Category Archives: 21

21

Your Thoughts

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We are too smart for our good sometimes. The mind is a fantastic tool to enhance lives and solve problems. Still, I often forget it is just a tool to navigate our movements through life most efficiently and beneficially possible. I forget an instrument is not infallible, and this tool is not our identity.  Left working on its own, the thoughts created by your mind will mislead you, make you feel unwanted and unnecessary emotions, and move your actions in circles rather than in the direction that might benefit you.  Too often, we trust our minds and identify with our thoughts. We believe them and give credence to them, allowing them high power over our lives.  The sad fact is our minds lie, mislead, and produce thoughts based on past programming, and following thoughts blindly will lead to treating perceptions as reality and having emotions run your life. Don’t trust your mind.

Tricks of the Mind

Our thoughts will trick us into believing something that isn’t true. The mind will often produce a story based on half fact and half rumor to support a thought you have and make it seem valid.  It does this to justify your feelings and your actions even when your steps are not proper.  All evidence is produced to make it seem ridiculous to question any part of it. Did you treat that person fairly?

How you choose to look at something often dictates what you see.

Were you open-minded?  Was that statement you made right or speculation? Our minds will find a way to make it seem right, but it may not be.

Like a lawyer arguing a case with no opponent, you will only get evidence that supports your thoughts and none that contradict or question. Unless you make a conscious effort to find it, eventually, the validity of thought will be revealed in the value of your life. Choosing not to question your beliefs will lead to a life of not getting what you need, but what is easy. We pay attention to each thought and believe going to bring a feeling with it, and it will lead to your actions in what you do and how you treat others. Much of what we “think” is done on the subconscious level, and thoughts are produced because of experiences in the past, not the thing you face today.

Confusing Movement of Thought

If you are honest, the truth is far from our minds. Our thoughts can prevent us from seeing if we don’t ask conscious questions. Opinions tend to overcomplicate things by adding a view upon the idea and creating wild speculation about what might occur if this happens or that does.  The mind also produces many different possible solutions to a problem, which makes finding the exact answer hard in a world of choices that is no choice.

The hard lesson is that we think things into reality—nothing ever created in existence, which was not a vision in someone’s head first. Change is a fear producer in mind, and our thoughts will support this fear with a litany of “what if,” doomsday scenarios that lead us not to move forward. They keep us safe in our place, stunt any possible growth, and stop us from reaching for the next goal. There is no moving forward.  We listen to alternatives from our thought which cause us to walk in circles of safety rather than trying something new. Your heart will always know the correct answer for you, but if you are listening to a thousand loud thoughts, you can’t hear the quiet calm voice inside of you. Don’t let the clouded judgment of untamed thoughts move you in cycles and circles in your life.

The Mind Avoids the Truth

Ask yourself any question, and your mind can move out on unconnected tangents of thought to avoid the more complex, more difficult choices and directly answer questions. A specific issue may be uncomfortable, painful, or just what you don’t want to hear. The mind is a deceiver, and it knows how to make you feel like you are

Too often, we allow our thoughts to avoid hard truth and bury our heads in the sands of the past.

Being busy and productive even when you are not. Look for absolute truth with probing questions like, “Is this thought true?” Or “Is this thought relevant to the problem at hand?”

We will follow our thoughts into a place we shouldn’t allow them to take us where no action or movement exists. Thoughts about our past often provide no value other than to keep us spinning our wheels today. Thinking is the gatekeeper of our powerful tool of imagination. Instead of using this power to create today, untamed thoughts will turn into fantasies of the past, which will have you running in place, thinking of dead dreams, and a waste of your power. Using your mind well will allow you to create the world you live in and your experiences. Or you will be used by your meaningless thoughts, creating nothing but an eddy of mediocrity and unguided powerless action.

Question Your Thoughts

Take the time today to look critically at the thoughts you are producing and the subsequent issue of their power.  Are your thoughts pure?  Are you 100% sure? If you are not, you are letting your perceptions rule you, not the facts.  Anything you are not sure of is just speculation, and if one side of the coin can be seen as accurate, then so can the other with a bit of effort. “That relationship ending was bad.” How was it wrong? List these things, then look and see if there is an argument for how it was good.  Momentary pain can make something seem devastating, but the benefits might be very positive in the long term.  Sometimes, just looking for them in your thoughts will reveal this to you.

Either we know the truth about something, or we don’t. Being honest about this will lead to seeing the power of your mind and the gifts it can provide. Following thoughts we are not sure of will lead to a rise in our anxiety levels. By merely admitting we are not sure and don’t “know” the answer, our negative emotions will decrease, and there is room for positive thoughts to exist.  Create this room for positive thinking by questioning the validity and truth of all of your thoughts.

