This site is the website of motivational speaker Craig Harper. A constantly updated, one-stop information, inspiration, education and motivation station. Unlike many similar sites, it is a totally free resource for anyone who is serious about moving from mediocre to amazing in any area of their personal or professional life. With hundreds of articles covering a wide range of subject matter, great interviews with cool people and inspirational video posts, there's more than enough brain-food to keep you busy for hours. Okay, days!! Enjoy.
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Craig Harper is Australia's leading
motivational speaker
and educator (according to Google Australia). He is a highly
sought-after corporate coach and is considered to be
a leader and pioneer in the areas of personal and
professional development.
Working with hundreds of
teams, companies and a wide variety of organisations
on numerous continents over the last twenty years
has given Craig a unique insight into, and
understanding of, human performance and all its
variables. Craig has an ability to educate, inspire,
challenge and make people laugh all at the same
time!
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so shall he be."Proverbs 23:7
While I'm no theologian or biblical scholar (surprising I know), my interpretation of the above verse is that we create our own reality (good and bad) via our thinking. That scripture is some pretty cool insight for something written thousands of years ago - a little theology, philosophy and psychology all in one simple sentence. Feel free to correct me you theological genii (an actual word, not a Craigism... I could have gone with geniuses.. but I chose not to).
From time to time, we're all stinky thinkers. We all sabotage our own lives. You, me... all of us. It's called being human. Normal even.
Without doubt, the toughest part of my job is to help people THINK DIFFERENT(LY) to create different. Full stop. It ain't about carbs, exercise programs, time, genetics, opportunities, talent, potential or luck; it's about our head. Always. Specifically what's going on inside it. Once we've nailed that, the rest is easy. Seriously. The first part is a doozey though.
Unhealthy bodies are (relatively) easy to fix. Unhealthy minds on the other hand... not so much.
When we start to think different, we choose different, we behave different, we experience different, we create different and ultimately, we are different - not simply 'acting' different but genuinely changed from the inside, out. (Dear English teachers, I know there should have been an 'ly' on the end of most of those 'differents' in the above paragraph - I just did that to annoy you).
Our thinking determines our reality on every level. Emotionally, psychologically, sociologically, experientially and practically.
My experience tells me that if I can help people think different(ly), then I can help them create a new reality. A life of new possibilities. Genuine change. Amazing change. Unfortunately, some people seem pretty determined to stay in their misery.
You would be surprised at the number of people who walk through my door, desperately wanting 'different' but simultaneously determined to hold on to their destructive, self-limiting thinking. Quite the achievement.
So I've been thinking about writing this post for a while, but even as I type these words I don't exactly know where I'm going with it. I don't have all the answers. All I know is that our thinking can be the thing which propels us towards happiness or destroys our life... and that it needs to be spoken about.
We need to consider (and address) the thing which 'gets us through' or 'drags us down'. For most of us, it is probably the single biggest determinant of what our life, and everything in that life, will be. And while we all battle that internal saboteur periodically, many of us don't really seem to have any practical strategy for changing the internal dialogue once and for all. Getting over our stinking thinking.
As I've said many times:
"It's not about the situation, circumstance or environment, it's about me in it."
How we cope, react, choose and communicate in a given situation is the result of our thinking; what it all means to us. How we see it. Imagine if we could change the way we think to consistently produce better results in our life.
We can. But we need to be genuinely committed to the cause.
How we think has a massive impact on (if not, determines):
1) How we communicate (with ourselves and others) - crucial for happiness and harmony. 2) All of our relationships (personal and professional) - kind of important too! 3) Our career - imagine having a passion, rather than... a 'job' (sigh). 4) The decisions we make (and don't make) - not making a decision.. is making a decision! 5) How we deal with challenges and problems - an invaluable skill 6) How we manage stress and deal with our fears - overcoming our fears = growth 7) Our typical day-to-day behaviour - life! 8) The way we are perceived by others - you might be surprised.
I wish we were all in a room together right now (okay, a very big room) because I would love to lead you all in an interactive team discussion on the subject, maybe we could come to some kind of group consensus on how we might change our thinking. But being as you're all selfishly sitting at your computers and not here with me, I'll have to fly solo for the time being. Again. Thanks for nuthin'.
As someone who is something of a change-specialist (for want of a better term), my key responsibility each day is not working around people's lack of ability or potential (I've never met anyone who has even nearly exhausted their potential) but working around their destructive thinking... Specifically their mindset, attitudes, beliefs, standards, fears, expectations and self-imposed limitations.
The way people think fascinates me. And frustrates me. Always has. The way we all create our own reality, despite everyone else's reality. The way people with limited potential create extraordinary results because they think extraordinarily. The way gifted, talented people think themselves into misery, failure and mediocrity, time after time. And the way people consistently and painfully 'think' themselves into doing and achieving nothing.
Forever. Moving towards a solution.... Okay, so we need to acknowledge that we ain't gonna change the 'way we're wired' in five minutes but at the same time, we need to start the wheels turning in a practical and productive way. For most of us, dealing with that self-limiting internal dialogue will be an on-going process. Thankfully, it gets easier.
Show me someone who never struggles with the internal saboteur and I'll show you my talking pet flying-fish, Kevin.
While some people may be able to 'will' themselves into a different mindset, us less gifted folk might need to be a little more practical and methodical about the process. These five suggestions ain't gonna 'fix' you by tomorrow but they might be a good place to start. They were for me. Some getting started suggestions: 1. Consciously change your internal and external dialogue. Stop trash-talking yourself. No self-limiting language. No it won't seem normal and yes you will have to force it to start, but the more you do it, the more natural it will become. Consciously choose to be more optimistic in your typical language. As you start to communicate differently, you will start to think differently (and vice-versa).
2. Hang out with different people. People who are productive (verses destructive) thinkers. People who see the good. People who find a way rather than find an excuse. One of the biggest influences on our thinking is the people we spend time with; those we interact with the most. Hang out with Energy Vampires often enough and you'll become one. This may mean cutting loose some of the dead wood... so to speak. I don't have the time, energy or inclination to spend time with the 'woe-is-me' brigade. See ya, wouldn't wanna be ya.
3. Expose yourself to different (new) ideas, philosophies, thinking, cultures, environments. Sometimes we think the way we do 'cause we don't know any better or different. Enrol in a course, get a (decent) life-coach, read different stuff, do some workshops, travel. Consciously commit yourself to life-long learning. The more we learn, the more doors open, the more we understand and the more we shift our thinking.
4. Do something you've never done - despite the fear. When we challenge ourselves... and actually force ourselves to do something we've never done before (run a marathon, jump out of a plane, climb a mountain, write a book, stand up to someone, speak our mind, apologise, right a wrong, do some charity work) then a whole new world of possibilities open up for us. We start to realise how much we've put the brakes on our own life and our own development.
5. Spend some time with people who are genuinely disadvantaged. Hang out with someone who has a terminal illness. Or someone who lives on less than two dollars a day (like more than half of the world's population do). A few years back I spent some time in South Africa working with kids who were HIV positive... that'll change yer mindset. It did mine.
For many of us this issue is a significant and on-going life-challenge... but if we acknowledge it and address it (step up to the plate) rather than ignore it (put our head in the sand) the rewards and the journey can be incredible.
* Let me know your thoughts... and have some fun rethinking your stinking thinking!
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