Tag: stress

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Procrastination is Good???

Procrastination is Good???

You heard me right…Procrastination is Good!

We have been told and taught that procrastination is bad.  You have most likely heard these famous quotes, ‘Never put off till tomorrow what can be done today’.  ‘You may delay but time will not’ and on and on

Here is one for us procrastinators: ‘Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time’ and ‘you can’t just turn on creativity like a faucet’.

Now you might be interested to know that there are two types of procrastination, Active and Passive. I sense your surprise. Would you like to learn more?

Active Procrastination is delaying working on the task while mentally mulling it over in your mind.  You have a task or project you need to work on maybe it daunting or difficult.  It’s on the daily list but you put it off; however, not completely.  You are mentally working on it. Allowing yourself time to sleep on it and think on it. This is Active Procrastination

Passive Procrastination is not acting or thinking on it and you find yourself wasting time instead of working on the task.

Active Procrastination is good and Passive Procrastination is bad

I will tell you that I find myself in both camps and until I began researching this, I thought all procrastination was bad.  I, now, know the truth and so do you.  I found this knowledge gave me relief and comfort to be me. To solve problems and complete tasks my way. I can be an active procrastinator and that is OKAY.

Here are some examples of good procrastination:

Sometimes procrastinating on a task really identifies if it is important to you.   IF it is really important to you, you would be you be all over it, getting it done, right?  Sure you would.  But if it isn’t really important then let’s just sit on it and see what happens. Take a day or two to assess the energy of the idea or task…let it marinate so to speak. In the mean time, think about how it can be accomplished or even improved upon. Speaking on improving the task….

Active Procrastination can allow you to become more creative

I really love using active procrastination for this and it has helped me to be more effective.  I love to think about and use creative sleep to form ideas and strategies to complete a daunting task.  It is amazing how creative the mind can be when we allow a difficult task to restfully sit for a day or two. 

Now you have made time and space to create new strategies and ideas to complete the task easier.  This leads to better decisions and successful completions.

So these are a few reasons why active procrastination is good, you might have a few of your own.

So what do we do about the bad procrastination?

If you find yourself on the couch looking at Social Media instead of working on the task, say HI!

Yup that is me when I am struggling with bad procrastination; sitting on the couch scrolling through Instagram. This would be a sign of bad procrastination. Funny thing is, I am not aware that I am procrastinating. Being aware of the procrastination action is very important to develop self-awareness.

First, to recognize the procrastination behavior and secondly, why?  What is it about THIS task that so distasteful or fearful?  I find that most bad procrastination is fear based.  There is something about the task that scares you.   The fear can be so subtle and familiar, it goes without recognition. 

Is it a fear of being judged?  I am not sure I can do this well so, if I mess it up, I will be embarrassed.  Solution, do some research on the task and make a decision.  Can I do this or should I ask for help.  Often at first glance, tasks seem harder than they really are.  After a little research, on, YouTube, for example, you will learn if the task is in your skill set or not. Now you have the information needed to make a decision.  And it is off the list.

Or the project is HUGE OMG, I need a month off to complete this task.

Is the task just to overwhelming to even think about?  And there I am scrolling on the couch.  The solution is to just break it down into smaller bites. Sounds easy doesn’t it? NO! I used to say no too. Now I ask myself, “what small thing could I do today that would help with this task”. I like mind maps.  

Mind Maps are relaxing, Just Saying…

An example of Mind Map: Last Christmas, Teri (my wife) tells me every bedroom will be occupied with kids and their spouses and a grandchild, so we need to get the house in order.  I found this to be Overwhelming.  This project had a lot of moving parts with closets being cleared and stuff needing to be taken to good will and garage needing to be organized to handle more stuff being moved from bedrooms and on and on.  It was a nightmare.  So I took a day and created a mind map.  I don’t work well with lists. I broke everything down into little tasks with dates.  And it all got done. Just having the mind map gave me relief. I wasn’t overwhelmed anymore. Instead, I was excited and focused to complete each task and cross it off.  By the way, at the top of the plan, I wrote “The Kuhns Family Christmas”. Some will get the reference.  Haha.  Yes, Christmas Vacation is one of my favorite Christmas movies.

In closing, there you have it, The Good and Bad of Procrastination. If there was an Ugly of Procrastination, it would be to continue scrolling on the couch.  Instead use this information, face the issue and make a decision. Self awareness is all you need to decide if it is Active Good or Passive bad.

