Monthly Archives: January 2022

22

A Belief

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Belief- an acceptance that a statement is true or that something exists.

It is essential to understand what a belief is and how it affects our lives. A belief is a thought that we supply an attachment to and accept as true and accurate in our lives. What you choose to believe will determine the foundation of your life, and that is a significant thing because it will lead to your reality. If you have an attachment to a belief limiting your potential, you may never be able to create all you are capable of. Be aware today of all of the expectations we have chosen to accept and how they influence your life. Analyze where they come from and what evidence is there to back them up. This vision begins with a focus on your thoughts, words, and actions around your beliefs and how they influence your behavior and control what accomplishments you will experience. (see video)

Don’t Limit You

All people should value themselves and the gifts they bring to the world. You have a gift to get into the world, and the pursuit of life is to find that gift and allow it to come into the world. It will let you light up and, in turn, brighten the world as well. Too often, we have made beliefs that dim our lights limit our efforts and expectations of what we can accomplish and achieve. These beliefs have as much power to restrict us as we allow them to have. It is always up to you which ideas you actively accept and let slide beliefpast. How we feel about our values and abilities is probably the most crucial factor in developing our self-esteem and confidence. Too often, our lights are turned off before we even get a chance to see what we can do because we have decided to accept a limiting belief as accurate, and it isn’t.

People who have chosen to be limited feel the need to limit others and are not fulfilled. Misery loves company, and they consciously or subconsciously deter all others from pursuing theirs. First, because misery loves company, but more importantly, I think if someone else succeeds around them, develops their talents, and finds success,  it makes the folly of their limiting belief apparent. That is a scary thing for them. YOU build your self-worth based on how you feel about your abilities, skills, and choices in life. Choose to look at yourself in the best light. It is not arrogant to love yourself, and it is common sense. We should all understand this is the only life you have. Don’t waste your opportunity living the limiting beliefs of others. Change them, forget them, and see how great a person you can be and what great things you can accomplish.

You Can Do It

It is credited to Henry Ford, but I think anyone who has ever endeavored to achieve anything could also say it. “If you believe you can, your right. If you believe you can’t, you are also right.” No more accurate evaluation of our beliefs beliefhas ever been made. It doesn’t mean that you will never fail; it means that the “failure” is merely a lesson or a necessary step along the path to ultimate success and fulfillment. If you let a setback destroy your belief in yourself, then you will indeed be limited your whole life. You can choose the path of limit or keep going and see what happens next. Learn and grow.

Make a goal, create a dream, and keep on talking nonstop action toward it. This is the path to success in all areas of history. Very few things will come “easy.” They take effort and work. But isn’t that a pretty simple formula? Cut out the harmful noise of others and keep to your task. If you know that you can become whatever you want, why do we let our beliefs stop us?

Creating Positive Beliefs

You only have a relatively short amount of time in this life. You can choose if you spend it being small because someone else thinks you are unrealistic…….. or you can make an effort and take your chances. People are afraid of those beliefwho achieve because they see what they could have achieved if they had believed in their faith and abilities a little more.

Be true to yourself and recognize your beliefs, limiting you and causing you to be modified in your pursuits of fame, money, charity, kindness, or whatever you are looking to create. Recognizing a limiting belief is the first step to changing it and replacing it with one that serves you and your life. You are a great soul seeking expression, and anything or anyone who tells you something that takes away from that limits you.

It is a scary proposition to be responsible for your life, but you are, and if you are not where you wish you were, then take steps to start moving in that direction. It is totally up to you. Create awareness around your thoughts, words, and actions today and see what beliefs dictate your reality and if you are limiting others with your own limiting beliefs.

Quotes on Belief

“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease for ever to be able to do it.” ― J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

“Tell people there’s an invisible man in the sky who created the universe, and the vast majority will believe you. Tell them the paint is wet, and they have to touch it to be sure.” ― George Carlin

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember, all things are possible for those who believe.”– Gail Devers

“Another belief of mine; that everyone else my age is an adult, whereas I am merely in disguise.” Margaret Atwood

 

 

22

Your Choices

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Don't Regret the Past
A Ship Carrying A Choice You Made

I was discussing with a friend the other day about all of the things we had done that, in retrospect, seemed like bad ideas.

Failed relationships, poor decisions, wrong turns on the path of life all came up, and my friend said the magic phrase, “If I knew then what I know now, things would be different. If I could only do it all over again.”   That thought is probably one that everyone has had at some point in their lives. I, myself, have thought this before, but not any longer.

If allowed to go back in time and make different choices, I would have to pass, and here is why.

First of all, it is common to look back with a sense of nostalgia and not with realism. Choices were made for a reason. You have no way of knowing how a change in your life would affect you today.

Things could have turned out much worse for you. A Teacher best explained it to me this way. If you picture all of those choices you didn’t make as ships sailing in the distance, you can see the sails full of wind pushing them off into the horizon.

You are wasting your time chasing them with regret because you will never catch them, and you don’t know what is beyond the horizon. Those ships may have carried you to some very unsavory and unwanted results.

Things could have been much worse for you if you had made a different choice. We only focus on a lofty, positive result when we think of doing things differently. When the outcome could have been disastrous.   Since you could be far better off with the choice you did make, thoughts like this appear to be a waste of effort.

