CHANGE IS GOOD.......DON'T MESS WITH YOURSELF

Are You Yanking The Rug Of Success Out From Under You?

By Sharon A. Michaels

Let's begin at the beginning -- recognizing and understanding self-sabotage.
Definition: Self-sabotaging behaviors are any destructive behaviors that keep you from living up to your true potential and robs you of true success.
Think of a sabotaging behavior as anything you emotionally, spiritually or physically do that can keep you from achieving the success you want, when you want it.
Examples: The goals that were never achieved, the vacation you never found time to take, the exercise equipment gathering dust or the credit cards always charged to the limit.
Sabotage is a negative way to keep you within your success comfort zone. Self-sabotage is like continuously taking three steps forward and two steps back. I call it the "sabotage shuffle." Can you picture it? It's a dance step, three steps up, and two steps back. Again, three steps up, two steps back. There are positive feelings going forward and disappointment and uncertainty as you step back.
Why can self-sabotage be so destructive? Self-sabotage has the power to take away your sense of accomplishment, self-satisfaction and even self-esteem.
THE GOOD NEWS . . . You can choose to end self-sabotaging behaviors and live up to your true potential. You have the power to achieve success, self-satisfaction and happiness.
Successful change begins one small step at a time. Each step builds on the one before until we're able to overcome challenges in positive, productive ways. There are no quick fixes. There are no magical pills or overnight cures. Empowering ourselves to recognize, understand and conquer self-sabotage takes time, effort and emotional commitment.
Here is an activity that's a great place to begin: Focus your energy on one positive thought a day for the next seven days.
Believing you are strong, powerful and successful.
Attracting positive experiences into your life.
Living the words, "I can" and "unstoppable."
Realizing that happiness is a choice.
Appreciating the growth opportunities in life.
Learning from the challenges and going positively forward.
Setting realistic, yet growth inspiring expectations.
Become more conscious of your thoughts and how they affect everyday outcomes. Concentrate on one empowering thought a day and observe how your focus is attracted to that subject or item.
Successful change begins one small step at a time:
Are you willing to consistently choose the positive solutions that achieve positive results?
Do you truly believe you are worthy and deserving of a life with more steps forward than backward?
Are you willing to end self-sabotage?
Remember that positive expectations take you three steps forward, negative ones are the two steps back. Don't you think it's time to hang up those shuffling shoes?


Sharon A. Michaels is an e-mentor to women who want to work for themselves. Sharon has over 20 years of business, speaking and writing experience on issues of ending self-sabotage, living in abundance and wealth and making money in network marketing. Sharon offers books, webinars and tele-conferences on how to give yourself the power to succeed.
You can learn more about Sharon Michaels at http://SharonIsMyMentor.com
Sharon A. Michaels is also the Editor of the Abundance and Wealth site on BellaOnline.com To read more of Sharon's articles and sign up for her weekly newsletter go to http://abundanceandwealth.bellaonline.com
Copyright Sharon A. Michaels - When using this article please give full credit to Sharon Michaels and use the bio as written above.
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CHANGE IS GOOD......APPRECIATE IT.

Appreciate Everything - Change

By Gayle Evans

Change. It's a charged word for some people. They may even have a physical reaction as their body acknowledges the thoughts in their heads. Resistance to change can feel like a wave of energy shooting upward from feet to head. It's purpose is to guard and protect. For the more adventurous, the thoughts are less of uncertainty than anticipation.
Change does bring us out of our comfort zone because with change comes the need to grow and adapt.
Sudden abrupt changes are the most alarming or exhilarating. We lose our familiar touchstones and must create new ones. In the meantime, we live in uncertainty. We've had no time to prepare and may need to rely on our instincts. These times can be an emotional roller coaster and some will struggle to remain stable. The experience can be frightening. Examples include unexpected loss of a loved one, employment, or health. Stressful in a different way are new love and a significant leap in income. Both require tremendous adjustments done quickly without the benefit of time to process emotions.
Ongoing changes can bring on a sense of weariness and fatigue or building anticipation. Perhaps what guides the overall tone of the change is dependent on three factors. The first is lack of say in the matter. When one is told and not allowed to offer suggestions or to be heard, feelings of helplessness or resentment may occur. The second factor is having a sense of control in guiding the change and making a contribution. The third is attitude. Willingness to stay focused on what is and consequently on what needs to be done in the present time in preparation for the future.
Appreciating change allows us the opportunity to use our energy productively. We have a sense of rising to the challenge and increasing our confidence in our ability to deal with whatever life tosses our way. We reach within to pull up our best. Resisting change is constrictive and deadens energy. It will not allow feelings of joy or aliveness.
We have little choice. Change will happen. Life is about change.
We also have tremendous choice. What we think and how we shape our attitude determines how effectively we respond to the inevitable changes. We can resist or we can appreciate everything, including change.

