Tara West » Empowerment

The Wise Old Man

Tara — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 04:07:07 +0000

A short video about how our attitude can make a huge difference in our life.

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Note: this was originally a PowerPoint slide. I have converted into video format… so disregard the message at the beginning about clicking to continue!

Special thanks to Keith Ready of A Gift of Inspiration for sharing.

What I Learned From My 3 Year Old Tomato Sauce

Tara — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 01:38:12 +0000

Mr Moo, my dog, gets very excited when I start rummaging around in the pantry or the fridge. He sees me lifting things up, checking the use by date, and it either gets put back or goes in the pile – his pile. It’s written all over his face and I can well imagine what he is thinking: “Oh yeah, I’m in for a treat tomorrow!”

I’m a bit fussy when it comes to use by or best before dates. Even though the logical side of my brain tells me quite loudly that manufacturers put in a buffer and one simply wouldn’t get food poisoning after consuming it a few days past the date. I’m also a plain eater. It’s rare for me to have sauces etc plastered over my food.

So it was with some surprise last night that I cooked my dinner and had a strong yearning for tomato sauce. Out came the bottle and I happily started spraying the stuff all over my food. I ended up having some dinner with my tomato sauce; not some tomato sauce with my dinner! And it was delicious!

After finishing my meal, I sat there thinking how nice it was and I should have tomato sauce more often! The bottle is sitting right in front of me, so I pick it up, flick it over and suddenly the best before date jumped right off the bottle. Oh no. 11th January 2009. I’m thinking, “This must be some kind of mistake!” All that tomato sauce has gone to my head and I’m on a high… I’m hallucinating!

But nope. My tomato sauce was almost 3 years past its best before date! Yikes! How did that get past my inspections? My inspections I have been carrying out since… well, forever. I’ve missed this bottle for 3 years?! How can that be?

Before I knew it, I felt sick. Never mind that 5 seconds ago I was thinking it was the best darn meal I’d had all week. Never mind that when I was eating I was thinking it was the best darn tomato sauce I’d ever had. No. Forget all that. I’ve just eaten 3 year old tomato sauce for crying out loud!!!

I rush to the bin to destroy the evidence; throwing the bottle away will hopefully make me feel better. I hurriedly put the dishes in the dishwasher so I don’t have to look at the red stuff that is left on my plate. None of this works. My dinner feels heavy in my tummy and I can taste the awful sauce (yes, I know, it was beautiful not long ago). So I scoff down some liquorice to get rid of the taste. That worked.

I sit down and am sure my stomach is going to rebel any time soon! Then I couldn’t help but laugh. What a lot of nonsense! The tomato sauce didn’t taste any different – in fact, it was normal. It tasted wonderful. So the slight sick feeling in my tummy and the bad taste in my mouth was all mind over matter! So I just imagined in my mind that the bottle really said 2012 not 2009. And voila! I felt fine.

So I started thinking about that bottle. Why had I missed it all this time? And why did the date reveal itself to me that day?

Maybe my spirit guides kept me from discovering the bottle and waited for a time when they knew I would benefit from my experience and the lesson it provided. After some reflections, I realised that I am procrastinating with something in my life and, after thinking about the tomato sauce, I came to a decision that it was a ‘mind over matter’ thing and I just need to get on with it!!!

Maybe my spirit guides nudged me into having the tomato sauce so I could also share my experience and thoughts with others because someone, somewhere, would relate to the lesson and get value from it at a time when they needed it.

The tomato sauce gave me a valuable reminder that life can be a bit like my experience with that sauce – where I felt mildly ill when, in fact, I was fine. Sometimes we have feelings or thoughts that are, quite simply, mind over matter. Our brain is so powerful and if we allow it, it can give us an illusion or perception of things that aren’t necessarily true.

This is when it can be valuable to put on the brakes and ask:

“Is this a mind over matter moment?”
“What is real and what is perceived?”
“What would happen if I totally flipped my thought or feeling of _________ and took it in the opposite direction?”
“How do I now feel?”

Even the simplest and seemingly unrelated events that happen in our life are presented to us for a reason and a lesson to learn.

I’m grateful to my tomato sauce

Are You Being Choked By Weeds?

