with Powerful Thought Patterns. There are three posts a day offering guidance on choosing and focusing on powerful thoughts vs. weak thoughts. Follow or visit Managing Thought on Twitter 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 additional practical guidance on powerful and weak thought patterns, check out Chapter 15 of Managing Thought or David Hawkins, MD, Ph.D’s book  Power vs. Force.

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

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A Fun and Meaningful Way to Practice Thankfulness at Thanksgiving

November 24th, 2010 Posted in Inspiration & Motivation, Positive Thinking & Affirmations, Thankfulness
Nov, 24 2010
1 Comment »

Here’s a wonderful way to express thankfulness at Thanksgiving, help others to know the difference they make in our lives, and create a ripple effect of considerable magnitude.

1. Give everyone a blank 8-1/2 x 11 piece of paper and a pen. If you have a large group, you may want to give everyone two pieces of paper paper-clipped together (You may want to splurge for nice paper and sharpies of various colors)

2. Have everyone write their name at the top of the paper (or both papers if they have two) and then pass it to the person on their right. (If someone refuses to participate or is absent from the gathering, write their name on top of a piece of paper for them)

3. Give everyone a minute or two to write at least one thing they are thankful for about the person whose name is at the top of the page. It could be something about their personality, a talent or skill they have, how they touched you or helped you in the past or present (If you have young children at the table, you may want to allow more time so an older child or grown-up can write what they want to say for them) Ring a bell to indicate they have about 30 seconds left and ring the bell to indicate that time is up.

4. Instruct everyone to pass their paper to their right.

5. Continue steps 3, 4 and 5 until everyone has the piece of paper with their name on it back in front of them.

6. Give everyone a minute or two to read what’s been written for them.

7. Invite everyone to read aloud what’s on their sheet of paper. Ask who wants to go first, and next and so on until everyone has shared.

8. To conclude, thank everyone for sharing and thank them for the difference they make in your life and in the lives of others.

9. You may want to provide a folder, an envelope or a plastic sleeve for them to put their paper in or a ribbon to tie around the paper rolled into a scroll.

This activity works great around the dinner table, around a conference table at work, in a circle in a classroom, in any group to which we belong.

When we invoke the power of thankfulness we tap into an incredible power within ourselves and others. We rekindle the spark of love, re-ignite our creativity, re-invoke our state of wonder and restore our sense of purpose. We become inspired.

And it is when we are inspired that we achieve significant, meaningful, long-lasting results.
How do you express thankfulness at Thanksgiving?

For more on thankfulness, listen to my Heartbeat Radio Show and my Forward Thinking™ podcast.

©2010 Managing Thought. All rights reserved.

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Self-Awareness is Key to Achieving True Happiness

October 6th, 2010 Posted in Calm, Peace & Happiness, Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, Self-awareness, Stress Management, Thankfulness, Vision, Purpose & Intention, Wonder, Possibility & Creativity
Oct, 06 2010
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In my last blog on Choosing and Experiencing Happiness, I talked about the difference between emotional happiness and true happiness. I had the opportunity to really experience this last week when my father nearly died.

In my workshops, I ask folks to notice what happens as we listen to the songs Happy Birthday, Taps, Auld Lang Syne, and The Wedding March. We all experience a series of thoughts and feelings, and the happy or unhappy emotions that follow depending on the thoughts. Yet nothing has really happened to us. We’re just sitting there listening to a set of songs. If we are not aware, we mask our true nature, the state of being—true happiness—that is always present, no matter what the external circumstances. We say we’re happy or unhappy, when all that has happened is our brains have presented to us the thoughts and feelings we had when we heard those songs before.

When I practice self-awareness, I look AT the thoughts and feelings presented to me by my brain, instead of FROM them and I discover that I can experience sadness, grief, anger, and other “unhappy” emotions AND at the same time, I can remain truly happy.

Let’s take my experience last week: I phoned my father. He was incoherent. I dropped everything to go to my parent’s house. During my half-hour drive, my brain presented me with numerous thoughts: This could be it! Dad could die today. How could Mom (who is suffering from dementia) not notice that he was incoherent? What if I hadn’t called? What if I wasn’t in town? What am I going to do with Mom?