  1. “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” — William James
  2. “Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.” — Thomas Szasz
  3. “Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” — Winnie the Pooh
  4. “Few minds wear out; more rust out.” — Christian N. Bovee
  5. “It is well for people who think, to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean.” — Luther Burbank
  6. “Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” — Benjamin Lee Whorf
  7. “Misery is almost always the result of thinking.” — Joseph Joubert
  8. “Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.” — Edward de Bono
  9. “Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.” —  Ralph Waldo Emerson
  10. “What we think, we become.” — Buddha

 

21

Just My Imagination

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Imagine-Form a mental image or concept of something or a situation. 

When left to their own devices, children can imagine genuinely, thoroughly, and amazingly. Their power to look at the world and create a mental image that only exists in their mind is fantastic.  Unfortunately, as we grow up, we develop too much sense and forget to imagine anything outside of our daily reality.  It is little wonder that so many people are unhappy and feel desperate about life and their existence in it. Today I am asking you to look at what you imagine daily.  Do you see what your life might be like? Do you see places that you would like to go to?  Treasures you want to amass? Love you want to experience?  Imagination is a powerful tool in helping all people create great things.  Be conscious of your vision or lack thereof today.  In your thoughts, words, and actions today, know what is real and what you imagine.

Why We Don’t Imagine

We live in a world where imagination is ridiculed and discouraged. When we are young, we are naturally full of creativity, but as we are conditioned through life, each step of “growth” tells us to put our vision aside and focus on reality.  The message is clear, “Stop daydreaming and get to work!” The world wants you to believe only sober, cold interactions with facts, and what you see in front of you is all there is.  Sadly, most of us understand this and abandon our imagination, along with the rest of our childhood.  Never even realizing the tool for success and creation, you are casting away to assume the mantle of school, work, and death.

Our society prizes those with no imagination because they are very reliable and keep a straightforward version of reality running.  Imagine a world where this wasn’t the case.  All great artists, inventors, writers, actors, and entrepreneurs could imagine a different world.  It is through the use of this imagination things change for the better. Don’t listen to the message declaring what you believe is a waste of time. Anyone who rails against vision is afraid of change, life, and growth. Don’t live your life in fear. Live a life of possibility.

Imagination Hostage

Look at the messages you get today.  From the media, advertisers, and even the government. These entities are using your imagination against you. They do this by creating a dark, scary, and dangerous version of the world.  Each negative news story is sensationalized to the point, and you imagine that every person you meet has wicked intentions, and you can’t trust anyone.  Your imagination runs away with you, surrounding you in fear, and you live your life like a scared rabbit.

Advertisers use your imagination as well. They are very good at making you feel inadequate in some way, and you imagine buying this or that will make you whole again.  Messages like: “If you love her, buy this necklace.” or “If you want to be cool, wear these jeans I wear!” Imagination is the only thing that makes you feel less than whole, and jeans or a necklace will not fill that hole in you, and that is because there is no hole in the first place.

It was learned a long time ago; people who don’t use their minds will allow others to do it for them. Imagine if you took control of what you imagined every day.  It would be bad for the economy, and the government would be held accountable for their actions.  Imagine a world that doesn’t live in fear of terrorism, immigrants, crime, or nuclear war.  This negative view is the reality you are buying into, and it merely keeps you isolated and easily controlled.  Your imagination has been hijacked. Take control of your imagination back!

Imagine Being Free

All is not lost because once you’re conscious of the manipulation, you can see it everywhere and see the actual power of using your imagination.  Use your mind to imagine what you want to have or be.  The perfect day, the person you want to meet, the place you want to go, the thing you want to do, all of this is there in your mind, waiting for you to mine it out and use it. Visualize the picture the way you think it might be.  Try it right now, in a small way, and use your imagination to picture something not with you at this moment. Creating images in our minds on demand makes us powerful as people. When you can get a group of people to imagine something simultaneously, the magic happens.

Use your power to imagine to improve your life and the world. There will always be those who tell you that you’re mistaken, untalented, aimless and lost.  Remember that critics look in a mirror and project their faults onto you.  Ignore those who limit you and become the best version of yourself you can imagine. That is a person I would like to meet.  It begins with being conscious of what you believe each day and, even more importantly, what others imagine.  Be alert and aware of the imagination and vision used all around you.  The messages you choose to follow your thoughts, words, and actions will dictate the reality you experience.  Imagine that!

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will see what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.” Carl Sagan

“Imagination and creativity can change the world.” Anonymous

“Everything you can imagine is real.” Pablo Picasso

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” Henry David Thoreau

“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.” ~ John Lennon

 

 

21

Being Mindful

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The thought is not uncommon in a day to see or deal with someone who is seemingly juggling two or three different tasks at a time.  They are hurriedly looking from one screen to another or carrying on a conversation and texting someone else. Our world encourages us by providing so many different outlets for our attention. It is no wonder people have a problem focusing their attention, and we present them with many flashy and distracting alternatives.

It is one of the limits of being a human being that we can only hold one thing in our minds at a time, and one thought can dominate our actions, emotions, and productivity at any moment.  The challenge then is to be a single-tasking person in a multitasking world. Here is my effort to convince you to do one thing at a time for the most productive and healthiest life experience.