Tara — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 23:57:19 +0000

I discovered the other day that the little patch of plants I was so lovingly caring for were, in fact, weeds! I had planted some cabbage seeds and mistakenly thought they were my little cabbages until the weeds got bigger and I realised my mistake Being a novice gardener, I am learning all the time!

My mistake then had me thinking about my own life and what ‘weeds’ I am cultivating.

Some of the weeds in our life can grow rampant and totally overtake all the sweet, good things; whilst others may pop up here and there and make a slower transition into a fully grown weed.

Sometimes, we may not realise we are cultivating our weeds as weeds can look like something else entirely – just like my cabbage patch. It’s not until they start to grow and choke the good things that we recognise the damage that the weed is doing. And by then, it takes more effort to get the weeds under control. If they are a very bad pest, it can take a longer time to totally eradicate the weed.

Are your sweet, good things in life being choked by weeds?

You may realise you have a weed when you feel discontent, or unhappiness or unease in your life. Here’s how to discover your weeds and eradicate them (I recommend you download and print out the worksheet at the end of the list to help you further):

Pinpoint an area in your life where you feel that something isn’t right… be specific. For example, if you are unhappy in your job or business, don’t write that down. Delve deeper to identify what specifically you are unhappy about. If you leave it too vague you won’t be able to find the weed.
Once you have identified the source of your unhappiness, or discontent or unease, spend some time reflecting on when you began to feel that way so you can associate the timeline with a decision you may have made at that point in time.
Next step is to identify the decision you made that led you to the path you are now on – the path that seems to have a few weeds in the cracks. Sometimes, we make decisions with very good intentions, and that may serve us very well at that point in time. But as you know, we don’t stand still; therefore, a decision you made some time ago may no longer be serving you.
Spend some time reflecting on the decision you made and why it no longer serves you. What is different NOW? Are you the same person you were when you made the decision?
Determine where the weeds are growing. From the timeline that you recognised in Step 2 to the point where you are now at in your life, what have you been doing to cultivate your weeds? Remember, weeds can sometimes be disguised as pretty flowers… we may initially think they are okay, so we pour a lot of water on them and fertilise and nurture them, then suddenly, BAM! They’re massive and we realise the pretty flower was a pest that is now encroaching on the values we hold dear in our life. (To determine your values, please click here.)
Next, determine what steps you can take to remove the weed (or weeds) from your life. Take the approach you feel is necessary for your particular circumstance. For instance, a weed that is the source of your unhappiness, or discontent or unease may be one that you can immediately pour some weed killer on and quickly eradicate it from your beautiful garden (which is your life, your mind, your wellbeing). As an example, this may be an activity you are doing which you can quickly stop all together without any other ramifications to your life. On the other hand, another type of weed may be growing right next to something you value very deeply – if you were to pour weed killer it may very well kill off whatever is sitting next to it. So it requires you to spend more time in manually digging out each weed, taking care to preserve the other things next to the weed. The weed pulling exercise may take many forms – including (but not limited to) meditation, reflections, journaling, personal development, mentoring, and coaching; it’s important you find the forms that work best for you.
Lastly, celebrate your courage and commitment in completing Steps 1 to 6. Take time to thank your higher self for supporting you on your weeding journey and reflect on the gifts that the weeds actually gave you.

Download the Weeding Worksheet. I suggest you use the worksheet following the steps above and use a new worksheet for every weed that you want to eradicate.

Happy weeding

Smile

Tara — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:40:36 +0000

A smile costs nothing but gives much. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that he cannot get along without it and none is so poor that he cannot be made rich by it. Yet a smile cannot be bought, begged, borrowed, or stolen, for it is something that is of no value to anyone until it is given away. Some people are too tired to give you a smile. Give them one of yours, as none needs a smile so much as he who has no more to give. ~ Author Unknown

“Thanks to all the folks and animals who gift me with your smile. Your smile makes me smile” ♥ ~ Tara West

7 Ways to Accept Yourself for Who You Are

We’re all dying… what are you doing about it?

