A big thank you to Kirstyn Marriott the Stress Down Queen for her contribution to today's blog, her much anticipated book "How to Remain Calm in the Midst of Chaos" has finally hit the online stores.
With Stress being the cause of more than 60% of all human illness and disease it's timely that we got the low down on on some important facts!
I am  delighted to share with you some gems from Chapter 3 of the book...
 Enjoy... Georgia

# 1 YOUR BODY DOESN’T CARE IF IT IS A BIG STRESS OR LITTLE ONE

The human body doesn’t discriminate between a BIG stress or a little one. Regardless of the significance, stress affects the body in a predictable way. It may be a major stress like the death of someone close or something minor like being cut off in traffic. A typical stress reaction, which most of us experience dozens of times each day, begins with a cascade of 1,400 biochemical events in your body. If these reactions are left unchecked we age prematurely, our cognitive function (brain function, thinking) is impaired, our energy is drained and we are robbed of our effectiveness and clarity.

# 2 STRESS CAN MAKE SMART PEOPLE DO STUPID THINGS

Stress causes what brain researchers call “cortical inhibition” The phenomenon of cortical inhibition helps to explain why smart people do dumb things. Simply said, stress inhibits a small part of your brain and you can’t function at your best. When we are in coherence – a state where we are cognitively sharp, emotionally calm and we feel and think with enhanced clarity – the brain, heart and nervous system are working in harmony. This state of coherence facilitates our cognitive functioning – we are actually operating at peak performance mentally, emotionally and physically.

# 3 PEOPLE CAN BECOME NUMB TO THEIR STRESS

We can be physiologically experiencing stress yet be mentally numb to it because we’ve become so accustomed to stress. Some people have become so adapted to the daily pressures, irritations and annoyances of life that it starts to seem normal. Yet small stresses accumulate quickly and we may not realise how much they are impairing our mental and emotional clarity and our overall health until it shows up as a bad decision, an overreaction or an unwanted diagnosis.

# 4 WE CAN CONTROL HOW WE RESPOND TO STRESS

We don’t need to be victims to our own emotions, thoughts and attitudes. We can control how we respond to stress and we can become more sensitive to stressful situations and how they are affecting us before they manifest as a physical, mental or emotional complaint. There are simple, scientifically validated solutions to stress that empower people to rewire their own stress response.

# 5 THE BEST STRATEGY IS TO HANDLE STRESS IN THE MOMENT

The best way to manage stress is to deal with it the very moment you feel it come up. Millions of people unsuccessfully use the binge and purge approach when it comes to stress. This means they stress all day, believing that they can wait until later to recover when they go to an evening yoga class, to the gym or chill out when they take the weekend off. Unfortunately, when we put off going for our own inner balance, our bodies have already activated the stress response and it’s our health that suffers.

In the 'Stress Down Queen's Guide' you will discover tools that can reduce and sometimes eliminate stress symptoms. Stress can affect your body, thoughts, feelings, behaviour and relationships. Being able to recognise common stress symptoms can give you a jump on managing them - this book is the perfect antidote for our fast paced and chaotic lives.

Being in Iceland is an appropriate reminder that the cortical landscape  (I know a big word for someone on holidays!) of our brains is like “the snowy hill in winter” (stick with me!)

Did you know  if we continuously think negatively about life (circumstances, people & events),  we create a negative pathway in the 'snow' AKA our Brains?  The best thing about knowing this is that  we can  retrain our brains to “steer our sled” towards a more positive outlook, then that pathway in the 'snow' will actually show a physical change in our brains. The more scientific term for those who like big words is  “neuroplasticity”, each one of our thoughts and subsequent behaviors are responsible for this change in our brains. Nice to know that we are in control! 

So why is being positive (carving a new path in the snow) worth pursuing? Research has shown that a positive pathway in the 'snow' can lead to some great results in your life such as:

• better immune system and health,
• success in relationships and work,
• resilience,
• you actually become more attractive,
• you are more fun to be with,
• and it helps us to flourish, etc.

