Monthly Archives: May 2022

22

A Little Bit Crazy

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You make beautiful footprints. Make them with pride.

Anyone with any self-contemplation will, at some point, look at their thought processes and wonder if they are “normal” or ask themselves, “Am I crazy?” Because they are thinking about life’s mysteries and how they want to tackle the challenges they face. I know there are moments in my life when I recognize my thoughts are different than those I imagine anyone else is running through their minds about my experiences and more importantly, my reaction to them. What does it mean to be crazy?  The basic definition offered by Google is mentally deranged, especially as manifested in a wild or aggressive way.  So in that sense, I don’t think the way a person internalizes their experiences is enough to make you “crazy” I think it is enough to make a person unique. And I think the originality of personalized thought and the courage to follow it is the recipe for greatness in the world. Let’s look at how your unique view can bring a bright light to the world and enjoyment to your life.

Your Unique Talent

All people have something unique to give to the world, and our lives are a tool for creating our own amazing story.  We all have this capability, but few follow their talent fully to the conclusion of significant contribution.  There are many roadblocks in our way, from family members who care about us and don’t want us to be hurt or to “look foolish” chasing a dream to societal messages which push us all into a mass

To be rare and unique is beautiful

pit of conformity.  But the biggest roadblock any of us will ever face is the one we create in our minds. There is a point in our trip when we have to choose between conforming to the expectations of others or pushing ourselves toward our inner calling, regardless of what thoughts and reservations others might have.

Those who choose to follow their calling will feel different because you are breaking away from what others expect to create your unique path by taking this action. This trailblazing pattern of thought is original to you, and that originality can make you feel alone and isolated. Recognizing this can make you feel alone and isolated. Being yourself and thinking of things that are genuinely original and belong to you is how greatness has always been achieved.  Understand the uncomfortable feelings of being your true self and embrace them. Those who are there for you will accept you for who you are, and those who love you will enhance your thoughts and encourage your chase of ultimate expression.

Your Vision

The way a person sees the world and their place in it is the thing that differentiates and defines us.  It is also one of the most remarkable contributions we can give to the lives of others. I know the people who have had the most significant impact on me throughout my life have been the ones who shared their vision with me. And

See the power in yourself

that sharing made my interpretation of things changed and grow more positively and powerfully.  The thoughts control our perceptions. We can entertain and develop and bring new ways of seeing something into your experience, allowing you to see more in others and the world in general around you.

Those with a unique perspective, all of their own, are the most cherished to me. I know it is like  I was watching the world in black and white but then, having the veil lifted, you now see all of the colors.  It has been there all along, but the unique way someone thought helped me move to the next level of enjoyment of much in life. This experience would never happen if there weren’t a brave person to consider their thoughts and follow their path regardless of what the world said.  Being your unique self is the greatest gift you give to the world each day. Of course, some will fear this and discourage you.  The courage to continue and ignore these small-minded urgings is one of life’s biggest challenges and dangers to your dreams.

What is Your Story?

There is a story we all live from the day we are born until the day our story ends at death. That is the truth of it for all human beings living on the face of the Earth. What type of information we live to tell is based on how much of our originality we embrace and how much we surrender to the world to find conformity with the thoughts of others.  We are all in control of our own story and write it word by word

A world without you would be a very dark place

through the day-to-day choices we make.  Are we acting with courage? Are we reacting from fear of some kind? Are we wise enough to know the difference?  All great stories have significant challenges faced by the hero. It has villains, allies, joys, and sorrows. If you don’t like where your account is going, change it.

Changing the story of your life is as simple as honestly looking at where you are and making a choice, at this moment, to change it and take it in a different direction.  Then have the simple courage to take steps to create the story you want to see consistently. Look inside yourself and see the things which bring joy to you, and then do those things. Not for what you can gain financially or in recognition but for the joy they bring to you.  Do this, and financial gains and glory will come to you as a natural byproduct of your contribution.  This is the part where people overthink and tend to get crazy.  What if it doesn’t work? What if I end up disappointed? What about the things people will say and think? I have heard all these things myself and paid too much attention to them.  Be yourself and act with courage, and positive results will come to you. Ignore the noise.

So Are You Crazy?

In all of this simple thought, you have to ask yourself: are you crazy?  Well, when a person shies away from the apparent greatness they have within and refuse to develop their talents and share them with the world, that is not mental well-being.  Tools readily available to help stop the constant wheel of whirling thought. Our minds are only one-third of the puzzle of a human being, and we are also one-third physical and one-third spiritual as well.  Developing all three is the secret to unleashing talents to the world.  If you live in just your thoughts, you will never know what your soul is trying to tell you.

Learning to live in the moment is the best way I have found to hear that voice and listen to the direction it gives. Your thoughts are constant and often repetitive and quite often hostile. So much worry and anxiety are created by listening to our thoughts. Your soul will guide you through feelings of intuition toward what is suitable for you.  Some would say it is crazy to look for this. I think it is crazy not to. You are a person with greatness in you that only needs a nudge to take you to accomplish all you imagine you can—just a touch to unleash that unique perspective and talent in the world.  We often think we need to follow others, but the true originality will come by breaking the mold and doing your thing.  This action is a terrifying thing to do because it will be challenging. You may meet initial failure as you fine-tune your message and develop the skills needed to become great.  Great people see this for what it is, the writing of their story.

You have a unique perspective and buckets of talent inside of you. The question is, never if you are crazy or not. But instead, “Will you dare to share your authentic view with the world, or will you cast that aside for security and acceptance of others.”  That should be the real question.

Are you crazy about the way you are? You would be crazy to be anything else.

Not being your best self and seeing what happens is the crazy thing.

