Category Archives: 22

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

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

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

 

22

The Best Version of You

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Once you choose START WALKING

All people find themselves at a point of decision in life. The way you decide to walk will determine much about your journey.  We are all on a trip from birth to death, and, in between, we make the choices defining us. What do you do? How do you choose the direction?

The answer I hope to find in this writing. Our minds are valuable tools; they provide information, ideas, and thoughts. Unfortunately, these things are often not very accurate because of the faulty programming of our pasts.  But we can overcome all of this, use our minds to accomplish great things, and become the best versions of ourselves. It just takes a little work, and the path will become apparent to you.

Programming Problems

Human beings are exceptional. From the moment we are born, we take in information and attempt to understand how to fit into the world, survive and thrive.  We look at how people treat us, other people, and situations to glean valuable bits of information about how to play this game.  We choose the things which work for us and stick to them, adopting them as the beliefs behind our lives. If you tried something new, failed, and were ridiculed for it, you were conditioned not to try anything out of your comfort zone again.

Random comments, nicknames, attitudes, and thoughts of others can make a lifelong impression, and if the tone is negative, these are a part of our self-image.  The source can be a parent, role model, peer, or even something seen in the media. These are lasting impressions and, once accepted, are a part of our paradigm of life, the rules we apply to the world.  These beliefs can be about our talents, worth, money, relationships, and all aspects of what makes us, us.  If left unchecked or unchallenged, a negative belief will be a part of our subconscious programming until the day we die.  We are in control of this, though.

Changing our Negative Beliefs

It is not a complicated process to change a belief. But it isn’t easy. Change is hard in any circumstance; it is frightening when you look inside yourself and honestly see an area needing a replacement.  Our ego is a part of our mind designed to keep us safe. The voice in your head tells you to be afraid of new things and attacks new ideas.  Doubt arises because of the fear of being harmed by trying something new. Even though a new career is the best option, the ego will fill your head full of doubt. A head full of uncertainty will have a difficult time making a choice.

Clearing the voice of doubt can be done by consistently presenting contrary facts.  It seems people will resist the truths in front of them until it becomes overwhelming. Life forces a change through circumstances. Usually, change comes when there is no other real choice. But if you plan a little, you can control the difference and even dictate how it moves in your life.  Realistic goal setting is one way.  What will make you happy? What career interests you? Where do you see yourself in 5 years? Ten years? These might be an excellent place to start. Honestly, answering them for yourself about what resonates with your soul will show you which direction you should start to walk.

Goals Are Guides

Setting goals are one of the mainstays of achievement. However, there is little formal education on goal setting and completing these goals.  There is a direct relationship between setting goals and the progress which results. A plan will provide a target to shoot for and dictate the actions you take daily to reach your ideal result.  You may be the best archer globally, but without a clear target to shoot at, all of your arrows will go astray. Give yourself the goal and put your focus on that.  Allow your actions to follow the intention.

Setting a goal is not difficult, but having the courage and consistency to accomplish them is.  It can be tricky because of the programming mentioned above and what we believe about ourselves, our talents, the world, and the nature of life.  If it were easy, there would be no accomplishment. The great thing is that all people can do it. Learning to focus your thoughts on what you truly want in life, walk that path, and stick to it will result.  Life is not a passive play. If you approach it like that, nothing will happen.  Life is an activity, and you will never finish until it is over.

Taking the First Steps

If you are standing at a crossroads in your life, wondering which direction to walk, look inward and make the big decision of what you want. Then create your goal.  There will be many doubts, but you have to learn to put them aside or continue standing still, doing nothing.  If you set a goal, achieve it, and realize you want something else, then good for you! You will have another journey ahead, and you will always have another adventure to walk, which is a good thing in life.

Sit down, choose your direction, be proactive, and write your goal down in bright letters.  Spend time imagining what the accomplished goal will look like and feel like to accomplish.  Keep your focus until your dream enters reality, letting your daily actions be steps toward this desired end.  Consistent massive action will provide you with the information you need. The energy of life responds to your actions.  Taking action makes things happen; standing still makes nothing happen.  You are in control of this. You alone decide the energy and movement of your life. You are the only one responsible, and it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about your accomplishments except for yourself.