I also had thoughts of anger at my mom for having dementia and at my dad for not making the decision to move into a senior community where he could have care for her and he could get some rest, have some peace of mind, and have a life. I found my breathing shallow, my heart racing, my jaw and hands clenched.

The essence of every thought is either love or fear. Those rooted in love emanate from and result in true happiness. Those rooted in fear result in emotional unhappiness or short-lived emotional happiness. Looking AT my thoughts, I could see that my brain was presenting me with fight, flight or freeze thoughts—fear, blame, judgment, criticism, worry—all fear-based thoughts that result in emotional unhappiness.

I set my intention: I choose love.

I began thinking thoughts of thankfulness: I am thankful I call Dad every day. I am thankful he answered the phone. I am thankful I am in town and can be there for my parents. I am thankful we have access to great medical care. I am thankful my parents and I have a great relationship, that we have had the opportunity to spend quality time with each other and that we enjoy each other’s company.

Then thoughts of wonder: What can I say or do right now that’s of highest service? How can I help my parents and me? And then ideas came rushing through – Call Dad’s doctor. Ask for advice to help Dad given various scenarios. Ask for referrals on nursing aids for my mom. Remain calm. Help Mom and Dad feel safe. Demonstrate love in every action. Love and trust the flow and process of life.

With these thoughts, I moved out of fight, flight, or freeze and back in touch with the truly happy me. I like to follow the example of the Great Lakes—while the surface of the waters can become rough and excited, deep down, it is very still. So over the course of the next week, although the circumstances were difficult, I could remain in a powerful place. I could experience a number of “unhappy” emotions, feel them (not suppress them), acknowledge them, thank my brain for sharing, and then choose thoughts which move me in a direction that truly serves my purpose, bring me peace, inspire me, and invoke true happiness.

P.S. My Dad’s now better than well and my Mom is doing fine.

For more on happiness, listen to my Heartbeat Radio Show and my Forward Thinking™ podcast.

©2010 Managing Thought. All rights reserved.

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Choose and Experience Happiness Every Day

September 28th, 2010 Posted in Calm, Peace & Happiness, Make a Difference, Managing Thoughts, Feelings & Emotions, Positive Thinking & Affirmations, Self-awareness, Stress Management, Vision, Purpose & Intention
Sep, 28 2010
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In the workshops I do, whether we are discussing a life well-lived, a job well-done, a great relationship, a corporate culture, or a well-executed strategy, when we ask what is the essence of what we truly want, the answer is always happiness.

To me, there are two kinds of happiness – emotional happiness and true happiness.

Emotional happiness is momentary. Fleeting. It doesn’t last and attachment to emotional happiness eventually results in its opposite—sadness. True happiness, on the other hand, just is. It remains steadfast no matter what happens.

Emotional happiness changes according to my mood and depends upon my interpretations of and reactions to external circumstances and the behavior of other people. True happiness is a state of well-being and contentment that remains unchanged by external circumstances.

True happiness begins with self-awareness. Learning what brings about true happiness takes self-awareness. Being true to who I am, choosing thoughts rooted in love vs. fear, takes self-awareness.

Self-awareness involves looking at our thoughts, noticing the thoughts that are presented to us by our brains, creating a pause to add light, and choosing thoughts that are in alignment with who I am and who I aspire to be in this moment.

Most of us have not thought about our thoughts. I know I didn’t. Before I started practicing self-awareness and managing my thoughts, I had no idea what I was thinking. I was not aware of the thousands of choices and decisions I was making each day that were not serving my purpose and moving me away from experiencing true happiness.

When I started looking at my thoughts, I became aware of the power of thought—aware that each thought either leads me to true happiness or it doesn’t. And I could practice choosing thoughts that make me truly happy – that are in alignment with who I am and who I aspire to be.

When we, as individuals and organizations, are being true to ourselves, living our truth, that truth offers more happiness and love of our selves and others than we can imagine. Our souls sing. We are inspired and impactful in all we do. We achieve significant results and long-lasting success.

And the ripple effect is of considerable magnitude. Ghandi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Let’s be truly happy, content, at peace. Let’s make that difference.

For more on happiness, listen to my Heartbeat Radio Show and my Forward Thinking™ podcast.

©2010 Managing Thought. All rights reserved.

For more on this topic and how to manage your thoughts in everyday circumstances and how to deal with the challenges you face in practicing self-awareness and being on purpose, Click Here.

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