I found the below video of Tony Robins really inspiring. I personally use different techniques for my yearly goal setting, but his ideas are really good. Watch it and get inspired!

Your assignment:

• Take for your 2012 goal setting, don’t rush it. Set aside some time in the evening, play some inspiring music, take a piece of paper and start dreaming about what you want to create in 2012. And write it down.
• You can even invite to your goal setting your loved ones, your spouse, so that you can get support on reaching your goals throughout 2012.

Have an amazing 2012!!

I wanted to try something more difficult. And: it was much more harder than I thought while sitting on a couch and planning the trip. After struggling for many days, I experienced all sorts of emotions – from frustration, struggle, extreme tiredness, to amazement, excitement and pride of reaching the destination.

In many ways, this hike was a life lesson for me and this is what I learned:

1. You may know what your goal is, but you never know what is behind the corner

Every day we started in the morning towards our next destination hut. We examined the route and knew more or less how much time do we need to reach our destination. What we did not know, however, is how the route looks like. Every time we said: well, the most difficult part is behind us – the new, more extreme challenge appeared in front of us. We can transfer it directly to our professional or private life – we often set goals, but at the end we cannot possibly know how we will achieve them, what will appear on the path towards our goal. What worked for me in this situation was: being open for whatever arises in front of me, so that I am not disappointed or surprised, and just: embracing the journey.

2. Put one foot in front of the other

This is probably the biggest lesson I learned from the mountains. When I started the hike, I knew my goal was somewhere far away, up in the mountains and it would require a lot of strengths to get there. I thought: will I make it? Will I have enough mental and physical strength? And at the same time I wanted to enjoy this hike. And this is how I did it: I only focused on putting one foot in front of the other, only one small step after another. It’s not a big deal, is it? From time to time I stopped and enjoyed the view of the mountains, and then again: one foot in front of the other.

I took a short video of my slow and steady steps. Does not really look impressive, but it is enough to get to the summit and achieve the goal.

3. Patience

Many times on my way to the summit, I got frustrated and wanted to stop. I got frustrated at the mountain! I had to survive these moments and keep going, to the summit. In our professional life we also get frustrated a big deal. But it is important to get going, so that we can sit at the top of the mountain, enjoying the view and say: “It was all worth it!”

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Pick your favorite activity, where endurance is essential. It may be running, or biking, trekking, swimming, etc. Set some time aside and do this activity for a longer period of time, as usual. F.e. when you usually run 30 minutes, run one hour, or two. See resistance arising, when you do this activity for a longer period of time than usual. Observe frustration arising, observe when want to give up.

Then focus on “one foot in front of the other”, find your rhythm. See the difference, when you chunk this activity up, to small steps. Don’t look at the watch, don’t look at the distance, just put one foot in front of the other.

Look at your professional life, your career from this perspective. Do you face times when you struggle and want to give up? Do you sometimes feel frustrated with regards to your career goals? What would be the small “step” you could take in such situation? How you could find your rhythm and keep going, one step in front of the other?

From my experience in studying body and mind connection, there is another way to react more skillfully in stressful situations. The secret is to become conscious of your body, ground yourself in your body. What happens when we are under stress is that we contract in our upper body and our breath becomes short, we become easy to defeat. We lose our connection to the ground and “space out”. In order to balance it, we need to ground and center ourselves, feel once again the earth below our feet.

How can you ground yourself? Imagine a tree trunk. You want to center yourself, and to stay stable on the ground. Like a strong tree, you want to be able to withstand all the winds and storms it is confronted with. The first step is to stand upright, and breath in and out slowly, becoming aware of your body. Then you turn your attention to your lower body – your hips, legs, feet and you can even imagine that you are becoming a tree trunk, solid, stable, grounded in the Earth. Next, you turn your attention to your upper body, feeling its lightens, and airiness.

You can imagine that your lower body is like a tree trunk, stable and strong, and your upper body like a tree crown, light and airy. You soften into this feeling, allowing the gravitation to pull down your jaw and shoulders. Next,  you become aware of the energy field around your body, inhaling and exhaling long and slowly.