Tara — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 16:24:46 +0000

People talk about what they would do if they were dying – their bucket list, their wish list, their ultimate dreams, or what have you. Things to achieve, things to experience, things to feel with their soul and heart if the time comes.

But you know what?

We’re all dying.

It just matters when.

And sometimes we don’t know the ‘when’.

So I say, we shouldn’t be compiling our bucket list for some future event… rather we should be LIVING it now – and then re-compiling our list to keep on living it NOW, and NOW, and NOW.

When you let go of that internal control and just let yourself live out your innermost desires and hopes, you fully appreciate everything the Universe has to offer; the miracles that kiss your cheek; the joys that LIFE is breathing into your very soul.

And in some amazing way, it extends to you the gift of courage; the ability to reach out and pluck your dreams from the sky and with a deep resonance within yourself say with conviction, “THIS IS MY LIFE!.”

May your bucket list give you continued joy, courage, hope, and above all, motivation to live out the life you deserve.

Much love to you.

(Image credit: http://bit.ly/2enOpw)

Is your story making or breaking you?

Tara — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 16:24:18 +0000

Everyone has a story to tell. It’s the way you tell it that counts.

Your story makes a difference to everything you do in your life. Whether that story is for clinching a new business deal, for securing a new job, or to negotiate something which is important in your life. Whatever the circumstance, your story has the power to impact your life, and others’ lives, in untold ways – but only if you tell it the right way.

It’s the way you tell your story and what you do with it that counts.

And when I talk about stories, I’m not talking about from the time when you were born, to now, and how you got here (although sometimes, dependable on the situation, that too can count but it’s outside the scope of this article!).

I’m talking about the results-oriented ‘stuff’ you have collected along the way and which is marketable or attractive to whatever audience you are targeting to.

What do you want to achieve in your life, your business, or your career? Firstly, it’s really important to define this; otherwise, your stories will not be relevant or, at the other end of the scale, you just won’t be able to define any stories at all that relate to whatever you want to do or whomever you wish to target to (and even if you’re applying for a job you’re targeting to someone or some particular function). To learn more about defining your purpose, click here.

So what do I mean by stories?

Stories are like a movie. Your own personal storyboard where you have achieved results for whatever it was that you were doing. Most folks have achieved quantifiable results or, if they can’t be quantifiable, they are classified as great nonetheless. Never discredit what you have done or are doing.

Stories are the proof that people need to determine whether they are getting a return on their investment from hiring you (whether you are an employee or a business owner). We all think this way – like it or not.

For a client, this is proof that your skills promise to do whatever it is that you do (i.e. your xyz service on average increases staff productivity by x%); and for an employee who is looking for a job, an employer can expect that your $___ salary is going to equate to an additional x% in revenues (or whatever the job function is).

The first step is to have a brainstorming session to unearth your stories. The second step is to re-work your story and ‘tell’ the story in an attractive, authentic, honest, and ethical way.

The first step is the most important step of all – even if you feel you don’t have the ‘storytelling’ skills to get it on paper. Do it anyway. I challenge you to be the Captain of your ship and take charge as, at this stage, it is the thinking process to discover your own unique stories that will steer your ship to success, not the initial words you write on the page. If you don’t have the wordsmith skills, you can always hire someone to do that for you (i.e. the second step). It is the first step which makes all the difference. If you would like support to unearth your stories, then consider enlisting the support of a friend or engaging the services of a professional coach.

When you have defined your stories and written them in a compelling way, your marketing material is geared toward your audience and results in more favourable outcomes and a win/win scenario for all concerned. For a business owner, your marketing materials may be a proposal or a flier or other advertising collateral; for a job seeker, your marketing materials are your résumé / CV, cover letter, portfolio and other strategies.

Let me give you a couple of examples:

For a business owner, you may be a consultant who provides online IT database solutions to small business owners in the xyz market. From feedback received from your clients, with the database solutions that you provide, on average you boost their staff productivity in xyz area by x%. One of your stories can be a case study where you provide some background information on a client. Describe what their pain was. What were their challenges? As a result of the issues they were having, what repercussions was it having on their business? What solution did you come up with? And as a result of implementing that solution, what quantifiable results did your client achieve? If you don’t know any of this, then make a commitment to start surveying your clients to find out the answers to these questions. This then makes a ‘story’ that you can tell to prospective clients to quantify the results they will achieve out of commissioning your services. This can be so much more powerful than simply stating in your advertising material that you help small business owners in the xyz market in gaining better productivity by deploying xyz database solutions. Anyone can say this. It is your story with the results behind it that make the difference. Always align yourself as a solution to their problem in your story. What opportunities are you missing out on because you are not aligning yourself as a solution to the client’s problems?

