I’m so, so excited to finally launch the LESS STRESS course later this month! I’ve had a huge amount of interest in this course and I can’t wait for people to start saying goodbye to stress for good. In a moment I’m going to exclusively share a section from the course with you – before it launches. So, you will literally be the first to see it (unless you took part in my competition and tried out the course a few months ago).

The things is, we are just not meant to be stressed every day. This is not natural! So if you find yourself getting stressed out most days then I want you to know that there are alternatives and it doesn’t have to be difficult. I completely understand that everyone is so time poor and so I’ve purposely made this course short and sweet but with maximum impact. Think of it like high intensity training, but for the mind instead of the body! Short, sharp bursts that leave lasting results.

I also have some other exciting news to share – and that’s this:

Last month we had 10,000 people visit the Simple Life Strategies blog!

This has been my goal for over a year now so I am so, so happy to finally reach this monumental figure. What makes me even more happy is to know that somewhere out there on the interweb 10,000 people might just be having a better day because they have learned something new from the Simple Life Strategies blog.

I have to say the whole process of starting this blog has been so humbling for me and I can’t describe how it feels when I see that people are spending half an hour or an hour reading through the simple life strategies. I am so honored to be able to share what I’ve learned with other people so they too can start to live more balanced, happy and successful lives. This is what living is all about people!

So I’d like to say a big THANK YOU for all of your support. Just seeing that you have shared a post or commented or stayed to read through more than one of the strategies really inspires me to keep going on this mission! Please do let me know if there is anything that you would like to see featured on the blog and I will do my best to cover the topic for you. This blog is yours as-well as mine and I want it to be about whatever YOU need to get you through your week smiling.

The Pink Elephant Exercise

Ok so, today I thought I’d share one of the exercises from the LESS STRESS course. Absolutely no one has seen this exercise yet (apart from my competition winners). So you are the very first people in the world to get this sneak peak!

The exercise is called ‘The Pink Elephant Exercise.’ Intriguing right? Well let me set up the background for you first…

I can let you know that one of the steps from the LESS STRESS model is to ‘switch off.’ So, once you have taken the first three steps you then need to switch off from whatever is stressing you out. Easier said than done right? Well here’s a really simple tip for instructing your brain to switch off.

Do this now:

Do not think of a pink elephant

OK – so when I asked you not to think of a pink elephant, what did you think of? A pink elephant right? Do you know why? I’ll tell you now:

The brain can not process negative words within instruction statements. So when you say “Do not think of a pink elephant”, your brain simply doesn’t hear the word ‘not’ – all it hears is ‘think of a pink elephant!’ And so this is what you think of.

So – when you’re instructing your brain to do something, it’s really important that you frame your instruction in the positive. Let me give you a few examples:

Instead of saying:
Stop overanalyzing or stop thinking about <insert problem here>

Say this:
I’m going to clear my mind now and focus on what I’m currently doing

Instead of saying:
Don’t forget to take the garbage out tonight honey!

Say this:
Remember to take the garbage out tonight honey!

Can you see the difference? The second example is phrased in the positive and is focused on what we want to achieve instead of what we don’t want to achieve.

This is a really important point – and one that will really change your life if you get your head around it. Most of us spend out lives thinking about what we don’t want to be doing and what we haven’t got and what’s missing. Guess what? This is like a self-fulfilling prophecy! The fact is, you get what you focus on.

So next time you feel like over-analysis has kicked into action or you find yourself thinking of something that isn’t for your best interests, take a moment to re-phrase how you’re instructing your brain to operate. You’ll find that you will have a much better success rate!

I hope this sneak preview exercise helps you to better control those thoughts inside your head so you can go about creating the life you really want!

Simple Life Strategy: How to Instruct Your Brain to Do Something

1. Notice how you are instructing your brain – is it a positive or negative phrase?

2. Look for words like ‘not’ or ‘don’t’

3. Replace these words with the positive alternative such as ‘do’ or ‘I am going to _______’ or ‘Remember’

4. Think about what you DO want to achieve, not what you are trying to avoid!

The LESS STRESS course officially launches this month. Keep your eyes peeled as there might just be a special introductory offer for my regular readers! If you don’t want to miss out on this – email me and I will send you details as soon as the course launches.

Share the love! If you learned something new with the Pink Elephant exercise, share this with your friends!

More Simple Life Strategies:

• A Simple 5 Step Problem Solving Exercise
• 10 Tips to Declutter Your Home
• How the Little Things Help You Enjoy Life

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PS ~ Sick of working just to pay the bills? Get my most popular, FREE online training here: My 3 Step process To Find A More Meaningful Career.

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