March 31, 2010
Featured Affirmation:
I am effortlessly able to walk away from the TV. My vision for my life drives me to work on my goals each day. It is this action that turns my dreams into reality.
Positive Statements to Release the TV:
You sit around watching all this stuff happen on TV, and the TV sits and watches us do nothing! The TV must think we're all pretty lame.
-Shannon Wheeler
I hate television. I hate it as much as I hate peanuts. But I cannot stop eating peanuts.
-Orson Welles
Television has proved that people will look at anything rather than each other.
-Ann Landers
What is TV Preventing You from Achieving?
When I am 100, yes, I plan to live that long, I do not want to look back on my life and say that I watched every episode of Friends three times, but I never got around to fulfilling my purpose.
Television served a big purpose in my life as a child. There were many times that I was sick or in the hospital and television provided an escape. Rather than think about being sick, I was swept into the world of Disney and Nickelodeon. Unfortunately, my respite became a habit and I would spend many afternoons after school watching TV. I was the only child in my household and that was how I passed the time. My parents had opposing opinions of this. My Mom thought that since I was making good grades and was involved in dance and piano, I could spend the rest of my time how I chose. My Dad had a different take and wanted me to get outdoors, play, read, do anything but sit and stare. When I was in 5th grade, he made me a deal. Give up 1-year of TV and I would earn a monetary reward. I couldn’t do it. I lasted only 6-months before the pull of the Mickey Mouse Club was too strong. I did learn one lesson during that test…you get a LOT of stuff done when you don’t watch TV.
Over the years I have had an on-again-off-again relationship with TV. A love-hate saga of struggle to get over the habit of turning it on and getting sucked in.
Our brains operate in one of 5 different brain wave frequencies at any given time. They are listed below on order of the quickest to the slowest:
- Gamma – High focus and awareness
- Beta – Normal functioning level
- Alpha – Relaxed state - more open to subconscious suggestion
- Theta – Extremely relaxed - associated with dreaming and imagining, also very receptive to subconscious suggestion
- Delta – Deep Sleep
The alpha brainwave frequency is the best state to be in when using affirmations because your subconscious is more open to suggestion. That is why it is a good idea to do affirmations right before you go to sleep or first thing when you wake up in the morning. Unfortunately, there have been studies that show that watching television puts you into an alpha brain wave state within the first minute of watching. This means that your energy level is very low and you are very receptive to the messages coming across the screen. Receptive to shows such as: CSI, I am Pregnant and In Prison (yes, this really is a reality show), Jersey Shore, The Apprentice, The Hills, and any other ridiculousness you subject your mind to. It also means that you are receptive to the numerous commercials shown; advertisers love this about TV.
When you wonder where that fearful, depressive or aggressive thought came from, it was probably born out of some storyline your subconscious picked up from TV. Where else have you seen someone shot, ghosts or other uncommon visions?
TV is an escape. It can be a great escape sometimes, and not all programming is ridiculous, but when watching TV is taking time away from working toward your goals, something needs to change. Here is what I have learned about giving up, or at least giving yourself a break from, TV:
You can’t just give it up a little bit or say “I’ll watch less.” You need specific limits such as: I TiVo my shows and allow myself to catch-up on Friday evenings only.
If you want to be productive on a given day or evening, do not turn it on…even to “just watch while I eat” or “only for 5 minutes.”
If you are watching TV and have guilty feelings that you should be doing something else, ask yourself these questions:
- What dream am I giving up to this show?
- What specifically can I be doing right now? (Must be very specific, nothing vague such as: work on writing my book, must be: create the table of contents for my book and write the introduction.)
Then MOVE. STAND-UP, turn it OFF and repeat the following affirmation: “I choose to work on my dreams.” There are a lot of people who have a lot of dreams, but the ones who achieve them will be the ones who chose to miss a few of their favorite shows.
The more disciplined you become, the more confident and proud of yourself you will be. May I challenge you to a month of no TV? I’ll join you…my Dad will be so proud.
Journal Exercise:
Name 10 specific things you could do instead of watch TV that would move you closer toward your goals.
Book Recommendation:
Kick Start Your Dream Business
By Romanus Wolter
I adore this book because it recognizes that having a dream business is a very intimate thing, and it give that realization its own sacred space. The text is interactive and includes numerous exercises for flushing out your ideas, finding your target market and creating your product. When your life goal is your dream business, I highly recommend starting here.
Is there a dream that you are ready to have fulfilled? Are you tired of reading personal development books and not enacting change? Would you like to attract more money, passion or happiness into your life?
Coaching is an astounding tool for promoting lasting and transformational change. Working together we will become very clear about what your goals are, create an action plan to get there and overcome any roadblock along the way.
The result will be uniquely you at your maximized potential.
To schedule your free 30-minute coaching consultation, e-mail coach@creativeaffirmations.com
*Coaching sessions can be conducted by phone or in person.*
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