In a couple of weeks the Winter Olympics will take place in Vancouver, BC.  Athletes from all over the world have come to compete for the coveted “Gold” medallion; showing that they are the best in the world at their sport. 

Having the Olympics in my own back yard (I live in Mission, just one hour east of Vancouver), started me thinking about the times I’ve gone for my own “Gold” and the number of times that I’ve failed.  I’ve tried a number of different businesses: home party plans; network marketing, commodity trading, various sales jobs, management positions, etc.  Also, I’m a registered nurse by profession and still work part time as a nurse. 

I worked very hard at some of those businesses and spent a lot of money I didn’t have, trying to make them successful.  So why weren’t they?  There are many reasons: some good, some bad.  Read the rest of this entry »

Which is the Greater Miracle: Birth or Growth?

On December 18th, I had the privilege of attending the birth of my sixth grandchild and helping to care for him for the first few days of his life.

 I think there are few things more soul-filling than to have a new baby sleep on your shoulder; to lightly touch his velvety skin with your cheek and smell that fleeting new baby smell.

As I held that beautiful baby in my arms, I thought of the six babies that I had given birth to; three of whom are parents themselves now.  People talk about the miracle of birth and I agree; but to me, growth is just as great a miracle.  To think that a newborn, helpless babe can grow up to one day create a child of their own is truly stunning!

But birth and physical growth is a natural event.  We didn’t have anything to do with our birth and until we’re old enough to start making choices that could interfere with the process, we don’t have much control over our physical growth either.

However, we have 100% total control over our personal growth.  This is the time of year when people make, and usually break, New Year’s Resolutions.  You know the ones I’m talking about.  This is the year that I lose weight, get out of debt, start that business, take that holiday, etc. However, statistics show that 90% of New Year’s Resolutions are broken before February 1st.

Why is that?  There are lots of reasons given but through my own experiences and the many years of research I’ve done on this subject, I think it boils down to one answer.  The goal is outside of the person’s belief system about themselves. 

We each have a belief system about who and what we are, and we have to be true to it – even if it is negative and harmful (which it usually is). Our belief systems were installed, usually by our families, and were well established before we even went to school. 

As a stress relief coach, I’ve found that the majority of negative belief systems involve having no value as yourself – only in what you do, being responsible to meet other people’s needs and being a failure, not deserving of good things.

This conditioning is subconscious (below the conscious mind level), so we are not aware that it’s there.  However, until you change that conditioning and remove these negative emotional blocks, you will never be able to grow.

The exciting news is that you can change your belief systems.  You can break the negative emotional blocks that are keeping you from being, doing or having what you want in your life.  The most powerful tool I’ve found to accomplish this, is Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). 

I was a motivational course junkie for over 30 years.  I took dozens of self improvement courses.  I was taught by some of the motivational giants: Bob Proctor, Brian Tracey, Steven Covey.  I did the Firewalk with Tony Robbins!  I had all the knowledge about how to improve my life but nothing changed.  Why?  Because I had negative emotional blocks inside, that I didn’t even know were there, that I had to be true to.  They would not allow me to apply the information so that I could make the desired transformation.

Through EFT, I learned about these limiting belief systems.  More important, I learned how to break them.  Most important of all, I did break them!  I am finally free to be who I was always meant to be!  I can’t begin to tell you what a difference that has made in the way I feel about myself and in my life.

So, if you are sick and tired of the same old, same old, there is a way out.  You can start again.  Not only can you start growing again, you can actually experience a rebirth – only this time, you will control the process.  Are you ready? 

For information on how to break negative emotional conditioning, contact Sheryl Stanton at www.SherylStanton.com, by email: stressrelief@shaw.ca or by phone: (604) 302-6374.