For an employee, you may be a Safety Officer with a background in assessing site conditions and designing new programs and strategies (and thus, lower accidents / incidents and mitigate risk to your employer). In your job seeking marketing material (i.e. your résumé / cover letter / etc), you would align the results you have achieved in previous employment with the pain (or expected pain) that your future employer will experience. For instance, within the industry your research may have revealed a high incidence of sprains and strains which accounted for 60%+ of injuries. You would therefore include your stories that related to this aspect; asking yourself of your current and previous employment: what type of sprains / strains did I identify? What were the repercussions to my employer if I didn’t identify it or do anything about it? What did I do after identifying the risk? What were the results after I implemented my new strategies (i.e. what reduction in injuries – % wise – did I achieve)? As an example: your story may go something like this: Reduced incidence of sprains and strains from a high 80% down to a low 32% by: – Analysing occurrences of incidents to determine cause. – Investigating the site to review job processes. – Undertaking a job redesign that involved modification of a task through mechanical assistance (this task alone equated to 80% of the incidents with half of those being back strains). – Delivering training to 132 staff in manual handling. – Implementing refresher courses for all staff. This is so much more powerful than simply stating that you have been successful in reducing sprains and strains on site (with no quantifiable results or the process on how you went about it). Always align yourself as a solution to their problem in your story. What opportunities are you missing out on because you are not aligning yourself as a solution to the company’s problems?

Again, if you need help don’t be afraid to ask for it. Enlist the support of a friend or a professional coach. Then when you have defined your stories and if you feel your wordsmith abilities don’t do you justice, engage the services of a writer – seek the help of a professional to make your stories shine. Your stories are important, deserve to see the light of the day, and market your true potential! They will take you on a journey that realises what you dream and hope for.

The way we tell a story is the most important of all. ~ Nullah, from the screenplay ‘Australia’.

What story did you tell in a compelling way that set you on the path of your dreams? How did you share it with others that gained results? Please share so others can learn and gain inspiration!

Release the Feelings

Tara — Tue, 10 May 2011 04:59:42 +0000

I call this my Bubbles Exercise that I recommend to coaching clients when a feeling or memory is hindering their progress.

It’s okay to feel the feelings and learn from them. But when a feeling or memory is holding us back from claiming our goals and dreams, this exercise can be helpful in letting go and moving forward.

First step is to get yourself a bubble blowing kit – the kind that kids play with You can pick these up quite cheaply and easily at your local supermarket or you can make your own.

Next, with a notebook or journal at hand, find a sacred place. This could be in your backyard, at your local park – wherever is comfortable for you and where you feel you won’t be disturbed.

When you get to your sacred place, set your intention. Setting your intention is really important to do. Ask yourself: “What feeling / memory do I want to release? What is this feeling / memory holding me back from?”

Hold those answers in your mind, and then start blowing bubbles. As your bubble forms, imagine that feeling / memory being locked inside that bubble. Your feeling / memory that is holding you back is now inside that bubble… floating away. Or perhaps the feeling / memory is locked inside the bubble and suddenly the bubble pops and your feeling / memory pops along with it.

As you see your feeling / memory float or pop away, allow yourself to let it go. Allow your body to do whatever it wants to do when the feeling / memory is popped or floats away. If you want to cry, cry. If you want to shout, shout. If you want to scream, scream. If you want to laugh, laugh. Just let the emotion out that is associated with letting go of the feeling / memory.

If you feel no release at all, close your eyes and once again set your intention. Then blow your bubbles and observe them until you feel the release.

When you have felt the release and feel that your feeling / memory has been set free, sit down and take the time to reflect and write in your notebook. Ask yourself:

“How do I feel now this feeling / memory has been released?”

