Fear.

Every day, the news is creating alarm in the minds and hearts of millions of people in this world.

If you even dare focus on what is happening around you, your mind will soon be filled with fear and doubts about your own future as well.

Here are some quick headlines which I am sure you will agree could certainly have you trembling with FEAR, IF you stop to meditate on them. .

• Bank of America stocks down.
• Bank of America being sued by AIG. .
• S & P is down 500 points. It is not even sliding, it is plummeting.
• Investors lose one trillion dollars in one day.
• Riots in London.

Now, I am NOT advocating that you and I become like ostriches burying our heads in the sand. No, these are very real situations and are definitely affecting millions of people across the world.

However, if you stop to meditate and FOCUS on these situations, fear could so easily grip your mind and heart. You cannot afford to let this happen, and neither will you allow it to. How do I know that? You are a champion, and champions focus on winning, not on the obstacles that cross their paths.

Yes these situations are real:

• They ARE happening around us.
• They may well have affected you already.
• They are likely to affect us all in some way.

BUT, does this mean that you have to be tossed around by all of the fear that goes with it? NO! For you – champion – it means you need to make a stronger and firmer decision to focus on solutions and on your life passions and dreams. You cannot afford to let go of them.

And you cannot make a positive difference in this world if you allow yourself to be dragged into the negative default that contaminates the world.

This is why today’s affirmation from the 210 Affirmation Challenge set by John Di Lemme of Lifestyle Freedom Club  is so timely:

I am stepping over the fear line into Faith Land today!

This declaration demands of you a definite and determined decision.

Are you going to going to allow the fear that is being stirred up in everyone around you to affect your life and destiny?

OR

Or are you going to make a stronger and firmer decision that you WILL take control of your destiny?

It does not matter what is happening around you, or what others decide. YOU still have the responsibility to decide for your own life

I am stepping over the fear line into Faith Land today!

Is this your decision today? I am sure it is because this is the decision of champions and:

Resource:
Every affirmation in this 210 Day Affirmation Challenge is authored by John Di Lemme, founder of the 210 Day Lifestyle Freedom Club Be sure to check out this challenge and download your free motivational mp3s and mp4 from here as well.

If you are not making mistakes then you are not doing anything says John Wooden. Many other highly successful men and women have been heard to say the very same thing.

Yes, making mistakes are a part of life and learning. You and I learn from doing things and getting results. In general terms:

• Positive results teach you that you probably did something right. You found a good way to get the result you wanted.
• Negative results teach you that something went wrong. You made a mistake, or what you were trying to do did not work.

Usually when make a mistake with small consequences it is easy to brush it off and learn from it right? But what about the big mistakes in life. Everyone makes those too. They are not so easy to brush off.

In fact this is where too many people get stuck. Why?

There are at least three big dangers you may face after making a wrong decision that has big consequences:

• You may feel as if you are the only one who would be capable of doing something that stupid. This happens so easily when you make a mistake that was at least in part your fault, and it caused a big problem. So you may tend to withdraw from those around you.
  
  
• You may even begin to fear making mistakes and so you find making decisions to be difficult. Warning: If you fall for this one, it will paralyze you and stop you from moving forward in life.

Elbert Hubbard is quoted as saying: The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.

• You may simply shrug it off and move on. But what did you learn? Actually this attitude tends to be one of denial.

Any one of these dangers may cause you to get stuck in your life journey.

In this series of articles we are following the 210 Day Affirmation Challenge made by John Di Lemme of Lifestyle Freedom Club. Today’s affirmation is #152 which declares:

I am Making Miracles out of my past mistakes.

Yes you CAN turn your mistakes into miracles.

Notice I said: “YOU can turn your mistakes into miracles. It won’t happen by itself. There is no “if I ignore this problem it will go away”. No, you cannot be passive about it.

If you think about the three dangers listed above, all of them are passive reactions. So let’s react actively. How? By facing them head these dangers head on and turning them around. You can do it!

You have to take action. Remember, the real danger is summed up in one word “passivity”.

How to create miracles from your mistakes:

• Stop, take some time alone to gather your thoughts.
  
  
• Face your mistakes and then forgive yourself. Yes, this is a very important step. You cannot find solutions when your mind is still in “blame” mode.
  
