Magnetic Lifestyle & Breast Cancer

On Friday 25th June 2010, Cathie was assessed with breast cancer.

Due to her attitude and the beliefs she has developed over the past 15 years, she sees this assessment as an opportunity to grow personally and to apply the principles shared within the Magnetic Lifestyle blog.

Because of the love and support of her husband Dave, her family and friends (and the mentoring of Peter) she remains positive and has absolute certainty that all is well.

Through a series of short videos, Cathie is recording her personal experiences in the belief it will help her and inspire others who may be undergoing similar challenges.

Follow Cathie as she shares her new journey …

If your life is your message, what would it say?

How different our lives are when we really know what is deeply important to us, and, keeping that picture in mind, we manage ourselves each day to be and to know what really matters most.

- Stephen Covey

In the post IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT we learnt how our belief system acts as a filter or lens through which we see the world and that we don’t see the world as it truly is, but as we have been conditioned to see it based on our beliefs.

It follows therefore that if we are to work in harmony with the natural laws and principles which govern this universe so we can live a fulfilling and happy life, we must first ensure our belief system accurately reflects the laws and principles to which we wish to align ourselves.

In the same way there are universal laws such as gravity operating in the physical world, there are universal laws and principles operating in the non-physical or mental world which are just as real, absolute and consistent. Understanding these natural laws and principles which govern human effectiveness is a prerequisite to living a life of meaning, contribution and fulfilment.

These principles or natural laws are unarguable and self-evident and form an integral part of human consciousness. They include, for example, the principles of fairness, integrity, honesty, trust, service, contribution, human dignity, respect, love, responsibility, compassion, courage, potential, excellence, loyalty, democracy and empowerment.

When our core values align with these principles or natural laws, and become the guiding force for our every day choices, we are playing by life’s ‘rules’ and the game takes on new meaning and vibrancy.

Exercise 3

When you know your core values, you gain clarity about who you are, what you stand for and what is important to you. This helps you make better choices about where you spend your time and who you spend it with. When you align your core values with natural laws and principles, you do more of the ‘right’ things and you become more effective both in your personal and business life.

So what are your core values and how do you identify them?

In order to assist you in this process, a checklist of values has already been prepared for you.

Download your PERSONAL CORE VALUE checklist here
        

The list is not intended to be exhaustive, but will enable you to make an immediate start. Please feel free to include any additional values that are important to you.

Using the checklist, underline 20 words that describe what’s important to you at this moment. Then circle 10 words from the underlined list that are really important to you. From your circled words, put a star next to the five which you value most. These represent your core values.

Much of the frustration and anxiety we experience is when we are engaged in work which is not congruent with our core values. Core values are like a moral compass by which we wish to navigate through life. They reflect what is most important to us and drive our choices, behaviour and attitude. The more closely our core values align with reality (natural laws and principles) the easier and more fulfilling life becomes.

When Ghandi was asked by a reporter whether he had any message for his people he replied “My life is my message”. What a brilliant response. If your life is your message, what would it currently say? Is it a message of missed opportunities, regrets or broken promises? Is it a message of victimhood, or blaming others? Or is it a message of hope, empowerment and inspiration?

The power of this exercise is that it presents you with an opportunity to create a message of exactly what you want your life to say, based on what is most important to you.

Following on in the next post  … EXPECT ADVERSITY

Cathie draws the short straw and experiences the Magnetic Lifestyle!

If you have read the WELCOME page, you will realize that this blog is slightly different in that we are using the acronym MAGNETIC LIFESTYLE to present some ideas and insights which we hope will help you attract the lifestyle you choose.

The first 8 posts for the acronym MAGNETIC are foundational and are intended as a ‘map’ to help you apply the subsequent 9 posts for LIFESTYLE in a fun, effortless and enjoyable way.

In the post  IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT it was explained that when you describe what you see in the world ‘out there’, you are not describing true reality, but a dramatically filtered version of reality created through your own personal beliefs. This is a key understanding because it means that as well as looking at the world you see, you have to look at the lens through which you see the world, your belief system or your own internal ‘map of reality’.

The following analogy may help. In celebration of the publishing of the MAGNETIC posts, ‘techie queen’ Cathie and her husband Dave are jetting off to Thailand for 22 days stopping at Bangkok, Phi Phi & Krabi Islands & Phuket.

Now imagine that the travel agent sends Cathie a street map marked ‘Bangkok’ but due to a printing error it’s actually a map of Nonthaburi (2nd largest city in Thailand). When Cathie arrives in Bangkok she gets the street map out and is immediately confused. So she calls up the travel agent and explains that she can’t make sense of any of the street names. The travel agent representative, who has been brought up to believe in the importance of diligence and perseverance, politely tells Cathie to ‘try harder’. So Cathie, who is renowned for never giving up, sets off with Dave with a quickness in their step, determined to find their hotel. The result – they now get lost twice as fast!

Feeling worse than ever, Cathie rings the travel agent again. Realising Cathie’s attitude and spirit are very low, the travel representative tells Cathie not to get disheartened and to think more positively and asks her where she is. Cathie says she’s outside a bookshop and the travel agent tells her to go in and pick up all the books she can on Positive Mental Attitude (PMA). So Cathie goes in, purchases a couple of books and reviews them with Dave. Now they’re both so psyched up and feeling so positive that you can’t stop them. They set off again and because of their new positive attitude, they don’t even mind that they’re lost and can’t find their hotel! They smile and accept the reality of the situation.

Although this may seem a silly analogy, how many times do we try to change our behaviour and attitude without questioning the accuracy of the ‘map’ from which our behaviour and attitude automatically flow? This is not to say that a good positive attitude is not important. It most certainly is, but you still need a correct map if you are to successfully navigate your way in life and achieve the changes you desire.

Cathie takes up the story by sharing her own personal insights on the importance of a correct map….

For over 50 years I’ve lived with the belief that to be successful, I had to work hard and that nothing came easy. Although my family and friends know me as a very positive, determined and hardworking person, I was continuously being asked why I wasn’t getting anywhere, even though I believed I would ‘someday’. Being a very passionate person, I’ve always given 100% to everything I attempt, yet I couldn’t put my finger on what was missing that would get me to my ‘destination’.

Like many people, my life has been a mixture of good and bad experiences. But the significant and big changes in my life only began when I took the time to really examine my own map of reality. I had always had a positive attitude and yet I was still not achieving the results I wanted. Why? It was because I had an inaccurate map. It was only when I started to challenge my current thoughts and beliefs about who I was and what I was capable of, that I realised that my ‘map’ or the lens through which I saw the world and myself was completely untrue.

As I began to create a more accurate map, based on the truth of who I am and what I can achieve, my new behaviour, attitude, actions and results changed automatically. It is the best investment of time I’ve ever made.

For more information read About Cathie

In order to allow YOU sufficient time to really examine your own map or the lens or beliefs through which you see the world, we have decided to defer publishing the 9 posts on LIFESTYLE until Cathie’s return. This will give you the opportunity to complete all the ACTION Steps and Belief Study Workbook published so far.

The next post is … LIVE YOUR LIFE ON PURPOSE