Gigi Langer

Worry Less Now!

 Love More Now!

7 Tips to Stop the Nasty Voice in Your Head

Do you have a voice in your head that incessantly whispers lies of impending doom or replays past events in the hope of changing them?

It might sound like this: “I always…(fail, am rejected, sabotage my success)” OR “If only he or she would (fill in the blank), we would all be okay.“

Although I used to hear this voice often, over the years I’ve learned to turn such negative thoughts into positive ones. Here are a few tips that might help you do the same.

  1. Notice how the voice in your head causes tension in your body and perhaps emotions of anger, pain, frustration, envy, or a need for security, recognition or love.
  2. Stand apart from the thoughts and feelings, as if you’re on a balcony observing them. Do NOT condemn them.
  3. Breathe slowly and deeply until your body calms down. Withdraw your attention from your worrying and focus on your breathing.
  4. Recognize who is watching the thoughts. It’s a part of your mind independent of your thoughts and emotions. This is your true self (higher self, God-mind, etc). It is greater, stronger, and wiser than the imagined disturbances.
  5. Make a choice: Do you want to stay in the drama of the fear-filled voices in your head, or do you want to experience peace and happiness?
  6. Write your mind’s false messages in a journal. Notice that many of them predict one of two horrible things: 1) past pain will repeat itself, or 2) the future will be disastrous. KNOW THAT NONE OF THESE IS TRUE.
  7. Dissolve your mind’s lies by using meditation, affirmations, prayer, therapy, yoga, inspirational reading, groups, energy work, or any other method to connect with the goodness and light of your true self.

As you refuse to believe the fearful voice in your head, sooner or later the answers to your troubles will appear in the most amazing way and for the best of all involved.

HOW DO YOU CALM YOUR OWN NEGATIVE THOUGHTS? I’d love to hear from you!

GIGI LANGER is the former “Queen of Worry” whose award-winning book, 50 Ways to Worry Less Now, rates 4.7 stars on Amazon. She holds a PhD from Stanford University in Psychology in Education.

How Important Is the Word “God,” Anyway?

worry less now
Michelangelo’s David

I’ve recently been talking with a very brilliant woman who desperately wants  to let go of her self-destructive habits. Since her own willpower has utterly failed her, she’s seeking a source of power greater than her dysfunction. But, most of the people she’s met with use the word “God” to refer to that power.

And this woman cannot stand the word “God.”

She meditates and believes in a higher self . . . a true-self where her wisdom resides. And she actively connects with the power of other healthy people. So even though she doesn’t use the word “God,” she has definitely tapped into a power greater than her problem. At this point, that’s been enough to stop her self-destruction.

So, I ask, how important is the word “God,” anyway?

One of my favorite authors, Alexander McCall Smith, wrote eloquently about this question in one of his cozy mysteries about a philosophy professor in Scotland. After she and her boyfriend talk about whether they believe in God, they both throw up their hands and conclude they just don’t know. And, for a while, they leave it at that. Then suddenly the boyfriend says, “Although there is Mozart.”

So, what in your experience, if anything, has convinced you there’s some great power that fuels genius and beauty?

What takes you beyond this world to another dimension of goodness that defies understanding?  I find the sheer beauty and brilliance of nature, music, and artistic creations to be enough proof for me!

If the truth and beauty in this world doesn’t convince you, how ’bout those little (and sometimes big) “coincidences” where things just fall together in perfect order, in spite of your worries and attempts to control them? What about serendipity? Good fortune? Just the right person at just the right time?

Wow! It’s almost too much to contemplate. But this I know: A loving power is working in our lives to bring us hope, courage, and amazing solutions to life’s dilemmas.

Sometimes I call that power “God.”

P.S. By the way, I must plead complete incomprehension when I ponder all the unlovely things in this world. I just let that mystery be.

See GigiLanger.com to learn about the tools that transformed my life. They might work for you too!