Choose your path and start to walk it. Once you set an intention through goal setting and set out to accomplish it with a positive outlook, you will see things fall into place for you. Help will come; things will work out for the best. What path are you choosing to walk?

Goal Setting Quotes:

“All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.” —Orison Swett Marden

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” —Andrew Carnegie.

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.” —Pablo Picasso.

“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal or ideal.” —Earl Nightingale.

“By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be. Put your future in good hands—your own.” —Mark Victor Hansen.

You have the chance to be great, take it!!

Chances lost are hope’s torn out pages.
Maybe this time…………….

22

Success Isn’t Everything

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Success– the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

success questionsSuccess is something all people aspire to. It is the signal that our efforts have allowed us to move forward to achieving the things we want in our lives.  Accomplishments could be personal or professional, but one of the best ways to guide yourself toward success is to ask yourself the right questions about how you are progressing each day.  This process is a shift in consciousness for most people. Either you are drifting on a river going where life takes you, or you are steering your raft toward your success.  The paddle you drive is the question you ask yourself.  It starts with a conscious awareness of your thoughts, emotions, words, and actions to pursue your desired purpose and issues that will take you there.

Why Questions Build Success

Questions are a tool that can change your whole focus in your day.  Asking the right questions will provide focus and direction for a day. There is a reason you should question yourself.  First, an item will immediately change your attention, and changing that focus to a goal will bring answers to success questionsyou. What can I do today to help move me closer to a dream, purpose, or objective?  Where focus goes, energy flows.

What action can I take to become wealthier today?  What things can I do to build better relationships? What activities will make me happy today?  Each question will focus on that thing, and even if you don’t know for sure what to do, suggestions will come to your mind—usually a lot of them.  Then you can whittle them down to the ones you feel are valuable to your growth path. Often the first ones that come to your mind are pretty poignant.  It is good to be open to all options and not dismiss potential answers automatically.  Weigh your focused suggestions carefully, then choose the best actions.  Of course, to accomplish anything and use those questions, your answers need to be followed up with actions. Work makes everything happen.

Success May Come From Deleting Information

Another significant side effect of asking the right questions and honestly seeking an answer is your focus tends to cut through the opposition you might have to a goal.  You may have to make changes, and with change success questionscomes risk. Risk of failure, risk of learning, and most importantly, a chance of what others will think of most people.   A good question will get you to focus on what you want and delete what you don’t want.

What can I stop doing that hinders my success?  What things prevent me from accomplishing my goals?  Answer these questions and delete those barriers from your life, and you will be on your way to success.  Identifying the situations, actions, and people that hold you back allows you to stay clear of these things and work toward accomplishing the aim or purpose you seek.  How can this work for you?  That answer is up to you and the actions that result from your solution.

It Won’t Always be Easy.

Of course, the journey toward your success will not always be comfortable, but using the right questions can also help you navigate any rough waters you encounter. We are not born with all the knowledge and skills we need to success questionsaccomplish some things.  The education we need often comes from experience, and those experiences may seem complicated and unwanted.  For example, losing a job for any reason can be tough to deal with one’s life.  But along with that change comes opportunity.

Where is the opportunity here I am not seeing?  What can I do now things are changing? What can I learn from this?  How can I turn this around?  Any of these questions will bring answers to guide you. All situations provide information and use them to learn and grow.  What other positive choices do you have?  Questions can reveal the resources available to you and improve your outlook, production, and performance in your life.

Success is a matter of the Right Questions.

Learning to develop a definite pattern of questions for yourself can help build a consistent tool to empower you to overcome obstacles and reach the successes you desire to experience in your life.  The items will steer your focus toward solutions and away from the distractions and self-pity our minds often provide.  Look consciously at your goals and what is stopping you from reaching them today.

Make the conscious choice to see the possibilities in your challenges, leading you toward your goals and desires.  It all begins with a focus on the thoughts you entertain, the emotions they elicit, the words you use to express them, and the actions you take.  Your success today may be one good question away.

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” – Eugene Ionesco

“The key to wisdom is this – constant and frequent questioning, for by doubting, we are led to question, by questioning we arrive at the truth.” – Peter Abelard

“A prudent question is one-half of wisdom.” – Francis Bacon

Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?  – the musical question only you can answer for success today.

https://youtu.be/8qssWO8NSq0