Tag Archives: value

Your Focus Provides the Value

July 25, 2022 Jonathan Hilton Leave a comment

What We Value

It reveals how the things we attach value to change over the years. Some things that once meant everything to us now mean absolutely nothing, and conversely, some things we didn’t value at all come to tell everything in our lives as we grow and values change. Understanding what is valuable or important to us is a massive part of growing and finding what brings you fulfillment and makes you the most productive human being enjoying life on this planet. Let’s see what things I put into my life treasure chest. They have certainly changed throughout my life.

Physical Activity

children playing at the beach, painting by artist Debbie Miller

Physical activity was a part of life as vital to me as breathing when I was young. It didn’t matter what time of year, what weather I had to face; I was moving in it.

It was perpetual motion in the summer, from swimming to boating to getting from place to place. I was physically active when I woke up in the morning to the time I put my head on the pillow at night.

Over the years, there was school, followed by a job, and then you had to find time to be physically active. I have gone through weight training and cardiovascular fitness of all kinds, and each time I value the ability and stamina I had as a youth. I love my mobility now and dream of what it was like then. Fitness is the greatest gift you can give yourself. It will improve your enjoyment and quality of life. I make it a priority. Working out is a daily must for me, and I relish making it a part of my routine. It helps keep me mentally, physically, and spiritually strong.

Friendships

I am mystified by this one because, on the one hand, there are the people I grew up with that I am still friends with to this day.

However, I have met many “friends” in adulthood that are as transient as the weather. One moment they are there for you, and the next one as quick as the sun moves behind a cloud. Friendship seems to be a difficult thing to count on, which is too bad. Present for a season or two of your life and then destined to fade and fizzle out over time. I have always believed that once I am your friend, I am your friend for life. There aren’t any conditions or behavioral expectations, we are friends, and it is a relationship that will last.

This philosophy has been continually proven wrong, so I value the friends who have been there when things weren’t so great. And those who are around for a short time and then moving along. I believe wholeheartedly that people enter your life for a reason, often to teach you something. In friendship, like in all things, some have to move along to make room for gathering what you need. I am glad that I have met so many wonderful people, and they have left such a vital mark. Like spices in the stew, each has added something unique. I am glad to have known them, and I care about you all the same for those that have faded. The lessons I have learned from everyone have contributed significantly to my life. Whether you are here in my life now or not, I love you just the same.

Family Valuables

Few things in the world define who you are more than the family you belong to. Some people hate their families, but I see us as a collection of unique individuals who move their way.

I make no bones that all of my grandparents, great grandparents, great uncles, and aunts that I have personally known have impacted me. Even though they have all passed away, I carry them with me. Their voices are recorded in my mind, and I remember how they sounded and what they said. I also remember what they did, and I was a fortunate and blessed soul because all of my relatives wanted me to be great.

Those that are still here, I love them all as well, even though distances that may be a natural part of life have crept in. All of us are different, and I appreciate those unique qualities. There is nothing as valuable as a family because no matter what they say or do, they carry around a large part of the DNA. Family is something that gains in value over time.

Relationship Valuables

Relationships from long ago,

Mean more to me than they’ll ever know.

From the first time, I saw you smile

to watching you leave after all those miles.

You may not know that this part is genuine,

I have never forgotten my love for you.

These words describe the way I have always felt. I have been accused of overthinking and being too emotional in recent years, which would be a shock, I think, to people who knew me when I was a much younger man. But I carry my emotions on my sleeve and do not give my heart away very quickly. Once I make a choice, it is done. I have had some bad luck in this realm. Not sI am noting a lot of sound judgment in who I trust with this most valuable asset and who does not count. I have made some questionable decisions. I hope I have learned the lessons I was meant to learn to advance in life with more wisdom. Every new beginning comes from another beginning’s end, which is the way of life and relationships. Some are far more fortunate than me, and I am grateful for their happiness. May they appreciate what they have.

Valuables In My Mind

Finally, there are the things I have learned, which I have found to be extremely valuable. For most of my life, I didn’t understand the value created when you started looking for the answer to a question. The answers you may never find ultimately, but the information you learn along the way can make life so much more enjoyable.

Some people believe you go to college when you are young and learn, get a job, and put that learning to use. I’m afraid I have to disagree with this paradigm completely. None of what I was exposed to in college I learned. I mimicked and regurgitated knowledge, but to learn, it has to become a part of you. I have learned more since I turned 43 than I ever learned in life before.

This is not a condemnation of my instructors or the schools I attended but an indictment of myself. Above all else, what I can learn, contemplate, and understand, are the most significant valuables. The quest to understand myself and the contribution I want to make to the world in a larger sense is vitally important to me and part of the treasure I carry. We all can contemplate that we will no longer be here at some point in the not-so-distant future, and I wonder, what will my actions have brought into this world? Only time will answer that question. I am hopeful that the positive will outweigh the negative.

The value of life is not in its duration but its donation. …
The ultimate value of life depends upon awareness and the power of contemplation rather than mere survival. …
If you genuinely believe in the value of life, you care about all of the weakest and most vulnerable society members.

