Believe you can and you will

What you believe has a direct impact on your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing and on the external results and achievements you see in your life - your successes and your failures.

‘If you think you can do a thing or think you cant do a thing, you are right’ These are the words of Henry Ford and they still ring true today. The strange thing is most of us dont pay much attention to what we believe. Most of us have no idea of the power of our beliefs. It’s not something that's taught in school or used very often in business. Its a powerful tool that is often completely overlooked and could bring more benefits to your life and your business than alot of hard work, talent and money put together. At the very basic level it is the foundation on which all your life experience rests.

We all hold beliefs about ourself and our capabilities. Some beliefs help us and some hold us back. We may believe we’d be great at doing a particular thing or that we’d be awful at it. We may believe we are a great sales person or a terrible one. We may believe we are good with money or that we are useless, that we are attractive or that we we are ugly. Whatever it is that we believe will directly influence the results we achieve in our life.

I find some of the studies and clinical trials that have been carried out that demonstrate the power of belief absolutely fascinating and I want to share some of them here with you today.

The ‘placebo affect’ gives us a glimpse of the control our beliefs have over our bodies. A placebo is any medical treatment that has no specific action, in other words it contains none of the active ingredients of the medical treatment. It is a fake treatment. Placebos are often used as a control in drug trials. In these cases one group of patients is give the real drug and another group of the same size is given a placebo. Neither the researchers nor the individuals being tested know which group they are in. In the last half century the placebo effect has been extensively researched in hundreds of different studies around the world and it has been shown that on average 35% of all people who receive a placebo will show an improvement in symptoms and at times also exhibit the known side effect of the real drug even though they havent been given the real drug at all. This shows that the simple belief that they have received a treatment drug can in many cases help a patients body to make recordable physical improvements. The percentage who experience an effect can greatly vary from situation to situation but the range of medical conditions on which placebos have proved effective ranges from life threatening to not so serious.

Studies have also shown that the effectiveness of the placebo is also impacted by the method in which it is given for example injections are perceived as more potent than pills so giving a placebo by injection can increase the percentage of people who repond to it as if it were the real drug. Another factor is the attitude the doctor conveys when he prescribes the placebo. Obviously the patient is not told directly that the drug is a placebo but the doctors manner may give away clues.

Even with the administration of real drugs studies have shown that the confidence the patient has in the doctors ability to prescribe the correct treatment can impact on the effectiveness of the drug. If the patient trusts the doctor, they will believe that they will be prescribed something that will help and thereby will increase their chances that the drug actually will help. If they are not confident in the doctor they may doubt whether the medication will help, thereby decreasing the chances of it working even if it was the perfect medication for their condition at that time.

Beliefs can also control our capabilities. Roger Bannister, made headlines around the world with one of the landmark events of 20th century sports history. At the time, it was thought to be impossible for a human being to run a mile in under four minutes. The world record of 4 minutes and 1.3seconds had stood for nine years, and experts regarded this time as an insurmountable human limitation. In 1954 Roger Bannister broke this record running the mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds. The most incredible thing is that within 3 years 16 runners has logged a sub-4-minute miles.

Time and time again studies have shown that our beliefs affect our bodies and our capabilities. To see this for yourself do a little exercise next time you have to make do on too little sleep. I use this myself and find it really powerful. If I don’t get eight hours sleep I am a grouch. I began to notice that on nights when I knew I wouldn’t be getting the sleep I felt I needed, I would fall asleep thinking ‘oh no, now I’m going to be wrecked tomorrow - I wish I was getting enough sleep’ I realized that this was really setting myself up to be wrecked so instead of predicting the worst outcome before I fell asleep I started to say to myself that ‘my body would sleep well and deeply and that I would wake up fresh and rested in the morning’. I’d say this a number of times and I have been amazed at the results because without fail I wake up fresh and rested - no longer a morning grouch. Now I still like my sleep and I don’t recommend you do this as a way of continuously making do without sleep but if needs be it is certainly worth doing from time to time. So give it a go.

So how do you create positive beliefs in your life and how do you get rid of doubts. We all have doubts even those of us that look the most confident. Well the best way I have found to build positive beliefs is to focus on the end result, focus on what you want to happen. So often we focus on our doubts and our fears. We are all expert worriers and worrying is in effect concentrating our attention on what we don’t want to happen. You need to change this. And to put as much and in fact more energy toward imagining what you do want to happen. Focus on how you want things to be.