Secondly, constantly questioning your past decisions will make it much more difficult to enjoy what you do have today.

You may have a good job or a relationship you value, and you won’t be giving them your full attention and enjoying them as much as you could if you waste your energy pining away about the past and what might have been.

Every one of life’s choices is a potential learning experience, and usually, the decision of whether it was a good or a wrong choice is made solely by you. You can choose to get something good out of almost every situation you encounter, or you can choose to get something wrong. It is all up to you.

So why not enjoy what you have today and appreciate the experiences that have gotten you here, rather than spend your days rehashing old mistakes and carrying around the regret of what might have been.

Third, one of the great things about getting older is that we do, even if we don’t try, gain experience and a form of wisdom with it.

From the day we are born, we are continually learning new things to navigate the sometimes tricky channels of life. Some people take much more advantage of these learning experiences than others. Without all of the “mistakes” we have made along the path of life, we would lose much of the hard-earned wisdom and knowledge we have gathered over the years.

Everybody has the ability for good and to live a life that satisfies them and makes the world a better place. Regretting your past decisions is a form of self-loathing that decreases your self-esteem and makes living an authentic life more difficult.

If you dislike your choices so much, you must dislike who you have become, and it is hard to be happy when you are forced to face a person in the mirror every day that you are not very fond of sometimes.

 

Don't Regret the Past
You Choose to be Whatever you want.

Finally, we all have the ultimate choice for what type of person we are to be. Regardless of all of the options we have made. What you did yesterday, ten years ago or twenty years ago, has very little to do with who we choose to be today.

Nothing can stop you from being positive except yourself. Nothing can stop you from being productive except yourself. Nothing can stop you from being great except yourself.

The past is stored in the high attic of your mind. It is OK to remember and visit and pour over past experiences to glean wisdom, but to carry around a profound sense of regret about things will get you nowhere.

Today is the next great day of your life, and you can choose to make it so or decide to turn it into another moment you will regret in the future as you watch it sail into the horizon.

Quotes About Regrets:

“A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams.”  – John Barrymore

“Accept everything about yourself – I mean everything, You are you, and that is the beginning and the end – no apologies, no regrets.”-Henry A. Kissinger.

“Apologies are pointless, and regrets come too late. What matters is you can move, on you can grow.”
Kelsey Grammer

“Chris Cooper once told me never to have any regrets. After Chris said that to me, I walked into every scene thinking, ‘exhaust every possibility.’ Once you get to a certain place, it’s like you just deliver everything you’ve got. I don’t have any regrets. It pops up in my mind over and over and over again.”
Jake Gyllenhaal

“For my own part, I abandon the ethics of duty to the Hegelian critique with no regrets; it would appear to me, indeed, to have been correctly characterized by Hegel as an abstract thought, as a thought of understanding.”
Paul Ricoeur

“Had we not pursued the hydrogen bomb, there is a very real threat that we would now all be speaking Russian. I have no regrets.”
Edward Teller

“Have regular hours for work and play; make each day both useful and pleasant, and prove that you understand the worth of time by employing it well. Then youth will be delightful, old age will bring few regrets, and life will become a beautiful success.”
Louisa May Alcott

“Having regrets and things, it just takes your time away.”
Leif Garrett

“He had to deal all at once with the packed regrets and stifled memories of an inarticulate lifetime.”
Edith Wharton

“I already gave my best. I have no regrets at all.”
William Hung

“I do not allow myself vain regrets or foreboding.”
Mary Chesnut

“I don’t have a lot of regrets in my life.”
Cathy Freeman

“I don’t have any regrets. When I quit college and moved to Los Angeles to become an actress, it was so that I would not look back and have any regrets.”
Amy Weber

“I don’t really believe in regrets.”
Wayne Newton

“I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about regrets because there’s nothing I can do.”
Sheryl Crow

“I felt that I ostracized myself by my behavior, by the past, by living with all the regrets of my mistakes, that I sort of wore a hair shirt and beat myself up most of the day thinking and regretting why did I make such a mistake? Why have I made so many mistakes?”
Sarah Ferguson

“I gave everything in my career, so I have no regrets at all.”
Michel Patini

“I have a lot of regrets, but I’m not going to think of them as regrets.”
Debbie Harry

“I have many regrets, and I’m sure everyone does. The stupid things you do, you regret… if you have any sense, and if you don’t regret them, maybe you’re stupid.”
Katharine Hepburn

“I have no regrets about launching Salon. For the life of me, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
David Talbot

“I have no regrets about my life.”
Jane Badler

“I have no regrets because I did everything by the book.”
Alexis Arguello

“I have no regrets in my life. I think that everything happens to you for a reason. The hard times that you go through build character, making you a much stronger person.”
Rita Mero

“I have no regrets. I don’t believe in looking back. What I am proudest of? Working really hard… and achieving as much as I could.”
Elena Kagan

“I have no regrets. I wouldn’t have lived my life the way I did if I was going to worry about what people were going to say.”
Ingrid Bergman