This centering exercise helps you to collect your energy. Through grounding you “gather yourself together” and with this new stability you can react more skillfully to the stressful situation in question. Once you have memorized this exercise you can use it in any stressful situation, whether at work or at home, whenever you want to feel more calm and think clearly.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

Whenever you feel stressed out, find a quiet spot to do the following grounding exercise. It may take even as little as 30 seconds.

1). Take an upright standing position. Breath in and exhale, long, feeling the breath flowing through you body to the ground

2). Become aware of your hips area, upper legs, calves, feet. Feel how your lower body connects with the ground. (you can imagine a tree trunk)

3). Uplift your upper body, feel like there is a little more air in your chest.

4). Breath in again, long exhale. Become aware of the energy around your body, in front, at the back, left and right, below and above.

Now you are ready to face your initial challenging situation being more grounded, and centered. You will immediately notice that your mind is much more clear and you are able to take sound decisions. There is a new quality now to your presence. Enjoy!

Many of us experience the above situations when we feel stuck in our thinking. In fact, we spend the most of the time in “our head” – thinking, planning, worrying, calculating. In doing so, we focus most of our energy in our heads / thinking process. The solution to this problem is to reverse the energy spread, meaning moving the energy from the head and allowing it to spread over our whole body, to spread it evenly, allowing our brain to take a break in order to function more efficiently.

In the last few weeks I experimented a lot with body energy and its influence on my mind and its efficiency & focus. I discovered that when I activate the energy of my body, move the focus from my head to an even distribution over my body, I relieve my mind, so to speak. Doing so I get rewarded – my mind become more relaxed, at ease, and efficient and focused at the same time. Giving my mind a break, I nourish it and help it to function better. At the same time, I honor my body as well.

Let me give you an example. Some time ago I bought myself a sport trampoline. Every now and then when I feel that I am “stuck” in my mind, not able to think creatively, I simply jump on my trampoline. I play dynamic music and jump around like crazy. I truly feel my body and in time I feel like happiness energy is being released from my body. Just notice next time you are at the playground and see children jumping on the trampoline – how happy and energetic they are after spending some time jumping! (I learned this secret trick from my niece and nephew ). Usually after some time on the trampoline I sit for 10 minutes or so, feeling my body. It is amazing how this jumping quiets the mind. When I sit, I face an incredible calmness. And very often my creativity starts kicking in enormously.

I encourage you to cultivate this practice of activating  your body energy – it is very simple, yet have a powerful impact on your state of mind, focus, creativity and happiness. Ideally you do this exercise in the morning, before going to work and starting your day. This is a great day to prepare you for the coming day, assuring that you will be at your best the whole day long.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

1. Find your favorite way to activate your body energy. Make sure that this is something simple, energetic and can be done almost everywhere. You may choose running, or spinning on your bike/ indoor bike. Or skipping the rope. Or simply dancing to your favorite music. The choices are endless and you need to find something what speaks to you the most.

2. Make your own activation music playlist! Music activates our energy in the fastest way. Make a playlist of your favorite music and keep it handy if you need it for your body energy activation exercise. Sometimes if you don’t have time to do it with some body movement, just listen to this music in your car or on your iPod, it will also help you release energy, especially if you associate this music with the previous exercise.

3. Whenever you need more clarity, self-confidence, practice your energy activation exercise.

Remember, you can make the shift from fogginess / fear / doubts to clarity / focus and joy in a very simple and fast way. It only takes a few jumps!

“Joy is just being yourself-alive, fully vibrant, vital.A feeling of the subtle music around your body and within your body, a symphony” Osho

I just came back from India, where I spent an amazing time in an Ashram in Pune, near Mumbai (check out that beautiful henna artwork on my hand – I love it!). This was something I always wanted to do and this time I decided not to dream about it, but make it happen.