“What gifts did this feeling / memory give me?”

“What did I learn from these gifts?”

“Now that the feeling / memory has been set free and is no longer holding me back, what do I want to achieve?”

“To make my goal a reality, what steps can I begin today?”

Epic Journey Across Australia

Tara — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 23:21:18 +0000

Every now and then, you come across an inspiring individual who is taking action to make a difference in the world.

A couple of weeks ago, I was fortunate to meet such a person; standing in the supermarket checkout of all places!

It turned out that the guy standing in front of me, Andrew Cadigan (or Cad as he’s mostly known), is on an epic journey to walk – yes, you read that correctly, walk! – across Australia to raise funds for the Cancer Council. A journey of some 17,000 kms (around 10,500 miles).

I grabbed his ‘Oz On Foot’ business card and, intrigued about Cad’s adventure, I had a look at his website and was amazed at what he is doing.

Cad’s slogan is “One Man, One Pram, Two Feet and a Heart Beat!”

I interviewed Cad and asked him why he decided to go on his epic journey, what he gave up in his life to do it, and what keeps him going in tough times. Listen in to Cad’s inspiring story…

Please do share the video to spread the message! Let’s lend our support to Cad so he can raise a lot of funds for the Cancer Council and meet (actually, exceed!) his goal!

To share either:

- Click on the share buttons at the top and bottom of this article
– Copy the page URL and post or email it -
http://www.tara-west.com/2011/epic-journey-across-australia
– Copy the YouTube video link and post or email it -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6cQTcUx-Dk

Thank you

To make a donation:

- Visit Cad’s website: http://www.OzOnFoot.com and donate directly to the fundraising arm of the Cancer Council

- Follow Cad’s journey (via his website) and when he’s in your town, pay him a visit!

- If you see Cad on the side of the road, consider pulling over, saying G’day, and handing over your spare change!

What If?

Tara — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 01:36:14 +0000

If you’ve ever made a major decision in your life that alters the path you’re currently travelling on, you’ve no doubt encountered that little voice inside your head that whispers ‘What If…’ or ‘What would happen if…”

9 times out of 10, the little ‘what if’ has some scary story to tell you or some other negative message. The voice doesn’t care that you’ve made up your mind. Until ACTION is taken on your decision, it’s going to sit there and annoy the hell out of you until it has you in a spin and questioning the original decision you made in the first place!

Sound familiar? Don’t worry, it DOES happen to all of us… even if you’re a positive-minded person.

So what can you do about it?

Firstly, I don’t believe you should be ignoring the little ‘what if’ scenarios that are whispered to you. They pop up for a reason and if they’re being whispered into your conscious mind
then they are most definitely working in the background in your subconscious mind.

Ignoring the ‘what if’ whispers, or indeed, allowing them to run amok in your mind without addressing them, is giving cause for your subconscious to continue to feed on the negative scenarios, without you even really knowing about it. Until you wake up one morning – before you have taken action on your decision – and emphatically declare that your original decision was a stupid idea and you’re just going to keep on moseying along just like you are, thank you very much! Or, you take action, but you haven’t entered into the action with gusto because there is some part of you that doesn’t believe.

Our minds are very powerful and your brain has no idea what is truth and what is fiction. Or what is grounded and what is outlandish. I’ve demonstrated this in my article ‘Your Brain
Believes What You Feed It’ which you can read here.

If you’ve made a clear decision to take action and you’re experiencing distracting ‘what if’ scenarios, here’s what you can do:

1) Keep a notebook or journal by your side at all times. Divide the page into two columns.

2) Observe your inner voice and the ‘what if’ scenarios that are coming to your mind.

3) Don’t ignore the ‘what if’ and give your subconscious mind an opportunity to feed on it and blow it all out of proportion. Instead, open your notebook and in the first column write
down your ‘what if’ (or ‘what would happen if…’).

Sometimes, when we write down our ‘what if’ scenario, it doesn’t look as big as we first imagined it in our mind.

4) After you have written down the ‘what if’ scenario, on the opposite side in the next column, imagine the opposite of what you have written down.

