My Success Formula (pt 5d)- Expectations and Emotional Congruency

(From 5c: Emotions and Expectations)

When Our Emotions and Expectations Are Congruent, We Excel!

Do you expect success?  Do you feel successful?  You attract what you feel.  Are your thoughts affirming of your success?  Are your conversations focused on your successful outcome, devoid of fear and instead confident of the outcome?  Are your actions congruent with your dreams, thoughts, and words?  If not, you can sabotage your results.  And while most people can understand the rationale for making sure that their thoughts, words, and actions are congruent, they rarely think about or understand the importance of emotional congruence.   Expectations have an emotional component.  A quick Google search of emotions and success revealed over 17 millions results!

You Can’t Fake It.

You might fool others, but you can’t fool yourself.  Emotions are our internal honesty meter.  When we’re moving closer to our dreams we are happier; when moving away from them, we’re sadder.  We know the difference between excitement and fear, between expectation and dread, and between confidence and doubt.  Emotions are our guides to living authentically.  Don’t ignore your feelings for they provide you important feedback about your current state.  That’s why some say, “If it feels right and moral, keep doing it.”  If doesn’t feel right, pause, reflect, investigate and be in a constant mood of learning and flexibility.  We should be like our GPS systems that say, “Recalculating,” whenever we’ve missed a turn and not berate ourselves when we get off track.

Our Emotions and Expectations Should Match

Emotions emit a certain frequency and have the power of attraction. Our emotions should match our beliefs and expectations.  You could think, speak, and act in a certain way, and not feel it and this would be hypocrisy.  Our feelings are the only part of the formula that must be real.  You can’t fake excitement.  You either are or you aren’t.  You can’t fake anticipation; either you are expecting something to happen or you aren’t!  In fact, our feelings are in many cases the real drivers in our journey towards success.  They can get us there quickly or cause us to get lost.   Our feelings influence our thoughts, words, and deeds.  If we feel good, feel confident, feel invincible, or feel certain, our thoughts, words, and actions are one way.  However, if we feel doubtful, weak, or fearful, we are very likely thinking very different kinds of  thoughts. (Continue to Part 6 of My Success Formula: ACTION!

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

My Success Formula (pt 4)- Thoughts

(Previous on Beliefs)

We Are What We Think.

I have three favorite spiritual quotes that have greatly influenced my thinking on the power of  thoughts.  The first is from the Buddha.  “We are what we think, having become what we thought.” The second is biblical. “As a man thinketh, so is he.” The third comes from the Baha’i Writings.  “The reality of man is his thoughts.” If you want to know what you’ve been thinking consciously and subconsciously, examine your current reality.  What is manifesting?  What do you see around you?  What are you feeling?   We are above all creative beings, that is, we create our own reality.  The tool which allows us to do this is our thoughts.

Thoughts are things.

Thoughts are real.  Thoughts create reality.    I was just watching a video by Bruce Lipton that talked about the power of our conscious and subconscious minds.  He explained why positive thoughts alone don’t change our reality because our positive thoughts which come from our conscious thoughts only operate about 5% of the time.  He suggested that 95-99% of our thoughts are subconscious.  Most of our thoughts are a result of our programming which begins at our birth and for the first six years he says, are operating in a theta wave state.  We were in a state of automatic download which meant we were receiving the programming from our parents, environment, and influences (television, teachers, sibling, etc.)  Research shows children under six don’t have the capacity in the theta state to understand the difference between reality and fantasy.  That is why some experts on child development state that young children should not watch television at all.  They know that the children are being programmed and don’t have the capacity yet to challenge that programming which could potentially be with them for life if gone unchecked.   But, now we are adults and we must challenge or reprogram much of our old programming.  If life is working for you, then your programming must be working.  If it’s not than you need to reprogram! Continue: More on Thoughts.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

Facing Change With Faith

With all the fear in the air, it’s easy to get paralyzed, confused, and apathetic.  But, for leaders and winners, change implies, taking charge.  And, those that take charge are noticed and rewarded! We have a choice; we can be swept up by change or we can learn to face it, embrace it, and manage it.  We must be firm, yet flexible at the same time.  Spencer Johnson’s #1 bestseller, ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ tackles this subject with humor and insight.  If you haven’t read it already, you’ll want to read it. It inspires great thought and offers a wonderful perspective on how to deal with change.  In it he uses four characters, Sniff and Scurry and Hem and Haw to represent the search for cheese in the maze of life.

What’s Your Cheese?