“No one should part with their individuality and become that of another.”  William Ellery Channing

“I believe in individuality, that everybody is special, and it’s up to them to find that quality and let it live.”  Grace Jones

“The best thing you’ve got going for you is individuality.”  Richard Thompson

“You know, our sense of individuality is just the number one target of civilization.”  Alan Rudolph

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”  Howard Thurman

“You just have to do your own thing, no matter what anyone says. It’s your life.”  Ethan Embry

“Let every man judge according to his own standards, by what he has himself read, not by what others tell him.”  Albert Einstein

“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”  Joseph Campell

“Losing faith in your singularity is the start of wisdom, I suppose; also the first announcement of death.”  Peter Conrad

“To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best day and night to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.”- E. E. (Edward Estlin) Cummings

Life is either a grand adventure, or it is nothing!

 

22

Time To Be Happy Now!

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No Need To Wait, Be Happy Now

why you should be happier
Choose to be happier

We are all looking to be happier in life.  There are some simple steps that you can take each moment to improve your happiness, and they are all easy to master. You need to have a consciousness of your life and take action toward a more fulfilling result.

Being generally happier about things in your life is a choice, and if you look at things and genuinely aren’t excited about the way they are going,  then changes need to be made with a few simple changes. You can turn things around right now, today, just by changing your focus. From the negative life throws at you to the positive surrounding you everywhere.

See The Good In Your Life

How to be happy optimisst
The Optimist

Is the glass half empty, or is it half full?  This perspective is how you can start evaluating your mental state in your life.  If your thoughts are frequently about what is missing in your life, what you don’t have, or what you need to acquire to be happy, you, my friend, are a glass-half-empty kind of person.  And I can pretty much guarantee that if you honestly ask yourself the question, am I happy?  The answer would be no.  How can you be satisfied when continually looking at what you don’t have or are lacking?

One of the most straightforward steps towards happiness is recognizing and appreciating any good thing you have in your life.  Show your gratitude by writing it down and talking about it during the day.   I have walked on the pessimist’s side of the street before. I know from my own experience that negative thinking only leads to more negative behavior, and you can NOT be happy if you are thinking about how much you are missing in life.   So make the simple choice to think positively about what is

The Pessimist

good in your life. Perhaps the fifteen minutes of silent contemplation you get on your ride to and from work every day allows you to stay organized and be more productive.  No matter who you are, there are always things that you can think about that are good, and when you start to do this, you will find that a look toward more positive things will lead to many more positive emotions, experiences, and circumstances occurring in your life.

It can all start with a simple list of things you are grateful for in your life and a sincere appreciation for them, and you will start turning things from negative to positive.

Do Something Nice Just because you can…

Its nice to be niceIt is not a difficult concept to understand that people like it when others do something nice for them.  It is even more appreciated when it comes from an unexpected source.  It is less understood that doing something nice for someone else will make you feel good about yourself.   When you do something to make someone else feel better, there is an almost automatic rise in your self-esteem and the way you think about yourself.  It is unstoppable and undeniable.  This feeling inside you is happiness because, as people, we all want to be more accepted and appreciated. If you can comfort or help another feel good or experience joy, your happiness will rise even if the act was anonymous.   As impressive as this sounds, you will become happier by making someone else more comfortable.  There is no way around it and no debating this point.  Do something nice for someone else just because you can, and you will be happier.

Smile more often and Mean It!

Smile more and be happierAnother simple way to be happier is to smile more often.  You can fake it at first if you are so pessimistic and angry that you don’t have an authentic smile in you.  There is a physiological response inside us that if we put on a smile, it is only natural that our entire demeanor, both inside and outside, will try to match that happy look.  If you don’t believe me, try it.  Focus on smiling more every day, even when there is nobody around.

You will not be able to stop yourself from thinking of things that have made you smile in the past or that make you smile today, or that would make you smile and feel happy tomorrow.  You won’t be able to stop it.   You will be just as comfortable as you choose to be.    It is as simple as learning to smile more and meaning it!

 Find Happy People and Do What They Do

Find happy peopleBirds of a feather flock together.  It is an old saying, but in most cases, it is true.  If you intend to be an unhappy, negative, and generally miserable person, you are going to seek out people and invest time in people who are going to promote that point of view for you.  You will find “friends” who are cynical about everything in their life and will get confirmation that they are right about how crappy the world is from you.  These people will avoid relationships with happy people because they will have to confront whatever makes them so damn miserable to maintain the relationship.  It is much easier for them to attack the happier person and try to minimize them as a person, usually by saying something negative about them behind their back.  If you want to be happy, getting rid of this behavior has to happen.  Here’s how.

You should find the positive people in your life and look to attach yourself to them.  You will start to see how they look at life and, more importantly, how they think about life.  These thought patterns are what you are looking to emulate because as you feel, so you are.

When you have relationships with people who don’t think life sucks and everyone is out to screw them, you will feel happier.  I can picture negative associations and make it easy to embrace negative thoughts about everything and everybody.  If you have ever worked in a place where this mentality is dominant, then you can understand how difficult it can be to be happy around that black cloud of misery, “this sucks,” “the boss is mean,” “they are trying to waste my time.”

Compare that to the work atmosphere infused with positive energy, which makes what you are doing seem to count and that you are an essential part of that process. You won’t be able to stop loving your job and doing it to the best of your ability.   In most work environments, you will have the opportunity to experience either kind of person, be positive and try to be happy, and like a moth to a flame, you will draw people looking for that attitude.   Please don’t allow the negative into your life. It is all up to your choices.

Let Go Of Bad Experiences and Anger Towards Others

One of the more helpful things that I have learned is that what has happened in the past affects your life today as you let it have.  Think about that for a moment.  We all have experiences that have not been pleasant to experience in our history.  We have all made bad decisions, and we have all made mistakes. We have all done wrong things.  That is life, and that is the way of it.  However, how we choose to live with these decisions or mistakes is totally up to us as people and directly leads to the amount of happiness you can experience.

