I'm talking to myself! Should you be doing the same?

We've recently been going through some tough times in our family (deaths, illnesses, relatives struggling with financial woes and joblessness). And I gotta admit it's sometimes a struggle to keep a positive attitude. But this much I know from my daily exercise (a mental and physical life saver!) while listening to podcasts: To change what you're feeling, you must change what you are doing!

For years I've been listening to Brian Johnson's PhilosophersNotes during my workouts. This practice has effectively doubled the power of my workouts! Instead of simply refreshing my body, I've also been refreshing my mind and spirit.

Listening to my "best self"

Recently, I tried something that felt a little weird at first: I began playing my own podcasts during exercise. And what I discovered was amazing!  Let's say I'm feeling negative and discouraged before the workout.  As I cue up one of my podcasts, I plug in my ear buds and hear my own voice coming from this amazing positive place!  The positive muse (or Source or God) that helped me write the podcast, then record it, is really there as a presence!  And the more I listen to myself, the more I can feel my energy shift. I get back to the place of positive energy and strength from which I created the podcast. It's wonderful! And it lasts the rest of the day, carrying me through the challenges that I face and helping me be much more positive and supportive of those who need me.

How to Hear Your "Best Self"

But you don't need to be a podcast producer to get in touch with your best self. I challenge you to try this:

1. Look at my list of podcasts.
2. Ask yourself: "What's missing here? What would I add to this guy's podcast list?"
3. Then just start writing. Sketch in all your ideas, quotes, powerful inspirational concepts, etc. (Or use your phone's or tablet's audio recorder to make yourself a recording of your thoughts.)
4. Print and save your article or podcast script or recording so it's easy to find.
5. The next time you feel negative or discouraged, read this article or podcast script or listen to your recording.

I'm betting that you'll find, as I have, that the muse that takes you to that positive place where your "best self" lives will show up again when you revisit this good stuff you've written.

So go ahead! Start talking to yourself!  And be sure to listen.

The Podcasts That Help Me "Pick Myself Up"

Here are the podcasts that I use to inspire myself:

• 10 Specific Actions That Can Help You Become Happier -- When individual team members are happy, the entire team will likely be happy! But how can you become happier? In this podcast I share 10 specific actions that I’ve taken to create more happiness in my life.

• Consciously Choose Your Attitude  -- A project team’s attitude can make or break the project. In this post learn how you can consciously choose your attitude instead of simply allowing it to overtake you as a collection of random feelings.

• Practice Mindfulness-- Focus:  the power of mindfulness — the practice of bringing your full awareness into the present moment – and how you can expand upon your inherent ability to practice mindfulness

• Accept What Is-- You must first accept a difficult situation for what it is before you can handle it effectively. Accept it, see it clearly without denial and hand-wringing, and then you can take appropriate action.

• Just Do It!-- Get moving… get unstuck… & just do it! If you and your project team members are sometimes plagued with fits of analysis paralysis or procrastination, then this post/podcast is for you.