What Happens In Multitasking

Some of my favorite people are lifelong multitaskers. When you question them on it, they funnily look at you and exclaim loudly, confidently, and even condescendingly, “I need to do this to be productive!” They continue trying to perform two or three tasks at a time.  People operate like performers juggling knives at the circus. They are very skilled, but I would argue, not completing studies at the highest level possible.  Here is the peek behind the illusion.

Nobody is doing more than one thing at a time, and they are merely moving from one task to another very rapidly. Attention shifts from a conversation to a computer screen to a phone in their hand, quickly and seemingly without interruption. But that is the illusion.  Since we can only focus on one thing at a time, as we switch from one thing to another, there is a brief moment of change in our mind between tasks called attentional blink.

This distraction is usually a very brief and almost imperceptible amount of time where you disengage from one thing and engage in another. When we are at our best, this phenomenon is not even noticed, but as we get fatigued during the day, these blips become more of an issue, and regaining focus can be troublesome to impossible.

Multitasking breaks down your ability to focus breaks down as you experience sensory overload. The once fast-moving multitasking machine is now making many mistakes and taking more and more time to refocus on getting different things done.

One at a Time

It makes a lot more sense to move in a pattern of work and thought, which requires you to focus on one thing at a time. As you are participating in or completing a task, be there paying attention to it.  Then when it is complete, move on to the next one. When your whole being is working on one thing, mind, body, and spirit, all of your power is focused on that thing. You will come up with your most creative and influential work, and you will perform the task consistently well.

Also, you will work at a higher level longer and experience less mental fatigue as you have fewer attentional blinks and more concentration on what you are creating. This task is a challenge to most people and contradicts what we have been doing all of our lives. Still, until you consciously give it a try, you will never know how practicing single-tasking will improve the quality of your ability and enjoyment of your life.

Is Multitasking Harmful

There are several behind-the-scenes issues that multitasking can cause in your life experience. The number of things we try to pay attention to become an addiction.  When these stimuli are removed, we are left feeling empty and lost.  As if something is missing.  We have gotten away from using our minds to be creative or “entertain” ourselves. The ability to use our imagination needs to be practiced.  All of the external stimulation turns us into imagination pygmies.

We become bored if we have a moment that is not filled with electronic stimuli from video games, television, computer, or of course, our ever-present phones.  Electronic devices are replacing our ability to be naturally creative and think and solve problems, leading to boring results from our lack of ability to be creative in any situation. Things are not dull; people lack the skills to think appealingly.  That ability is all up to you, and it always has been.

Final Focus

Every experience you encounter has some value from building confidence in solving a complex problem. To contribute to your community, increasing your ability to create wealth in your life. Multitasking will not disappear because we believe we are more intelligent than nature.  But in the end, it is your own ability to be creative and fantastic that is being stunted.  Make a conscious effort to do one thing at a time, give it your complete attention, and see how your life experience is different.

“To do two things at once is to do neither.”-Publilius Syrus

“If you chase two rabbits, you will catch neither one.”-Russian proverb

“Efficiency is doing the thing right.  Effectiveness is doing the right thing.”-Peter Drucker

“Success demands a singleness of purpose.”-Vince Lombardi

“Be like a postage stamp —stick to one thing until you get there.”- Josh Billings

“Not everything matters equally, and success isn’t a game won by whoever does the most.  Yet that is exactly how most play it on a daily basis.”-Gary Keller

“Multitasking is the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time.” -Unknown

 

 

21

Being Better

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Develop habits that make you better!! Loose those that make you worse.

There are certain habits a person can participate in, which will make them better in all aspects of their lives. Certain practices, entertained thoroughly, are potent to the value of life because they are not only positive for the body, mind, and spirit, but they also lead to other behaviors that improve one’s life. In this short writing, I will speak of three such habits, taken seriously by a person, which will lead one to be healthier, happier, and wiser for the practice of the thing and for the other benefits each brings into your life.

As you consider adding these things to your life, deep contemplation of one fact should rise to the forefront of the mind. How will being better help me? Well, my friend, in so many ways. It is impossible to rise to your highest level of achievement unless a person is willing to be the best version of themselves in all areas of life. These simple habits are choices a person must make each day, and the practice of the three will lead to overall greater depth and enjoyment of life and the quality of experiencing it.

Read Like Your Life Depends On It

In all of my life, there has never been another force as powerful as reading has been. It has opened up the world to me and a plethora of new ideas with it.  Each original thought led to other recent reviews; each expanded my mind. Whether I liked it or not. Once an account is opened, it can’t go back to its shape before. There is simply no way so that the expansion will also cause other changes.

We can read the opportunity to build the curriculum for our education. Not a plan dictated by institutions or governments for their ends. But the thoughts we are interested in entertaining. We can learn about money, emotions, social skills, better health, relationships, or the ideas of great thinkers from the past. Each choice is usually more relevant and compelling than all of your years at school because education is your choice.  Becoming your director of knowledge provides you with the freedom to become whatever you want to grow in life, and that freedom is priceless. Much more effective than any organized degree, and it is action and results from that matter in this world. Nobody can stop you but you.