“I have no regrets. I’ve got my health.”
Naomi Campbell

“I have to say that I have no regrets about my decision to become a priest or about the major directions my ministry has taken me… I have been and am happy as a priest, and I have never been lonely… I could have used a bit more solitude.”
Andrew Greeley

“I try to live my life where I end up at a point where I have no regrets. So I try to choose the road that I have the most passion for because then you can never really blame yourself for making the wrong choices. You can always say you’re following your passion.”
Darren Aronofsky

I usually say I did the best I could with what I had. I have no major regrets.
Stokely Carmichael

“I want to live my life so that my nights are not full of regrets.”
David Herbert Lawrence

 

“I’m not gonna try to defend, or undo what’s been done. All I could say about whatever’s been done, it’s been done, and it’s water under the bridge. I have no regrets of my life.”==Ike Turner

“I’m very lucky, I’m happy with life because my experiences led me to do what I had to do. I don’t have any regrets whatsoever.”
Van Morrison

 

22

Your Power to Affect the World

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Power- the ability to do something or act in a particular way, especially as a faculty or quality.

Each of us has the power to affect the world. We may not be conscious of it, but it exists. It allows you to overcome the feelings of being powerless. Listening to the media message sent to you every day will make you feel vulnerable and helpless. Reported stories and events make the world seem big, scary, and out of the realm of your safe little world. That is a perspective advantageous to industry and sales. If you feel powerless, you look for comfort, buy things you don’t need, and try to protect yourself by doing what the messages tell you to do. In short, it is easy to manipulate a person who feels powerless and weak. Worry comes directly from this belief. But you have power and can affect how you look at and act with life.

Seeing Your Power

Your power does not come from the things you own, but it arrives from who you are. It is the choices that you make every day which define you. Decisions made every day without a conscious thought determine much of your life. Look at your options and only choose those you want to represent you. These are the choices you know are for the greater good. Trust, a larger purpose, can be served by your straightforward, positive options every day. Then take responsibility for your decisions and your ability to make a positive difference in your life and the world.

Your power will influence others, even if you don’t see it. That influence will be positive or negative, depending on the tenor of your thoughts throughout your day. Do you know the danger in every conversation? Do you see a potential enemy in others? Or do you see the opportunity for kindness and creating an ally? Which way your thought pattern falls dictates your power. Are you making it positively or negatively? Power is yours every moment of every day.

Powerful Vision

Once you have actively embraced your ability and responsibility to make a positive difference in the world, then it is up to you to direct your power in a particular direction. Into your relationships, career, personal development, or any other thing you choose to improve. It begins with establishing a vision of what you would like to see in your life. Use your imagination to create the scenario you would like to see become a part of your life. Then be true to that personal vision. If you want to change your physical appearance, develop a health plan of exercise and diet that resonates with you and brings it to reality. Be consistent and live it as you move through every day; it will come to pass.

Each area you want to improve will change your life in schedule and activity. Rather than fight change, learn to embrace it. It is difficult for all people. Actively embrace the positive changes you make in your life. Focus on the personal honesty you use with people. Don’t worry about the result of your goodness. Be honest and accept the consequences. Have a vision pursue that vision honestly, and eliminate the worry from your life. The power to dictate positive change will result from that.

Challenge Your Inaccurate Beliefs

Lies and inaccuracies take away our power as well. We develop beliefs over our lives. They come from our family, peers, teachers, society, and authority figures. We try to place these things into concrete in our minds, and they provide us with rules to follow in life. But a myth can take your power if you attach it to a limiting or untrue belief. The perception we have of things dictates our patterns of thought and behavior. This can refocus any mind at any point to see things more positively. Hate, judgment and fear turn into kindness, acceptance, and love with a change of focused thought.

To do this, look at the negative beliefs you are carrying about other people, places, things. Stereotypes and fear of others you learn through your programming through history, family, or the media. Change those thoughts to the positive. Don’t allow people to mistreat you. It is the opposite. You have power. Never accept behavior that is below your standards. You recognize poor behavior for what it is. If you don’t want contrary in your life, remove it. If someone treats you poorly, it is your choice to tolerate it or not. That is power. That is your power. Believing that it is ok for someone to treat you poorly or deserve it is what we want to eliminate because it is a weak mentality. Be authoritative in your choices, and of course, you will have power.

Find Your Power

Take a moment and consciously consider where you put your power every day. How much worry do you participate in? Fear takes away your control; being a positive and confident person gives it to you. The way you think about your experiences will dictate the words you use and then your actions because of it. If you live in fear of this or that, later you will play a small game, make a few changes and meekly accept bad things as your fault. I encourage you to live with power. Take responsibility for where you are and what you have done. More importantly, look where you want to go and start taking action to get you there.

“In an expanded state of awareness, you perceive beyond the limitations of your body and mind and feel that you are part of the vast universe around you, connected to All That Is.”

“A good indignation brings out all one’s powers.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

22

Change a Habit

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Habit– a settled or regular tendency or practice, tough to give up. 