div class=mceTempDo you ever feel like you’ve bitten off more than you can chew?  Just like this seagull, where the starfish he is trying to eat is half his size. /div
div class=mceTempI watched that seagull for about half an hour as he picked up the starfish, tried to take a bite and then dropped it on the ground again.  I don’t know if he was ever able to eat it or not./div
div class=mceTempI thought of how that seagull reminded me of my own life.  So many times in the past, I have tried to do too much.  I used to laughingly say that if I didn’t have at least half a dozen projects on the go, that my life was boring and I’d go looking for something else to add./div
div class=mceTempfont style=position: absolute;overflow: hidden;height: 0;width: 0a href=http://www.videnov.com/#1084;#1077;#1073;#1077;#1083;#1080; #1074;#1072;#1088;#1085;#1072;/a/fontThe problem with living your life that way is that you don’t  have time to do a really outstanding job of anything and/or you don’t get to enjoy the satisfaction of a job well done.  I’ve heard it described as taking time to smell the roses./div
div class=mceTempWhy do we do that to ourselves?  Sometimes, circumstances make our lives incredibly busy.  For example, I had five children born within six years; one of whom was seriously handicapped.  That was an incredibly busy and stressful time of my life!/div
div class=mceTempBut I added to the stress by taking on other things:/div
div class=mceTemp1.  I worked part time as a nurse./div
div class=mceTemp2.  I started a home-based business./div
div class=mceTemp3.  I was very active in our church, both in church callings and in the choir./div
div class=mceTemp4.  I kept journals for myself and my five children./div
div class=mceTemp5.  I made quilts for each member of the family, etc. etc. etc./div
div class=mceTempI understand now what was driving me to perform back then.  I had a negative belief system that I had no value as myself, only in what I did.  So, I had to keep producing – just to feel like I was of worth.  Of course, I had absolutely no idea that I had a negative belief system like that.  It was subconscious (below my conscious level of understanding).  But it determined every aspect of my life and eventually wrecked my health./div
div class=mceTempDoes that sound familiar to you?  Are you unhappy, unhealthy, unfulfilled, unproductive, unprofitable?  If you are, I understand because I’ve been there myself.  I learned about the negative belief systems I had and I also learned how to break them.  If you want to know more, visit my website: a title=Sheryl Stanton’s website href=http://www.SherylStanton.comwww.SherylStanton.com/a/div

I have always liked snails.  I love the colors and shapes of their shells.  The other day when I was walking along the dyke by the Fraser River in Mission, BC there were dozens of snails along the path. 

As I looked at them, I realized an interesting thing.  The snails inside their shells probably thought they were  hidden away and safe.  But they were going nowhere and not only that, they were in danger of  being stepped on and killed!  The snails who had the courage to come out of their shells were moving – off the path and towards the grass.  In the grass, they would be safer and they would also have access to food.

I thought of how much we could learn from the snails.  How many of us are stuck in our “safe” routine, doing the same thing we’ve been doing for years?  We may not be happy or fulfilled but we are safe.  But are we really?  Someone once said that if you stay stuck in a rut, it becomes your grave.  We have to have the courage to leave our shell, stick our neck out and move.

I heard a minister say that the saddest thing about a funeral was not the death of the body.  It was the death of all the dreams.  Is there something that you have always wanted to do?  Are you doing anything about it?  You might not be able to do the whole thing, but are you doing anything to fulfill that dream? 

If you’re not, what kind of a snail are you?

This is the last blog on this series of Goal Setting.  If you remember, the other Success Keys are: # 1: Be Committed; # 2: Create a Realistic Plan and # 3: Be Prepared for Setbacks.  We also learned how to use EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique to quickly, easily, painlessly and permanently eliminate our cravings and the emotional blocks that interfere with successfully reaching our goals

Today’s blog is on the final Goal Setting Success Key # 4: Tracking Your Progress.

Reaching goals usually takes time and often, we don’t see results for a while.  Unless you have a way of tracking your progress, you won’t know if you are actually accomplishing your goal.  This is often when people get discouraged and quit. Read the rest of this entry »

 In the last blog on goal setting, we talked about the two reasons why people fail at reaching their goals – especially weight loss goals.  They were giving in to cravings and emotional eating.  I introduced EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) as the fastest, easiest and most effective way to eliminate both of these setbacks in weight loss.  And I promised to share my experience with breaking my chocolate addiction.

I am a Stress Relief Coach and often put on seminars where I teach people how to eliminate their stress, using EFT.  After teaching the basics, I will ask for volunteers to help me demonstrate how effective EFT is for so many different problems. 

