"If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal." - Norman Vincent Peale
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​I graduated from school in the 80’s in Ireland when unemployment and emigration was very high. At the time, our expectations were low when it came to finding a full time job. Most of my friends were older than me and I had already seen them get jobs but lose them just as quick. No fault of theirs but the economy was so bad back then, nothing was nailed down or permanent. I, like many at the time, left Ireland to begin a career overseas. But my expectations around making a great income stayed mediocre at best.
 
My expectations which turned into beliefs around money were not positive. I believed that to make great money, you had to have luck on your side, know the right people and be super smart but I also believed that “it was greedy to want money”, “money was hard to come by” (money doesn’t grow on trees) and “it was selfish to want a lot of money.”
 
However, if you grew up in the early 2000s, your expectations would have been high. Everyone appeared to be doing well. People expected more in their life and they got it, - company cars, family vacations, promotions, bonuses etc.
 
Maybe you grew up with parents arguing over money and now you believe that “money can’t buy happiness” or bring peace into your life?  Maybe you have a fear of success but its’ not the success that you really fear but how your family or friends will think of you now that you have more money than them because you grew up with the belief or hearing someone else’s belief that “people with money are greedy” or you believe “I’m not good with money” so you avoid making more or pursuing more.
 
I’m here to tell you today, you won’t succeed holding onto these beliefs and having low expectations. Recognise what beliefs you have that are causing you money blocks – where did they come from?, who did you hear them from? Where is the evidence they are true? What new beliefs can you replace them with? Write them down and raise your expectations about what you can and are able to make financially so you can enjoy financial security. 
 
You need to pursue your goals not with the sole expectation that you will make more money but with the expectation that you deserve more, you expect more from yourself to reach out and achieve what you want in life.  Don’t allow others expectations of you hold you back and keep you small. Family and friends may mean well but their fears, judgements, opinions come from their backgrounds, their upbringing etc and they may not be the same as yours are today.
 
If you have goals for this year, take action each day on them and expect them to come to fruition. When you expect more, you will achieve more. A clear vision, a plan of action, and execution will get you there, but you have to believe it’s possible, so start believing today and take action.

You don't have to suffer with anxiety, where worry and fear is a constant, there are tools and techniques that can significantly improve your relationship with anxiety. I know, I suffered with severe anxiety, but I am blessed to have learned coping and management techniques to overcome it, and you can too.
 
When you suffer with anxiety on a daily basis, it consumes your every move. You hesitate on making decisions because you fear what the outcome will be before it even happens. You assume without hesitation that the outcome will not be good. It will cause pain, disappointment or regret.  But where is the evidence to prove this to be so? There isn’t any. It’s all been concocted inside your own head! In your amazing imagination you have foreseen the worst case scenario.
 
So where did all this anxiety come from anyway?  Work overload, stress, low self-esteem, diet, menopause, vitamin deficiencies such as B12, beliefs, autoimmune diseases, medications, past experiences, childhood, poor relationships. It can be any of these things, or many of these things. Some we cannot avoid, some we don’t have much control over, so how do we get control of our anxiety?
 
We can start by adding and subtracting certain things that we do have control over. For instance,

• reduce caffeine, alcohol intake. 
• Exercise more to decrease stress hormones that influence anxiety.
• Get enough rest and sleep. Wind down earlier in the evening and avoid screen time either on your phone, iPad or T.V.
• Write down in a journal all your thoughts and worries so you can relax easier and fall off to sleep quicker – this will help you from dwelling on things before you go to sleep.

 
There are things we do that we are not consciously aware of and in my upcoming class on March 23rd, we will discuss what they are and what we can do about them.
 
Are you ready to really take back control, to learn how to take charge when anxiety tries to take over? I am running an Anxiety Management Workshop on Saturday March 23rd at 10AM – 12:30PM in Clontarf.
 
What you will learn:

• To identify your thinking patterns that create anxiety
• How to bring awareness to your anxiety before it gets out of control
• Exercises to control anxiety and not allow it to control you
• Anxiety busting techniques to stop panic attacks in their tracks

 
“Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and start being excited of what could go right”

• Tony Robbins

 Anxiety Management Workshop - March 23rd Saturday 10:00 AM -12:30 PM