Learn the power of Meditation

There are many negative thoughts regarding Meditation, but I wager most are created out of fear and ignorance.  Meditation is the simple practice of quieting the mind and allowing your thoughts and emotions to be under your control rather than the other way around.  Our brains are our most excellent tool, but without any management system, this thing we should be controlling is controlling us.  All thought comes with an emotion attached, and if you don’t like the feeling you are feeling, and it doesn’t serve you, then choose a different idea to focus on.

Meditation will allow you to increase your focus on positive things for your life. It is proven that the tenor of your thoughts and actions dictate the energy of your life. Thinking and acting in a selfish, negative way will lead to the experience of those things in your reality. The practice of kindness, giving, honesty, and acceptance will create a life containing those things.  Meditation will bring about a general feeling of well-being and confidence because when you realize you are in control of your thoughts, you can do almost anything better.  Meditation is a practice the world should learn, and there would be far fewer problems.  I appreciate the moments.

Physical Fitness is a Must

It doesn’t matter your exercise of choice as long as you practice it regularly. It could be running, lifting weights, yoga, biking, martial arts, or any other kind of fitness there is.  It will increase your muscle tone, help you lose fat, and move you toward a healthier weight.  It will also promote heart health, lead to fewer overall health concerns, and allow you to live longer and better in all your life, but fitness also includes another choice: diet.

When a person is engaged in a routine fitness program, it is much easier for that person to develop a diet of healthy eating. In combination, these two factors provide a person with the ability to become the fittest person they can be.  It is not just what a person eats but the portion of that food, which will lead to their overall health in weight and performance.  Making fitness a priority in your life will give you the keys to becoming the best version of yourself.  Take the time to find an exercise you love doing that resonates with you deeply, soulfully.

Try to make these three things regular habits in your life, and you will be on your way to developing as a better person in body, mind, and spirit. Life is a short ride, and your choices in these areas will make you the best version of yourself if you choose to pursue that.  Like all things in life, they involve personal preference.

“When you are at that intersection in the road, and you’ve got two paths to go down, because of the impact of certain people in your life, you’re able to choose the right path.” —Jason Witten

“The dreaming has to be backed up by the doing.” —Carrie Wilkerson

“The time is now. Stop hitting the snooze button on your life.” —Mel Robbins

“Leap off the fence of indecision. Get out of the ‘Want to Lane’ and put yourself into the ‘Got to Lane.'” —Gloria Mayfield Banks

 

21

The Mindset

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Mindset      ~ the established set of attitudes held by someone.

mindsetTo fully take advantage of our talents, time, and actions, it is essential to know that our mindset will provide an attitude leading to the results we see in life. Once something is set in your mind, you have no choice but to make that thing happen. Look at your mindset when it comes to finances, relationships, or life in general. This evaluation will reveal why your life is the way it is. The way you think about yourself and your abilities is the most significant boost or barrier to accomplishing anything.  It all begins with a conscious awareness of your thoughts, words, and actions based on your current mindset.  (Video)

Mindset Challenges

In all things, we choose positive or negative, and our mindset is the attitude and default behavior we will fall to naturally in life.  Evaluate which of these characteristics you honestly participate in and how they are a part of your mindset—worrying about the future, putting yourself down, gossiping, holding a grudge, jealousy, lying, feeling sorry for yourself, mindsetgeneral negativity about people, or regrets about the past. These things are mindset anchors to misery, failure, and unhappiness. It will be challenging to achieve success and impossible to enjoy it with this mindset.

The great thing is all of these things provide the opposite action available to you with the simple change of mindset. You can choose to be confident about the future, value yourself, not talk about others when they are not present, forgive, appreciate what you have, be honest, accept responsibility for your place in life, general positivity about people, and get the past.  It is all a matter of mindset.  When you face challenges, remember your mood will determine the outcome for you.  We can’t control many things that happen to us, but we have 100% control over how we deal with them.  Avoid the negative mindset and pursue a positive alternative. This direction makes your success right from the beginning.

Find Mindset People

The people you choose to associate with daily will affect your mindset one way or another. Surround yourself with people who have the mindset you would like to have, and it will be easier to achieve.  If mindsetyour circle is full of people who follow the negative characteristics described earlier, then it is time to change your ring.  It isn’t a condemnation of others but taking responsibility for your own life and the experience you want to have.

Some people embody every characteristic you admire and want more of in your life. Find them, and get them in your circle.  Too often, people settle for less than this because of comfort or fear. You can do this also, but understand the cost is your happiness and ability to achieve your best self. It is hard to fly as high as possible when tied to a massive and negative anchor.  Surround yourself with the people who allow you to operate your most senior and be your best. Let the others go. Building a positive mindset will be much more comfortable, surrounded by people who enjoy life and see the good in you and the things you are doing.