I read a book about letting go, and it advised that when you think of a person or a situation, and you get an instant kind of burning feeling inside, there is something that you haven’t let go of.  Perhaps an experience you had from circumstances in your childhood, or it could be someone you feel has done something wrong to you.  There were both people and events that I was holding bad feelings against because I thought they had mistreated me and weren’t the people I thought they were.

I was holding on to the anger, hoping for some payback, and silently wishing bad things would happen to them so that they could feel as badly as I did.  When I started to release these feelings, I realized that I had the problem and not them.  I really began to look at things from other people’s perspectives, and by letting go of the anger, I found peace and even love.

Letting go of bad experiences is pretty a simple concept, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to do.   You think of the situation that brings up the negative emotions and asks yourself, can I let this go?  Then answer yourself honestly.  If the answer is yes, you will feel the difference almost immediately, and all of the negative will leave.

If honestly, the answer is no, you will still feel better about dealing with it. All you have to do to release it is to keep asking yourself, for me, eventually, anything that harmed me, I could let go.  This process is more complicated than it sounds because, as people, we sometimes have allowed negative experiences to define our lives.  If not for the long-term, for the short-term.  Letting go of these events and the people surrounding them can be scary.  But more dangerous still is the prospect of carrying the anger, guilt, shame, fear, etc., around you and being miserable for the rest of your life.  Practice letting goes, release the negative, and be much happier.

Happiness and joy are a choice, and the magnitude and measure of your life experiences these positives are based on your thinking.  Focus on gratitude, caring, kindness, and giving, and you will find a lot of happy moments.  Choose to focus on things you don’t have or the negative actions of others. Life is a tune that is meant to be played with positive notes. Any other music is played out of fear. Put the fear behind you.

22

Lifetime Learning

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Learn-gain or acquire knowledge of or skill in (something) by study, experience, or being taught.

One of the most powerful gifts we can have as human beings are the ability to learn. This strength is a process that we should continue to nurture throughout our lives because of the benefits the process provides the individuals experiencing it.  You are never too old or too wise to learn something new.  Make new things you’re learning today part of your consciousness in thought, word, and action.  This plan is for the special people to mark the completion of learning something new. I congratulate them and encourage them to keep on learning as much as possible throughout their life experience.

Reading is Fundamental

I learned to read before I went to school. My mother taught me by reading to Learnme every night, and I saw the magic in the pages of a book, and I took it upon myself from there to get the words right and understand their meaning. Reading was magical and essential.  More so now, to me, than ever before. You can learn about anything you want to know simply by accessing the information and reading it.  All information is available at the click of a button.  In a book or reliable website, almost any information can be collected and enhance your life.

To read is a process of taking words and adding animation and imagination to them. It can take you anywhere and allow you an experience almost anything.  With the simple use of your vision and the images you see when words enter your brain.  Reading gives everyone an equal chance to achieve.  Everything from the secrets of gardening to quantum physics is available for the curious to learn. Trust that reading is fundamental to the ability to learn.

Learning is Healthy

Learning is suitable for your mind, body, and spirit. There is confidence in knowing that you can learn about anything that interests you.  LearnTo learn is to grow, and to grow makes you better at life. If something stops growing, it stagnates, which is as accurate in people as in nature.  The difference is that people choose to learn or not, and you have an option to know or not.

Look at the times you felt most alive and experienced the most incredible sense of wonder. It is often when you learn something new, and your mind is expanded by previously unknown information. Those who have a passion for learning are nearly unstoppable. Again there is confidence in the ability to learn. We should encourage all people of any age.

Learn and Grow

Looking at our society today, I don’t think we are interested in growing the economy rather than growing individuals. The collective consciousness seems to be set on consumerism and selfishness rather than creating truly educated people. Our educational system is designed to produce workers and consumers but not learners.  The goal is to provide skills that will allow a person to make a living, which is great until you learn that living is not a life. You can have both with the right encouragement.

Therefore, it falls on the person to be responsible for their learning and development. It is quite a minefield to navigate too.  One has to overcome the continual distractions of entertainment and noise we face every day, all the time. It can seem like there is precious little time to focus on learning new things.  Make the time. The quality of the life you build is your responsibility. Nothing can stop you but you.

Learn Something Every Day

This talent should not be a difficult task, there is a world of knowledge, and nobody knows everything. Pick a topic or activity you are interested in and learn something about it. Put it into practice in your life and see what happens. When you are conscious of your thoughts, words, and actions toward learning, what you want to learn will come to you.  What is it you want to learn today?

Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow. ~Anthony J. D’Angelo

 “PERFECT IS THE ENEMY OF GOOD.” –VOLTAIRE

 “I’M STILL LEARNING.” –MICHELANGELO

“LIFE IS A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION.” –RALPH WALDO EMERSON

“LEARNING IS NOT ATTAINED BY CHANCE; IT MUST BE SOUGHT FOR WITH ARDOR AND ATTENDED TO WITH DILIGENCE.” ―ABIGAIL ADAMS

“YESTERDAY I WAS CLEVER, SO I CHANGED THE WORLD. TODAY I AM WISE, SO I AM CHANGING MYSELF.” –RUMI

 

 

22

It Goes Around

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What Goes Around Comes Around 

Finding motivation for new topics can be difficult, and sometimes it is just downright challenging.  Living in Maine, there are a lot of inspirations; natural beauty, people, and space all can contribute.   Yet the great thoughts I have

Much of what I learn from other bloggers.
Whatever power gets YOU through the day!!

been exposed to through reading and the quest for knowledge can fuel the fire of creativity.  Below are some of the motivations I have been lucky enough to be exposed to. Mindfulness, listening, facing fear, and what goes around comes back to you. What you send out to the world in your thoughts and your actions does reappear in your life, leading to some of my most exciting writing. Sometimes the return is terrific, but sometimes the exciting part is we get back exactly what we deserve. Live your life in selfishness, never thinking of anyone but yourself, and you will find those things as a part of your experience. Here are a few ideas to find the creative mojo we need to express ourselves.