Every life contains within it things that are practiced daily. Some are very good for us and the world in general, but many are not good at all. People make willing choices shortening their lives, harming others, and making the world a worse place for everyone to live. Habits are hard to give up, which is a good thing if the pattern is a good one. It can put your health in jeopardy and prematurely end your life if it is terrible. All the while diminishing the enjoyment one can take daily. It all begins with a conscious awareness of how our actions affect us and those we care about. Notice your actions, how they affect your thoughts, emotions, and the words you use. A good habit will positively impact you, and a bad one will do the opposite. Good habits will allow you to become the best version of yourself, whereas bad habits will stunt your personal growth. It is all a matter of choice.

The Exercise Habit

The great thing about a good habit is that its benefits are universally accepted as positive for your life. Exercise is one of these. No debate developing a practice of training is proper for you. We only get one body, and how we use it determines our longevity, the enjoyment we get from life, and much of the physical pain we experience. God built the human body to move. Developing a habit of regularly allowing it to do this can be hard to do but vital to your long-term success in life.

We live in a world where people work time-consuming and sedentary jobs. People sit on their butts all day long and stare at computer screens. That is the way of it, but a body needs exercise. Exercise allows the body to function at or near its optimum level. It helps regulate blood pressure and keeps your weight down to a healthier level. There is nothing negative. I know about exercise. Still, many ignore this habit because it is too hard. It is much more comfortable in the short term to do nothing, but in the long run, it is not. A lack of exercise results in obesity, heart disease, diabetes, lack of mobility, high blood pressure, and death. Exercise can help cure all of those things.

How to build an exercise habit is not complicated. Find an activity that resonates with you, and participate in it regularly and consistently. Walk, jog, run, lift weights, do yoga, practice martial arts, bike, take aerobic classes or any other physical activity that interests you. One day at a time is how you build a habit, good or bad. Make your life as vibrant and disease-free as possible; develop the habit of exercise.

The Eating Habit

All people have a strange relationship with food. Eating is something we do to place nourishment into our bodies. Unfortunately, there are a lot of other attachments to eating. Some overeat. Some don’t eat enough, and we develop a habit of eating that is not healthy for us and keeping our bodies running at their peak efficiency. The tendencies or practices around what we eat can be a massive part of our lives. Developing healthy food habits can be difficult, but it is possible for everyone.

No matter what direction you take. The five primary food groups or a more modern balanced look at your diet. It is healthy means eating a bit less and sticking with grown and not processed things. In the United States, we are surrounded by processed food with excess chemicals and calories nobody can eat. Sugar is the biggest culprit in our diet. It is addictive, fattening, and can cause any number of diseases which will shorten your life. Develop a healthy eating habit, and you will be rewarded with a lower weight and a body full of energy. That is an excellent habit to get into.

Beating a Bad Habit

We have all had bad habits, and I am no different. There have been habits and addictions throughout my life that were not healthy or good for me. Breaking a habit is as simple as choosing not to do what you know isn’t good for you. Many people will say that it is not accurate or tricky, but you can do it when you decide to leave a bad habit because you want to live a happier, healthier life. The most challenging thing is to reprogram yourself around the activities you used to do.

Once a habit is under your control, it is up to you to ensure that you don’t start back up with that habit again. Addictions are never really gone, and you can’t have just one drink or smoke only one cigarette or any other thing you are addicted to. Focus your thoughts on the choice you have every day to make positive and healthy choices or those detrimental to your health and even endanger your life. Beating a bad habit takes an inner strength fueled by a love of something you love more than that habit. Anyone can do it if they want to.

Habits for Success

If you want to know what habits to adopt, follow someone you view as a success in the field you are interested in. Every successful person develops habits that allow them to make the money they do, create the things they do or achieve the greatness they are striving for. Focus your thoughts on the proper habits and notice when you are practicing a pattern that is not allowing you to be your best you. It begins with a conscious awareness of what you allow yourself to accept and the actions you will enable yourself to take daily. Once you start to notice your thoughts and the actions that they lead, the closer you are to building good habits and ridding yourself of the bad habits that have held you back. Raise your consciousness, and your behavior will follow.

“Quality is not an act. It is a habit. “-Aristotle

“Make it a habit to tell people thank you. To express your appreciation sincerely and without the expectation of anything in return. Truly appreciate those around you, and you’ll soon find many others around you. Truly appreciate life, and you’ll find that you have more of it.”- Ralph Marston

“Ninety-nine percent of the failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” George Washington Carver

 

22

Thank You Kindly

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Thanks– an expression of gratitude.

ThanksIt doesn’t matter who you express your gratitude toward in your daily life. It is only essential that you tell your appreciation to everyone you can by saying thank you for all opportunities. No matter where you are in life, there is a chance to thank someone and feel gratitude for what you do have. The energy created by using this simple sentiment will be dominant in your life. Gratitude is contagious in your life. If you are thankful for what you have, more things will come into your life. The beginning of this process is simple, consciously look for opportunities to say thanks today. It could be for something tiny, but the more you use the phrase “thank you,” the better your day is going to go. Consciously seek these changes in your thoughts, emotions, words, and actions today and see what stems from them. Focus and say thanks for everything positive in your life.

Thank You For the Good Things

The most comfortable place to start is with all the good things already in your life. It could be a job, your family, those who care about you, your physical and mental ability, the money you have, the trips you are going on, or any other positive thing that exists in your life right now. List them and appreciate them by saying thank you. And mean it, in your heart. Be grateful for being able to experience your life. It is a fantastic thing.