Happy Active Procrastinating

Is hypnotherapy right for you? call or text me for a free 20 min consultation. (805) 242-1649 or use the CONTACT ME form at the bottom of the post

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Positive Thinking 2.0

To see the video of the speech, click the link below, otherwise continue reading the speech below.

Have you ever been annoyed by someone who always looks on the bright side? Well you probably would be annoyed by me.  For most things, I look for the positive and will usually add humor to it. That’s just me.  I would say I have been like that most of my adult life and I really began to train myself to be more positive as I learned about the energy that is attached to thoughts.  Thoughts are energy and I like to keep my vibration high.  So, thinking about what I don’t want is counterproductive.  It’s like being attached to a rubber band in negative land.  No matter how hard you try to leave the band pulls you back in.  Even though I would consider myself a positive thinker, we can all elevate our game and my game was elevated recently when working through a manifesting challenge.  I was creating my Desire Statement about my business.  What do I want my business to look like?  It started by creating a list of everything I didn’t like about my business. I was asked to make a list of everything I didn’t like about my business. I was asked to make a list of 10 of my complaints. Then, I was to create a gratitude statement for each complaint.  Then create an affirmation from the gratitude statement.

So, for example:

  1. Complaint: It is hard to find new clients, Gratitude statement: I am grateful for my clients -Affirmation: New clients flow to me easily and effortlessly.
  2. Complaint: I don’t believe in myself, Gratitude statement: I am grateful for my Divine gifts. Affirmation: My Divine gifts are meant to be shared.

Can you see, feel or experience the power in turning a complaint into a positive statement? 

Can you feel the transformation in energy?

Then I wondered.  If this can work with manifestation, what would it be like to turn every complaint into a positive statement?  How would that change my vibration?

I mean, there is a lot to complain about, right? Even with all my positive thinking, I am not immune to the problems in the world and I do my share of complaining.  One of my common complaints would be, do I have to hit every red light as I drive into town?  I could change that into, I am thankful for a safe drive into town.  As I follow currents events, I would think, Can this country be any crazier.  It would be better to focus on the good.  I am thankful for the freedoms my country provides. So I decided to up my game, to be more positive and grateful for everyday things.  

 Now, this isn’t easy. It takes self awareness of your thoughts and emotions.

Just like anything, it will take practice and I am dedicated to this new way of thinking. 

On a grandeur scale, if the world we live in is made up of our collective energy. Would you rather be living in a world of negative energy or positive energy? What if we all began to think more positive, to refrain from complaining, and to become more grateful for everyday things?  

Whoa……..What would that look like?

But it may be hard to believe that one can change the world by changing oneself.  However, it isn’t a new concept. Many have spoken it and a song by Michele Jackson, “The Man in the Mirror” comes to mind. 

Okay, so, if it is hard to accept a world changing concept, then consider just your life and those around you.  Law of attraction states you attract into your life what you believe.  That belief has a vibrational frequency.  You can attract negative or positive beliefs.  I prefer positive, so I will work to change my beliefs into more positive ones.  One way I can do that is to stop wallowing in the quagmire of negative thinking and beliefs and my complaints and begin attracting more positive results. 

I will become more aware of my complaining and become more positive. 

Perhaps you will join me too.

When you are ready, contact me for a free 20 min consultation to determine if hypnosis is right for you.  Call me at (805) 242-1649 or use the contact form below.

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Why is Self-Love Important

In the last 6 years, working with clients for a number of issues from quit smoking, anxiety, weight-loss and others, I have found there is an underlying issue, a thread of commonality in all and that is self-love or the lack thereof. This one tiny thing isn’t so tiny at all.  It is the foundation to creating lasting change in many if not all areas of our lives.

Let me ask you, do you really love yourself? If I asked you that, you might quickly answer, “of course I do” But do you really?  Do you treat yourself and talk to yourself with love and respect?

My upbringing 

I was born into a family with English and German heritage. My home life, love was rarely shown and acceptance was quickly removed when I wasn’t behaving according to my parent’s standard.  I learned quickly to keep my awareness on what others thought of me.  To not upset the applecart, so to speak, because, then they would not love me anymore or so I feared. This insecurity was easily carried over to all my relationships and my boundaries became pretty thin.

I was afraid to say no. I was always thinking, What if I said no?  Would they still like me?  What if my opinion up set them, what would they tell others about me. Would my Mom still love me? So I grew up learning that my self-love was second or even last to others.