Mindset Today

What is your mindset today? Is it going to be the same old thing? Or are you looking for the opportunity that each day provides?  Every day gives us a new chance to write a chapter in the book of our lives the way we want.  A trip I want to take? A relationship I want to build? Whatever I want to accomplish can start right now today, and it will begin with my mindset. Do I believe that it is possible? Let’s start there.  If you think of a goal and immediately list all of the reasons it can’t happen, you need to change your mindset.

Changing your mindset is a simple process of changing your thoughts to focus and relevance. It isn’t easy to do because we are set in our ways, but anyone can do it.  It starts by looking honestly at your thoughts, words, and actions and seeing where you are, and moving them toward where you want to be in your daily consciousness.

“Once your mindset changes, everything on the outside will change along with it.” ― Steve Maraboli

“The mind is a powerful thing. It can take you through walls.” ― Denis Avey

 

21

The Unknown

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face the unknown
Be grateful for What is Currently Unknown.

All of us have a deep desire to know what will happen next.  Where are we going? What is the next step? What should I do now?

Sometimes it seems like it would be much easier if our lives were scripted in a book that we could read beforehand.  Follow the script, and you will eventually come to your happy ending, and everything will be alright for all situations.  That is just not the way that life works, and I, for one, am understanding of it and most grateful for it.  Face the new experiences of life and bravely embrace the unknown. You don’t have any other choice, and you have made your choices, which have put you where you are. Be responsible and own your situation, regardless of the fear and the unknown.

Don’t Fear What You Don’t Know.

I have found the unknown to be very undesirable on a few occasions. First, when things are going just wonderfully.  When you look around and think, “Wow, I overcome your fear of the unknownam so happy right now.”

This attitude is a problem because if I feel on top of the world, I have the built-in fear that there is no place to go but down.  Since that is the case, I tried not to get too happy for many years because it could be taken away.  I never realized that happiness is not extrinsic from myself; it is inside.  I have had experiences that were fun, happy, wonderful, and I never wanted them to end.  I also have experienced scary, uncomfortable, painful, and sad things.  In the past, I thought that my happiness couldn’t exist in the presence of something terrible.  I found that my joy depends not on what happens to me but on how I look at the world from the inside.  We are not in control of many things outside of ourselves, but we are in total control over how we handle them.

I know many people who have everything they should need in the world.  A healthy relationship, money, family, you name it.  Yet they choose to be unhappy, which I can’t understand.  I also know people who seem to have very little but are extremely happy.  It takes me to a quote I heard, warning you to be careful when you find something that makes you happy because it can be taken away from you.   Happiness comes from within you.  So if you accept whatever happens as the experience that it is, sad things make you feel sadness for a time, but your happiness is not at the whim of fate.  It appears or strays according to your own choices.

Let go of your fear of the unkownLet Go

People do all sorts of things to make it seem like they control life.  We create strict schedules for our days and manipulate people and events to control outcomes.  These things never seem to work out in the end as we would like.

Often, the things we do to control life shield us from new and exciting experiences, and when it comes to business manipulating others leads to a poor working environment. Letting go of the need to control everything and understanding that it is impossible to do anyway is a step in a positive direction. You are just one person in the world with your thoughts, insights, and needs. Let others have theirs. You can only control your reaction to events as they unfold.

Make your plans to the best of your ability and allow things to unfold. The people you are with may surprise you with much more than you ever thought possible. Or perhaps with much less than you would hope. But either way, there is a lesson in it for you.

Not Knowing Lets You Grow

Being grateful for the things you don’t know is intelligent because it allows you to experience something beyond your scope of reality.   Most people would never stretch themselves beyond what they already know if they didn’t have to.

It is very comfortable to sit in your life, where you seem to know everything you need to be safe and feel in control.  Yet, there is the world out there that may require you to stretch outside of that comfort zone to contribute what you are meant to give to its well-being.  The Unknown Provides this.  Once a new experience comes to you, you have to experience growth to deal with it regardless of its nature.  If you stop growing, you will be moving in the other direction.  Nobody stays the same.

I choose to accept the unknown of each day as a part of life that was sent to teach me what I need to know to grow.   So today, I am grateful for the things I don’t know and hope I dare to deal with them as the experience of life unfolds.

Don’t let fear run your life. Be the captain of your destiny. 

“The unknown always passes for the marvelous.” Anonymous

“Replace the fear of the unknown with curiosity.” Anonymous

“Sometimes, you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes in the middle of nowhere, you find yourself.” Anonymous

“Going into the unknown is how you expand what is known.” Julien Smith

“We do not fear the unknown. We fear what we project onto the unknown.” Teal Swan

“A hero is somebody who voluntarily walks into the unknown.” Tom Hanks

“Awaken your mind to the unknown.” ATGW

 

21

Faith

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Please have a little faith it will all work out for good in the end.

