The truth is – change happens whether you like it or not!

By Allison Constantino

“A Thousand Years” by Allison Constantino https://pixels.com/featured/a-thousand-years-allison-constantino.html

Whether you recognize, acknowledge, or accept it, change is always happening to and around us!

According to Henry Ford, “Businessmen go down with their businesses because they like the old way so well they cannot bring themselves to change.”

There have been unprecedented changes in the last twenty years.

The internet has transformed every aspect of our lives, from communicating to consuming news, shopping, navigating, and entertaining ourselves.

According to the World Economic Forum, in 2000, just half of Americans had broadband access at home. Today that number sits at more than 90%.

Think about the changes in the way we communicate with each other.

In early 2000, there were 740 million cell phone subscriptions worldwide. Twenty years later, it’s past 8 billion, meaning there are now more cell phones than people!

We know we need to change to keep up when change is happening so fast. So, why is change so hard for so many of us? Why are we all so impatient?

“Impatience is only another form of resistance. When we demand that it be done right now, completed at once, then we don’t give ourselves time to learn the lesson involved with the problem we have created,” states Louise Hay, groundbreaking author of You Can Heal Your Life.

Hay continues, “If you want to move to another room, you have to get up and move step by step in that direction. Sitting in your chair and demanding that you be in the other room will not work. It’s the same thing. We all want our problem to be over, but we don’t want to do the small things that will add up to the solution.”

According to New York Times bestseller author James Clear of Atomic Habits, “It’s so easy to overestimate the importance of one defining moment and underestimate the value of making small improvements daily. Too often, we convince ourselves that massive success requires massive action. Whether it’s losing weight, building a business, writing a book, winning a championship, or achieving any other goal, we put pressure on ourselves to make some earth-shattering improvements that everyone will talk about.”

Clear continues, “We often dismiss small changes because they don’t seem to matter much in the moment. If you save a little money now, you’re still not a millionaire. If you go to the gym three days in a row, you’re still out of shape. If you study Mandarin for an hour tonight, you still haven’t learned the language. We make a few changes, but the results never seem to come quickly, and so we slide back into our previous routines.”

“People make a few small changes, fail to see a tangible result, and decide to stop. You think, ‘I’ve been running every day for a month, so why can’t I see any change in my body? Once this kind of thinking takes over, it’s easy to let good habits fall by the wayside. But in order to make a meaningful difference, habits need to persist long enough to break through this plateau – what I call the Plateau of Latent Potential.”

“If you find yourself struggling to build a good habit or break a bad one, it is not because you have lost your ability to improve. It is often because you have not yet crossed the Plateau of Latent Potential. Complaining about not achieving success despite working hard is like complaining about an ice cube not melting when you heated it from twenty-five to thirty-one degrees. Your work was not wasted: it is just being stored. All the action happens at thirty-two degrees.”

“When you finally break through the Plateau of Latent Potential, people will call it an overnight success. The outside world only sees the most dramatic event rather than all that preceded it. But you know that it’s the work you did long ago – when it seemed that you weren’t making any progress – that makes the jump today possible.”

Clear states, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”

“If you can get one percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.”

“Conversely, if you get one percent worse each day for one year, you’ll decline nearly down to zero. What starts as a small win or a minor setback accumulates into something more.”

“Success is the product of daily habits – not once-in-a-lifetime transformations.”

“Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits. Your weight is a lagging measure of your eating habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your clutter is a lagging measure of your cleaning habits. You get what you repeat.”

“If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you always got,” states Henry Ford.

Ready to make a straightforward change in your life? Right now?

Louise Hay states, “Think for a moment about something in your life you would like to change. Go to the mirror and look into your eyes and say out loud, ‘I now realize that I have created this condition, and I am now willing to release the pattern in my consciousness that is responsible for this condition.’ Say this several times, with feeling.”

“Say, ‘I am willing to change. I am willing to change. I am willing to change.’ You can touch your throat as you say this. The throat is the energy center in the body where change takes place. By touching your throat, you are acknowledging you are in the process of changing,” states Hays.

For example, if want to get in shape and start going to the gym, James Clear recommends saying these specific instructions, “During the next week, I will partake in at least 20 minutes of exercise on (DAY) at (TIME) and (PLACE).”

“The sentence they filled out is what researchers refer to as an implementation intention, which is a plan you make beforehand about when and where to act. That is, how you intend to implement a particular habit,” continues Clear.

“If you aren’t sure when to start your habit, try the first day of the week, month, or year. People are more likely to take action at those times because hope is usually higher. If we have hope, we have a reason to take action. A fresh start feels motivating.”

The only thing we have control of right now is our current thoughts.