Gayle Evans is a nurse educator who has come to appreciate the richness and diversity of life experiences. She intends to live a very long life so she has time to do all the things she wants to do. To read more about her independent and often humorous views on life, please click on this link: http://www.chickennomore.com
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CHANGE IS GOOD........COPING

Changing Places? Coping With Current Business Uncertainty.

By Ann Clarke

If there's one thing businesses don't like, it's uncertainty. Even those that are undergoing profound changes themselves like to do their growing and changing in a relatively predictable environment. Their planning depends on it.
Which is why the current uncertainty over whether we are entering a recession or not is inherently a bad thing, regardless of the real basis for any fears of a downturn. Some have even argued that the economists and writers who habitually raise the spectre of economic cycles may actually be causing them. A perfect self-fulfilling prophecy.
Whatever its causes, the current level of uncertainty means that firms are understandably cautious, if not exactly jittery. The important thing is to never let this caution turn into paralysis. The potentially fatal consequences of treading water should always outweigh anxieties about what is yet to pass. Business decisions about growth, new product development and change should never be obstructed by fear of an uncertain future.
As a business we are used to managing change with clients. As a result, one of the things we know for certain is that when it comes to growing or changing their businesses, there is a tendency for organisations to see a move to purpose-built new offices as being a better option than improving their current workplace or refurbishing other existing space. All too often this is because they assume that they can't deal with change in an old building, be it a need to implement new technology or accommodate business growth. But they are often asking the wrong question. Instead of 'where do we go from here?' they should really ask 'should we stay or should we go?'
In most cases, both the stay option or go option can be backed up by a strong business case. This is invariably based on a wide range of factors - from the economic to the personal - each of which may have a considerable impact on the organisation. Only after careful consideration of these factors does it then become possible to make the right decision.
We need to challenge the notion that modern buildings must be better able than older buildings to meet the needs of a modern organisation. Often they are, but in many cases, older buildings can prove to be a better option.
For example, buildings that predate the widespread use of electric lighting and airconditioning may have better lighting and ventilation. They may also be more flexible in use. Modern buildings often have large floorplates, embedded services and low floor to ceiling heights which can limit their use. Older buildings are unlikely to have the same limitations so may actually be better suited to the needs of contemporary organisations.
In his book How Buildings Learn, author Stewart Brand outlines the process whereby buildings evolve over time to meet the changing needs of their occupants. He shows that intelligent renovation is just as effective and important as new design. Brand looks at the building as consisting of six layers, each of which functions on a different timescale. These range from the site itself which has a life cycle measured in centuries, through to the building (decades), interior fit out (years), technology (months), to stuff (days). An effective refurbishment or fit-out will depend on how well it resolves the tensions that exist between these different elements.
With careful planning, a focus on the organisation's strategic objectives and a multi-disciplinary approach even century-old buildings can become outstanding contemporary workplaces that can meet current needs and be flexible enough to respond to future demands. More importantly, they can even offer advantages over purpose-built new buildings in terms of cost, culture, adaptability and company image. Regardless of any ephemeral shifts in the economy, be they good or bad, firms must always build flexibility into their operations and their buildings to help them to develop on their own terms.


Ann Clarke is Design Director of Claremont Group Interiors, the UK office design company.
Claremont Group Interiors website
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