To give you an example…

If your ‘what if’ went something like: “What if they hate my speech? I’ll have ruined my chances and I won’t EVER get asked again!”
On the opposite side, you may write something like: “What will happen when they love my speech? Oh my goodness! I’m going to be inundated with new business requests!”

5) Once you’ve written down the opposite of your ‘what if’ scenario, spend a minute or so in jotting down the RESULTS of that thought. Don’t over think it – this should be a fun
exercise… jot down what quickly comes to your mind without wondering about the ‘how’ or whether it’s even a real possibility.

So with the example above, it may look something like this:

“What will happen when they love my speech? Oh my goodness! I’m going to be inundated with new business requests!”
- Increase my business by 12%, each month.
- Gain 10 new contacts each month.
- Secure 2 new referrals each month.
- Get recognised for my expertise; XYZ newspaper has written a profile about me in the Social Pages.

And so on… you get the picture

6) Once you’ve written down your RESULTS, cross out the negative ‘what if’ scenario in the first column. Just put a bold line through the whole thought. You can even take it one step
further and do what I do… I cross it out, then in capital letters I write things like: ‘What a silly idea!’ or ‘You are the weakest link – Goodbye!’ Sounds nuts, I know… but you’ll
be surprised how wonderful it feels – quite liberating really!

By following the steps above, you’ve successfully turned around a negative ‘what if’ scenario and fed your mind with something positive. Writing it down and imagining the key results
works wonders.

To entrench the new positive in your mind and totally eliminate the negative ‘what if’ scenario, consider practising visualisations with the results you recorded in your notebook. Put on
some relaxing or light meditative music and take the time to sit quietly for 30 minutes and transport yourself to that new, positive scene. Play it out in your mind and really feel it,
see it, hear it, smell it, touch it.

“The secret of making something work in your lives is first of all, the deep desire to make it work: then the faith and belief that it can work: then to hold that clear definite vision in your consciousness and see it working out step by step, without one thought of doubt or disbelief.” ~ Eileen Caddy

Remove Pesky Blocks & Unleash The Hero Within!

Tara — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 11:46:40 +0000

We all have them.

Those little saboteurs that sit on our shoulder and whisper into our ear. I’m sure you know what I mean.

It usually happens when you’ve got an idea to do something that is out of the norm – out of your comfort zone – then suddenly, wham! There it appears… like a ghost from the dark of night. Invisible, but there all the same.

Suddenly, your idea that seemed so fabulous two seconds ago has suddenly taken on a dark, odd shape and you are suddenly convinced that no matter what, you are doomed to failure – never mind that your idea two seconds ago was so full of promise.

That little pesky guy sitting on your shoulder is whispering into your ear; telling you all these stories… most of them starting with ‘what if’ that then expand into 300-page novels that would put JK Rowling to shame! In fact, they are such wonderful ‘words’ of art that you start to believe everything the little guy is saying to you.

The truth is, the pesky guy sitting on your shoulder is scared. They’re wondering what’s going to happen if suddenly you have a new life. They like sitting on your shoulder exactly the way it is, so they don’t want you to change and they want to hold you back. They will go kicking and screaming to the bitter end until, finally, you give the pesky guy the flick once and for all.

Harbouring a safe haven for the pesky guy on your shoulder isn’t something unique. You are not alone. If you search for it, you will find that many people throughout history have also faced a pesky guy on their shoulder.

So how do you remove the pesky guy to unleash your hero within?

There are many facets to that question… each person is unique with differing talents, ambitions, and backgrounds. One answer does not fit all.

I have provided some tools I use with my clients in my coaching practice that you may find of benefit in discovering self-limiting beliefs.

DOWNLOAD IT HERE.

Take time to reflect upon them, and be prepared to do some homework and partner with someone you trust to discuss what you find – in an objective, unbiased manner.

Great things do not happen within oneself by reflection alone. Great things do not happen alone.

When making changes and stepping out on a new journey, it is vital you have a cheering squad, an accountability partner, and a truth maker to assist you.

And remember to enjoy the journey.

“No one remains quite what he was when he recognises himself.” ~ Thomas Mann

Wishing you a fabulous journey! And let me know what you think of the tools and how they have assisted you – I would love to know!

Best wishes,