All posts by Jonathan Hilton

22

Our Personal Assignments

Leave a comment
make a list
Who’s on your list?

I was reading a great article the other day, which stated that we all have a list. This list contains people who need us or has needed us at some point, in some way in their lives. Our personal assignments will help us achieve, get through, or overcome something. Or perhaps to help make their lives a little bit better and brighter. When you look at life like this, each interaction you have throughout the day can put a new person on your list if you want it to.

How many times can you choose to do something for someone else that will make their day a little happier? Quite a few, I bet. Each conversation, chance meeting, or interaction provides the opportunity. Those people just made your list. I encourage you to start looking for the times you were a gift to others and for those who were a gift to you.

You, Will, Look at People Differently

Train your mind to see the good in every situation
The good is there when you look for it.

Start making a list for yourself right now. Think about just the last 24 hours and the interactions with people that you have had. I guarantee that each provided some energy to the participants, from the most intense to the most distant. Whether that energy was positive or negative is the question you have to answer.

In these interactions, most provided something that you needed, someone else needed, or both. You are the catalyst in these situations that dictate what energy surrounds you. Make this list, see what you are contributing to the lives of others, and, almost as significantly, what they are contributing to you.

Be Positive with your List

People will become more interesting, and you will view each interaction under a different scope. I often feel like my interactions with people are beneficial for both parties. However,

Be kind to one another
Kindness is a simple thing

; I also notice things I want to avoid.

When I am conscious of what I am contributing to others and they to me, negative things seem to stand out. When a person engages in gossip about someone else, I know nothing I want to be involved with. I always say something positive about the person or situation being discussed. After a while, people give up talking about other people around them. This makes your conversation with them more favorable for both parties involved. They are definitely on your list.

Value those who lift you up

Noticing the tenor and tone of interactions will also allow you to appreciate the positive energy that people bring to your life because you are clear on their list. When you recognize the positive energy, you are left with after encountering someone, it is common sense to seek them out more often. All people want to feel good, and those who make us feel a great need to be in our lives more and more. Make sure you allow yourself to be added to their list. Conversely, those who leave us feeling tired, angry, or just plain old negative about things, need to be avoided. Life is too short to be miserable. Eventually, you have to shorten your list by avoiding the habitually negative.

Look for more people to add to your list.

Each person that you come in contact with is a potential member of your list. Add them freely and look for the moments that you can add a little positive momentum to others’ lives. It can be as simple as smiling, holding a door open, or giving a compliment. These things happen all the time and should be appreciated by all parties involved. It is simple to make a living a little bit more positive for all involved, and it all begins with a conscious effort to be kind, considerate, understanding, or giving. Look for the people who are your personal assignments today. They are there waiting for you.

22

Life is a Journey

Leave a comment

Life is a continual array of experiences that lead us all to choices we make, actions we take, and the consequences which result, and then the cycle starts all over again. We face the challenges we are presented with by understanding and mastering the principles we build our lives on. Four factors determine how well we manage, react to, and even create the circumstances we experience in life. They are security, guidance, wisdom, and power. Each of these factors drives each of us positively or negatively. Each element drives us positively or negatively. If we are unaware of where we are on the continuum of understanding, there is an opportunity for someone or something else to make the choices for us.

You determine the center of your existence by choosing the principles or your truth. If you think honesty, kindness, caring, understanding, and love are the center of your life, you will react one way. If you let the negative opposites of those things dictate your behavior, then you will respond quite differently. We have the choice to act in either direction, and you are responsible for exactly which actions you choose, why, and the consequences of those decisions. YOu are responsible for yourself and others.

What is your Security?

How you value yourself will define the level of security you have in your existence. On the opposing end of the continuum, you will have no protection and live your life continually, seeking the approval of other people and organizations. On the healthy side, a person who operates from a base of security will be sure that the decisions they make represent the principles they stand for, regardless of what others think about it.

The value you bring to the world and your relationships is not questioned because you are secure in who you are. You are not ruled by your emotions but understand the messages they are bringing you. Each day is an opportunity to display your strength or lack thereof. Learning who we are and what we want to stand for and having the courage to live from this center principle allows our security to provide a positive force in our lives. Or you can live at the whims of others’ opinions of you. This choice will usually involve what is best for them, not you.

