Month: March 2021 Page 1 of 2

“Acceptance and tolerance and forgiveness, those are life-altering lessons.” Jessica Lange.

We have all lived through a very challenging time over the past 12 months because of the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic that has affected the world. Many people have had to cope with a new way of being, including having to adhere to lockdown measures.

When there are many things that are out of our control and much uncertainty, it can lead to feelings of stress and anxiety. This can dash our attempts to create inner calm and peacefulness to help us cope with challenges.

Whenever I feel a little anxious about things, I remind myself of the following quotation to help calm my anxiety levels:

“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

Acceptance has great value and power and it’s a great quality to have, particularly at times like these. It helps us to remain calm in the face of adversity.

Developing greater acceptance brings us more inner peace.

When we are accepting of something, it helps us to manage our anxiety and stress levels. It means that we accept things as they are rather than as we would like them to be. This contributes to a calmer mind. It allows us to think of possibility and opportunity rather than looking to rewrite history.

Having a greater level of acceptance lets us live in the present moment and not be hindered by the past. We start to look for solutions to challenges rather than spending time wishing things were different.

Being more accepting of other people allows us to be in a state of non- judgement and bear no malice towards them. As a result, we have greater tolerance of other people’s views and opinions. We accept people as they are rather than how we would like them to be. We start to look at their strengths and qualities rather than their flaws and weaknesses.

We can apply this principle to ourselves too and become more accepting of who we are. We can develop pride in our qualities, our accomplishments and achievements. We can expand our appreciation of the value we bring to the world and the contribution we make.

Additionally, we can accept and use our natural gifts and talents rather than spend time and energy focusing on our weaknesses and what we lack. This also allows us to stop wasting time and energy comparing ourselves to others. As an alternative approach we can become more single minded and focused on our goals and desires.

As Reinhold Niebuhr says we can accept the way things are and what we cannot change. This allows us to let go of the things that we can’t control and change. This enables us to divert our focus onto changing and influencing the things that are within our sphere of control.

Finally, we can learn to accept gifts and compliments from others and be grateful for all that we have in life. This will help us to develop an attitude of gratitude.

This week, why not take a few moments out to reflect and consider if you need to develop greater acceptance of situations and people in your life. As part of this reflection, I suggest that you get clear on what the benefits will be to you if you develop greater acceptance in your life.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

 “A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It’s a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.” Wade Boggs.

In last week’s blog, I talked about Thomas Edison and how one of his key attributes was his positive attitude. I also shared how he was able to stay positive in the face of adversity and personal tragedy when his huge laboratory caught fire and was destroyed.

Life isn’t easy for many people just now given the Coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis that has affected the world for over a year.

As a follow on to last week’s blog here are a few suggestions to maintain a positive attitude in these challenging times: –

1. Live in the present, defer worrying.

We can all spend lots of time locked in our heads imagining all sorts of scenarios that never actually happen. I was told once that 70% of what we worry about never happens, 25% is trivia and 5% is out of our control. Save worrying until you actually have something to worry about. Remember happiness is a ‘now’ experience.

2. Be self –disciplined.

Use the current situation to reset your daily habits and routines. Set some small goals and take daily action towards achieving them. It could be you can use the present time to set a plan to lose weight, increase your fitness, do some DIY or declutter etc. You may also set a goal to increase your reading or listen to podcasts. Setting and achieving goals will increase your esteem and confidence. When we have a daily routine and rituals, it helps us to make the best use of our time.

3. Show gratitude. Appreciate all that you have in life.

Take a few minutes each day to write down 3 things that you are grateful for. It helps you focus your mind on what you have rather than what you don’t have. This develops an abundance mindset rather than one of scarcity and lack. Also take the time to show your appreciation to people who support you and make your life easier. Like attracts like, this simple act of acknowledging all that’s good in your world will attract even more things to be grateful for.

4. Practice self-care – make good health a priority.

If you have good health you have everything. It helps you to keep good energy levels and a positive frame of mind. Good health is the real wealth in life. Spend 30 minutes each day doing some aerobic exercise. This will help increase fitness and reduce body tension.