  
• Look for lessons learned. As you do this you will find you have taken another step towards becoming a better person. This can only have positive results for you and those around you.
  
  
• Start focusing on possible solutions.
  
  
• If your error caused you to make a wrong turn in your life, deliberately spend extra time each day focusing on your life passion (your WHY).
  
  As you do this, you will find you will see opportunities to get back onto the road that will lead you to your ultimate dreams and passion in life. It may not be the same road as you were on before, but it WILL lead you to your destination. Just stay focused!

And always remember:

Resource:
Every affirmation in this 210 Day Affirmation Challenge is authored by John Di Lemme, founder of the 210 Day Lifestyle Freedom Club Be sure to check out this challenge and download your free motivational mp3s and mp4 from here as well.

I am sure you are very familiar with the concept of the glass that is half empty or half full. It is all in the way you perceive things right?

There is no doubt that a grateful person will always see the glass as being half full!

Do you know the medical field is now recognizing that your mental attitude has a tremendous affect on your physical well being.

You have doubtless heard that expression: “worrying myself sick” right? Well actually that is a true statement. If you really want to get sick, focus on the negative. Your body will follow.

In the same way when you focus on the positive side of life, your mind will be clear to search for solutions and your body has a better chance of staying at ease. A body that is at ease certainly has a better change of healing itself. After all the word sick is also “disease” – dis – ease (in other words: not at ease). Interesting?

Dr Elida Evans (a cancer doctor) believed that cancer was a symptom of unresolved problems in a patients life. And her observations have been confirmed and elaborated on by a number of other researchers. Quoted from “Getting Well Again”

Getting Well Again

This is a book I really recommend you read. It is written by a team of medical doctors who share some of their experiences with their patients.

They encouraged their patients to:

• Focus on positive thoughts
• Visualize their healing. This includes visualizing the cancer cells being gobbled up by the medication (or natural foods too – my comment).
• Even plan and set goals for the future they were being told they did not have.

The results were amazing. There were many improvements and even recoveries as a result of this therapy. Find out more about this book: Getting Well Again – a Step-By-Step, Self-help Guide to Overcoming Cancer for Patients and Their Families

How to stay positive when your world is falling apart:

There is nothing like deliberately looking for things to be thankful for to turn your focus from negative to positive. Here is a challenge for you today:

Start by declaring affirmation #145 of the 210 Day Affirmation Challenge that this series of articles is being written about.

Repeat this several times out loud and with great firmness. Your brain needs to know that YOU are mean business. You will not tolerate any negative attitude creeping into your life right?

Next:

1. Take some time to sit down and think about at least 5 or better still 10 things that you are grateful for in your life. Don’t forget the simple things like food, shelter, health – and hey you are alive!!
2. Now write these 10 things down in your journal.
3. Now take some time to read them out aloud (yes your brain needs to hear these too) and finish up by once again making this declaration:

Note the change in your outlook. I am sure that your focus is turning away from the negative towards the positive. Now your mind will be freer to be creative and look for solutions for any challenge you may be facing.

If you are not satisfied with your results yet – rinse and repeat steps 1-5

"I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder." – G.K. Chesterton

Don’t forget – Champions practice gratitude, and:

Resource:
Every affirmation in this 210 Day Affirmation Challenge is authored by John Di Lemme, founder of the 210 Day Lifestyle Freedom Club

If you have not take up this challenge yet, I challenge you to start today! Go to the Lifestyle Freedom Blog Click on the menu at the top that says “Affirmation Challenge” to get involved. Determine to stay faithful to this challenge, and I guarantee you it will change your life. (It has and in changing mine).

You might be thinking: Well no one REALLY knows the future, so we can only hope and do our best right? (And I hear comments like this every day, as I am sure you do too).

Well, I HOPE that YOU did not respond like that! Why? Because that is the response of a loser, and YOU are a champion!

Today we are looking at affirmation #103 of of the 210 Day Lifestyle Freedom Club Affirmation Challenge that I am involved in and blogging about.

Affirmation #103 is full of certainty:

So just how CAN YOU be so certain that you will win?
Just this afternoon I took some time to turn on TBN (the Praise the Lord TV program) and Carman was interviewing a Danette Crawford. Danette said:

Whiner’s talk about where they are at now, and
Winners talk about where they are going!

That about sums it up right? Yes, it is all about FOCUS.

What are you focusing on?