It is easy to say you have faith in someone or something and quite a different thing actually to act on that faith.  The definition of faith is to have complete trust and confidence in someone or something.  Looking back on life, I know that a precious few people or things I have placed my faith in each day.  As life progresses, we are inundated with more and more experiences that hurt us and cause our trust to erode piece by piece.  But at the end of your life, you have to be willing to live in hope, or your life will be dominated by fear, and that will never lead to a happy and enjoyable experience.  We see things as undesirable, painful, and it is difficult not to take them personally. Things happen; we must file them away and deal with them.  It is our choice if we live a life of fear or continue to develop a life of faith.  All things will work out OK, we will be OK, and life knows what it is doing after all.  Sometimes having a little hope is all you have, and it can be the most valuable possession in the world.

Tough Times Come To Everyone

Difficult times and painful experiences are going to come into your life. That is a guarantee, and nobody in the world is exempt from them. We can all choose how we deal with them, but you, me, and all other people will face challenges.  Betrayal, lies, anger, loss are all a part of our experience.  I have often wondered why this is the case when things are so much more enjoyable when they are excellent and comfortable.  Why have we experienced a loss we couldn’t understand? Why put us through all of that?  Why give the good times if only to take them away immediately? It seems like God is just toying with us for no reason.  Unfortunately, the tough times provide suffering, and it is through this process, we can glean wisdom.

Imagine a life with no challenges.  There is nothing to push you to try something else, seek a deeper meaning, or search for understanding.  I don’t know a lot, but I know life is meant to be an experience of growth, or it is over. Faith in the ultimate ability to overcome your challenges, remember who you are, and bring that light to the world is the real challenge for you. Living in faith means to believe it will all work out in the end to the benefit of all, even if you can’t understand how right now. It is hard to see the edges, where it ends, and where the calm lies when you are inside the storm. All storms have an end; all tumult is followed by peace. Just as there will be challenges, there will be triumphs and good times.  Faith tells us this.

The Best Days

Having a little faith in the darkness that the dawn will eventually break is hard when you live in fear of what might happen next.  Living in fear causes people to harm others and themselves. When you live in doubt, you see all of the potential dangers of what might happen if things go wrong. It closes your eyes to the good, which might be right in front of you. Suppose you can put the fear aside and accept on faith that there is a lesson for you in the hard times.  One experience will propel you to greater heights in the future.

Have a little faith in the lesson you need to learn. If you look honestly at your challenges, growth results are an aspect. A plant grows when you add water, sunlight, and proper soil. So your mind becomes, and sometimes the fuel we need is unfavorable. Is it, though?  To be pushed can move you to a new level of activity and achievement. You may never have looked for answers to the questions resulting from your suffering.  Having gratitude for hard things is very difficult, but many of the most outstanding achievements in history occurred after a great tragedy.  Look at your account. How many accomplishments came after facing a challenge and taking the skills and motivation to move into a new stratosphere of accomplishment?

Faith is Real

The choice to hope that all things will work out in the end in the best manner possible is always the best.  We all have decisions to make, and as long as we are alive, there is hope and an opportunity to make a dream come into reality and achieve a goal. Suppose we can get out of the way of our fear of suffering.  This suffering is the very definition of courage, and it is through this act of faith; all of your goals will find their positive results.  One thing I know for sure, if you live in fear, live in doubt, treat others poorly, and carry no belief in yourself, nothing positive will result. These things are all a personal choice. What choice do you make today?  What lessons are you learning through the challenges you face? How has loss shaped you? Has it made you understand you have to have faith? Or has it made you fear more loss?

I urge you today to develop a sense of living in faith that all things will work out for good in the end if you let them.  Don’t live in the regrets of the past or in the anxiety of what might happen in the future. Live today with a bit of faith in yourself and the Universe that this cosmic play has much more good in it than it does evil, and seek to embrace it.

“Without faith, a man can do nothing; with it, all things are possible.” – Sir William Osler

“Faith is not belief without proof, but trust without reservation.” – D. Elton Trueblood

“Faith is unseen but felt, faith is strengthened when we feel we have none; faith is hope when all seems lost.” – Catherine Pulsifer

“Breathe, and have faith that everything will work out for the best.”

“Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep the faith. It will all be worth it in the end.”

21

Encourage

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“Encourage” – give support, confidence, or hope to (someone).

In the human experience, at some point, we all feel a lack of confidence or a bit hopeless about the way life is going. At these moments, encouragement from another can make all the difference in not only the direction one’s life takes but, more importantly, how someone feels about that direction. To encourage is the conscious thought I am writing today, to move at least one person to practice supporting another in thought, word, and action.

Encourage Those Struggling

In your life, there will be people in need of encouragement. It encouragedoesn’t have to be a grand gesture or a tricky thing. Just look for a place where you can make someone feel better about their situation and keep moving forward with a little bit of hope for the future. As human beings, we all can encourage someone when they are down, and many people do this naturally. Unfortunately, there is a sense of isolation in our society, which can be hard to break through. Be there. Make a call. Tell a joke—Cook a meal. Don’t Criticize or judge. Show someone how valuable they are to you. Recognize and point out a person’s value. If you don’t like the situation you are in, there are three choices, change it, leave it, or accept it.

Give support, courage, or hope to someone. 