Mindfulness is Important

mindfulnessI can lose focus on what I am currently doing in so many ways. Sometimes my mind runs back into the mist of the past. Just as often, it is pulled forward into the fantasy of what may come. But the future is uncertain at best, and the past is over, can’t be changed, and is probably open to many different interpretations.

Still more taxing to my mind is the practice of trying to do 12 things at once, and I lose focus on enjoying whatever I am doing in the name of a hurry.  All of the things that I accomplished today, I was careful to do each one at a time, or at least when I caught myself doing something and thinking about something else, I re-focused on the task at hand.   I got all of the studies done better and completed them quicker.

One of the great things I read was all of the helpful exercises you can do to bring yourself back into the moment.  Meditation is an excellent practice for keeping your thoughts at bay and providing mindfulness to your day. Focusing on a simple mantra or just continually trying to concentrate on your breath will keep you at the moment. Your mind will drift away like a cloud on a breeze, but you can always bring your awareness back to the moment by merely realizing you lost your focus. This realization restores your conscious directive thought to the moment.  Mindfulness will also allow you to quiet the mind to listen to your heart.

Listen to Your heart.

Quiet the mind. listen carefully.
Quiet the mind. Listen carefully.

It doesn’t matter what your religion or philosophy is. As a human being living on the face of the Earth, you have to deal with the voices of your Ego. Without going into a lot of detail, this is the voice you often hear that tells you negative things about yourself. Its primary function is to keep you safe, but in doing that, it can provide devastating feedback and negative comments that destroy your self-esteem.

Today I was reminded that even though you may never be able to get rid of this part of yourself altogether, you can learn to listen to it less and less.  Through practice, you can recognize when these thoughts come to you.  Anytime you think, “I am not good enough” or “You most likely will fail.” Then you are listening to your ego. The alternative is to listen to your heart.

Your heart knows what is best for you and can answer any question because your heart is your connection to the universe.  The voice of the heart is not as loud as the ego. Much like it is difficult to hear sound advice with a siren screaming in your ear, the ego distracts and drowns out this voice you should be hearing.  It is always there, always has been, and always will be. You need to ask a question and be able to listen for the answer.

I do not want to be a cowardly lion.
I do not want to be a cowardly lion.

 Facing My Fear

I have had cause to reflect that no matter how much distance we have covered in life, there are still some fears that I need to address daily to be free of their influence.  It is the fear of worrying about what other people think of me.  How much that shyness affected me all of my life, and this is a daily battle every day.

I am sure others understand what I speak about, the feeling of just wanting to fit in and not stand out because then you might be afraid the world will notice all of your faults.   The side effect of this thought pattern is that you are so scared to let anyone see the real you, which is too much of a risk.  This fear can stop you from enjoying many things in life.

As you grow older and experience teaches you other lessons, you get to a point where you have to say to hell with all of that stuff. Be yourself. Some will like it, and some will not. That is the way life goes. At least when you close your eyes at night, you know that you have been the most honest version of yourself that you can be. We can’t do any better than that.

What Goes Around, Comes Back Around

goes aroundThis was a song by Justin Timberlake, and I was reminded that I do not have high respect for his acting ability, but more importantly, I remembered the truth of this phrase in life.

It is a karmic statement that what you put out into the world will come back to you, often with a bit of extra.  Most significantly, today, I was thinking about how we treat others.  If you lie to someone and mistreat them, then someone will most likely mistreat you.

Often we are so personally involved in the situations of our lives that we never notice this game in action until we take a step back and look at the whole game board. We can see the connection between our activities and the experiences we have.

I only know that I decide to be honest, kind, caring, and thoughtful because that is all I can control in life.

 To Move Forward, Leave the Past Behind You

This is a part of what I read today:

I wish you gone, dear memory,
I wish I didn’t have to remember every detail…..

I wish I could be free
Of the shackles that you have in me…..

I wish for forgiveness
I wish for it never to have happened….

forget pastI remembered how this felt.  We have all been there, a person is gone, and it is for good. There may have been good reasons, but a part remains even though they are gone. A longing for the past causes pain.   Eventually, we learn to move on and let it go; the shackles of that memory are loosed, and you find that love isn’t a prison sentence placing you in a memory cell. It is the power that sets you free.

Final Thought

Today I was struck by so much good writing and thought that I could have kept going, but I only have a bit of time to write.  Now my secret is out, and I get much of my motivation and inspiration from the people who create each day wonderfully! Each creator provides a garden of ideas and a playground for thought!

What other songs could I choose for this?

 

22

Filling Up Your Space

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empty space inside of you
What do you fill the space inside of you with?

We each have space inside us that exists to fill with all of the things that matter in life. From birth until we leave this experience, people decide what will fill their space most enjoyable. All of the things we pay attention to and the actions you take fill that space. As we grow older, the decisions about space will be more critical. When we were 20 years old, when something that filled our space no longer seemed to fit and we let it fall away.  There were events, relationships, and other experiences that filled the spaces inside of us. But they are long over and we have to let them go, so there is more room for new life to get in. We have to let things slip away from us and move comfortably into the past. What is in your space that you should let go of? What should you keep?

What Fills Space?

We are always looking for the “stuff” to fill the space inside us. Sometimes we think it is another person who will fill up space and allow us to feel complete. Other times it is material things that we

What are your hands full of right now that is stopping you from grabbing what you really want?
What are your hands full of right now stopping you from grabbing what you want?

Purchase to feel useful and valued. Still, there are other unhealthy activities that we delve into to fill the space inside of us. It can be the overconsumption of alcohol or drugs that we use to fill the holes. Each of these attempts to feel complete falls utterly short because They are temporary solutions to the problem.

