Exploring Your Influences

You are what you eat, they say...and you are also who you hang out with.

It can also be said you are the books you read, the TV you watch and, in general, the influences you allow into your daily life.

Every little thing that floats across our awareness - conscious or subconscious - affects how we think and behave, which in turn affects the results we achieve (or don't!). For those of you interested in fine tuning your results in life, I encourage you to explore the influences which surround you. In fact, it's the subconscious influences which have the deepest affect - doubly so because we don't notice them.

For instance, most of us have heard all our lives that the slim, beautiful women in magazines affect the self-image of 'normal' girls and ladies. I simply have never felt that this influence applied to me. I'm too smart for that, I thought; too confident, too happy and centered to worry about such things. In fact, I find myself inspired by slim, beautiful women most of the time. However, I recently discovered how deep these influences go while pondering the seemingly simple choice of changing my hairstyle. My mind began regurgitating judgements about what is feminine, how old is too old to have 'x' length of hair, etc. etc.. Where did I get all this from?? Answer: TV, magazines, in-store posters ... in short, every ad I've ever seen that attempts to tell me what I 'should' look like at my age. What we REALLY should be doing, always, is looking to ourselves and deciding what we love and what is best for us.

TIP: If you don't listen to your own inner voice very often, start now. Your inner self knows more than you do, and this is one important skill that develops with practice. In fact, it's one of the most important things you can do on your journey to create your own authentic, powerful future life. There has never been an occasion when I asked my 'self' for an answer and didn't receive it. Without fail, I have received answers or suggestions that are right on the mark.

As another example, a woman in a Law of Attraction group I am a part of was trying to overcome some financial problems. She was learning about finances and maintaining a positive attitude, but felt she was being held back for some reason. One day, she was cleaning off her desk at home and it hit her like a ton of bricks that she was surrounding herself with negative influences. She related that all over her desk were piles of bills that needed to be paid. Imagine the draining and negative subconscious messages being imprinted in the brain of someone sitting at a desk looking at piles of bills all day!

The Untapped Positive

While we may all have people or situations in our lives that are less than ideal, there is much we can do to we can widen our perspective and explore ways to increase the positive influences.

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As just one example of things you may be missing, I was recently brainstorming for a book a I am writing. As part of my research, I decided to interview any and all millionaires I know personally. While my few millionaire friends automatically made the list, I began to wonder if there was anyone I might have overlooked. As I considered people I know or have known, quite a few names 'popped' as I realized that these people likely have at least a million dollars' net worth. There's the quiet, unassuming executive who lives in a modest home but takes his wife to places like Venice on the occasional weekend, and the owner of the factory, and my uncle who has always handled his money carefully ... isn't it possible - even likely - that these people and possibly many more I know are millionaires? Most of the time I am lamenting that I don't know/hang out with nearly enough wealthy people, knowing how important our influences are. With this fun new discovery, not only am I bound to get some fantastic insights from these inspiring people, I got a lasting infusion of encouragement and connectedness from the realization that so many like-minded people surround me. This is also a brilliant and inspiring story I can share with my blog and book readers ... after all, surely YOU are surrounded by such people too!

Go ahead and explore your influences, both positive and negative. Such personal development work can lead to exciting and powerful insights, which in turn can lead to quick and lasting changes. Whatever influences you'd LIKE to have in your life are closer and more possible than you think, and by also eliminating some of the negatives, you are well on your way to creating your dreams with more power and energy than ever. Enjoy!

Recommended books:

Exploring Your Influences