Every day we are given a gift of life and experience. You have a choice of what you do with that gift. Take advantage of it or waste it by feeling sorry for yourself or angry about a tiny aspect of your experience. One of the best choices you can make every day is to be grateful for the positive things in your life. The human mind can only entertain one conscious thought at a time. If you are thinking of the things you are thankful for, that energy will be transferred to the rest of your day. How many items should you say thanks for in your day that you take for granted? Count them.

Thanks for the Tough Times

All lives have moments that are difficult to experience. Challenges arise all the time. Some are very tragic, and of course, we can live without them. But once something has happened, it has happened, and no matter what you do, you can’t change it. All you can do is choose how you will deal Thankswith it now. Some choose self-pity and to kill their feelings with drugs or alcohol. That is not going to solve anything. If you experienced the loss of someone, be grateful for the time you had together. Thank them for all they provided in your life—the memories and lessons you learned.

Moving forward after a tragedy is complicated, but that makes it a fantastic thing. Sometimes the drama of life will wake you up to what you have been missing. Recognizing the words to thank you for at these moments is even more powerful. Always say thank you to those who matter to you because you never know when that chance for them to hear it will be gone forever. The tough times always wake you up to what you take for granted in life. As you get older, you experience more challenges and become more and more awake to the good things in life. Enjoy them and say thanks even when it is hard.

Thanks for That

There is a chance for you to appreciate things right at this very moment. Since the human mind can only think one thought at a time, if you are Thanks for everythingthinking thoughts that are consciously negative, feeling frustrated, angry, or judgemental of others, take a moment. Just take a moment and a deep breath and start thinking of the things you appreciate in life. Say thanks to yourself, the universe, or somebody else for them, and soon your mood will shift. It has no choice.

Every day will start to look pretty good when you start looking at things this way. Your mood will shift, and not only will your energy be more positive, but the energy of those around you will also seem more positive as well. Look at the world and take a moment to see the things right in front of you which are miraculous. The sky, the clouds, the sun, the moon, the stars, or just the current weather are all fantastic in how they work. Please take a moment and appreciate the grand scheme of things that brings them all about. Be conscious of the items in the world which are more significant than you. Say thank you to them.

Be Conscious of your Thank You’s

Today is a day like any other, but take time to notice the times you consciously say thanks to someone else. Even take extra time and look for opportunities to thank anyone and everyone you can. It takes just a little effort and see what the rewards are. Be grateful for what you have in each moment of every day. A place to live, a person who cares about you, someone to care about yourself: all of these can provide an excellent opportunity to say thanks. Be conscious today of that and the number of times you can say thanks on a regular, ordinary day. It all begins by noticing your thoughts and being aware of the emotions, words, and actions that spring from them.

“Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings.” — William Arthur Ward

“If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” — Frank A. Clark

“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” — Oprah Winfrey

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

 

22

Life Challenges

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highwireIt is fantastic that life continually puts you into situations that challenge and change you. It is also eye-opening that I continue to be surprised by this. Yet here I am, looking at what I want to create, standing on the precipice of going for it and tentatively cringing.

It is not rare, I think, for people to feel this way. When you look at most people, they have put their real goals and dreams aside to accept living in a rut of consistency and security that life provides. Safe is the choice, but we still have ideas that we are not acting on. Today I am looking to move and am encouraging you to come with me.

See Your Fear

We should be good friends with fear by now in life. It has been a constant our entire lives. How we have reacted to it has changed through our life, but still, it is always there knocking at the door of your thoughts with those two little limiting words…………… What if?

I could attempt my dream, but what if……….

….it doesn’t work?

……….I fail?

……………………I look stupid?

………………………….., the world laughs at me?

…………………………………………….I am not good enough? etc., etc., etc.

These are the seeds of doubt, driven by fear that paralyze us into taking no action at all toward what we want to be. The only difference between those who achieve their dreams and those who do not is a willingness to take action and see what happens.

If it doesn’t work? You will gain experience and knowledge to allow it to work the next time. If you fail, then you learn and know. Joy and freedom are the results of bettering yourself and reaching your dreams. This effort is never wasted. Not growing the talent inside of you and seeing what you can do would be a waste of energy.

What if the world laughs? The world won’t laugh. The world will continue to exist, much as it did before, with the single exception that someone living there has provided their unique contribution, and now it is a slightly better place.

What if you are not good enough? A leftover doubt from childhood and time to get rid of this fear. Why wouldn’t you be good enough? If you can conceive of a thing, you can create that thing. If others don’t accept it, then that is their problem. The beauty of the building isn’t any less.

So on this thoughtful day, let us choose to evaluate who we are, see where we would like to be on a personal, financial, physical, and spiritual level, and then be brave enough to take those first tentative steps toward those goals.

The only way to know if you can cross that high wire is to try and see if you make it to the other side.