Guidance System

If you look at life like a map, display clearly what is happening in the world outside of yourself. The guidance you develop will make moment-by-moment decisions that will enable you to be your most productive and powerful. If you have poor advice, you will rely on society to provide your direction and even for others to make these choices for you. Robust guidance systems come from an inner compass that understands the principles you stand for and will continually make choices moving in that direction.

Again you will be held responsible for the circumstances that result from your choices in how you guide your life. Either you can move from the thoughts and ideas of others, or you can create your level of power and stick to that. Ensure your maps and understanding of the world are accurate if you are dealing with a faulty plan. You will not find the right places like a GPS set on the wrong coordinates. Moment by moment, decisions are made by our standards and principles. You are developing a powerful inner direction that provides unyielding guidance to where you want to go.

Current Level of Wisdom

If you are lucky, the lessons life brings will leave you with some wisdom to help guide you in the future. Your perspectives of life and how you understand it shows actions. Taking the learning from today and applying it to the challenges of tomorrow is the most significant definition and example of wisdom. You will embrace better abilities to judge situations and people and see the value. Comprehension of the factors we face personally, professionally, and in all areas of our life, being able to balance them and apply solutions across areas, is true wisdom.

The continuum of wisdom stretches from the weak area of dealing with an inaccurate map of reality, and all things seem distorted. Nothing seems to fit where it should be—to the other side, where strength exists, provided by a complete and accurate map of life where one sees all parts of their lives totally and adequately related to each other. Many fall somewhere in between the two. Take an honest look at your maps and the information they give you. Do you need to try harder at what you are doing, or do you need to focus some energy on clearing up your map? The answer will reveal where your current level of wisdom is at.

Peak Personal Power

Our power is based on our ability to act in any situation. The strength and potency we can accomplish a task with. This power comes from our energy level and allows us to make sound decisions and choices. Personal power enables an individual to evaluate hurdles inside themselves and outside of them. Creating and supporting a vision of what their life should be. When you see something you don’t like about your life, you can create a plan and take action to overcome deeply embedded habits that aren’t healthy for you.

The continuum of personal power spreads from the weak side where we feel immobilized or allow someone else to pull our strings, leaving us making another person’s wishes. On the healthy side, we operate at a high level with the power to act according to our values. Instead of being affected by other people and circumstances, we can make our own choices and take action. How powerful are you? With personal power comes responsibility for yourself and the plans you make, and the steps you take.

These four factors circle our center, and we can work to adjust our locations on each continuum. Being honest with ourselves and others about where we stand will allow us to create a more productive reality full of the things we desire to see. Being a compelling force in our lives and the lives of those we deal with daily. Evaluating and developing the highest level of security, guidance, wisdom, and personal power should be the goal of each day you live to get the most out of your life.

 

22

A Better Me

Leave a comment

Some of our thoughts and activities are ingrained in our minds and behavior that we don’t even question their presence when they come into our consciousness. Taking a moment and becoming more mindful of your behavior and thoughts will allow you to become more positive in all that you do. Sometimes there are poor actions toward other people we participate in, which do not let us be the best versions of ourselves.

These are things we accept all the time, but they are not loving acts toward ourselves, others, or life in general. Eliminate these things, and life will be a happier, kinder, and more enjoyable experience. Here are a few examples of things that we should avoid doing.