What do you treasure?

Know Your Own Value

June 25, 2022 Jonathan Hilton Leave a comment

Your value as a human being is determined by how you think about yourself and the choices of thought you entertain. We all accept from the world the importance we place on ourselves, our time, our talent, and our productivity. If you receive a specific salary for eight hours of your day, that is your value. You accept particular treatment from others because that is where you see your worth. Are you stuck in your self-worth, or can you improve? This writing wouldn’t be much of a thought piece if there were no hope for becoming more valuable to yourself and expecting appropriate treatment from the world to match it. Here are a few simple things to start raising your value now.

Belief Adjustment

The first step is learning the difference between random thoughts, opinions, and beliefs that run our lives. We are run by our subconscious mind most of the time, and our beliefs control that mechanism. Start to question your old ideas about yourself and how life is constructed and look to move beyond them. If you believe that people who have money are wrong, you will subconsciously create situations where cash is scarce. Look beyond. If you feel all members of the opposite sex are the same and will treat you poorly, that is precisely who you will end up in a relationship with. Look beyond and see your actual worth and believe it. Then see what types of money and people show up in your life. Your worth will increase about the time you start to value yourself.

Accept It All

We fight a constant battle in life between who we are and what we perceive the world wants us to be. Increasing your value will come when you start to accept all of the things about yourself you see as flaws. We all struggle to fit into the image we create in our minds of what we should be and how we should look based on media images we were exposed to. We are all trying to fit ourselves into a mold created by someone else of how to look, how to act, what to like, and what we think is entertainment. It is all a fantasy and impossible to attain. The worst part is there are great things about all people, and we allow these images to destroy our self-esteem and make us ashamed of who we are.

Accept your perceived flaws. Maybe it is your height, your hair color, or some other gift of birth. Accept it as a part of you and learn to value it. You will be surprised at how much your change of attitude will change how the world perceives you. Accept all of the old wounds from your past, allow yourself to feel them accept them, and move past them. Something that happened to you 35 years ago has as much bearing today as you will enable it to have. Move past it by practicing acceptance of who you are, what you have done, mistakes you have made, and things you didn’t do. How you see yourself and your power is a choice. Choose wisely.

Practice Gratitude

If something is valuable in your life, take a moment to show appreciation for it: a possession, a person, an experience, or any part of your life. When you show gratitude, you increase your value, and guess what will start to show up? More of those things. Be grateful for something in your life because it has great power for you. You are taking things for granted, and showing and feeling ingratitude will bring less of those things into your life. How many great things are you taking for granted right now? You will not appreciate them until they are gone.

Learn to appreciate every little thing that comes into your existence. There is something positive about almost everything. Sometimes we are just too close to the fray to see it. But it is there when you pull back and allow your focus to come clear. Showing more appreciation for things naturally raises your value in the world. When you grow your worth, you increase your level of expectation, and your experience will become more abundant. Start a simple gratitude practice today by making a list of three things you are grateful for. You can do it at the beginning or end of the day, but the approach will change your focus and raise your value.

Find Connections and Pursue

There are things we do that bring us closer to who we are. For me, writing my thoughts down is one way I do this. Exercise is another. All people have different activities that allow them to connect to their inner selves, enabling you to do this and pursue them. All of those who stop you from this feeling, move away from them. Most people build addictions to things that are not healthy for us, from sugar to drugs to alcohol. Many addictive behaviors we fall into are not beneficial to our becoming our best selves. Put these things aside.

The connection to yourself will fill the holes you may feel in yourself. Your parents didn’t pay enough positive attention to you. You didn’t fit in at school. You were not popular. These things can be moved past because they have as much power as we choose to give them. All people have experienced this when you do things because you view it as a positive from your inner world. Rather than doing something because of how others view it, you will be much happier. And isn’t happiness the feeling we all want to feel? Please connect to the things which make you sing on the inside and do them. Your worth will increase.

Finally Creative

Being creative is one of the most powerful skills to pursue to raise your value. There is a well of creativity inside of you and ideas available to you on the outside. Our mental limits and perceptions stop many from finding their unlimited imagination. We believe in limiting things others have imposed on us, and they prevent us from making our lives the best they can be. We are so worried about fitting into the mold society has cast us in. Originality flies out the window. You have an unlimited well of ideas inside you, and it just takes a little effort to draw them out. Once you bring them out, don’t let your mind talk you out of them. Being creative is one of the most powerful things you can do.

Increase your value by practicing creative thought daily in your work, play, and all aspects of your life. Creativity is the cure for all challenges. Use your power.

“Know your worth. Then add tax.” Anonymous

“Never forget how rare you are.” Anonymous

“Things of value require sacrifice. If people are too hurt, too busy, or too damn stupid to see that you’re a blessing they’ve been asking for, just fall back. Know your worth.” Anonymous

“I don’t know why we all hang on to something we’re better off letting go of.” Meredith Grey

“When you start seeing your worth, you’ll find it harder to stay around people who don’t.” Anonymous

Jonathan Hilton Mind Connections