Читать книгу Magic Motivation - From Stuck to Success In Days - Kirsten OSB Long - Страница 3

Foreword

How to use this workbook

In preparation

Buy yourself a beautiful journal and pen. Alternatively, create a special folder on your computer where you will do the journal work suggested.

The book is made up of five different elements:

♦Information and theory. This is the part you’ll need to read.

♦Journal work. This offers you an opportunity to learn and reflect (the reflection part is an important part of the work).

♦ Quotes. These support the theory.

♦Practice. Exercises for you to do that will consolidate your learning and help bring about change (the action part of your work).

♦Key ideas. These summaries are found at the end of each chapter and serve as a quick reminder of what you have learnt in the chapter.

When you see these symbols…

…it’s time for Journal work.

Wherever you see this sign in the book, take five minutes for yourself. Breathe yourself into a calm, self-reflective space. Square breathing always works for me:

♦Breathe in while counting to four.

♦Hold your breath while counting to four.

♦Breathe out while counting to four.

♦Hold your breath while counting to four.

♦Repeat four times

Then, do the exercise in your journal. You may want to write the page number of the exercise in your journal for cross-referencing purposes. Take your time and write honestly. If possible, write for a minimum of 10 minutes. This is for your eyes only – the more honest you are, the more you will learn and grow.

If you do not feel confident about journaling, refer to my book Journaling Joys.

…it’s time to Practice.

This is a practical exercise for you to follow. It’s different to journal work where you are required to reflect. These exercises are actions that you can take to bring change to your life. Follow the instructions given.

…it’s time to reflect on the Key ideas.

After each chapter, you’ll find a summary of the content and important points to remember.

How can I get the most out of this workbook?

This book is written in a way that you can choose the best route for you:

♦Either work through the book from beginning to end. This will give you a complete understanding of all aspects of self-motivation.

♦Or, pick the chapters where you believe you’re having difficulty and work through those first. The book is written in a way that each chapter is an entity on its own and doesn’t require the previous chapter in order to be understood.

On that note: when you work on a chapter, complete the work from the beginning to the end. This is especially true of the journal work. When you get to a journal exercise, do it right away before reading the rest of the chapter. This is because some exercises work better when you do them fresh, before reading the theory behind it. To give yourself the best chance of success, do the journal exercises as you come across them.

As with life, the theory is useful, but change only comes about when you take action. This includes not only physical action, like making a telephone call, but includes mind action like changing your thought patterns and beliefs.

Mind changes are possible because you can consciously focus your mind on something. For instance, if I suggest that you spend two minutes listing the things you are grateful for in life, you’ll find that you are quite capable of doing this. Many of your beliefs are unconscious but once you become aware of them (through journaling or other exercises) you can consciously let go of that belief and replace it with a more affirming belief. My understanding of action includes this kind of practice and exercise.

The most important consideration to changing your motivation levels therefore is that you must take action. The first action you are going to take is to pick up this book and decide how to work with it. Secondly, you will begin reading. Yes, action gets things moving – and your journey has begun.

Take on all the journal work – this is an important part of the journey of discovery for you. Complete all the exercises as this is part of creating change. Small changes every day make for a lifetime of success.

Commit to working though this book. Take your time (don’t even try to do it all at once!). If you read the whole book and try to implement the changes in one go, you’ll lose motivation and be back at square one.

Try spending a whole week on a chapter. Get those changes under your belt before you embark on something new. You may find one or two chapters make all the difference for you anyway. You can end each day flipping through all the key ideas to make the knowledge part of you. Working through the book means that, in time, you’ll shift your motivation levels.

NEVER, EVER GIVE UP!