Time spent in Ashram was full of excitement: meeting great people from around the world, experimenting with different forms of meditations, enjoying yummy Indian food and breathing in the monsoon air. I went to India because I wanted to get more clarity, to silent my busy mind and create space for creativity. Did I get this? Yes, I did, but in an unexpected form.

I have been meditating for many years now, so this was not new for me itself. However, in this particular Ashram everything was focused on body-mind balancing. Most of the meditations incorporated the movement part, like, e.g. dancing, jumping, whirling, screaming, as well as a silent part. The “movement” part helped people to get in touch with their bodies, calm the mind chatter and release the energy. The whole Ashram seemed to dance – dancing was not only a part of many meditations. Also, every day there was one hour open air Dancing Meditation. In the evenings one could dance further at the Plaza Lounge, where a big party took place almost everyday. Big celebration, joy and vitality.

I embraced this celebration totally. I have been dancing, jumping, screaming, laughing, whirling, shaking, without being conscious about if I look stupid or not. Slowly I could notice that I start to feel my body more and more, that I inhabit it finally. I could also hear more clearly to my intuition and nudges. Suddenly my daily mind chatter was not there – but only silence, peacefulness and clarity.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Re-discover your connection to your body. You can do it in many ways: go for a jog, or just play some energetic music and jump around like no one is watching. You will notice the surge of energy and clarity almost instantly. Or you can simply meditate getting in touch with different parts of your body. Befriend your body again, speak to it, listen to it. You will be amazed how this relationship will nourish you.

Me and my business partner Beth also offer workshops on Body Centered Leadership, where we learn how to listen to our bodies and use its wisdom for our life decisions. Check our Body Centered Leadership website for upcoming workshops in Europe.

However, as I look back now there were 2 essential steps I did, which improved my performance at work almost instantly. And you can do it right now as well. And you will be surprised how much these simple changes influence your performance at work. So here we go:

1. De-clutter

I am a big fan of decluttering, as you can read in my article “Clear Your Clutter! 5 Simple Ways To Reduce Your Stress” . I implemented this principle many years ago and I am still a devoted fan of decluttering, and I am amazed by its immediate influence on work performance.

A cluttered environment means a cluttered mind. Its virtually impossible to think creatively and clearly if you work in an cluttered environment. The energy you need to perform, to be creative and efficient gets stuck in the clutter. Taking the following easy steps you can simply release this energy and use it to increase your performance and overall well-being.

Start with your desk. Look at your desk – is it free of stuff ? Or can you see some piles of documents building up the tower, pens, pieces of papers, etc? Take some time to clear your desk – leave only your computer, phone, pen and a small notebook. That is it. OK, a vase with fresh flowers is allowed and I even encourage you to put in on your desk, it increases creativity. Nothing more. Once you do it, you will feel an instant clarity and new energy flow.

Sort Out Your Documents. Do you have any outdated documents in your office? Throw them away. Or move them to the archive. The rest just sort out it and put into structured files. The energy which is released by this simple step is incredible.

Clear Your Hard Disk Drive. As you did it with your documents, do the same with your files saved on your computer. Many of them you just don’t simply need. Either delete them or burn on the CD and store in a drawer.

If you do only these 3 simple things, you will be overwhelmed by the clarity and energy you received.

2. Focus

Once you cleared the space for flow of creative energy, you need to focus this released energy to produce results you want in your work. You need to focus this energy in the direction of your goals.

Eliminate destruction. You did all the work to release the energy, now you make sure to protect it. We often tend to get distracted (I do) by little shiny objects, and this way we may waste this precious energy. Check your email only 2-3 times a day. If there is something important you need to do, you will get to know it anyways. Check your smart phone also only 2-3 times a day.

One Task At The Time. If you work on something, work only on this one thing and until completion. Studies show that we need a lot more of energy to get back to the task again, as if when we would complete it on one chunk.

First Things First. Prioritize using your time for the most important things first. Use the most productive time in the morning to complete the most important tasks for the day.