You can never fill your space from outside of yourself. We always look for the next “thing” to make us happy. The following relationship is going to be the one that makes us happy. The next job will provide a feeling of competency, and the next new gadget we buy will fill that space.  However, we never really get what we are looking for because the thing that can fill the hole inside us is accepting and loving ourselves and who we are. That is what fills the space.

Limiting Beliefs

Most of us have limiting beliefs about our abilities and what we deserve to

Simple model to follow to rewrite the beliefs that limit you.
A simple model to follow to rewrite the beliefs that limit you.

Receive in life. Most are based on feelings and experiences we learned when we were very young and have hung onto, allowing them to affect us negatively years later. One of the bigger ones many people carry around inside is that they don’t deserve to have things. Money, love, material possessions, all are game for this. If you believe that you don’t deserve to be happy in life, you certainly won’t experience happiness.

The beginning of filling that space in you will come when you start to evaluate your own limiting beliefs about your self-worth. Each of us has an individual value that can’t be duplicated. You are the only one who can be you and make the contribution that you can make to the world. There is a space inside us waiting for us to find our talent, skill, and gift, and then we will feel whole.

Fill your space by discovering your passions and following them. Often we follow what we think we should be doing, from the job we work to the place we live. Each decision is based on society’s collective “dream” and what should be the safest and most realistic.

The empty space you feel inside won’t be filled by doing what others think you should do. It can only be filled by what your heart knows it must do.
Follow your heart and fill the space with the substance of your unique abilities.

“You begin to fly when you let go of self-limiting beliefs and allow your mind and aspirations to rise to greater heights.” ―Brian Tracy

“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve.” ―Mary Kay Ash

“Do just once what others say you can’t do, and you will never pay attention to their limitations again.” ―James Cook

“Learning too soon our limitations, we never learn our powers.” —Mignon McLaughlin

“Every person takes the limits of their own field of vision for the limits of the world.” —Arthur Schopenhauer

22

Choose Your Paradigm

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To live life in any thoughtful and contemplative way is to understand we do not have things figured out entirely just yet, and there is always an opportunity for positive growth and change. And the chance to become a better person. This growth can only happen and be a long-term thing affecting our lives if we consciously choose it.  A paradigm is a map we follow to explain a particular aspect of our known territory.  This theory means we have a paradigm for how we interact with others, work in the workforce, seek opportunities, see our self-worth, the way we create and how accomplish goals, and follow our dreams.  Each of these viewpoints has been developed throughout our lives through the beliefs we have accepted as accurate brought on by our upbringing and experiences in life.

The thing to consider is, what if our paradigms have been wrong all along? We have been attacking problems from the wrong perspective.  Right or wrong, how we view and interpret our life and surroundings is the source of our attitudes and behaviors about everything. Our relationships with others and our actions are driven by the subtle programming of our accepted paradigms and interpretations of all things. A paradigm shift occurs when new information enters your experience and forces you to change from seeing the world one way to seeing it another. We can find real change, success, and joy in life through this vision.  We should all be seeking these changes every day.

Significant Change In Your Life

Most people would like to experience some positive change in their life. Better relationships, more money, or a rise in respect are all things people look for to increase their happiness. These changes do not often happen magically, and the current situation we are in is because of the map of understanding we accept as accurate about how the world works. We are conditioned by our parents, relatives, teachers, peers, and society to believe their version of how things work and apply it to our lives.  We live by these accepted “truths” and try to live our life from them. When you start to question these rules, we understand that we have been fed opinions, half-truths, and outright lies.  To find significant change, we have to change our view of what we accept about the world’s workings.

This process is changing your paradigms and the limits placed on you by your accepted and often inaccurate view of your world.  How do you know if your idea is limited? Look at the things you are taught you “can’t” do.   It often takes a tragic event, a traumatic incident, or a primary conscious choice.  These things are generally unpleasant but force you to look at the world differently. And, of course, when you look at the world differently, you will think differently. Your map of you follow as an explanation for things will change.

Widens Scope of Paradigm

Your character as a person also will affect the view we have of the world. One of the fundamental ideas is that the world is a good place with many kind people willing to help you or that the world is a horrible and dangerous place with danger everywhere. This fundamental belief will affect all of your paradigms. If you think there is danger around every corner and each person is out to harm you, you will live your life from that vantage point—one of fear.  Conversely, if you look for the good in people and see it, you will live your life and make choices differently. These are paradigms.

Look at your vision of life and how you see the world.  Do you believe in honesty? Do you believe in kindness? Are you practicing gratitude? Or do you skew your life in the opposite direction?  These questions involve individual answers but will reveal your current paradigms to you. You will see how you value other people and spend your time.  These things are based on the rules you have established and our attempts to explain the territory in which we live.  You control these explanations and either consciously or subconsciously create them and follow them every day. If you are not happy with life, change how you view the world.

Some Paradigms Examples

Learning about paradigms is one thing, and here are some examples of a few that we are taught from youth and tend to hang on for life. Until we choose something different, each explains an aspect of our lives, and we make choices based on these beliefs and will continue to until we decide to remove and replace them.

List of Paradigms

  1. You must go to school and get excellent grades to succeed.

  2. It would be best if you never daydreamed as it’s a waste of time.

  3. You should go to college and get a degree to be successful and productive.

  4. You can’t earn higher salaries and promotions without a degree.

  5. It would be best to get a secure job, regardless of your enjoyment in performing the task. Secure employment makes you a stable, reliable, and regular person.