Unfortunately negativity offers the opposite. (Ever found a negative person attractive? I know I haven't)
The best thing about  being in control of our 'sled' is that we have a new opportunity each moment to enhance our emotional experience (or drain our energy, ouch!). I discovered many years ago that we always have a choice as to how we respond to situations, events and people.  Armed with the knowledge that a positive attitude to life is worth nurturing, and that we can “steer” a different pathway on our habitual cortical landscape, then we can begin to work on strategies to make this happen for ourselves.

Many years ago when I realized I needed to be more positive, I simply would "catch" myself being negative and choose to flip the negative into a positive (e.g. I just paid too much for something, flipped the thought into, thank goodness I can afford to pay that price)  I was able to move quickly into a positive way of being.
The more I adopted this practice the easier it was to have a positive mindset.  My cortical landscape was changing, my sled was heading in a positive direction, and well life was so much better. Being positive moved me from being the victim to being the master of my own destiny. Most people think I have always been super positive... well nope... I had to teach myself and I haven't looked back since, the pathway in the 'snow' is a deep one for me, and it's heading in a positive direction!

Do you have a strategy that has helped you to move from a negative mindset to a positive one? Please post a comment and share your successes!

Who in their right mind would leave a glorious Melbourne Summer and head to the other side of the world  to partake in an English and Icelandic winter?

Albeit a smidgeon cold (freezing at times when the wind blows) it is a great experience. Reading the Lonely Planet guide to Iceland on the short flight from Gatwick (London) to Keflavik (Iceland) I was surprised to learn that Icelanders are supposedly a a nation of pessimists... although I think its all tongue in cheek. The arrivals hall at the airport hosted a number of so called Icelandic sayings that were a testament to their so called pessimism.  They were in fact an insight into their great humor!   One of the quotes  was "There seldom is a single wave" i.e. when it rains, it pours. Each of the quotes at the arrivals hall however showed both sides of the coin. In the case of the single wave saying,  when one bad thing happens more will follow... flip the coin and it could also mean when good things happen more good things will follow. Clearly not a nation of pessimists but a nation of realists with a healthy dose of humor.

After so many many years working for one of Australia's big 4 banks, I have decided to put my all into running my own business. Some have said I'm  crazy, others have said it's tough times to be starting a business while others have been extremely supportive.

After speaking with my dad a few weeks ago about how he felt when he left his 'Office'  job to start his own consulting business back in the 90's, he mentioned that as he walked away from the building in William Street he had a sense of freedom and a whole heap of Joy... I could imagine him doing one of those heel taps in the to mark the occasion!

Here I was, 5.20pm Friday 15th Feb, leaving a promising career, a bunch of awesome colleagues and a fortnightly pay cheque to take a big leap of faith to start up my own business, a huge bet on myself!

So how did I feel? Not at all like my Dad did all those years ago... as I left the building alone and walked to my car, I felt at peace, there was a deep knowing that what I had done was right, I knew that if my next chapter in life was going to be successful it was totally up to me and that really excited me.

It still feels a smidgeon scary but as one of my colleagues said in a parting email... "Fortune favors the Brave!"

I'd love to hear your stories of a time when you've taken the plunge and what it felt like for you, or perhaps you are yet to take the plunge... tell us what is it you want to di and what's holding you back?

Georgia

There are two kinds of people on earth today
Just two kinds of people, no more I say.
Not the good or the bad, for 'tis well understood
That good are half bad and the bad are half good.
Not the rich or the poor, for to know a man's wealth
You must first know the state of his conscience and health,
Not the happy or sad, for the swift flying years
Bring to each man his gladness and to each man his tears.
No, the two kinds of people on earth I mean
Are the people who lift and the people who lean,
And wherever you go, you will find the world's masses
Are always divided into just these two classes;
And oddly enough you will find too, I ween
There is only one lifter to twenty who lean,
In which class are you - are you easing the load
Of the toilsome toiler who toils down the road,
Or are you a leaner, who makes others bear
Your share of the labor and worry and care?