Isnt that simple? Yes. And powerful? Yes. I guarantee you that when you implement the above steps, you will instantly perform better at work,  and – what is even more important – you will feel really great!

My fasting routine looks like this: 1 day preparation day (eating lightly), then 3 days fasting, followed by 2 days of getting used to eating again (very light diet), so altogether 6 days. Please note: don’t fast without getting advice from a professional source! If you have any serious health issues, consult your doctor. Myself, I followed closely the professional book on fasting, which helped me a lot.

Fasting for the second time was much more easier than the first time.  Now I was prepared what to expect. And, again, I noticed many benefits of fasting which made me worship this process even more.

Those are main benefits I experienced while fasting:

1. Clear and Focused Mind

Fasting cleared my mind substantially. During the whole fasting period, and after that as well, I was able to work more focused than usual, and I was more productive. Ideas seemed to flow easily and I was able to accomplish lots of complex tasks without any effort.

2. More Energized

During the fasting period and afterwards, I had lots of energy. I felt sluggish only on the first day of fasting, because it is a first day of detoxification, and our body releases toxins to the blood, and as a result we get tired. However, while drinking a lot of water and herbal tea, this tiredness disappear on the second day and is replaced by high energy level.

3. More Optimistic

Generally, during the fasting period and afterwards I felt more optimistic than usual, I wanted to explore more and generally enjoyed everyday. I spend a lot of time in nature, walking twice daily and enjoying the autumn.

4. Eating mindfully

After fasting my attitude to eating also changed. Now I tend to eat more healthy, I crave healthy food, and generally eat more slowly, enjoying every bit of my food. Eating this mindful make me also eat less, in general.

As you can see from the above examples, the benefits of fasting last long after we are finished with fasting. Fasting is a wonderful gift we can give to ourselves and our bodies. And as you can see, this is also a wonderful way to reduce stress, as fasting give us an energy and joy burst!

Fortunately, one day I stumbled upon a book about Feng Shui and home organizing and only then did I realize how much negative energy my clutter contains, how much it “clogs” my life, and how much stress it causes, making it impossible for new things to come into my life. Immediately after reading that book I started clearing my clutter and continue to do so on a regular basis today.

Whether you believe in Feng Shui or not, you will be amazed by the surge of fresh energy you experience after clearing your clutter. Clear your clutter and create a space for the new, amazing things and experiences.

Once you clear your clutter:

• you will feel much more lighter and stress-free
• you will feel more energized
• you create a space for new things and ideas to enter your life
• you will experience a sense of clarity and calmness
• you will be more creative

Below I present 5 simple ways how you can clear your clutter right now and release your stress immediately:

1. Clear Your Desk

This is the simplest, yet one of the most powerful clutter-clearing areas. A clear desk means a clear mind, and a clear mind has a vision, perspective and creativity. Clear your desk so that you have only essentials on it: your computer, a phone, a pen and a notebook. Put all the remaining things neatly into your drawer. Try not to use any post-it notes to remind you of your tasks; instead, use for this purpose a notebook. Make it a habit to clear your desk at the end of the working day so that next day you can start fresh.

2. Clear Your Wardrobe

Do you have some clothes in your wardrobe you do not wear anymore? Get rid of them! Give them to charity or sell them. If you did not wear an article of clothing for a long period of time, the chance is low that you will ever wear it again. Clear your wardrobe and make room for new clothes! And go shopping!

3. Clear Your Book Shelf

Have a look at your bookshelf. Are there any old books you probably wont read anymore? Give them away, sell them and make a room for new ones. Leave only those books you feel represent who you are today, or a few to which you feel emotionally attached. Get rid of the rest.

4. Clear Your Pile Of Documents

Every time you look at any pile of documents, your mind subconsciously gets stressed. Identify your piles of documents, sort them and file them so that they stop to rob your energy.

5. Clear Your Computer Hard Drive

Our computers increasingly become the storage of many documents. Go through the documents and delete the old ones, or those you probably wont use anymore. If you feel a bit uneasy with deleting, you can archive the documents on external media such as a DVD, file them, and then delete them permanently from your computer. After you cleared the data, organize them neatly in a structured way, so that you will be able to find everything easily.