The Cheese in the story is symbolic of whatever we spend our lives searching for to make us happy.  The maze represents the search for our own particular cheese and the twists and turns in life we encounter defining our cheese, locating our cheese, enjoying our cheese, protecting our cheese, and preparing for when our cheese is moved.  The characters Sniff and Scurry are represented as mice. Their lives are simple and uncomplicated. They search and find cheese using a trial and error method. They have a routine that works.  They arise early, race to work, do what they need to do and enjoy the cheese they find. They always stay prepared, alert, and ready to make changes when they are necessary without over analyzing the situation.  When the cheese moves, they move.

Stop Hemming and Haw-ing

Hem and Haw are Little People.  Their lives are a bit more complicated.  They wind up at the same place as the mice and enjoy the cheese for many years.  They get complacent however and don’t plan for change.  They don’t stay prepared.  They don’t remain alert, and they have no contingency plans.  They expect that the cheese they have found will always be there.  They also expect that if it moves, they are entitled to be compensated.  Even when it becomes obvious that the cheese is no longer there, they ignore blatant facts.  All four characters however, each based on their vision, values, and virtues search for their own kind of cheese, define what cheese means to them, and handle change in their own way.

So,  what are you searching for in life?  What does that goal you’ve defined really mean to you?  Changes will happen, if they haven’t already, stay tuned.  If they have already happened and are making your goal more elusive, what are you doing about it?  Are you hemming and haw-ing?  Or are you facing change with faith and realizing that it’s time to sniff out a new plan, stop procrastinating, and scurry and find your happiness.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out: What Does Barbara Do? or visit  my website.

7 Steps on A Faith Walk

Make Sure Your Steps Are Faith-based NOT Fear-based.

They say that it is, “always darkest before the dawn.”  Meaning that, it is the darkest right before the light appears.   I’ve had some truly dark times indeed.  But, now, I not only can see the dawn, but a brilliant light all around.  So many opportunities and possibilities are within my grasp but there is an equal or greater number of pitfalls and potholes.  I can let the darkness paralyze me or proceed in faith.   I choose to proceed in faith and know that I am not alone and will be guided around the potholes in life.  So I encourage you to follow your dreams. Hold on if you’re convinced you are on the right boat, and jump ship if you aren’t and start swimming in the direction of your dreams.  When times get dark, visibility is poor, but who knows your wildest dreams may be just a step ahead.  Seven steps on a faith walk are below.  Enjoy and share.

7 Steps on a Faith Walk

  1. Don’t give up on your dreams when times get tough.  That’s the time to hold on tighter because it’s always darkest before the dawn.
  2. Seek advice and encouragement so that you can make a wise decision, but make the final decision yourself.  If necessary or possible, limit conversations and contact with negative, toxic, and fear-focused people.
  3. Make sure that your decisions are faith-based instead of fear-based.  Faith gives you hope.  Fear increases doubt.
  4. Take the faith walk a day at a time or a step at a time.  When it’s dark, it’s hard to see that far ahead so take each step in faith and confidence.  Everyday do something major or minor that will get you closer to your dream.
  5. Pray for guidance, fortify your faith, get up and act, and go after your dreams with tenacity.
  6. Realize that you may not get the support you need from those who love you the most.  It’s your dream and only you have been privileged through your vision to see a sneak preview of coming attractions.  You may have to take that faith walk alone.
  7. Finish the Faith Walk.  Go after your dreams as if you were fighting a gorilla.  Don’t stop when you get tired, stop when the gorilla gets tired.

I’m Barbara Talley, the poet who speaks and inspires.  To find out more about me check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.

The World Is Our Mirror

What You See Is What You Get.

Although the world is our mirror, we decide what elements in the mirror to focus on.  There is so much out there that we can’t control and so much that we can.  We’ve got to decide which is which.  We can see light or can see darkness.  We can see hope or we can see despair.   We can see unity or we can see separateness.  If you see beauty you get beauty.  If you see love, you get love.  If you see hated you get hatred.  If you see lack, you get lack.  If you see abundance, peace, and opportunity, that’s what you will pursue.  What you see is what you get.   What do you see in the mirror?  Is the person happy or sad, kind or angry, full or fear or full of faith?

We Are Co-Creators of This Drama Called Life

Our free will and ability to make choices makes us a co-creator in this drama we call life.  We connect with, focus on, and are influenced by what we chose to see, believe, think, feel, and do.  And the clues for our search within are reflected back to us from every person, challenge, triumph, or situation we encounter.  Our oneness makes it possible to learn from others, but our uniqueness makes it necessary to do our own searching.

I’m Barbara Talley, The Poet who speaks and inspires.   To find more about me, check out my promo sheet or visit  my website.