Author Unknown

I remember  that first spark of hope I felt when I watched The Secret all those years ago.  I clearly remember the desire that filled my heart, knowing that – Yes, I can make my dreams come true – FINALLY!

Things started changing dramatically in my life as my awareness grew. I also began to take notice of those around me and wondered how this law of attraction seemed to work for some people yet not others, and as for me there were times when I  can get it to work, but sometimes I can’t.  I began to wonder "What am I missing here?"

I soon discovered that so many people couldn’t make the Law of Attraction work for them the first time round. Think about it, just like anything else, you have to practice many times before you see success. A child doesn’t learn to walk without falling over a couple of times, right?

When you’re frustrated, it’s hard to stay positive. And it’s especially harder to stay positive when the evidence all around you is screams negativity like the unstable economy or senseless acts of violence such as those recently seen at the Sandy Hook School in America.

And do you know what happens when you fail to stay positive? That’s right – you start attracting negative things in to your life.

So how can you make the Law of Attraction work for you – without getting frustrated? How do those who successfully implement the Law of Attraction do it with such confidence and finesse?

Well, here’s three quick tips so you will never feel frustrated or tired of begging from the universe, because you know how to start manifesting like a pro.

1. Allow Yourself To Receive

Just like a lost child who approaches a police officer and asks, “Excuse me Sir, can you tell me how to go to the post office? Can you? Can you? Can you? Can you? Can you?” Well, if the child goes on and on asking, the police officer can’t even give an answer, right?

Well, it’s the same thing with your mind. If the only thing your mind is doing is transmit, transmit, transmit, the universe — which is trying to respond — can’t give you a single thing because you’re not allowing yourself to receive!

So, have the confidence in yourself and stop exhausting yourself by running around person to person begging for riches, and then wondering why nobody is dropping a penny in your cup (Hint: It’s because you’re running away too fast for them before they can even reach for their wallets).

Just think of your desires and leave it out there, go away, and trust that your cup will be filled with gold coins (or whatever it is you asked for) when the time is right.

2. Be Patient With Yourself

Receiving takes time.

Sadly, many people give up just a couple of steps before the finish line because they’ve decided that if it’s not working by now, it’s never going to work at all. Worse still are those who throw in more and more energy because they think that with more resources, the results will come faster.

This is like expecting 9 mothers to conceive and deliver a baby in 1 month. You also can’t bake cookies in half the time by doubling the temperature. You’ll incinerate those cookies to ashes!

In simple terms: Everything in this world has a natural development time, and this fact will not change no matter what resources you throw at it.

So relax and be patient. Remember that you too, as part of the universe, are also governed by the laws of the universe, and you cannot change the natural development time.

If you remember this, you will less likely work yourself up into frustration, or worse, push yourself into a downward spiral of negativity.

3. Support and Educate Yourself

Like the child who is learning how to walk, you need support. You also need to guidance on how to do it, and also the role models to look up to.

Many people give up because they think that “The Secret” is the “be all and end all” solution. Well, it’s NOT. “The Secret” is just a small portion. It was never intended, and has never been, the whole answer.

Coming to the conclusion that the Law of Attraction doesn’t work when all you ever did to educate yourself was watch “The Secret” 19 times (without looking at changing the habits of other areas of your life) is like coming to the conclusion that exercising is not an effective way to lose weight because all you did is run on the treadmill for 2 hours a day (but you’re still stuffing yourself with fried foods and cheesecakes).

So seek and be hungry for new knowledge. Also, make an effort to be amongst people or communities where you can support each other, get a good coach or mentor, learn from each other and also share new knowledge that you have found.

While the Law of Attraction is not an overnight delivery service, it will indeed deliver, if you do your part too!

Check out the 11 Forgotten Laws  here

Tags: law of attraction, bob proctor, the secret

I've done it, Ive registered my domain name... now for the plan to unfold. My aim! To start a business where I can help people live a better life!