Gigi Langer Worry Less NowGigi Langer has been clean and sober for 33 years, and holds a PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. She’s a sought-after speaker and retreat leader who has helped thousands improve their lives at work and at home. Read her blog here or order her award-winning book from Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and all e-book vendors.

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BREAK THROUGH YOUR DOUBTS! 

 

It’s so weird how my gut prompts me to take on these big goals—yup, like narrating my audio book of 50 Ways to Worry Less Now! And then I get frozen with doubts for a while while “whispered lies” play on in my head: “It’s too much work!” “It won’t be good enough!” Indeed, in the FB video I posted last week, I had decided to hire a narrator for the audiobook. Then something amaaaaazing happened. Watch the 5-minute video to see how providence moves, in spite of our fears and doubts.  

Gigi Langer has been clean and sober for 33 years, and holds a PhD in worry less nowPsychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. She’s a sought-after speaker and retreat leader who has helped thousands improve their lives at work and at home. Order her award-winning book at Amazon or get 20% off with promo code 20lessnow here.

 

Don’t Let Fear Sabotage Your Dream

worry less nowDo you have a dream or goal,  but you just can’t get yourself to pursue it? Every time you think about working on it, you find tons of reasons to put it off, or tell yourself you just can’t do it.

In short, you sabotage your dream in spite of your passion for it. It’s a horrible feeling: you’re inspired to do something but too afraid to actually do it.

I’ve been there.  In 2011, I suddenly had a desire to write a book to help people overcome negative thinking. As I wove together my personal stories, techniques, and exercises, I hit more than a few blocks. Fortunately, I was able to complete a first draft with support from other authors and an energy therapist.

After an editor and some other readers suggested major changes to my first draft, fear almost sabotaged my dream by whispering, What if the changes ruin it? How could I possibly do that much rewriting?  Would it ever be “good enough?” What will happen when I share so many personal details about me and my family?

Recently, I ran across a journal entry from that time in 2015. My writing had come to a halt and I was seeking a way forward.

Providence Moves

W.H. Murray wrote, “The moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.”

Providence moved when I found four questions that freed me up to pursue my dream (the questions may be from The War of Art by Steven Pressfield). Here are the answers I wrote to those questions.

What painful ideas are keeping me from finishing my book?

– I’ll miss out on lots of fun

– I hate the idea of marketing after I finish

– It might not be good enough

– I dread the publishing process

What pleasure can be gained from finishing it?

– Doing what I’m probably here for: teaching kindness and love

– Finding out that the ideas I’ve presented have helped others

– Holding it in my hands, beautiful and complete!

– Knowing that I accomplished this monumental task

What will it cost me if I do not do this?

– I’ll feel embarassed because a lot of people know about it

– I would let down the part of me that’s inspiring me to do this

– Ego would have a victory

– I would feel self-hatred and shame

– I would continue to be jealous of other successful authors

Why is completing my book so important?

– I want others to be able to use the many concepts, tools, and actions I’ve learned so they can be free of worry/fear, and be more loving, happy, and content

– It shares who I am with readers so they can see my difficult times and be inspired to grow past theirs

– It is a useful resource-book–a compendium of many helpful tools

– I want to show myself that I can do this really challenging thing

Worry Less Now by Gigi LangerThe answers to these questions proved to be very powerful motivators. Within a year, I had completed chapters 5-7, and by 2017 I had an advance copy ready for reviewers. Then in February 2018, I released the completed book,

I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the great reviews and the national award “50 Ways to Worry Less Now” won. It just goes to show that fear can NOT sabotage our dreams when we have enough tools to break through it!

For specific tools to overcome negativity and worry, check out my book “50 Ways to Worry Less Now: Reject Negative Thinking to Find Peace, Clarity, and Connection.” 

worry less nowGigi Langer is the former “Queen of Worry” who  holds an MA in Psychology and PhD in Psychological Studies in Education from Stanford University. She is a popular speaker who has helped thousands of people improve their lives at home and work. Gigi hasn’t had a drug or drink for over 30 years, and lives happily in Michigan with her husband, Peter and her cat, Murphy.