Love & Life Elevated

What would it look like if you landed in the space of deep confidence and faith in yourself? I want to talk a bit today about something called psychocybernetics. Psychocybernetics is a concept that combines elements of psychology and cybernetics to understand and improve human behavior and performance. It was developed by Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon, and psychotherapist, in the mid-20th century. The term "psychocybernetics" itself is a fusion of "psycho" (mind) and "cybernetics" (the study of control and communication in animals and machines). This approach explores how our minds work as self-regulating systems to achieve our goals and aspirations.

Consider what you would love to embody this year. This is your truth, your essence.

All of us get an opportunity to set new intentions for the New Year. A year from now many of us will look back and wonder how we lost our vision on our way. This is all about connecting our vision and our mission to our heart and soul.

Today I'm talking about some awesome work presented by Gabriele Oettingen, the researcher who wrote the book "Rethinking Positive Thinking. Oettinger developed this idea of ""Woop," an acronym that stands for "Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, Plan."

The WOOP framework is used as a mental strategy for setting and achieving goals. Here's what each part of the acronym represents:

1. Wish: This is where you identify and clarify your specific wish or goal. What do you want to achieve? It's important to be clear and specific about what you want.

2. Outcome: In this step, you vividly imagine and visualize the positive outcome or result of achieving your wish. Think about how achieving your goal will make you feel and what the benefits will be.

3. Obstacle: Here, you identify and acknowledge the obstacles, challenges, or barriers that might get in the way of you achieving your goal. It's about recognizing the potential roadblocks.

4. Plan: The final step involves creating a plan to overcome the obstacles you've identified. You think about specific actions you can take to address the challenges and work toward your goal. This step makes your goal more actionable and realistic.

By going through the WOOP process, you combine both positive thinking (the "Wish" and "Outcome" steps) and a realistic assessment of potential obstacles (the "Obstacle" step) to develop a concrete plan (the "Plan" step) for achieving your goals. It's a practical and structured approach to goal-setting and motivation.

Some of the things we need to have on our list right now - pause, peace, presence. Can you focus on that? I'm sure we all could use a little more peace. Step out of the human DOing and give yourself permission to step into the human BEing. Love yourself right where you are.

Think about the way you've persevered, how you haven't abandoned your heart. We've seen and experienced hard things. Yet we continue to spread love and be hopeful. We continue to keep our lights on.

Structural discipline and reactive discipline are two different approaches to managing behavior, often applied in various contexts. In a spiritual approach to discipline, the goal is often not just about controlling behavior but also about fostering inner growth, mindfulness, and a sense of interconnectedness with others and the world. It encourages individuals to align their actions with their spiritual values, such as love, compassion, forgiveness, and gratitude, and to view discipline as a means for personal and collective transformation.

See yourself as a hero. Is there something in your heart that is yearning to leave the status quo and enter the woods of the unknown? Strive to be a guiding light for those seeking answers and inspiration. Embrace the challenges of the unknown, be fearless in your pursuit of wisdom, and use your example to make the world a better place. Thank you for answering the call. Thank you for your unwavering dedication to helping humanity progress towards a brighter future. The world needs more heroes right now.

Confidence as a practice that I believe all of us can benefit. Confidence is a deep and unwavering faith in oneself. When we connect this idea to a practice it becomes some of the best work of our lives. We can do this in several ways and I'm talking about three today.

This is the number one month of list-making. Are you a list-maker? This is also a time when, for many of us, our self-care falls to the bottom of the list. When we write something down, we increase our chance of that happening by about 85%. Are you on your list - the top of your list? It's easy to displace ourselves this time of year in relation to things that seem to be more important. But I am urging you today, put yourself at the top of your list.

When you are finally ready to overcome all the limiting and false ideas of who used to think you are and truly becoming all you came here to be.