  • Pretending that something didn’t happen or what happened didn’t matter. If you have feelings of suffering because of something, then it matters. Anything you wish to address in life starts by identifying a problem and developing a clear understanding of why it bothers you to the best of your ability. Ignoring things or pretending they don’t worry will lead to resentment and anger. Speak and deal with suffering all the time; it is always healthy.
  • Acting like you are OK when you are not. All people have done this. Nobody wants to look weak, and some people can’t accept help. It is the fixed mindset that strong people can handle everything efficiently. That is not the case; strong people know when to ask for help. It is a sign of intelligence. Never be afraid to admit to yourself or somebody you care about that you need something. When asked, you should go out of your way to be there for anyone who needs you.
  • Accepting Bad Behavior from Others. Poor behavior from someone else should not be tolerated. If you see someone doing something that doesn’t resonate with you, don’t accept it. If it is someone you care about, then they should understand. If someone is continually participating in behavior, you don’t like it, and you always have the choice to find a higher quality of people to spend your time with. It can be challenging when you have feelings for someone, but when they continually show you, they are not living a healthy-minded life, distance yourself.
  • Excusing Wrong-Doing by Pretending that it is all right. If you think something is wrong, you have an obligation to yourself to say something, or you are complicit in that act. We all have a personal code, and pretending that something is OK to keep the peace in a relationship will end in pain. Don’t allow someone to treat you with anything less than honesty, integrity, and dignity.
  • Allowing Yourself to be a Doormat. Of course, this isn’t OK. Accept nothing but the best from the people you spend time with. Anyone who would treat you and your feelings like a doormat must be asked to leave your life. All people have value in life, opinions that matter, and shouldn’t be subject to treatment that is any less.
  • Blaming Yourself for Other people’s Poor Behavior- Sometimes, people look at poor behavior from others and blame themselves for making them behave that way. People who act abusively or neglectfully are practicing learned behavior, which can be shifted and unlearned if they realize it is wrong. Never accept blame for someone else’s actions; be your person and responsible for yourself. That is the best we can do.
  • Never Dismiss Your Feelings-  All thoughts lead to emotions. You are going to have positive and negative emotions. The negative ones are usually there to warn you and protect you from pain. Deal with them. Where did they come from? Are they valid? Talk about them, work through them. All feelings you have are proper for you and your experience. Never dismiss them.

These are a few instances that I think people fall into and cause harm to themselves and those they are in relationships with. Always have pride in yourself and seek out the positive things in life. It is never a loving act to allow malicious behavior in your life, especially toward you.

Remember, if somebody continually mistreats you, there is something wrong with them, not you. Ordinary people don’t go around injuring others for no good reason. 

“It takes very little to govern good people—very little. And bad people can’t be governed at all. Or, if they could, I never heard of it.” Cormac Mccarthy

“The moment you feel you have to prove your worth to someone is the moment to absolutely and utterly walk away.” Alysia Harris

“Being nice to those who treat you badly isn’t being fake. Your spiritual maturity has risen above the desire for vengeance.” Michael Binot

 

“People who are mean or unkind or rigid – think about it – cannot laugh at themselves.” Eileen Brennan

 

22

Know Your Own Value

Leave a comment

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

Belief Adjustment

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

Accept It All

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

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

Practice Gratitude

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

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

Find Connections and Pursue

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

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

Finally Creative

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

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

“Know your worth. Then add tax.” Anonymous

 “Never forget how rare you are.” Anonymous

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

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

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

 

22

A Few Random Thoughts

Leave a comment

Some days random thoughts come to you and allow you to envision what you want to experience in life. Many ideas pop into your head on a lucky day that can have value. Pay attention to the ones that bring your life more positive direction, guidance, and power. As you move through the day, think of the positive things you experience that move you in the course of creation and accomplishment. Here are a few random thoughts I am thinking about today to move me in that direction.

If you are not getting what you want, do something else. Often, I think about what my experience is giving me and if my reality is what I want to have in my life. Or if it is something else, what? It is always good to continually evaluate where you are because it stops you from becoming complacent, allowing you to continue growing as a person. We all have the opportunity to change our course and move in a direction that makes us happier.

Spend some time during each day, becoming a little wiser than you were at the beginning. The key here is little. Take time to read from a book of value. Watch an inspirational video. Investigate how to do something new. Whatever path you choose for greater wisdom, follow it and reap its benefits. Making an effort provides natural intelligence for you.

Understand we are all receivers and transmitters. We transmit vibrations t the world based on our predominant thoughts and emotions. Our receivers pick these things up from the people around us, and if those are negative, they will enter your life, and it takes conscious effort to rid yourself of them. Notice the connections between what you think, what you feel, and what you receive from others. You can influence and be influenced simply by the thoughts and emotions that are going on in and around you. Be a positive influence.