Hays states, “Your old thoughts are gone; there is nothing you can do about them except live out the experiences they caused. Your future thoughts have not been formed, and you do not know what they will be. Your current thought, the one you are thinking right now, is totally under your control.”

So, think about how you can improve your life by changing one thing today, and then repeat it. Clear continues, “If you want to master a habit, the key is to start with repetition, not perfection.”

So, think about how you can improve your life by changing one thing today, and then repeat it.

Clear states, “Some people spend their entire lives waiting for the time to be right to make an improvement.”

Be that one person that takes responsibility for their thoughts and acts right now to implement a new habit that will make their life better by one percent!

Recommended reading:

James Clear, Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life

The Truth is – What You Think – You Get!

By Allison Constantino

Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t – you’re right!”

Henry understood how much your mental attitude determines your future success or failure.

If you think the world is terrible or fabulous, you’ll look around and find confirmation of your thoughts everywhere. Everything you think, see, and hear will validate your ideas!

You’re thinking, “How can our minds be that powerful?”

Have you ever misplaced something only to find it was exactly where you knew 100% it couldn’t possibly be?

How can we be so “wrong” about something we thought was “right”?

Thomas Watson, president of IBM in 1943, said, “I think there is a world market of maybe five computers.” Of course, at the time, “computers” were vacuum tube-powered, adding machines the size of houses!

“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home,” said Ken Olsen, founder of the Digital Equipment Corporation, in 1977. Compaq later acquired DEC.

What would you choose if you could choose how you think at any given moment?

Did you learn you had complete or no control over your thoughts growing up?

Did you learn you were a victim, and it didn’t matter what you thought? You had no control over your thoughts because someone else was thinking for you and making all your choices!

Did you learn that your thoughts empowered you and that anything was possible, and no matter how outrageous your ideas were, you had complete control over your life?

Harvard Business Review found that optimists are 40% more likely to get a promotion over the next year and six times more likely to be highly engaged at work. They are five times less likely to burn out than pessimists.

According to sokyahealth.com, we love feeling good. Our day seems brighter, tasks more manageable, and nothing can get in our way when we are optimistic. Positivity increases our self-confidence; it is why we take risks. The power of positivity drives us to find good in others. We have faith in ourselves and others, freeing us to accept affirmative responses.

Sokyahealth.com found that positive thinking is also associated with increased cells that boost your immune system. Essentially, positive energy is a soldier that protects your mind and body from harmful influences. Healthy emotions create a buffer and suppress negative emotions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.

If you’re not a positive thinker but would like to be, try this small change in your thinking.

Pretend you’re a happy, successful person for one week. When something makes you angry or upsets you, ask yourself, “If I was a happy, successful person, how would I react to this situation? How would I feel? How would I act?

Then change your thoughts and behavior and think and act like a happy, successful person!

If you don’t like the “new you,” you can always return to your original thought patterns.

Maybe it’s too much for you all at one time!

Try pretending in smaller increments. Add one small positive thought to your behavior each week and see how you feel after a month. Do you feel more empowered and in control of your life? Are you better able to handle life’s ups and downs? Would you consider yourself a happier person?

If you answer, “Yes, I feel better,” you’re on the right track!

Remember Henry’s words of wisdom, “Whether you think you can or can’t – you’re right!”

“A Matter of Latitude” by Isobel Blackthorn

ASIN: B07KWM65GY
Published December 2018 by Creativia Publishing

Reviewed for Close to the Bone Publishing

Reviewed by Allison Constantino

If you enjoy a “cozy mystery” like I do, this book fits the bill. Set on the island paradise of Lanzarote, one of the Canary Islands off the coast of West Africa, this is the perfect setting for a disappearance.

Paula, the main character, left Britain to follow her heart and marry Celestino, an artist and environmental activist on Lanzarote. “Like so many others, I came to the island to escape my hum-drum life and Britain’s dismal weather.”

When Celestino disappears without a trace, Paula can only guess which politician her husband confronted about his or her corrunption, or illegal environmental activities on the island.

Paula’s frantic search continues for days revealing more about herself, her husband, her friends and enemies and the island paradise she chose as her new home, than she ever imagined.

I love these quotes!

Describing how she feels after finding her husband missing, “He appears to me now as an absent presence.”

Describing Lanzarote, “This is the kind of place where it’s better to be a tourist rather than a resident, unless you were born here.”

Describing the island’s corruption, ” It isn’t so much that the developers and local councils are breaking the rules, they’re ignoring them completely,

These quotes give the reader some special insights into the dark underbelly of the island’s burgeoning tourist industry, probably more than your average tourist wants to know.

As a reader, don’t ask me how I did this, but somehow I confused the two main characters. I thought Paula was having flashbacks, until a third of the way through the book, I realized I had been reading about Celestino, not Paula!