Encourage The Next Level

Encouragement also can be vital for people who are close to achieving their dream but are not quite there yet. All someone needs is a person who sees Encouragethe value in the goal and a little positive push to keep it ongoing. Your encouragement can provide the persistence that leads to someone’s ultimate success. Too often, people knock a person’s goal because they don’t see its value. It tells someone to quit on a dream because it is unrealistic or a waste of time. Who are you to judge that?

Nothing new or game-changing will be created by staying inside the confines of a box and not taking any chances. Even if the current endeavor doesn’t work out for the person, you will gain valuable experience, and new efforts can come from that. Encourage people to be the best version of themselves, not the best version you can see. Provide support, hope, and courage to move forward and achieve whatever dream or goal they are currently pursuing. Your thoughts, words, and actions could be the difference in allowing someone to reach their greatness.

Pay Attention to Yourself

The person we often encourage least is ourselves. We allow negative messages to be ingrained in our subconscious, and they are always there to discourage us from being our best selves. The way we talk to, think about, and act toward ourselves is essential to the quality of life. Society and our personal experience created an expectation of where we fit. Listen to how you talk to yourself. If it is harmful and unsupportive, stop doing it.

It is the only life you are going to have, don’t waste it being negative about yourself. That doesn’t mean just hopelessly accepting things the way they are, but to understand that who you are is not your physical body, your job, or your relationships. These are things that can be changed, molded, and improved.

If you need to lose some weight or be healthier, make a plan and follow it. If you are not where you want to be financial, change your situation. Change is constant and inevitable, and you can decide many of the changes you experience in your life. Give yourself support in improving yourself to develop confidence in your abilities and build hope for a better future.

Think about how to encourage someone today in thought, word, and action.

“Everyone has inside them a piece of good news. The good news is you don’t know how great you can be! How much you can love! What you can accomplish! And what your potential is.” – Anne Frank.

“Everything you need to accomplish your goals is already in you.”

“Sometimes the best thing you can do is not think, not wonder, not imagine, not obsess. Just breathe and have faith that everything will work out for the best.”

“Be gentle with yourself. You’re doing the best you can!”

 

21

Compassion

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Compassion- 

concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others.

In a fast-paced world, it is easy to develop tunnel vision and focus only on the things which affect you and your life. It is easy not to have the suffering of others enter into your consciousness.  There is simply no room for it.  But that does not mean the pain isn’t happening all around you. It also doesn’t stop you from helping alleviate that suffering in some small way.  The compassion you show is one small way to improve the world. It is always your choice if you do this or not, but today I challenge you to open your mind to having compassion for those around you and the suffering they are enduring.  It starts with a higher awareness of what is going on all around you. It all begins with a thought noticing pain, followed by an emotion, words that result, and actions because of that thought.  Amore compassionate world is the result.

Compassion for Strangers

Sometimes the most relaxed group of people to be compassionate toward are total strangers.  All we have to do is raise awareness of their situation and their emotional station at the moment. How often do you turn your mind away from this? Secretly tell yourself that it is not your problem.  But it is your problem.  We are all connected, and to let anyone suffer without at least a conscious thought is a significant problem in the world.  Our lives are a total of the choices we have made.  All options are on the table when we start this game. Some have better influences and resources than others, but who is to say what you might have done if you were in different circumstances.

I have heard it described as each person you meet is just another version of yourself.  That feels true to me. If I faced different circumstances, which is to say what choices I might have made?  You could be enduring the same suffering as people you see today.  Tomorrow it may be you who could use someone else’s compassion. Look at strangers as if they are just another version of yourself, and understanding is natural.  In that simple act of awareness, consciousness grows, and the world is a friendlier, kinder, and more hospitable place.

Compassion for Those You Know

All people have a circle of people that have influenced or been influenced by our lives. Like a rock landing in still water, the ripples emanating out from our source of us. These folks are the most open group to have compassion for because there are already feelings of fondness or caring for most. Or at least you know the person and a bit of their history.  Compassion should be second nature. It takes little to speak encouragement, sends a note, or give a hug in a moment. Yet most often, we move on and keep to ourselves.  Why? To avoid embarrassment?  Alleviate suffering when you can.

When you see someone you know in pain, do something for them. Anything so that you will not waste loving energy in the grand scheme of things.  What do we stand for in this human experience if we are not there for those we care about?  Focus on your circle of influence and be conscious of how you can let your compassion dictate behavior.  The action required is most often effortless. It could be as simple as a thought of well wishes and understanding. Caring and concern are the staples of compassion, and we all can give these things. Give them to those you know who need some compassion.

Compassion for Yourself

Nobody knows your flaws better than you. The times you are not operating up to your potential, we know.  The times we are not honest, we know. The selfishness we feel that no one else can see, we know.  Nobody is harder on us than we are. But this is the relationship that needs your compassion most. It doesn’t excuse any of the flaws mentioned before, but it shows an understanding and caring for others.  Learn to be conscious of your thoughts and actions and why you do these things. Understanding this will help you make different choices in the future. You can always change and improve yourself and become better.

