Tag Archives: Motivation

When Doubts Pretend To Keep You Safe

“What do you want? What do you want?” he repeated to himself. “What do I want? To live and not to suffer,” he answered. And again he listened with such concentrated attention that even his pain did not distract him. “To live? How?” asked his inner voice. “Why, to live as I used to—well and pleasantly.” “As you lived before, well and pleasantly?” the voice repeated. And in imagination, he began to recall the best moments of his pleasant life.”
― Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilyich

What do you want? It is an original question. It carries a significant level of responsibility and requires an intrinsical state of clarity when it comes to responding to its daring power.

We all have our dreams and goals, some of us dream of writing a book, of moving to Hawaii, some of us dream of hiking the Himalayas, or even living by the ocean while enjoying the success of our foreign profitable business.

These are all very motivating dreams, and in fact, they can all be attainable.

What is that powerful force that stops you from accomplishing them? DOUBT.

When Leonardo DaVinci past away, his last words were: “I have offended mankind because my work did not reach the quality that it should have” – Unbelievable! Don’t you think?

Mr. DaVinci himself had doubts as well. The difference between DaVinci’s mind and the minds of the ones who doubt is that he never stopped creating. He probably enjoyed his work immensely and cultivated passion in it.

There is a difference between finding your passion and cultivating one. A lot of people have difficulties finding their “true” calling, and sadly most of them never find it and continue living a life of frustrated dreams.

The main reason for this is because passion can never be found, it can only be created and cultivated based on individual qualities. Qualities that every single one of us possesses.

The only distance that separates our passion from our dreams and goals is the distance of doubt. Unfortunately, for most of the people, doubt is easier to be brought up to the surface of their minds than their dreams and goals.

A very disturbing fact of doubt is that it pretends to keep you safe. Although psychologically feeling safe is a good thing, it might not be productive in the creation of a better reality for yourself.

It is a fact that man is the only animal that “knows that he knows” and that is what makes him human and also vulnerable to adverse influence which is typically picked up during childhood.

Doubts don’t keep you safe; instead, they keep you fooled and steal your potential of becoming a much better and successful human being.

Awareness is the perfect weapon to catch your mind when it is telling you lies about what and who you are and to stop the inherent potential to succeed that you already possess in your brain and mind.

Be alert and next time you are listening to the thoughts in your mind and feeling that they are not in cooperation with your desired state, act immediately and do the very best to move towards a better mental space .

A very simple way to counteract the effect of negative thinking is by asking yourself where is this thought coming from? Where did I learn that this is true? Did I experience the memory of this view?

Most likely, all these thoughts and views will be a bunch of self-defeating beliefs that somehow got deep into your subconscious and made you believe that they are valid even if you never experienced them.

What are your goals and dreams? Can you make them happen?

How to become a better leader through the practice of yoga – 4 Simple things you can practice

This is a solo video transcript I recently posted on Vimeo and YouTube

The first step in the “renewing of the mind” is desire.

Becoming a leader is a combination of skills, and one of them is confidence.

Confidence comes with self-awareness; it is a skill that develops with time, patience and most importantly with practice.

Transformational Yoga is the perfect way to develop the necessary skills to step TO the plate and lead with confidence and determination.

The concept of self-awareness or knowing oneself is central to both yoga and leadership education.

As a leader, you need to establish a deeper relationship with your true Self and yoga has the methodology and tools to help you accomplish that.

The yoga of knowledge is perhaps the most important aspect of this practice. It is a skill in action and fundamental to self-development for it can take you directly to self-realization.

As a leader, you need to understand that THE number ONE step to take, is to believe in yourself.

To believe IN your power to create, guide, share and lead.

There is nothing more transformational than becoming your best ally and your best leader.

Let’s talk about 4 Simple Things you can practice

Awareness – The power of awareness comes in the realization of your environment, YOUR LIFE circumstance, and ultimately your reality. In other words, it is the knowing that something such as a condition, situation or problem, exists.

All transformation begins with an intense, burning desire to be transformed.

The first step in the “renewing of the mind” is desire.

You must want to be different before you can begin to change yourself.

Then you must make your future dream a present fact, and for that my friend, you need a lot of awareness.

It is because of this perception that you will be able to go IN and experience yourself entirely.

Once you become aware, THAT”S IT ! excuses are no longer feasible.

When you deny the facts about yourself, you start to live and breathe self-defeat. You don’t want that, do you?

Begin by practicing Self-analysis. It is a stepping stone to becoming aware of your power, strengths and also weaknesses. Self-analysis help you recognize your bad habits, and at the same time all the incredible opportunities that present to yourself.

Practice self-awareness every day, and with time you will be aware of everything.

Meditation – The topic of meditation IS big and sometimes complicated to understand. I want to make this very brief and focus on the facts.

Number one, meditation cannot be taught as if you are learning how to ride a bike or drive a car.

Meditation is just a different state of awareness, a state where you, the meditator can become one with your inner peace, dropping or disconnecting with the never ending process of thinking.

As a leader, practicing meditation can prepare you for your day. It can set the parameters to have a productive life based on focusing what is right and in support of your well-being so you can be available for others.

I recommend practicing meditation every morning as soon as you wake up. Preferably, between the hours of 4 am, and 6 am.

As soon you wake up, and avoiding distractions, sit quietly and become a vessel of solitude, and peace.

There are many techniques that you can research about, however; I recommend a very simple way which I call the way of the breath.

Allow yourself to ride the waves of the breath; in and out. They will teach you patience, confidence, and determination.

Be a meditator and don’t practice it, just be it. By being IT, you will bring the space needed in your mind to experience the knowing of what meditation is and what meditation does.

A leader must have clarity of mind, and through meditation, you will receive it.

Breathing – In the science of yoga, the breath is brought to add value to the emotional, mental and spiritual evolution.

The breath as the dichotomy of life and death can be extremely powerful in your practice of awareness.

It can help you be centered and grounded when it comes to making important decisions, both at the personal and professional levels.

The breath is called Pranazvasa in the language of the yogis. It is fundamental to the connection of mind and body. It can either make you powerful or weak.

Every morning, preferably after your meditation routine. Practice breathing consciously for about 3 to 5 minutes.

During the day, inhale deeply and gently when you feel that you are becoming off center.

The process of exhalation is also important as it will help you relax your nervous system, allowing your mind to rest and your brain to relax and rejuvenate.

Currently, I am in the process of creating an Academy of breath, where I will be sharing with you different breathing techniques based on the science of Pranayama.

We will be discussing the importance of holding the breath, longer exhalations and their significance in the movement of body and mind.

Talking about Movement – The movement of the body is also crucial for your state of health. As a leader, you need to be the example of discipline. Develop a habit of moving your body for a minimum of 15 to 20 minutes.

Asana or poses in yoga were designed to create stamina, flexibility, detoxification and extreme endurance.

Practice light stretches in the morning if necessary, but if you want you can also develop your routine, and practice some asanas such as shoulder stands, forward bends and back bends ALL while consciously breathing. If you want, you can explore some inversions as well.

Having a lean and flexible body can add tremendous value to your life, and elevate your SELF-ESTEEM making you a more attractive example of commitment and discipline.

These are simple steps that you can add to your daily habits of self-support. Give yourself permission and start today.

Yoga CAN and WILL increase the value to your life, BUT you must become a disciplined person.

Being a leader established in yoga will empower others to take action.

Remember, the best compensation to do things is the ability to do more.

Thank you and don’t forget: Align Your Life with What Your Really Value

Until next time

Peace !