If you’re a writer, artist or entrepreneur, you may understand what I am going to talk about… Inspiration or the lack of it. While some workers have to do what they’re being asked to do with not necessarily an added-value, other people have the obligation in their jobs to create, innovate and improve. The problem is that in this kind of jobs, it’s not always certain to have what we call ‘inspiration’ at its highest.
We can ask thousands of questions: are creative people born inspired? Can we learn to be creative? What happens when we are not inspired? Is inspiration mandatory for creative work? How can we nurture creativity and always be inspired?
It is true that people who are called on innovating and creating spend a good deal of their times living new experiences, getting close to nature and developing their hobbies. While this is true for most people, history has also witnessed inventers and philosophers bringing ideas to life out of their homes.
In the end, there is no rule of the right way of doing things. It is a matter of each person’s needs to be able to give the most and the best.
What do you think? Is inspiration essential to produce quality work? What’s your experience?
What do you Dream About?
Written by The Leader World
Do you spend hours daydreaming? Dreams spice up our lives and keep us moving toward our objectives.
What do you dream about and have you already achieved some of your BIG dreams?
Share with us your experience:
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How NLP and Metaphysics Can Help Employee Wellbeing
Written by Piercarla Garusi
I am sure you would agree that the most important resource of a business is not really the product or service, nor in the customers; it is actually in the employees, without whom the business would not exist. And if the employees are not well then the performance decreases, and with it the productivity.
In fact, our performance and personal productivity is strictly linked to the way we feel, to our emotional state. There are so many reasons for which we might temporarily feel stressed or anxious or depressed, perhaps due to problems both at work and at home; in fact, what goes on at home is brought into work and vice versa.
Now, is there something we can do when we do not feel good that is really effective and lasting? Can we empower ourselves to take control of our emotional state? Is it possible to feel good no matter what goes on in our lives or around us? Yes, but let us consider first the approach we would normally have when we experience an emotional problem.
Perhaps the first thing we would do is try to figure out why we feel anxious or stressed or depressed in order to do something about it and solve the problem. Now, if the reason is of a practical nature, let's say for example we need to delegate, then the problem resolves itself as we take action. But often the reason which causes us not to feel good is of a different nature and that approach does not work. The way we feel depends on our thinking, beliefs and attitudes, language, self-talk and physiology. It depends on questions we ask ourselves; our focus; our assumptions, on the meanings we give to events, people's behaviours, situations we experience, which determine our reactions / responses; and it depends on the way we treat ourselves, on the level of care we have for ourselves. And the majority of our thinking patterns are below the consciousness, they are stored in our subconscious mind.
Now, if we focus on the problem, let’s say we feel anxious, and we try to analyse it to find a solution and we try to understand the reasons why we feel this way, maybe even looking back to childhood, it would actually create more of a problem. And the reason is very simple, but often we not aware of it. It is simply basic metaphysics: what we focus on increases in our neurology and we create more of it. We often are not aware of how the basic spiritual laws of the Universe really influence our life, but once we know something about them, our life becomes much easier: the pain and struggle tend to disappear to make space for wellbeing and flow.And there is something else to say about problem solving. Let's say for example we have a problem and we try to find a solution; do we find a solution? No, otherwise we would not have the problem now! It is just our mind that tells us that the solution is in our mind and even more, it tells us that if we do not find a solution, we need to beat ourselves up! Smart, isn't it?
Our mind tells us we need to beat ourselves up because we have not tried hard enough or maybe because we should be smarter; or something similar. And so, we beat ourselves up, but we still have the problem and so we try to figure it out harder, we do not manage, so we beat ourselves up even more, and the circle goes on again and again trying to find a solution. And how do we feel? Worse! Now, Albert Einstein said: 'No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.
The solution is not in the same level of consciousness and it does not come from the mind. If we think we are our feelings or our minds, if we identify ourselves with our feelings or our minds, then we get stuck. And if we let go trying to figure out long enough, we will actually allow the solution to the problem to come to our awareness. Does it make sense? Probably not! This is a different way of thinking which, combined with NLP techniques, will bring us freedom from limiting patterns, and thus wellbeing. NLP, in fact, is very effective to help change the thinking patterns: our thinking, our beliefs, language, self-talk, meanings, physiology, and so on. It enables us to instantly feel good and no matter what goes on in our life. And if we combine NLP with metaphysics, with the knowledge of who we truly are and our real power, than we know the secret of true wellbeing.
I was reading through some statistics regarding depression and the percentage of people suffering from this has increased substantially. And I remembered what I often hear from people: “I have failed in my life” or “I have not achieved anything,” or “I experienced such and such in my past and it will jeopardize my entire life,” or “I have made a lot of mistakes,” or “I have been feeling depressed or anxious for so many years and I can’t change.”