The size of your thinking only limits the size of your success. If you believe that a certain level is all you can get to, that will be as far as you ever reach. Understand that the limits we create arise from the programming we have picked up from our life experience, and it is as accurate as you want it to be. Look beyond your conditioning and the limits of your mind. Set high goals, and take significant steps toward them. See if you succeed or fail. Try again if you need to. Most importantly, expand the size of your thinking.

It is not the movement of the clock that provides the newness of life. And it is the movement of your mind. Many times we wait for a particular moment for things to happen. And that is great for many things. To experience certain things in life, it needs to occur at a specific time. But more often, a newness can come to you by looking at life differently or looking for new things to experience. Every day is an opportunity to use the tool of your mind to expand your thoughts and Ideas. Let the movement of your account take you somewhere positive mentally, physically, financially, or spiritually.

Fear controls you, or you control fear. Fear is a constant companion in life. It warns us and protects us, but out of control, fear limits us in all that we do. We avoid things because we are afraid. We stay away from challenges because we are so scared of failure. We don’t try new things because we are worried about what others might think of us. Fear is the opposite side of love, and it can significantly limit your potential and the actions you will take. Fear is just a thought. You can overcome it with effort. We were doing things to take the worry out of the equation. At the moment, we deal with issues, and fear is not even in our minds.

If you don’t imagine things, then nothing new ever happens. Using your imagination is a choice and can bring new experiences and ideas into your life. To choose not to imagine this or that leaves the status quo in place, and by default, you are supporting life and existence, which you may not be pleased to experience. The door to creation opens with the use of our imagination. To change the world of your imagination into reality, you choose planning and action. Use your creativity to find a different alternative to what you are experiencing today.

You’d think that people would have had enough of silly love songs……… That is a thought.

 

22

Letting The Negative Ones Go

Leave a comment

You Can’t Have a Positive Life with a Negative Mind – Unknown.

positive-life-negative-mindOur thoughts are the most important thing that we create. Every day there is a non-stop production of views from our minds, and we are subject to the powers of those we pay attention to. In life, if we are truly looking to live positively, we have to learn to pay attention to the positive thoughts and let all the negative ones go.

What is a Positive Thought?

In the mass of thoughts, it can be easy to pick out positive reviews, especially if you are not sure what you are looking for. Positive thoughts are based on the positive emotions that you have each day. Joy, interest, love, kindness, acceptance, gratitude, cheerfulness, happiness, confidence, etc., these thoughts are the ones that you should latch onto and focus your thoughts on.

A negative mind is a result of focusing on the negative thoughts that are produced. Ideas that focus on hate, sadness, uninterest, meanness, judgment, ingratitude, gloom, and lack of confidence will create a negative mindset. When you focus on thoughts with this tenor, you will not find life a satisfying process.

Simple Ways to Build a Positive Mind

  • positiveSpend time with positive people. Like attracts like, and if you are spending time with people who have a healthy, optimistic outlook, it will rub off on you. Conversely, if you spend time with negative-thinking people, move away from them, and you will see the difference this makes in your life.
  • Avoid being a victim by taking responsibility for your actions. We all make choices that aren’t so good but accept our part in them, learn what we can, and move on with our life. Accepting the victim mentality will lead to not taking our power in life. You are in control of how you experience life.
  • Give to others regularly, and you will have a more positive outlook. Giving naturally makes you happy, and what you offer can improve your perspective on the world. Giving will always open your life up to receiving.
  • Read positive books and articles. Avoid the negative stories the media is known for and focus on the positive things. Life has its dark side, but you don’t have to wallow in it. Look at the positive in books that teach you something about life. Learning new things expands your mind and naturally makes you more positive.
  • Avoid watching movies or television shows with malicious content. Negative messages about women diminish the value of a human being, and viewing these messages will bring you down. Make positive choices to move on and build your positive frame of mind.
  • fd02d2b50d27f91869ebe449f60c8323Remember that you are powerful beyond measure. We are often getting so used to fitting in and being what others expect, and we forget that we have tremendous power. All people can become great.
  • Forgive yourself for any perceived or actual wrongdoing. It doesn’t do any good to carry the blame, and it will only lead to a negative outlook and a negative mind. It doesn’t mean that you do no wrong, but you take responsibility for your actions and move forward in a positive direction. To do anything else is to let a situation define you, and if it is a negative situation, well…………..there you go.