Good sleep helps the body to heal and repair. With this in mind, aim to get 7-9 hours of quality sleep every night. Count the calories and watch what you eat.

5. Remember to laugh.

Nothing increases your mood and energy levels more than a good belly laugh. The news coverage can contain lots of negative and sad stories, particularly at the present time. Therefore, it’s particularly important to regularly watch things that make you laugh.

Occasionally, give news bulletins and newspapers a miss and use the time to watch a favourite comedy show or film. Read something funny or look at a book of humorous cartoons.

6. Keep a journal.

If you do find that your mood dips or you are having a challenging time, one of the best things that I find helps is to write how you are feeling in a journal. There is no need to edit the words that you write, just note down whatever is on your mind and let your pen flow on the page. Writing in this way allows you to release any hurt, frustrations or confused feelings. It helps to externalise what you are thinking and feeling and it brings clarity, calmness and a sense of balance.

I hope that you have found these thoughts useful and that they make a positive difference to your life. This week why not pause for a few moments and consider what steps you can take to maintain and increase your positivity.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk

“Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Sir Winston Churchill.

Given the current Coronavirus (Covid-19) crisis that has now affected the world for over a year now, it isn’t easy for us all to maintain a positive attitude at the moment.

Our normal daily routines have been changed significantly. We are constantly bombarded with stories about the virus on tv and radio, news bulletins and programmes. There is also significant coverage in newspapers and online. We are told heart breaking stories, shown sad images and learn about the significant deaths from virus on a frequent basis. If we allow it to, this can have a very detrimental impact on our mood and energy levels.

It seems to me that there is much fear, anxiety and uncertainty around presently. When we face adversity of this nature and we feel anxious and stressed I feel that it’s important we constantly remind ourselves “that this too will pass.”

At the present time, it’s important we take all the necessary steps to stay safe and protect lives and remember that things will get better eventually. In order to maintain good mental health, we must seek to keep a positive attitude.

The wonderful job that the NHS are doing in the UK with the vaccination programme provides us with a bit of light at the end of the dark tunnel we have been in as a country. It gives us reason for hope that things will get better.

When I sat down to write this piece, I thought about positivity and the very constructive effect it can have on our mood and mental well-being. I’m going to share the story of Thomas Edison with you this week and how he coped with some adversity that affected him.

Thomas Edison was named as Life Magazine’s Number One Man of the Last Millennium.

They commented that he was a person who brought more value to the human race than any other, literally giving us our modern world and standards of living. It’s claimed that his four great inventions were recorded sound, motion pictures, the electric light bulb and utility industry and corporate R&D labs.

He patented an astounding 1,093 inventions in his lifetime. He attempted thousands of times to find the right material for his version of the incandescent light bulb; he didn’t see any of the attempts as failures. With every single attempt he just saw it as getting one step closer to a solution. He never doubted he would succeed.

“Genius”, he declared “is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration” but there was a third factor to his success.

This was his positive attitude.

Edison was an optimist who saw the best in everything. He once said; “If we did all the things, we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves.” His belief could be summarised by his statement, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realise how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Probably the most notable display of Edison’s positive attitude can be seen in the way he approached a tragedy that occurred in his late sixties. The lab he had built, a fourteen-building complex, which was greater in size than three football pitches, caught fire.

Now he loved this place. It was the base of his operations, it was where he and his staff conceived inventions, developed prototypes, manufactured products and shipped them to customers. It had become a model for modern research and manufacturing. He spent every minute he could there. He often slept there on one of the lab tables.

But on that day in December, when it caught fire, he was reported as saying as he stood outside and watched it burn, “Quick kids go and get your mother, she’ll never see another fire like this one”.

Most people would have been crushed, but not Edison, he said, “I’m 67, but not too old to make a fresh start. I’ve been through a lot of things like this.” He rebuilt the lab, and he kept working for another 17 years.

This week, why not pause for a few moments and consider how you can make a difference to your and/or someone else’s life with some positivity.

To arrange a free no obligation consultation, please contact Stephen Pauley via the contact form or by e mail: Stephen@befirstclass.co.uk