  6. Happiness is secondary to financial security.

  7. It would be best if you got married right after getting a good job, and that is normal.

  8. You should always save money for “rainy days.”

  9. It would be best to get a formal education in business to run one.

  10. You must never spend money lavishly, be frugal and careful.

These are just some of the programming messages we receive through our life experiences. Are these right or wrong? That is up to each person to decide for themselves. There is an argument to be made for each one and how the opposite of each could be just as accurate and valid to a person.  Remember that none of these things are facts. They are all only opinions based on a person’s experience. You can accept, change, and disregard them at any time. That is part of being a conscious, thinking human being.

Examine You

Please take a few minutes and write down what you believe about life and look at how valid they are.  You may find out your truths are just opinions and, if adjusted, will allow you to accomplish more and live your life more satisfyingly.  Too often, our negative thoughts and fear-based beliefs control our paradigms and cause us to live our lives not as we would like but how others feel we should.  Paradigms allow you to recognize the negative, limiting beliefs in your life and restate them more proactively and positively. The life you have to improve is your own.

“Your paradigm is so intrinsic to your mental process that you are hardly aware of its existence until you try to communicate with someone with a different paradigm.” – Donella Meadows

“The symbolic language of the crucifixion is the death of the old paradigm; resurrection is a leap into a whole new way of thinking.” -Deepak Chopra
“If we want to make relatively minor changes in our lives, we can perhaps appropriately focus on our attitudes and behaviors. But if we want to make significant, quantum change, we need to work on our basic paradigms.” – Stephen R. Covey

“We don’t see things as they are. We see things as we are.” – Anais Niin

“If you don’t get out of the box you were raised in, you won’t understand how much bigger the world is.” –  Angelina Jolie

 “Just because something has always been done in a certain way is never a sufficient reason for continuing to do it that way.” – Clarence Birdseye

“If you want to create change, you must challenge not only the models of Unreality but the paradigms that underwrite them.” – Stafford Beer

 

 

 

 

 

22

How to Change Your Reality

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Every moment of the day, we are all experiencing our version of life, and through that, we see and understand what reality is.  But the strange thing is that our understanding of truth in the same situation as someone else can be different.  People do not respond to reality, and they respond tho their perceptions of that reality showing up in their life. Think about how some situations are so tricky they cause a person to break down and be destroyed. Another person in the same position turns the pain and suffering into positive action and becomes better and stronger because of their reality.  The same situation, different perceptions, and very different results. How is your perception of your reality affecting your view of life?

Beliefs and Paradigms

All of us have a structure of rules that allow us to comprehend the world and understand its place. That structure is a paradigm.  Your beliefs drive your paradigm. And our belief system was developed very early in life, usually before the age of 10. These beliefs are things we picked up from observation and direct lessons from our family, schools, organizations, peer groups, and society in general.  Our experience has programmed us.  Some of these beliefs are positive and helpful, and some are limiting and harmful.  It is up to us to evaluate each idea and construct our paradigms of life.

The paradigm you see the world through determines how you react to any situation.  The first choice we all make is whether the world is a hostile place or a wonderful and caring place.  That is the basis for all of the beliefs which follow.  If you think everyone is out for themselves, are mean-spirited and selfish, you will have a much different reaction to someone cutting you off in traffic than someone who believes people are inherently good and life will work out for the best.  These two fundamental views drive the reality of all people.  How do you see the world?  What paradigm have you constructed, and are you willing to evaluate where you are wrong?  That is the beginning of growth, and positive change and life are about development.

Helping Others See

Once you get a little experience looking at your view of reality, when you encounter a person in a place you have previously been, it is natural to want to help them.  Unfortunately, many life lessons are meant to be learned through the cold, unforgiving hand of experience.  You can’t help someone else unless they want your help and, in most cases, ask for it. That isn’t easy when you care about the person and see the path you think they should or could follow to achieve their goals. If they can’t see it, or it contradicts their paradigm, then fear will stop, which is a battle each of us has to fight individually. Just because you can see success for someone doesn’t mean they want it or are ready to receive it.

Please make sure someone wants your help.

To help someone, they need to be open to receiving your help and willing to listen to what you say and think about what they are doing. It helps a person also needs to be receptive to new ideas, thoughts, and potential growth coming their way.  Leaving old beliefs, even clearly limiting one behind, is uncomfortable and painful.  But it is a necessary part of life.  Finally, a person needs to appreciate the opportunity to change and grow.  Otherwise, it will be too easy to fall back into old habits or never take the necessary steps to reach their goals and become the person they want to become. You can offer your help to someone who is not appreciative but be prepared for painful and ineffective results.  It is all up to the person and how they view reality.

Looking Ahead

Finally, look at the vision a person has about themselves and their future, and you will see how we all shape our reality every day through the decisions we make every day.  A clear, inspiring vision of a positive future and understanding of some changes that need to be made to get there will help you shift your paradigm and vision of reality to bring that vision into being. If you lack a clear, inspiring vision, you tend to move around in the present moment or cling hopelessly to the past. Neither of these things will propel you forward, they will just be wasting your time, and unless you change, your vision will never come into your reality.

Having a vision and seeing what you want in your mind before you ever have it come into your life is one of the real joys of being human.  Look at the things you envision for yourself in the future. Are these things you want? Or are they ideas others want for you? Your happiness and fulfillment in life will be determined by how much you allow the creation of your visions. There is nothing worse than creating something you think you want, getting to the end, and experiencing an empty feeling of “this is it?” Real vision doesn’t have that feeling in the future because your reality matches up with your goals and what you want to see in your life. False ideas can come in pursuing a career, doing what you think you should, rather than doing what you want.

Look at your reality today, take an inventory of your paradigm, goals, and vision, and see if your reality matches what you want to see as a part of your life.  If it is, then keep doing what you are doing. If things don’t match up, then be willing to shift your paradigm into something you desire to have in your life.  How can you move your life in the direction of your vision today?  Who in your life can help you, if you ask?

People do not respond to reality, and they react to their perceptions of that reality showing up in their life.