“Believe in your dreams, no matter how impossible they seem.” Walt Disney

“Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.” Arthur Ashe

“The biggest adventure you can take is to live the life of your dreams.” Oprah

“Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake.” Henry David Thoreau

“We may place blame, give reasons, and even have excuses, but in the end, it is an act of cowardice to not follow your dreams.” Steve Maraboli

 

22

Forget the Judgement

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What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

For much of my life, I spent a lot of time worrying about what others thought about what I did to the point that I often would not do things I wanted because I was afraid of what others might think. That fear stopped me from doing silly, inconsequential, and big things alike. I would see a picture of people judging me and thinking poorly of me in my head.

When the thoughts in my head worried about the ideas in others, the results were a constant fear of showing my true self. There was a chance that someone might not like what I would be doing.

The problem with this thought pattern is that you are never actually able just to be you. People put a lot of pressure on themselves to be perfect, which is impossible to achieve. I have put most of this thought pattern behind me, which I now notice.

Doing What I Want

judgment defines you not others
Look inward before You Judge Someone and their behavior.

There is an impression that this question builds in your mind that if you were released from the disturbing thoughts of society, you would suddenly do things that were totally out of character. But I think that doing all of the things that are part of my personality without worrying about what anyone else thinks is the fun of life.

I am a thinker, and I enjoy reading and thinking and then writing my thoughts about what I learn and contemplate. I want the cafe’ and getting to know people. I like working out every day and not apologizing for the length of my workouts. All of these things I do and do not do any of them for the sake of what someone else might think would make my life unhappy. You have to be your best, and I like that person.

Truth about Freedom

The truth about freedom is I like the freedom to be myself and say, I don’t care about the judgments of others, but that has just meant that I can do the things I like to do without worry. These things haven’t changed much at all, but the perception I have of these activities and how others perceive them has. If someone has a problem with the way I live and my choices have a problem with themselves.

So I will read and learn about life and delve into why people are the way they are. If you read this site, you will see I share my thoughts freely and encourage a conscious positive vibe in everyone.    I will share my feelings if you ask. I don’t care if you agree because a challenge is an opportunity to teach and learn. All thoughts should be challenged so that they stand up as truths. If they don’t, you will move a step closer to finding the truth. So I haven’t started dressing differently or acting a whole lot differently, I don’t care what anyone else thinks about how I dress or how I work, and it feels fantastic.

now be yourself
Who else could you possibly be?

There are things I do now that I might not have had the courage to do before, and each one I recognize as a step forward, although I think for many people, they would be pretty small steps indeed.

Normal?

One of the most significant things that have arisen from this change of thought is that I judge others much less. I try not to judge at all. I have learned to appreciate the differences that each individual brings to the world, and the vibrant contrast allows for a broad spectrum of color in life. It is a much more exciting canvas that I see painted in front of me. I wouldn’t say I like the things everybody does, but I try to accept them as their choices, not mine. I’ll worry about my thoughts, words, and actions and let others worry about theirs.

This wide variety can be scary to some, but we should embrace it. Just as you accept each person for their unique ability, so will you be recognized as special and beautiful. I think there is a misconception that a “normal” state exists when the real normal is that you should be who you are and that, my friend, is good enough.

Some Quotes on Not Caring what others think

“The eyes of others our prisons; their thoughts our cages.” ― Virginia Woolf “

A dame that knows the ropes isn’t likely to get tied up.” ― Mae West

“You have no responsibility to live up to what other people think you ought to accomplish. I have no responsibility to be like they expect me to be. It’s their mistake, not my failing.” ― Richard P. Feynman

“Care about what other people think, and you will always be their prisoner.”—Lao Tzu

“Never dull your shine for somebody else.” ― Tyra Banks

“If being an egomaniac means I believe in what I do and in my art or music, then in that respect you can call me that… I believe in what I do, and I’ll say it.” ― John Lennon

“I do not care so much what I am to others as I care what I am to myself.” ― Michel de Montaigne

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.”— Dr. Seuss

“Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will. “― Suzy Kassem

“Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation.”— Oscar Wilde

22

Focus on Being Kind

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kindness
You are that one

Kindness-The quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.

People face many challenges every day. There are expectations for performance from ourselves, our bosses, or teachers that make each moment seem not enough. Today, even in those times of complete business, let your focus shift from what you have to do to the small acts of kindness you can be responsible for today. It begins by paying attention to the focus of your thoughts as you look at others in the world today. Focus on being kind. It will correspond with emotions, words, and actions that spread your kindness to others. It begins with your thoughts.

Make Kindness Your Focus

Kindness costs nothing and makes everything in the world better. That is a fact that is indisputable. Time invested in being kind to others or yourself will have positive rewards for your life. It will make your perspective brighter and increase your positive thoughts and feelings, if nothing else. This positivity will make your life a more enjoyable experience because you decided to practice kindness and make being kind a focus of your day.

Kindness is Contagious

Like the most popular viral video you can think of, compassion can spread from one person to another. Each small act of kindness has the possibility of sparking understanding in another. If you choose to say the kind word or do the kind deed, there is no telling how far that act may go. It may allow someone else to see the value of kindness and practice it as well. And that, in turn, may lead someone else to focus on goodness too. So your kind thought or act can ripple through the world and affect people you have never met positively. The influence is just as significant for unkind people. So choose your words and deeds well.