Ultimately,  it is your choice if you have a positive or negative outlook on life. It is essential to think about it because having a happy life with a negative mindset is impossible. It is impossible to have an unhappy experience with a positive outlook.

You must decide, but you can’t Have a Positive Life with a Negative Mind.

” Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” – John Wooden

” We become what we think about.” – Earl Nightingale

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” –Alice Walker

” Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” – Dennis P. Kimbro

” But you will admit that it is a very good thing to be alive.” – L. Frank Baum

 

22

Getting Better or Getting Worse

Leave a comment

In all things, we are either getting better or worse. Wisdom is one of the factors in our lives that determines the soundness of our actions or decisions, based on our use of the experience we have, the knowledge we have acquired over the years, and the excellent judgment we have produced. When do you know that you are wise? When do you know that your decisions are sound? It takes some thought and effort to evaluate everything we experience in life.

Thoughts to Seek

Our minds are a powerful tool, producing a non-stop stream of thought left unguarded or unwatched; it has just as much negative energy as positive energy. Our mind reacts to the input you give it. From the books, you read, shows you watch, games you play, or people you choose to spend your time with. All have input into the machine of the mind. Like children, our thoughts will run wild and unruly without discipline. There are thoughts you can choose to seek, which will make you stronger.

Any thought that weakens you in any way should be avoided and eliminated. How can you control what you think? In some ways, you can’t, but what you can do is choose the thoughts you pay attention to. When a negative thought comes up, and you know it doesn’t serve you become your best self. Let them slide by you without addressing them. Then move your thoughts to something that does move you toward your best self. Invest your energy into these thoughts and follow where they lead you. And your thoughts will become a more valuable and powerful commodity.

Which Thoughts are the Right Ones

Recognizing the thoughts you should hold onto is easier than you might think. Look simply at the source and result of the thought. Does it come from fear? Or does it come from love? It is easy to recognize which is which. Thoughts of fear are negative and bring with them all the downside of fear. Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, arrogance, self-pity, dishonesty, arrogance, false pride, and ego are thoughts you should let slide by you. While thoughts of peace, acceptance, happiness, joy, humility, kindness, serenity, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. These are the thoughts you want to pay attention to.

The paradox is that no matter what you do, all of these thoughts exist daily within each of us. It is the ones we give our attention to which will dominate our lives. Every person will represent their dominant thoughts or the ones they choose to focus on. If fear is your predominant thought pattern, the negative list will be on your way to feeling happy. When you are worried about what you are getting out of something, it will generally be negative. When you are concerned about what you give to a situation, it will probably be a positive experience. These thoughts empower you and allow you to enjoy the knowledge that life is providing you.

Why It Is Important

It is essential to know that you control which thoughts you focus on because if you are entertaining a constant flow of fear, they will eventually wear you down. You will slip more and more into a mindset of fear allowing all of the negative things above to creep into your reality. For example, hating someone will wear you down, make your reality less enjoyable, and never once harm your enemy. Letting these things dominate leads to easy anger, needless conflict, and general unhappiness.

Learn to embrace the positive in you and follow those thoughts, and you will see the enjoyment of your life improve. Rather than fearing getting robbed of something or not getting your fair share, you will be looking at what you can share. The positive thoughts allow a person to live in harmony with the things around him and not let needless anger cloud their judgment. Wherever you are in your mental world, please take a moment and evaluate it and remember.

We are constantly getting better or worse, and the thoughts we choose to pay attention to in each moment will determine both the level of our improvement and the amount of enjoyment we get in life.

“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” – Roy T. Bennett.

“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James.

“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” – Roy T. Bennett.

“The positivity in our life is a function of our thinking. So think positive, stay positive!”

 

22

Know You Can Change

Leave a comment

Evolve- develop gradually, especially from a simple to a more complex form.