I always like to use chocolate as an example of an addiction, because it was mine and I knew how people felt around chocolate.  When my life was stressful I would turn to chocolate. I craved the richness and comfort that eating chocolate gave me. Once I started I couldn’t stop. I would eat the whole thing.

I never deliberately used EFT for my own chocolate addiction but when I starting using chocolate as a demonstration in the seminars, I would tap along  with eveyone else - using some of my own reasons for why people eat chocolate. And you know what? I worked for me, even though I wasn’t concentrating on my own reasons for eating chocolate.

I work as a nurse part time in a nursing home in Abbotsford, B.C.  and Christmas is the worst time for chocolate as all of the resident’s families give chocolates to the nursing staff.  At one time there were ten boxes of chocolates at the nursing station. As well, our family had five boxes of chocolates given to us.  Talk about temptation!

Before EFT, I would have eaten most of the chocolates.  But I didn’t have even one!  And it wasn’t because I was being strong or disciplined.  I just didn’t want them.  Now, that is the way to diet!  There is no diet.

I just don’t have the craving any more! Is there an addiction that you would like to get rid of? Cigarettes? Alcohol? Drugs? Gambling? Whatever? With EFT, you can be free of the addiction Forever – Guaranteed!

In the next and final blog on this series of goal setting, I will introduce the final success key.

In the previous blog on goal setting, I introduced Success Key # 3: Be Prepared for Setbacks.  At that time, I said that there were two reasons why people could have setbacks, using the example of weight loss.  They were: couldn’t resist the powerful physical craving and eating for emotional reasons.  I said that in the next blog, I would introduce a powerful exercise that would eliminate both of these setbacks.

The tool that I want to introduce is Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT.  EFT is like Acupuncture – without the needles. Very simply, with EFT, you tap on the ends of the key energy meridians or energy channels with your fingertips, while focusing on the craving or the emotional problem that is making you want to eat. The tapping or vibrating helps to shake up or release the energy blocked by the problem or craving.  Then you are able to think more clearly and choose a better food choice instead of automatically eating the way you used to.

1. The first thing you need to do is pay attention to your body and notice what is happening to you.  If you are experiencing a craving for a forbidden food, where do you feel it?  In your stomach?  At the back of your throat?  What does it feel like?    Identify exactly what you are feeling when you have the craving. 

Also identify what is going on around you.  Are you in a stressful situation?  Is this a programmed response or a habit?  For example, when you watch T.V. after dinner, do you always have a snack?  Or, are you used to having coffee and donuts during your break at work? 

Do you get the idea?  You need to separate yourself and look objectively at what is happening around you when you get the craving to eat.  That information is vital to using EFT to break the addiction. 

2. Take the time to sit quietly with a pen and paper and write down every feeling or sensation you have around food.  Write down what times or activities are especially hard for you.  Write down what foods call your name.  Also, notice and write down what is happening emotionally for you.  Are there any people or situations that can trigger an eating craving for you?

3. Think about each craving/emotion that you have written down, one at a time and tune into your body. What do you feel as you think about it? Choose the one craving/emotion that creates the greatest physical response. Determine between ‘0′ and ‘10′ your level of stress about this craving/emotion.  ‘0′ means there is no stress and ‘10′ means there is great stress. Tip: If you are crying or feeling intense emotion, you are a ‘10′.

4. Once you have identified your main stressor about the situation, you can quickly and easily reduce it by applying Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT. Using the attached diagram, you are going to start reducing your stress on the craving/emotion you have chosen by tapping on the karate chop point. According to the diagram, it is the fleshy side of your hand – what you would use if you were going to karate chop something. In this case, we want to karate chop or eliminate your stress.

While tapping on the karate chop point, repeat the following statement three times: “Even though (fill in the blanks with your chosen craving/emotion), I love and accept myself and choose to feel good about myself, desiring only adequate amounts of healthy food.” This is an example only. Use your own words to make it real for you.

Tips: — Be as specific and detailed as possible. The more detailed, the faster the stress relief. For example: “I am feeling anxious” is pretty general. A far more effective statement would be: “I really want to eat that chocolate bar because I am feeling anxious about having to speak to Tom today”.  Do you see the difference?

• The more feeling you can put into the statement, the more effective it will be.