Our Responsibility

Each of us is responsible for the effects our behavior has on the world. We set an example for others to follow, consciously or unconsciously. Each focused thought, word, and action allows you to take control of your influence and make it exactly what you want it to be today, right now at this moment. Focus on practicing kindness in your life in all of your interactions and see what happens. One thing is for sure, and the world will be a better place because of your choices. They are things only you can do.

“How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single minute before starting to improve the world.” ~ Anne Frank

“Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind, and the third is to be kind.” ~ Henry James

“When words are both true and kind, they can change the world.” ~ Buddha

 

“Let us seek to reign nobly on the throne of our highest self for just a single day, filling every moment of every hour with our finest, unselfish best.”~ William George Jordan

22

Things I learned From Meat Loaf

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Things I Learned Listening to Meat Loaf

meat loaf
This sage has taught many valuable life lessons

A few years ago, I was driving down the road with my best friend of forty years when the song “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad” y Meat Loaf came on the radio.

We laughed and said how stupid the song was, but then almost without our conscious choice, we were singing along loudly and we both knew all of the words to that song. Two dudes in their mid-forties who obviously had too much time on their hands as adolescents.

As we talked about the song and the message that it sends, I started to realize that there was a reason that some people of our generation (me) have a difficult time with relationships because we spent our adolescence listening to Meat Loaf, building up some quite unreal and pretty unhealthy expectations of ourselves and what we should look for in relationships.

In a different conversation with another friend I realized that I knew the words to every song on Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell Album. A fact that I am neither proud or ashamed of, but in awe. As I listened to each song for the first time in years, the lessons from the songs came back. These meatloaf lessons were hard-hitting and impactful. Like I was my seventh grade self again.

This is what I learned from listening to Meat Loaf when it comes to relationships. R ember, I listened to this music as an impressionable teenager and this is the top  things I learned about life from this talented musician.

***Bat Out of Hell Notes***

  • The Pyre can be burning, even on the edge of ice field and somewhere there is a tank full of time.
  • Heaven can in fact wait.
  • Long ago and far away was so much better than it is today.
  • There is no paradise by the dashboard light
two out of three aint bad
Math would tell us that two out of three is kind of bad, Unless you play baseball for a living.
  • If you have trouble with an answer, then you should sleep on it before you decide to give an answer in the morning about loving someone forever.
  •  Having promiscuous sex in a car is going to lead to a life time of regret and have you praying for the end of time so that you can escape a bad relationship. On the good side, keeping  your word is important regardless of the consequences.
  •  Being all revved up is no good if you don’t have someplace to go, especially on a Saturday night.
  • Don’tlook for gold on a sandy beach, don’t drill for oil on city streets or a ruby in a mountain of rocks they will lead you to frustration. Just play the lottery.
  • Crying icicles is worse than crying tears
  • There ain’t no Coupe de Ville at the bottom of my Crackerjack box.
  •  If you keep on telling someone you want them, you need them, but there ain’t no way you are ever gonna love them. They will eventually accept it as a pretty good deal.
  • I am in fact glowing like the metal on the edge of a knife
  • It is cold and lonely in the deep dark night, but as long as you listen to baseball you will be OK
  •  Just because it never felt so good or felt so right doesn’t mean it will end up good or right.

**** two out of three is in fact, quite bad, if you only do 66% of your work, you will flunk at school or get fired from your job, you will be seen as a failure, so Meat Loaf was wrong and Jim Steinman was not a math major or very motivated apparently.

Gratitude

Thank you Meat Loaf for all of the great life lessons you taught us on your educational and entertaining album Bat Out Of Hell, I am grateful and I am sure my whole generation is currently dealing with your relationship “advice.”

There are certain things that time will make nostalgic and music from your youth will allow you to travel to a simpler time. List n to Bat out of Hell when you have a moment, and as you uncontrollably sing along,  think about how messed up the lyrics are. You will understand suddenly why you have a problem committing in a relationship today.

THANK YOU, MEAT LOAF

22

Seek Your Peace

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Seeking Peace

There are so many ways to improve your outlook on life that it is

impossible for me to list them all here for you, but in general, there are a few simple tips I can give you that have made my enjoyment of life increase exponentially.

These are not extremely difficult things to do; solving advanced math problems or rocket science is complicated; finding peace should be simple.

It requires you to honestly look at yourself and the situations that affect how you feel and choose to let events enhance your life, not harm it.

These are three simple practices I have implemented in my own life that have made a living a much more enjoyable experience, and I think you might too. I almost guarantee it. It is all up to you.   The steps are acceptance, forgiveness, and peace, and you are on your way to happiness if you want to be.

1. Acceptance is Not Approval

The first thing you have to be able to experience is the acceptance of all that has happened. is was difficult Acceptancefor me because I always believed that by saying I accept a situation, I simultaneously admit the status will never change, and acceptance is not that.

Acceptance does not mean approval, consent, permission, authorization, sanction, concurrence, agreement, compliance, sympathy, endorsement, confirmation, support, ratification, assistance, or even liking whatever it is you are accepting it is merely saying, “it is what it is, and what is, is what is.