Do you think if we have such thoughts we are going to feel good? Well, no. We actually make ourselves depressed.
Now, the truth is that no matter where you are at in your life right now, no matter what your past has been, no matter what your present circumstances are, no matter how you have been feeling for years, no matter the mistakes you have made, you can change your future. That is for sure.
The thing is that sometimes we don’t know what can help us to change, so here are some ideas.
The first thing to do is to take total and full responsibility.
You are the only person responsible for your actions, behaviours, thoughts, emotions, health, wealth, happiness, inner peace and your life. You might have heard about the great movie “The Secret” and how it shows how much power you really have. Your thoughts create. It is the Law of Attraction.
Everything that has happened in your life, everything that is happening, you create.
For some people it might be a little uncomfortable to take this on board, but it is the truth. Blaming or complaining is simply giving your power away. But this also means that you can change anything you want in your life by a simple shift in your awareness. Every bit is really down to you.
Now, let’s consider things in order.
If you have experienced a difficult past, time line therapy is very helpful. Whatever you have experienced in the past, time line therapy does not go back into the past and analyze it; that would keep you there. Instead it gives you the power to feel free from your past and empowered to create your future. It enables you to relive it with more empowering resources and change the memory of it.
If you feel, for example, depressed or anxious, NLP and hypnosis are incredibly powerful tools to enable you to take control of your emotional state. All emotions generate from thoughts, beliefs, the meaning we give to events, self-talk, and you are the master of your own mind. But the thing is that nobody has given us a manual of how the brain works, so when we do not feel good we do not know what to do. If we buy a PC we are given a manual, and your brain is an extraordinary computer! Once you know how the conscious and subconscious mind works, you can take control of your emotional state, and so choose how to feel. Now, another thing to say is that if we do the same things, we get the same results.
So, sometimes we feel stuck in our life or our habits, but if we want to change we need to change what we do and think. So, if you are doing something that makes you feel bad or does not work, stop right now and do something different, and you will get different results.
Guilt is a very powerful and damaging emotion, and what I have often found with clients is that we have a strong tendency to beat ourselves up harshly. Now, everybody makes mistakes, and what we need to do is recognise them, take full responsibility, learn from them and grow. One aspect of this is taking full responsibility for our behaviour; a very different thing to feeling guilty about it. The way we treat ourselves has a very strong impact on our emotional state. And if I were to ask you: ‘Would you treat another person as harshly as you treat yourself?’ I am sure your answer would be no. So, please treat yourself with the same compassion as you would your best friend. Now, do you think God would want you to beat yourself up? No, no, no. Please be kind to yourself. God loves you unconditionally: forgive and love yourself. Strive for excellence, not perfection. And always remember you always do the best you can at all times with the resources you have got.
Now, one of the reasons why we do not achieve what we want in life is because we do not know what we want. Many people live a life by default, they react to what happens, but are they going to make themselves happy? Maybe, maybe not. How about if you could work smarter? If you could know what makes you happy and create it in your life? So, establish a vision of the life that you really want, establish goals toward that vision, and actions to take. And if you know what you want and you focus on it, the Law of Attraction says it will manifest, without exception.
So, what are you going to do today to become the person you want to be and create the life you want to live?
The literature available today in the world of personal development suggests that one is always looking for better, bigger and more things. Books in this area offer advice and tips on how to become a millionaire and work a few hours a week, start and run businesses etc. Life seems to be borderless and everything is possible. This phrase is usually followed by examples of people who made things happen and achieved their ‘dreams’. Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Oprah Winfrey, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa and Ghandi are a few examples of successful people.
I personally like the concept of ‘everything is possible’ and that we can achieve anything we want in life. However, I always wonder whether these people actually dreamt of what they have achieved. Has Gates really spent hours daydreaming about democratising the computer? Was Winfrey’s inner dream is to put her photo on every cover of her magazine? Etc. What if their dreams were something completely different and what they have come to realize was only the fruit of coincidence and certainly some hard work?
I recently read the story of the Sleeping Beauty to my son. I have myself read the story many times as a child and watched it in films. But that day, I realised that dreams and magic are two foundations of the tale. In fact they are the basis of any fairy tale. These stories convey that dreams are part of life and that they can be attained. Dreams of the fairy tales heroes aren’t about starting a business and becoming a millionaire but more about meeting the prince charming and ‘living happily ever after.’
Living a happy life can be challenging in the material world we live in today. Our dreams are 21st century dreams. We dream of things we see and don’t have. What if the Sleeping Beauty dreamt of running a multi-million dollar enterprise and had met her prince charming, would she have lived ‘happily ever after.’ Would she have recognised that the Prince is her source of happiness rather than the successful business?
While we dream, make plans and act toward them, can we not just be? Can we not stop competing? Can we not just be ourselves? This sounds manageable but rare are the people who achieve this dream.