Ok, perhaps you are not where you want to be — yet.
Your present MAY be full of challenges, but here is a secret for you.

• There is an enemy in this world who does not want you to win in life.
• This enemy’s number one tactic is to distract you from your goals and dreams and turn your focus to the now.

• He is turning your focus to the negative, the obstacles, the challenges.
• He is draining your faith and your positive focus.
• He is tricking you into focusing on impossibilities instead of your possibilities and opportunities.

These 3 things will happen ONLY IF you fall into the trap of lowering your focus from where you are going to where you are now.

Today’s Challenge: Check your focus:
Are you focusing on where you are now?
or Are you focusing on where you are going?

The difference will mean you being able to see possibilities instead of impossibilities in EVERYTHING that you face.

You MUST pick up this book by Danette Joy Crawford today! It will definitely challenge and inspire you (even if you are not in a pit). Don’t Quit in the Pit

And do make sure you have a copy of Champions Are Born, Losers Are Made in your library. If you have not yet ordered your copy, TODAY is your day!

To be a champion finisher is certainly the ideal, and I am sure this is your aim in life as it is mine.

Today is Day 97 of following the 210 Day Lifestyle Freedom Club Affirmation Challenge that I am involved in and blogging about.

Today we are focusing on being a finisher. Make sure you declare this statement, whether you feel you ARE a finisher (YET) or not. Your declaration is setting the precedence in your mind. You now know what you expect of yourself.

So what stops you and I from completing projects, goals or tasks?

Here are the top 3 hindrances to becoming a finisher.

Hindrance #1: You lost focus and became distracted.
We live in a world full of distractions. There is always something (or someone) coming at you lobbying for your attention. Staying focused is not always an easy task, but it IS possible.

Here are some techniques that may help you to stay focused. Depending on your thinking and learning styles some of these will help you more than others. Some may not work at all for you.

Experiment with them and find what WILL work for you and then determine to stay with it!

• Your attention span may be short.

  Take 15-20 minute blocks of time throughout the day when you will focus on your project. If it is an extremely distasteful or difficult task, schedule one 15 minute block per day for this project. Make this a priority EVERY day. You will be amazed at the results in a week or so.

• You may work better when you are surrounded with people and even a certain level of noise.

  If your project is computer, writing or office work related, schedule a block of time every day when you can go to a nearby cafe and work for an hour or two.

• Turn on some background music. Baroque music is known to be good for accelerated learning environments, along with many of Mozart and Bethoven.

  Here is an excellent CD designed especially for accelerated learning. Music for Accelerated Learning

• As you plan your project, focus on the end result. What will you be able to enjoy once you have completed the task? What will your home look like?

  How will your life be enhanced? Focusing on these things will be a great inspiration to keep working on your project until it is complete.

Hindrance #2: You lost faith when the path became difficult.
When you lose faith, you also lose focus. This can happen because you have run yourself too thin by working so hard at your project your life has become completely unbalanced.

A healthy life is a balanced life. Take some time off to go out to your favorite place whether it be a park, a restaurant, a drive in the country. Go and visit a friend.

Losing faith can also happen because you have neglected your daily discipline of reading and listening to inspirational material that builds your faith.

Personal development is a part of your daily life that you cannot afford to overlook or skip.

Personal development is an ongoing process and never stops even when you HAVE reached your goals and dreams.

If you look into the lives of all great and successful men and women you will find that they maintain a daily discipline of staying immersed in inspirational recordings, videos and books. This keeps them sharp, positive and mentally fit.

Consistent daily physical exercise is also very important.

Hindrance #3: You started something that you are not passionate about, and so should never have started in the first place.

Did you start something because YOU wanted to, or because you felt pressured into doing it by someone else? It is your life passion (your WHY) that will keep you on course and focused. This is why it is so important to remind yourself of your why every day. (Remember, your “why rollover“?).

If you can delegate this project out fine. If not, schedule short blocks of time every day to finished this task. Do all you can to complete this task because you are a Champion Finisher.

Take time to go regroup and refocus on your why and this will help you to discern the times when you need to say “No”.

Resource:
Get involved with this 210 Day Lifestyle Freedom Club Affirmation Challenge TODAY:Go to the Lifestyle Freedom Club Blog, then click on the menu at the top that says: “Affirmation Challenge”.