You will be amazed, how much fresh energy these simple decluttering steps will bring to your life! AND: be cruel when it comes to clearing your clutter!

We all know that our thoughts have an immense power over us and influence the quality of our lives. What we think, we become. If you think you will lose or you will win, you are right either way. You attract what you think about. And on and on.

I do believe that while working on releasing stress from our life, we also need to go deeper and examine our mindset, our thoughts, and see if they are congruent with what we do want to experience in our life.

The majority of our stressful thoughts, which create a lot of pain, are simply not true. However, once in the spiral of stressful thoughts, we are not able to see it clearly, and we identify ourselves with these thoughts instead.

While working with Cients, I often use the principles of The Work developed by Byron Katie. She offers the solution to stressful thoughts by questioning them, to investigate if they are true. As a result we  learn how to disolve stressful thoughts.

These are the questions for any stressful thought we identified:

Is it true?

Can you absolutely know that it’s true?

How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought?

Who would you be without the thought?

When we believe our thoughts, we suffer. When we question them, and peace is our goal, we find ourselves free of any stress, and recover the joy of life.

I highly recommend to watch this short video by Byron Katie, thought-provoking.

In my previous post I was pondering on the topic of fear influencing our life decisions. After years of personal development and “working on myself” I still find myself at times not being able to control my emotions, especially when it comes to the negative ones, like fear, resentment, judgments, anxiety, etc. It’s not that I want to have these emotions out of my life – I accept them as a part of our humanness and I am fine with that. The problem arises, however, when I feel that these emotions are ruling my behavior, preventing me from acting from my core, and speaking my truth. After years of studying the principles of personal growth I still seem at times to be helpless in front of these powerful emotions.

I kept asking myself the question: how can I learn to recover quickly, how can I connect to my core in front of this emotional hurricane. My last experiential discovery was the first attempt to answer this question. And the solution lay in connection to my core.

According to the law of the universe: ask and it is given, I found myself recently attending the workshop of Wendy Palmer: “Embodied Leadership”. And this is where all the answers to my question started emerging powerfully. Wendy Palmer runs a series of workshop on Conscious Embodiment, and in her work she offers ways of understanding mental and emotional habits of attention from an energetic viewpoint. She gives a set of tools to help people to recognize how our mind and body habitually react to pressure, and to access more skillful and unified responses. The core of her work is the principle of full inhabitation of our bodies, listening to it and acting according to our inner guidance.

What amazed me the most about these techniques is the fact, that they are so simple, yet so powerful. In fact, it takes only a few seconds to connect to our inner wisdom and act upon it. Can it be that simple? – I asked myself. In fact, it is so simple. However, it requires great deal of practice to incorporate these techniques into our daily life. We are used to emotions ruling our life, that we simply are not able to consider any other way to response to these overwhelming emotions. So it requires practice to discover this other, wonderful way of listening to our somatic intelligence. And it needs courage to trust our body. Our “thinking mind” tends to underrate our bodies, telling us: “What does the body know? How can it give you any guidance. You think, therefore you are!”.

However, I experienced so many times during that workshop, how intelligent and powerful our body is. The Body Mind. During the workshop I suddenly remembered the article I read in Geo Magazine some time ago about so called hara, the second brain in our belly. In this article the American scientist Michael Gershon from Columbia University in New York, presents the findings on his research on hara center. He found out that in the center of our belly resides “the other brain”, hara, which is composed of the same cells, active substances and receptors as our brain. This “belly brain” is responsible in the large extend for our emotional responses. The researcher have also found out, that our two brains: “belly and head brain”communicate with each other and can influence each other.

Some may argue with the above findings are true or not. For me, however, after experiences from the Embodied Leadership workshop I know I am stepping on the path of conscious accessing the power of my body. Because it does me good and its wisdom is beyond measures!