One of the most powerful tools for this is visualization - picturing the final outcome the way you would like it to be. But when I say visualization I don’t just mean seeing a picture in your imagination - I mean fully experiencing that event in your imagination. Experiencing it with all your senses. If, for example, you want to have a successful business where your brand name and product becomes known world wide, you have got to focus on what it is going to feel like to be that person who has that successful business. You have to focus on the end result - what the customers will be saying, how you’ll be feeling, what you’ll be thinking and what positive impact this will have on your life. You’ve got to become that person in your imagination and to fully experience what that is like.

Your beliefs are the foundation of everything. They are the pattern that underlies your life experience, your successes and your failures. So take some time to reflect on what beliefs you hold that help you and what beliefs you have that hold you back. It is in your control to change them and with that your life experience will change to.

Little Things Make a Big Difference

I stopped off on the way home from work today for a workout in Curves in Arklow. As I was searching for money for parking meter I noticed a car loitering behind me and assumed they were hoping that I was about to pull out. I jumped out of my car expecting to tell the driver that I wasn't leaving only to get a nice surprize. Turns out the driver wasnt waiting to take my spot but was patiently waiting to offer me his parking ticket which still had about 45 mins left on it! Just enough time for a quick workout in Curves. How nice is that!

It reminded me of an incident 2 weeks ago in Tesco in Arklow. I was in line at the check out and there were 3 American folk just ahead of me paying there bill. The lady at the checkout asked if they had a "club card" and being visitors of course they didn't so they offered me their points. How sweet is that?

At the time it struck me that I'd often had the urge to do this when I was shopping somewhere that I dont have a loyalty card for but then I think to myself "sure its not like my shopping is that much money - no point offering the points to someone else" but these two incidents have reminded me that it's not about how much you are saving someone else or how much you are giving them - it's the gesture that counts!

When that man gave me his ticket today it warmed my heart. It warmed my heart that he thought of someone else who he didn't even know... it warmed my heart that he didnt want to see good money (even if it was only 50 cent) wasted, it warmed my heart that when I beamed a smile of suprised gratitude at him that both him and his passenger beamed a smile back, it warmed my heart that he was willing to spend an extra 3 - 4 minutes waiting in that car park for me to get out of my car... and most importantly it warms my heart that his action along with the actions of my American friends in Tesco, have caused me to reflect on my own actions and will no doubt prompt me to be a little more thoughtful and giving to the stranger in the street.

It reminds me of that famous saying "one small step for man, one giant step for man kind". Translate that as "one small step for the man in the car park in Arklow, one giant step for the generosity of the human race". Who knows where this could lead, their small actions of generosity prompts me to do small actions of generosity to a stranger which prompts my stranger to do small actions of generosity to a another stranger which prompts that stranger to .... it goes on and on.

It's the ripple effect - every single action we take, good or bad, has the potential to affect billions of people. From our small viewing point we'll never see the full results but rest assured very often the little things we do make a very big difference.

So a big thank you to the man in the car park in Arklow today and another big thank you to the 3 American folk in Tesco a few weeks ago. You have given me a bigger gift then you could ever imagine xx

The Hardest Thing is Starting!

Wow...I've just set up my first blog. I hadn't planned to do it but one thing led to another in the last hour and before I knew it I am on blogger sitting in front of a blank screen thinking "Oh my god - now what am I going to write - where will I start!"

I was tempted to log off and leave it for another day. A day when I had more time, or had given it more thought...or didnt want to watch Fair City in 15 minutes! but then I realised that this is exactly where I need to start - I'll start with the fear of starting ! A fear that I regularly see holding my clients back in their personal and their business lives !

Why are we so afraid to just get out there and do it?

I've no doubt that many of you will recognise this scenario....

You have an impulse to do something, a great idea, a sudden surge of energy or strong instinct. You feel the excitement and enthusiasm rising in your body...you are just about to do it and then BANG.... you are stopped in your tracks, your fears take over, logic gets in the way and before you know it the rising creative wave has been stopped dead and your ideas and energy becomes dust in the ground.

In some cases there may be good reason to take a bit more time before acting, to plan things before jumping. Sure this applies if you are about to make a life changing decision or a huge investment but there are soooooo many times that we cut off our creative wave when there is absolutely no good reason for doing so and where if we just followed it who knows what wonderful goodies and opportunities and life experiences it could bring. And hey...even if it brought nothing in concrete terms isn't it just great to actually ride that wave as it rises, to act while the feeling is hot and to allow yourself the freedom to just go with the flow. I think so!

So my friends, fellow bloggers and whoever else may come across these ramblings - I've decided to commit for the next week to really riding the creative wave. If I feel an impulse I am going to follow it, if I have a great idea I am going to explore it, when the wave starts to rise I am going to go with it. I'm going to pack my fears and insecurities in a bag, put them away for another day and just risk it!

and hey - I hope some of you will join me too xx