It is uncomfortable for us to send love and compassion to ourselves and get away from the shame and blame that we usually send our way.  Notice behavior patterns in yourself that you want to change and understand why things are that way. Start to alleviate your suffering. Don’t spend your time assigning blame to yourself for past mistakes, and certainly don’t carry any shame for them.  Look at yourself at this moment with soft eyes and know you did the best you could.

Negative behaviors are a result of patterns created by our beliefs.  Shining a light on them will allow you to see them for what they are and will enable you to transform them into a pattern of behavior that is more positive. Learn to speak to yourself as you talk to your best friend. Honestly, and with compassion.

Compassion Rules the Day

Let your compassion rule your day.  Recognize thoughts, words, and actions from negative patterns and harm others or yourself.  Put yourself in the shoes of who you see and understand their suffering and perhaps a way that you can lessen their load.  Whatever you can do, please do it.  Be as kind and giving as your heart allows. The world will be a better place because of it. You can start it all by being more aware of the people’s suffering all around you.  That awareness will come as a thought, leading to emotions, words,  and actions. Let those actions contain the seeds of compassion and allow them to make the world a better place.

“My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.”- Maya Angelou.

“Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive.”- Dalai Lama.

“The purpose of human life is to serve and to show compassion and the will to help others.”- Albert Schweitzer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll8T2wPT9ZM

 

21

My Awareness

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Awareness- knowledge or perception of a situation or fact.

We are all required to become more aware of everything in these incredible times. Awareness is vital to your consciousness. Your perception of people, information, and events will determine just how conscious you are. What we are aware of and aware of determines our core belief system.  Things exist all around us, and unless we pay attention to them and understand how they react to our lives, we are not in control.  Once we do develop an awareness of forces influencing us, we are then able to control our thoughts, emotions, words, and actions resulting from them.  A toxic relationship, a negative attitude, low vibration entertainment, limiting beliefs you carry from your past, or even negative self-talk are examples of places awareness can change your life positively.  It all starts with noticing your thoughts, words, and actions in your life.

 Awareness  Building

Our subconscious can take in a large quantity of information, and our conscious mind can only interpret a small portion of that at any one time.  Awareness is what we choose to understand.  Choosing to exit a negative relationship or to direct your thoughts toward something more positive is understanding awareness and using it to make your life a more positive experience.  Each realization we have, brought on by greater awareness, is a building block toward self-evolvement.  A higher level of wisdom and freedom is waiting for you to understand better all factors influencing your life.

To increase your awareness, there are active things you can do. First, practice compassion toward other people and yourself.  A general concern for the suffering in life and how you can alleviate it will raise your awareness.  Second, spend some time understanding and respecting different points of view. Rather than judge and dismiss them. You don’t have to agree but spend time understanding them. Awareness of the world and others grows, so does your consciousness.  Third, seek out moments for honest reflection and solitude.  Away from the noise of life, determine for yourself why you think and feel the way you do about things. Shine the light of awareness on your thoughts and honestly assess if they push you forward or hold you back.  Finally, spend time with people who will sell your attention ahead—supportive, understanding people who will enhance your appreciation of positive things.

With each new realization, your power to be a positive force in the world increases because your beliefs will change for the better, and once that happens, what can limit you?

Beliefs Are the Thing

The result of what we are aware of is our beliefs. Our ideas about life, other people, the world, in general, will dictate what we are capable of achieving and experiencing.  They result from our experiences, observations, or deliberately influenced, but they are not permanent and can be adjusted and changed as new information comes to us.  Awareness is that further information will allow you to either grow to your capability or shrink from it.

Deliberate indoctrination is the formation of beliefs we want to ourselves. When an organization or society forces a conclusion onto you, it lacks awareness and should be scrutinized and questioned.  Blindly the following anything is a loss of control.  If you are not going to use your mind, someone else will.  The question is, is this true? Moral? Ethical? Or even better, who benefits the most from me accepting this belief?  Answering these questions will build your awareness, and then you can decide for yourself whether a view honors you or not. Making more influential ideas that carry a positive message about your abilities, worth, and life will enhance your experience and accomplish more.

Finally, Be Yourself

The ultimate goal of life is to be your true self.  This honesty will happen when your awareness of what makes you feel happy and satisfied is a part of your life.  Look at the fundamental positive aspects of your nature. What has always made you feel joy?  Do that more.  What makes you happy? Do that more. What makes the world better? Do that more.  They will all fall from the tree that is you and who you are.  We are all born with a passion for life and have a gift to bring to the world. Life is spent remembering what that is and bringing it into the world.  Awareness is a tool to do this.  The things we are supposed to follow and create feel right to us. Follow them.   It all starts with being aware of your thoughts, words, and actions in each moment of the day.

Are you aware of how great you are?

“Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things, they are transformed.” ~ Thich Nhat Hanh

“The day you decide you are more interested in being aware of the thoughts than you are in the thoughts themselves, that is the day you find your way out.”~Micheal Singer