Popeye believed the same thing, “I am what I am.” and so does Patriot Coach Bill Belichick when he analyzes a game, “It is what it is.” Until you choose to accept things as they are, realizing and identifying the situation accurately, you will never be able to develop a plan to overcome an obstacle and learn what you need to learn and grow from the experience.   Acceptance is the first step and the most important because you will never get to the ultimate destination if you never start a journey.

2. Forgiveness Will Set You Free

Step two in this search for self-discovery is forgiveness. F giving someone for doing something that hurt you or someone you care about can be very difficult to do because we all internalize things that happen to us and take them personally,

forgiveness
Forgive and Free Yourself

but to quote an ancient Chinese Proverb, “Anger is a hot rock that burns the one who holds it.”

To me, this means that the heat of anger,  disappointment, jealousy, whatever negative emotion you associate with somebody else’s actions, you have to forgive and let go to move on with your life.

I also have learned that you don’t have to make your forgiveness known to anyone other than yourself. You don’t have to have a ceremony, a rite of passage, or even talk to anybody. All you have to do is forgive whoever you have to in your heart, and you will find you are on your way to finding peace.

If you don’t believe me, try it.   Just think about a person you feel has hurt you, then accept whatever the situation is. Then forgive them for whatever they did, or you perceived them to do, truthfully and wholeheartedly. If you are sincere, you will start to feel relief almost immediately.

You can let all of the foolishness of life and the anger that you are carrying around because of the actions of others and experience growth, allowing becoming a better version of yourself. You can even forgive yourself, which is probably one of the first places you should start.

Whatever shortcomings you have had, mistakes you have made, dreams you left disappointed, goals you haven’t reached yet, whatever angers you about yourself, forgive yourself for being human, and accept what has happened.

You will find the road that leads you where you want to go will appear to you almost magically. Forgiveness is simple, but it is never easy because we tend to hang on to things and internalize them, and they become a part of who we are.

Then when you forgive them and let them go, you fight against it because these situations have become a part of our identity, and they have become who we are, rather than something that happened to us or something we did. Forgiving everyone is what I advocate, and moving on to a better place.

3. Peace  will Find You

Thirdly, you will find the third almost without any work if you follow these two things. It will come naturally to you, like an inevitable turn in the river you are riding on, and you will encounter peace.

With peace will come freedom from the thoughts you have been carrying around with you. It is simple as thinking: I accept that experience, forgive that experience, and am free. This is where positive thinking will start to emerge in your life.

It was explained to me that just thinking positive thoughts to exclude negative ideas is challenging because you have been having those negative thoughts all your life, whatever they are.

My parents didn’t pay enough attention to me. I am weak. I am always treated poorly in relationships. I am miserable because that’s all I deserve when you accept your thoughts as what they are and forgive them; these negative thoughts are not ignored but instead transformed into ideas of a positive nature. I have found that I am happy most of the time when this happens. Peace is just another word for experiencing inner happiness about who you are, where you have been, and going.

So give this process a try, accept a situation that has hurt you and all the people involved. Forgive t m. All people do crappy things because they are people, and it’s not personal, they are just trying to live their life, and you will find a feeling of peace and understanding. Accept yourself and others for who they are and move.

Quotes About Inner Peace:

“The self is not the individual body or mind, but rather that aspect deep inside each person that knows the truth.” – Swami Vishnu Devananda

“We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama

“If you let go a little, you will have a little peace. If you let out a lot, you will have a lot of peace. If you let  o completely, you will have complete peace.” – Ajahn Chan XX century Buddhist Monk

“Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment” – Lao Tzu.

“When there is light in the soul, there is beauty in the person.
There is harmony in the person when there is beauty in the house.
When there is harmony in the house, there is order in the nation.
When there is order in the nation, there is peace in the world.”-  Chinese Proverb.

“If you lose touch with nature you lose touch with humanity. If there’s no relationship with nature, then you become a killer; then you kill baby seals, whales, dolphins, and man either for gain, for “sport,” for food, or knowledge. Then, nature  is frightened of you, withdrawing its beauty.”-  Jiddu Krishnamurti

“To achieve the strength we need in living, an inner life must be lived apart from the world.
To wear the whole world as a loose garment is a key to serenity.
Loosen your hold on earth, its cares, and its worries.
Unclasp your hold on other people and material things.
Let go of resentments, they hurt only you, not the person, persons, or institutions you resent.
Relax your grip, and the tide of peace will flow in.
Live in today, not in regrets over what happened yesterday, not in the fear and apprehension of what tomorrow may bring.
The past is gone as a cloud of dust.
Tomorrow may never come.
We are faced with living just one day…today.
Try to relax, rejoice, and be glad in it!” – (Unknown Author) 

“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.   – Marcus Aurelius (Roman Emperor)

“Whenever anyone has offended me, I try to raise my soul so high that the offense cannot reach me” – Rene Descartes.

“A man who is master of himself can mend a sorrow as he can invent a pleasure. I don’t want to be at the mercy of my emotions. I want to be them, to enjoy them, and to dominate them.” – Oscar Wild

“Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein

“Nothing is either good, middle, or bad, but thinking makes it so” – William Shakespeare.

“Dwell as near as possible to the channel in which your life flows.” – Henry David Thoreau.