“Perception is reality. If you are perceived to be something, you might as well be it because that’s the truth in people’s minds.”- Steve Young

“Our understanding is correlative to our perception.”   Robert Delaunay

“Perception is created and twisted so quickly.” Louis C.K.

“One has not only an ability to perceive the world but an ability to alter one’s perception of it; more simply, one can change things by the manner in which one looks at them.”  Tom Robbins

22

The Positive Turn

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If you are wondering what your thoughts and emotions have led you to in life, take a moment and look at your life and honestly evaluate your circumstances. Nothing will provide a clearer picture. The events of your life are a living, breathing display of how you think and what you believe about yourself.  We make choices every day about what exactly we “deserve” to experience every day, and the accumulative effect of these choices is our reality.  So if you are working a job you are not wild about, that is a result of your preferences. Nobody else forced you into it. You chose it for some reason. The status of your relationships in all areas of your life results from the decisions you have made based on your beliefs about life and reality. That is a fact, and if you want to change things, you need to look at the ideas that led to your thoughts and discard the ones that are leading you in a negative direction. Here are a few thoughts to move in a positive direction. There is success in everyone. The potential for joy in every day and all of it is really up to us.

Take Responsibility

The first and only place to look in answer to: “Why am I in this situation?” or “How did this happen?” is to look in the mirror and accept your responsibility for all of your life situations.  You can cry and complain about this happening or wallow over the sadness that somebody else hurt you. That is a fact; people will hurt others, be callous, uncaring, and take advantage of others.  It happens to everyone in life, but you are responsible for your reaction to everything. You are responsible.

It is easy to slip into the role of a victim and feel sorry for yourself and think about how you couldn’t help what happened because someone else made the choices. That is a very slippery slope, and it slips in more areas once you allow responsibility to fall to something or someone else. The best choice we can make is to take complete responsibility for our lives and situations, and that gives us all the power to create whatever future we want.  You are responsible for your past and your future.

Grow and Take Action

You have the opportunity in every moment of every day to seize that experience and make it something powerful and productive. Too often, I have seen myself and others sit comfortably in the virtual recliner of routine behavior. If you dream of doing something, set your intention to create it, and then take at least a small action toward developing it. In action, there is a truth. It will tell you what will work and what you need to do differently, but it will always lead you toward your reality and the accomplishment of your goals and dreams.

Action will help you gain more wisdom regarding what you want, what will make you happy, and what might not. Learning is gaining knowledge and can come to you from books, videos, classes, other people, time spent in nature, or many different sources.  Nothing will lead you to wisdom if you don’t seek it, and nothing can stop you from finding it if you look for it. So make an effort to find the knowledge available to you every day, and then look for ways you can share what you have learned with the rest of the world. To receive is essential, but to give is the legacy of your life. Make it a positive one.

Choose a Happy Destiny

It doesn’t matter to me if you believe in destiny or not; you have an opportunity in your short life to create something magnificently fabulous or something tragically awful, or something anywhere in between. It is up to you to look at your heart and see what gifts you have to fine-tune and share with the world. Your destiny will be assured once you have listened to that voice within. We are all born with something to give, and then life covers it up through programming and expectations.  The journey to find it is up to you.

Often, the simple thought and feeling of genuine gratitude will guide you back to your true self. Be grateful for what you have in life, and more will come your way. That is what seems always to happen. Have a thankful spirit, and that choice will bring happiness into your life. Grateful people are still happy, and that choice can be yours now. No matter what your situation is right now, there is something to be thankful for, and through gratitude, a small glimmer of joy will enter your life whether you want it to or not. Look for it, create it, and move more positive feelings into your life.

Forgive

Another absolute power we all have is brought to us through forgiveness. It doesn’t mean you condone any poor behavior, and it doesn’t mean you are OK with bad things happening to you, but it means you are no longer letting something that happened in the past define you today.  Refer back to responsibility. You are the only one that can choose to forgive someone and all they do or don’t do. Holding on to anger, hate, fear, or whatever negative emotion you perceive from an event will harm you. These are released through forgiveness. Decide to give heartfelt and honest forgiveness to all those in your life.

The most important person you can forgive is yourself. Deep down, we hold anger toward ourselves for all things that occur in our lives.  Some see taking responsibility for their life this way.  Looking at the past is an impossible game because you can’t change anything that happened, and if you could have done better or behaved differently, you certainly would have.  So to use your past as a punishment for your experiences today is our choice.  And it can be released by only looking into our hearts and forgiving the people who hurt us and, most importantly ourselves. A forgiving spirit will guide you to greatness and a life without fear.

Persist Always

Finally, it is vital to develop and maintain a practice of persistence in your life. Some will start many things and have a high energy level initially but will lose their momentum at the first challenge they face and move on to something else. Persist without exception.  Nothing ever takes the place of persistence. It is a trait that will lead to success in all areas of life. Keep on trying. Get knocked down eight times, get up nine, and trim will be able to stop you.  It is a great faith in yourself that will allow you to be persistent in your pursuit of a career, health, a relationship, or anything else you are shooting for. Keep on trying, and don’t give up because it gets difficult or you have an initial setback. Those challenges are sometimes needed to teach you the information you need. Persistence is power and will always lead you in a positive direction.

“The truth I know for sure is that if something feels good and makes you happy on the inside, you’re probably moving in the right direction.”- Jacqui Holland

“Surround yourself with people who talk about ideas and visions of positivity and do not waste time talking about other people.” 

 

22

Dreaming My Dreams

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Dream 

My goal is to establish a positive focus every morning by concentrating on one positive word or phrase. There are enough negative influences in the world, and I believe that through a conscious movement of thought, we can improve our emotions, words, and actions and make the world a better place and our lives more enjoyable.   Follow your dreams today?  

What is a dream?