5. Then you tap with your fingertips on each acupressure point (listed below) about seven to ten times. As you tap, you state aloud with feeling, a reminder phrase about your craving/emotion The reminder phrase is usually just a shortened version of the original statement. For the above example, the reminder phrase could be: “want chocolate” or ”want my chocolate comfort.”  Do you see what I mean?  Just pick some words that create a picture in your mind of what you are feeling or craving.

The tapping points are:
a) Inner corner of eyebrow (on the brow bone)
b) Outer corner of eye (on the eye socket bone)
c) Under the eye (on the eye socket bone)
d) Under the nose
e) Center of the chin
f) Collar bone point – just place the flat of your hand over the two collar bone points and slap                                                                                                                     g) Under the arm, parallel to the bra strap for women, again using flat of hand
h) Gamut point – top of the hand, above and between the baby and ring finger knuckles
i) Top of the head, parallel to both ears, using flat of your hand

6. At the end of the round of tapping, take a slow deep breath. Check in with your body to see if the stress level has decreased on this issue. You will notice that as you tap certain points, you will probably start yawning or sighing. This is a sign that the stress or craving is being released.

If there is still some remaining emotional stress or craving, repeat the tapping procedure, using the words: “Even though I still have some remaining (fill in the blanks with your issue/statement), I (repeat the above positive statement: (I love and accept myself and trust that I will eat only what is healthy for me).  Or say whatever comes into your heart or mind.

Tap each of the above points again, using the reminder phrase: “remaining (fill in the blanks). Continue until the stress is resolved.

Within a couple of minutes, the craving will be gone.  You will have to continue doing this exercise every time you get a craving but it only takes a minute to do.  Once you have broken the addiction, you will no longer want the food.  That is so freeing because you won’t be depriving yourself of anything.  You just won’t want it.

In the next blog, I will share my experience of using EFT to break my addiction for chocolate.

This is the next step in our continuing series on Goal Setting and is written for all those people who are serious about improving some part of their life.  We started it as a series for people who had written New Year’s Resolutions but goal setting isn’t just reserved for the first couple of weeks in the New Year.  Actually, that is probably when most goals are broken.

In order to be successful in making and achieving our goals we need to follow a four-step success plan.  We have already discussed Success Step # 1: Be Committed and Success Step # 2: Create a Realistic Plan.  Today’s post is Success Step # 3: Be Prepared for Setbacks.

You have to be prepared for setbacks and when they happen, consider them a learning experience rather than an excuse to dump the goal.

Don’t think of them as complete failures, don’t dwell on them and don’t let them make you give up your goals.  Get back on track to reach your objective.  After a setback, examine what was going on in your life to cause you to lose focus and plan ahead what you will do the next time you are put in a similar situation.

In using the example of weight loss, there are two reasons why people have setbacks.  One reason is that they couldn’t resist the physical craving for the forbidden food.  The second, is that they were eating for emotional reasons.  In the next post, I will reveal a simple, powerful tool that addresses both problems: quickly, easily, painlessly and permanently – Forever.  Guaranteed!

This post is a continuation on the series on goal setting and for those still working on their New Year’s resolutions.   I wonder how many are left.

The first success key to actually achieving your goals, discussed in an earlier post, was to be committed.   Today’s post talks about the second success key: creating a realistic plan.

You need to come up with a realistic plan to help you achieve your goals.   To demonstrate, let’s continue with the example of losing weight as the New Year’s resolution.   Most of us have unrealistic expectations and put too much pressure on ourselves.   Basically we set ourselves up for failure. Read the rest of this entry »

This blog is for all those people trying to set and keep their goals, like the New Year’s Resolutions that were made.

In the previous blog, I encouraged you to write down the reasons why you wanted to change a certain negative behavior.  I suggested that you need to think about, and write down, all of the benefits you were getting by doing that negative behavior.  I said that you had to be getting some kind of benefit, some kind of pay-off or you would keep doing it.

In this blog, I am going to give an example of a pay-off, using the goal of losing weight.  In order to lose weight, we need to eat better quality foods, eat less and exercise more.  Sounds simple doesn’t it?  So why don’t we do it? Read the rest of this entry »