Self-Love is the foundation to accepting yourself, respecting yourself and taking responsibility for yourself

In my work with clients I began to recognize the power of self love to create lasting change and I began working with my clients to increase their self-love. At the Hypno-Thoughts Live 2021 Conference, I attended Martin Caster post conference, 3 day practitioner certification training for Addiction Behavioral Modification.   one of the techniques is developing self love. This ‘self love exercise’ was powerful for me for two reasons: One, my own observation of the importance of self love was confirmed and validated and second, Martin created a very effective way to connect and reinforce self-love, respect and responsibility. When we practiced the technique on each other, it had a profound and life changing effect on me.  I no longer look at food the same anymore, which was my intention during the exercise, and it made changes in many ways throughout my daily life.

Are you ready for a quick exercise? Ok! Here is the quick exercise:

Close your eyes and take a deep relaxing breath and let your whole body relax.  Now imagine, picture or pretend that you are looking at yourself in the mirror as you are getting ready for the day.  Look yourself in the eye in the mirror and say I Love Myself.  I love myself…….

Now take a deep breath in and open your eyes

How did you do? Did you find it uncomfortable? Yes?  I did as well. It is much more comfortable now than before the conference.  Self love is connected in so many ways in our lives.  Our appearance to others is huge, isn’t it? When we see our bodies in the mirror, is our thoughts loving or hateful?  Mine used to be hateful.

Many believe, as I did, that hating our bodies would be motivational to improve their body image.  Wrong!!!

If you do not like yourself then you have no respect for yourself and will continue to regularly disrespect yourself with wrong foods and life choices.    

Who can relate to these thoughts: I don’t like me so who cares.  I want it now because it will make me feel better.  And on and on and on

Actually, when we love our selves, we will experience that self-love leads to self-acceptance and self-respect.  When you are in this state of self love and self respect, you will find yourself saying, “I love myself where I am now and I take responsibility to change it moving forward!”  Now that is power to change, wouldn’t you agree?

No longer seeking the approval of others

WOW when you love and respect yourself in your own uniqueness and value, it has power.  You can find the courage to stand firm with yourself and say This is who I am, love me or move on!  Imagine the power in that!

We talked about boundaries and saying NO.  Self-love is huge here.

Imagine how strong your boundaries are now.

The power in self-love and respect could be referred to as a super power couldn’t?

When you have self-love and respect, you have the power to take action for yourself and build stronger boundaries. I wonder what other super powers will begin to emerge.

 Perhaps: Open, caring and honest communication with others would come forward or how about putting you first or this one, Self Forgiveness.  Let us have that superpower as well.  It is okay to forgive yourself from the past, present and the future.  We are going to make mistakes. That is the path to growth.  It happens; so let it go.

Are there’s more? I wonder how many other super powers you will you find when you begin to love yourself for who you are.

Super Powers I want some!

Self-love, self-respect, superpowers, I want them all!  How do I get some of that?  One way is to see me for a session and there are lots of other ways to build self love into your daily routine.

Take a walk anywhere or in your favorite nature spot. Take that nap you need.  Treat yourself to healthy foods and snacks. Drink plenty of water

Meditate, yoga, mindfulness, journaling, arts or crafts and practice gratitude.

Allow yourself to be you – Respect & love your uniqueness

Want to experience a personal Self Love Journey? I created an audio recording that will release your self love blockages and empower your love for yourself. As a special gift attached to this blog, use the link below and receive $10 dollars off the regular audio price. The audios normally sell for $25 dollars but you can have it for $15. click the link below for the audio and use the discount code SLJ-10-off at check out to receive your discount.

Click here for the audio link

For a personalized Self-Love Journey experience, contact me for a self love hypnosis session. Call or text me at (805) 242-1649 or use the CONTACT ME form below

Art Kuhns Certified Hypnotherapist and Reiki Master/Teacher

Art is a certified hypnotherapist and Reiki master teacher.  He received his hypnotherapy certification from Hypnosis Motivation Institute.

 Art’s passion is to empower others to find and unlock their own healer and personal power.  Once this power is unleashed, a life of intention and balance in mind /body/spirit can unfold.   He uses Reiki infused hypnosis during his session work to enable clients to connect intuitively and heal holistically.

He holds additional certifications in PTSD, Smoking Cessation, Inner Child Healing, Addition & Behavior Modification and Spiritual Hypnosis.