Once I had that realization, things made a lot more sense, but I couldn’t help thinking, “I wish Paula would hurry up and put all the clues together and find Celestino.” I felt like the book could have moved much faster than it actually did.

Isobel Blackthorn, originally from London obviously loves Lanzarote where she lived briefly, renovated an old stone ruin, taught English and mingled with the locals. She learned from the locals about the corruption on the island, involving illegal property development impacting adversely on the environment. She promised herself she would do what she could to raise awareness of these illegal activities through her writing.

How to Find Inspiration in Unexpected Places

“Goblin Market Restaurant Tree” https://allison-constantino.pixels.com/featured/the-goblin-market-restaurant-tree-mt-dora-allison-constantino.html

As an artist, I think I look at things differently.

I see things that completely stop me in my tracks, while others might walk right on by! I’m always amazed at how differently each one of us sees and processes the world.

A case in point is one of my recent trips to Mount Dora, Florida with my husband.  We love to visit Mt. Dora. We walk around the quaint downtown area, treat ourselves to a great meal, take a hike, go for a boat or train ride or just hang out.

This particular day, after a walk around the downtown area, we headed to one of my favorite restaurants, “The Goblin Market Restaurant.” (http://thegoblinmarketrestaurant.com/)  for lunch. It’s been there since 1996. This particular day was a perfect spring day and the hostess asked us if we would like to dine inside or outside on the patio.  We both said, “Outside!” So the hostess takes us to this table outside under this huge oak tree! She gives us the menu.  I glance at the menu. We already know what we want, so we order. We hand back the menus, then I look up!

I’m totally blown away! There is this plant that has wound itself completely up the side of the tree. The plant is being lit by the sun and seems to be sun lit from behind all the way up the tree. Even the tree leaves seem to be back-lit! I can’t believe how beautiful it is!

The beautiful bright green plants are contrasted against the red tones of the tree bark and the bright lime green tree leaves are highlighted against the brilliant Easter egg blue sky!

It completely takes my breath away! I take my phone out and start snapping photos – from every angle imaginable! Snap, snap, snap, snap, snap.

Now people are starting to stare at me. I’m sure they’re thinking, “What could she possibly be taking a picture of? All we see is a HUGE tree! What is she doing?”

I keep snapping photos, hoping that the pictures will do the image justice.

I couldn’t wait to get back home so I could start my painting of the tree. I knew the painting would present a few challenges, like getting the perspective right and the most important thing, getting the “sun lit” quality of the plants and leaves “right.”

I really wanted the plant and the leaves to “pop.” So, since I’m painting the image in acrylics and they dry darker, it means multiple coats of highlights.  Lots of applications of pure color on top of pure color.

After all was said and done, I was really happy with the results.

You can judge it for yourself. Can you feel the spring day? Can you see the sunshine beaming down on the tree leaves and plant?

If you can, then I’ve done my job of sharing my world with you and how I felt on that pristine spring day on the patio totally arrested by the beauty of the moment!

Inspiration comes from anywhere! Be sure to look up! I’m not sure we’re always thinking about looking “up” for ideas. Maybe it just means we should spend more time each day with our head in the clouds!

Two-minute stress relievers you can do at your desk!

A two-minute meditation can help you increase your concentration, help you overcome personal and professional challenges and give you an overall more optimistic feel about yourself and the world.

Meditation works because the process quiets the clutter of your conscious mind allowing you to connect directly with your subconscious mind. Your subconscious mind is the combined knowledge of everything you know, although you don’t know you know it!

To reduce stress at work and create a better sense of well-being, just sit at your desk and close your eyes. Take in a couple of deep breaths, slowly inhaling and exhaling.

Visualize yourself sitting comfortably on a beach. The sun is shining bright and the sky is Easter egg blue and disappears into infinity. You feel the sun warming your whole body and you begin to relax.

You smell the salty air and feel a warm breeze. You hear the gentle waves lapping onto the beach, one-by-one. You hear children laughing and music playing in the distance.

A feeling of well-being rushes over you as you enjoy being fully in the moment. You feel happy, healthy, relaxed and more aware of yourself and everything around you.

Enjoy being in the moment and stay there as long as you desire. When your’re ready, bring yourself back to being fully in the present moment, then open your eyes. After your two-minute meditation, you should feel the benefits of your mini-stress reliever.

According to verywellhealth.com meditation shows promise as a means of keeping your blood pressure in check. https://www.verywellhealth.com/meditation-for-high-blood-pressure-can-it-help-89622

The nice thing about mini-meditations is that you can do them quickly, quietly and without having to – if necessary – leave your desk!