One of the great things about life is that we can conjure up images in our minds of things we want to experience and accomplish through our efforts. These are nothing more than thoughts in our imagination, which are dreams.  Once you establish these dreams, then it becomes a quest to see if you can accomplish them or not. There are plans to make and actions to take, which will allow you to complete all the things you set out to do.

Sometimes you will reach your dream, and sometimes you won’t. But it is the journey to accomplish the things in our minds that provides spice to life.  To believe in yourself and your ability to perform things when all others doubt you and make it happen is the greatest accomplishment.  Follow your dreams!!

Finding the Value

Not all journeys are going to be comfortable and seamless. You can set out on the path to chase a dream, and it will be comfortable in the beginning, but there will be challenges that arise and obstacles that get in your way.  At these moments, a person needs to look for the lesson they are being taught or the skill they have the time to develop.  Often that is the best value that dreams provide an increase in agility, thought, and performance that would have never existed if you didn’t have the plan in the first place.

There is also an enjoyment of the journey that gives a zest to life we can all use.  As you go down the inevitable path, your dream will take you; there will be experiences along the way. There is knowledge to gather, people who encourage you, people who don’t encourage you, and tiny victories and defeats along the way.  Take the time to appreciate them all because it is in the struggle that the value of the goal is felt.

Dreams Come True Every Day

The most important thing to remember on your journey is that dreams come true every day. There are people out there with no more talent, skill, or drive than you are turning their imaginative thoughts into reality.  You can do it too—some simple things to do. First, keep the image of your dream in your mind daily. Please write it down. Look at it regularly and use your imagination to think about what it will be like, then it comes into your reality.  Second, don’t listen to those with a negative mind.  If you want to get discouraged, tell people about your dream. They will most often list all the reasons you are unrealistic or that it can’t possibly happen.  Keep your goals close to your heart and yourself, except for those who are optimistic supporters.  Third, keep on going and moving forward. This track is done by taking consistent and appropriate action, developing your skills, and getting you closer to accomplishing what you dream about.

Dreams are a human experience. No other creature we know of experiences something in the imagination and then brings it into reality.  Our ability to attempt to do this brings us to hope that life can get better and that we can turn things we desire into reality. That means we can create almost anything in our lives. Become better, develop your skills, and follow your dreams.  They are a reality on the other side of your imagination.

“Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.” ―James A. Michener

“How long should you try? Until.” ―Jim Rohn

 “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ―Nelson Mandela

“You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.” ―Babe Ruth

 

 

22

Just My Imagination

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One of our most powerful tools as people is our imagination. Each person can conjure up images of the most marvelous and creative things in the mind.  The ability to think in original thoughts separates the innovators from the pretenders in business and life.  Imagination is creative thinking running wild and looking at the world in a new or different way.  It is so unique that we all have this ability. It is one of the gifts of having a human experience.  We are only limited by the amount of effort we put into our imagination practice.  Our minds create the experiences we have in life.  Why is it that so many people do not use this gift?  Most people seek concrete avenues of thought which solve minor problems and lead to no significant contribution in life.  They are safe but will never lead to innovation in any area of life.  Let’s think about this for a bit.

The Concrete Path

This is a road of thought taught to us from our earliest moments. As we are taught the right way to behave at the dinner table and in public as children, which are all great skills, we are also inundated with many other things. The shame of not being exactly like everyone else, fearing being different, or not fitting in is also drilled into our minds. We are all seeking this level of normality in our behavior and, more significantly, in our thoughts.

Instead of being challenged to look at things creatively, we are stunted in our development and pushed into a fixed mindset of limitations.  This is true of the ideas of what is expected from children to what is expected from adults.  Follow the concrete path, and “you will be happy.”  Go to school, get educated, have a career, a family, work for 30 years, retire and wait for this ride to end.  Following this concrete destination is supposed to make us all happy with life, but it doesn’t work like that.  We have our paths to follow and things to create that don’t fall on that path.

Our Purpose

It is our purpose that drives us once we start looking for it.  It isn’t going to be found on the concrete path of society, but off of it, down some dirt path that others tell you not to follow.  Yet you still follow it to find the thing you have felt has been missing in your life.  That purpose is yours to discover, ignore, avoid, or build a life upon as you see fit, but it is always their calling to you. Some are fortunate, and they find their calling early on in life and have a chance to transform it and themselves over time.  Others are not so lucky; circumstances and experience will allow you to discover or rediscover precisely what you should be doing in this life.

Your purpose doesn’t have to be a giant mountain to climb or an overwhelming responsibility, and it can be a more simple life or better decisions about the ones you care about.  Mark Twain famously said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”  This is the process of finding out why.  Without looking for your purpose, you will never find it, and that is the secret to enjoying life, taking your path without fear, and seeing where it takes you. The most incredible tool you have is your imagination to help you.

Use Your Imagination

Imagination will allow you to see how things might be if you can follow your purpose. To create a world that only exists in your mind and actively look for steps that will take you in that direction. Nothing in this world was ever created by man that wasn’t first, just a thought in someone’s imagination. Each of us has the same ability to take an idea through the process of creation and into reality.  It is a matter of focus and commitment.

People can practice and fine-tune this talent, like someone training with weights works their body into shape. You can exercise the ability to be creative and make something where once there was nothing. I enjoy doing just that with an empty page and creating thoughts that weren’t there before. Like they are buildings holding the secrets to many lives.  Whatever you want to make, be conscious of the process, have a thought, imagine what it will be like completed, then take steps to move your idea toward reality.

We are all pushed down the concrete path of life to be exactly like everyone else, but none of us are the same, and all seek individual expression. Creativity is the vehicle for expression that lives in us and needs to be nurtured.  Practice the creative process, work with your imagination today, and see what path it leads you down.

“Every human has four endowments – self-awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.” -Stephen Covey

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”- Mark Twain.

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”- Robert Fulghum