Thought Changer

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Welcome! If this is your first visit or if you’ve been here before but haven’t had a chance to subscribe, would love to have you as a part of the Thought Changer community which has moved to Substack! Just sign up in the box to the left. You’ll get a welcome email from me at Substack. Don’t forget to click the confirmation link. Thought Changer looks at everyday life metaphors. We explore new ways to think about what we do, improve our mindset and live more consciously. And, if something moves you, please share! Thank you and enjoy this Thought Changer.

When Simone Biles nearly fell off the balance beam, I know I was part of a global collective gasp. It was only a split second, but it could have been enough to trash the rest of her routine (it would have for most of us!). But, what happened next was such the mark of the champion that she is. She shook it off. Sure, maybe she rehashed the moment later, perhaps over and over again. I know I would have. But, my guess is she didn’t. Perhaps she reviewed it briefly with her coach, but then the focus turned to her final event the next night. And, again it was so clear that she held no residual regrets, because as we all know, she nailed her spectacular floor routine and won Olympic gold. In fact, all through the Games, there are two things successful competitors and champions have in common…. Read more →

Signals from nature never cease to amaze. One morning I was greeted by the most gorgeous blooms on the rosebush next to my driveway. I couldn’t resist cutting a stalk to take to my office. So for a week, each morning new buds opened and the pink roses expanded. But what I found so remarkable was that on this one thick stalk were 28 separate buds. Truly. Twenty-eight. The strength of the base stalk fed the buds and maturing blooms in a way that a matriarch might feed her family, or in the way people seed and grow their ideas. Oddly enough it got me thinking about legacy. We all have a legacy, whether we know it not. We will all be known and remembered for who we are, what we’ve done or what we leave behind. Legacies sung or unsung, global or insular, significant or mundane. My Legacy Bouquet… Read more →

The morning was alive with questions. I took my coffee and morning reading to a favorite lookout point in Hollywood. It was clear and cloudless with a joy-inducing view of the Hollywood sign. I situated myself so as not to look at the concrete landscape of LA, but rather the mountains, the sign and the scattering of homes tucked into the hills. As a small-town-kid-at-heart, it’s easy sometimes to feel weighed down by the heaviness of the city. I often feel the pull of the land and sky. It brings me back to a sense of home. So, as I allowed my mind and body to still, as I relished my coffee, the veil over my eyes lifted and serenity peeked in. I was alone and it was heaven. In that moment, a lone bird with a huge wingspan soared across my view. It circled and found its landing spot…. Read more →

Negativity cannot reside in a state of Grace. Only love. Peace. Compassion. Forgiveness. Harmony. It’s what is needed, now more than ever. Grace is floating on the wings of the wind, And being in Grace is allowing the Breath of the divine to breeze through you, Levitating you to a place where you drift between dimensions. As a kid, the mention of Grace was usually saved for church, some far away notion that was meant for nuns and saints. Other dimensions? Come on, that was for re-runs of Star Trek or when my girlfriends and I held a séance at a slumber party. But, now? Now, I’ve felt it. I’ve asked for it. And, received it. Sometimes it just shows up. Grace is state of mind. Grace is a way of being. Grace is a divine connection to all that is. Grace is way of life, however I have fleeting… Read more →

By Cindy Yantis “I’ve finally decided my future lies beyond the yellow brick road.” ~ Sir Elton John I think a lot about that road. In a “60 Minutes” interview with Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tony Award-winning creator of the musical HAMILTON, Lin-Manuel talked about attending a school for gifted children. He said he looked around and everyone was smarter than him, he was “surrounded by genius, genius kids.” Charlie Rose asked him, “So why do you think I’m sitting here talking to you and not one of your classmates?” He said, “I picked a lane and started running faster than anyone else.” “I picked a lane!” That lane led to the intense hard work and dedication that made him a true pioneer, recreating the modern Broadway musical. And, man is he ever in his purpose. One morning, on a recent trip to Costa Rica, I woke up at Rythmia Life Enhancement… Read more →

Up at 3 am. I couldn’t sleep. My heart was aching and I couldn’t stop thinking about the horrific week in America – 2 more black men senselessly killed by cops and more cops killed in hateful retaliation. It has to stop. We have to come together. I heard an NPR interview yesterday with Gwen Carr, the mother of Eric Garner, who was killed during a controversial arrest in NYC after police held down in a chokehold. She is a devout spokesperson against police violence. She said, “I was able to get up and turn my mourning into a movement and my sorrow into a strategy.” At 3 am I thought, what I can do? Then my next thought was, I have a blog called Thought Changer. It’s what I can do. It’s my voice and contribution. After all, the very motto of this tome is, “Provoking Change, one thought at a time.” Read more →

How often do we just kind of fudge the truth, or tell a little white lie to make someone feel better or to make things a little easier on ourselves? How about several times a day? Research by social psychologist Robert Feldman, who has studied lying for over a decade, showed 60% of people lie 2-3 times during a 10-minute conversation. He also found that most people lie to be more likable or appear more competent. According to behavioral scientist Dan Ariely – in the documentary “(Dis)Honesty: The Truth About Lies” – it’s all about rationalization. The “fudge factor” leads to people rationalizing that a little lying is okay. He also says that self-deception takes place everywhere. It’s the biggest lie of all. He said, “We convince ourselves the deception is actually truth.” Well, that piece about self-deception gave me the chills. It got me thinking about Truth, not only… Read more →

By Cindy Yantis There’s much that we take for granted, living where we live in these great and complicated United States. The freedom to do so certainly started with our forward-thinking founding fathers. They set forth a whole new way of being, and living, with independence. It got me thinking about the meaning of independence on a deeper, more personal level. What does it mean to be personally independent? A true feeling of independence starts with an energy, a force that fuels and permeates a sagacity of human spirit, a spirit that manifests as personal power, something that is at times forgotten or lost in the chaos of the daily grind. To my way of thinking, this personal sovereignty is a combination of both mindset and sense, a combo that reminds us of whom we are meant to be. Let us begin with some core senses or deeper places of… Read more →

“Make it simple, but significant.” ~ Don Draper I used this quote as the theme for a recent writer’s retreat for one of my beloved clients. It gave us an effective mantra for the weekend, kept us on point and helped to streamline the writing in the most powerful way. “Make it simple, but significant” also got me thinking about how we often make things too complicated, in general. I know I do, to the point where sometimes I actually feel complicated. But, simple is clean. There’s brilliance behind simplicity. And, many of the most significant things in life, when it gets right down to it, are pretty simple. To simplify means to get back to basics, to start with one simple question, idea or statement and then find the significance in that. Significant is memorable. Significant can be priceless and timeless. Significant is a moment in time. So, that’s… Read more →

“I’m amazed you’re able to get out of bed in the morning.” This is what my doctor said to me recently. “It’s life, Doc. I have a lot to do,” I said. “Do you have body aches?” she asked. “Only when I move,” I said. The truth is I’ve kind of felt like crap for months now. But, most people who know me wouldn’t suspect it because, like many of us, I’ve perfected the game face. Powering through, crossing off my to-do list, meeting deadlines, most of the time with the ready smile and it’s-a-good-day persona. But, behind the scenes? I’m tired. However, I don’t let myself be tired. I jam my evenings and weekends with writing projects and client deadlines and social gatherings, all of which I love to do, but… I’m sluggish and tired. AND, I have insomnia. Which creates brain fog and makes it hard to focus,… Read more →