If you know nothing else, know that change is constant and inevitable. We are all changing at every moment, and it may be a minuscule difference, but it is happening. You choose if you change without awareness or evolve through your development to become more in tune with your life, gain more happiness, and grow as a person.

Shouldn’t we all try to evolve consciously, dictating our direction as much as we can? Our road map begins with an awareness of our life and where we want to see changes, creating goals, setting our intentions, and then taking actions that lead to those changes.   It begins with your thoughts about who you are, the words you speak about yourself and your goals,  and the actions you take to bring these things into your reality. Make them count.

Moving to a more complex form

Evolving may seem daunting and complicated. First, it is a change, and nobody likes this. There is a tentative fear of every shift, even if we are sure it is for the best. Saying goodbye is difficult. Also, if it is something we definitely should eliminate, at least you know what to expect, and if it is wrong, we spend time worrying circumstances could worsen. Then what?   Courage allows you to seek to evolve. To grow into what you want to become, having a mindset focused on growth and understanding will help.

Invest your time and thought into things that will increase your knowledge, interests, and understanding of the world around you. Read books about topics that pique your interest. Spend time with people who are already at the point you want to go or have a similar interest in going that way. If you spend your time without intention, you are a victim of that time. You are moving wherever it takes you like a log in a river. Filling your days with little direction and focus is an existence, not a life. Evolve into a life in which you are the best version of yourself. Invest your time rather than just spending it. We have far too little time in this life to waste and far too much good to do and value to contribute.

Life will Help You

Life pushes us along the path of personal evolution, whether we want it or not. How many experiences in life do we label as bad? When in the final evaluation, we see the positives in a challenging situation brought. Even though we label something as wrong or right in our minds, it is merely an experience. Experiences are gifts that push you in one direction or another, and life enjoys making you exactly where it wants you to go. Grief, anger, loss, regret, and other negative emotions can cloud our judgment, but eventually, we will change. To seek to evolve by raising our consciousness is a great adventure. No adventure is risk-free; many are painful to the heart and mind. But that is what experience is all about.

Try to remove the labeling of experiences as good or bad. Let things be what they are. You can still experience grief at a loss but recognize the situation as part of life. You can’t go backward, and you can only share what is. So experience it and allow it to teach you what it can, even if it hurts. Don’t use any circumstance as an excuse not to try to evolve positively. Life gives you opportunities to grow and develop, and you must make a conscious choice. Either you are going to change into something better or something worse. Nothing stays the same. It is always your choice.

Sometimes you Gotta Lose Before you Win.

When we experience a loss, it is undesirable and not as good a feeling as winning. But it is what it is. We evolve when we look at the damage and evaluate why it happened, then take steps to improve our performance and process. If you won and succeeded all the time, life would have no challenges, and there would be no need for growth. Life doesn’t work that way, and it continuously provides us with situations where we can lose or win.

The key is to remove the emotion from the equation and not to take a loss personally. It isn’t a personal thing, and it is just a thing. Mourn the damage, but learn the lesson and work to become better at whatever cost you the lost in the first place. So the next time, you will find victory and not defeat. Self-improvement is a process of evolution that has always been and always will be a part of the human experience.

Evolving

Support yourself and others in the process of evolving. Recognize people are going to try things, moving in directions you may not believe in or understand. Support them on their journey. It is their journey, after all, and you are on your trip to evolving into your best self.

Learn to speak to yourself in a positive and supportive way. If the voice in your head isn’t supportive of you, get rid of it. Detach yourself from negative thoughts and energy and attach yourself to positive results and experiences. It begins with a conscious awareness that you are changing daily. Either you are getting better or getting worse. Nobody stays the same for very long. The great news is you can choose the person you evolve into through your thoughts, words, and actions. How are you going to develop today?

“Life is about evolving. Don’t stay in a situation that is not helping you grow mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.” 

“Evolve or dissolve. It’s your option.”

 

 

22

The Natural Path of Life

Leave a comment

How well do you react to change? If you are like most people, the answer is not very well. All of us seem to have a natural resistance to anything being different. We continually cling to old ways, even when they have become outdated and inefficient. We adhere to careers we no longer like or living situations that make us unhappy because there is a healthy level of fear about doing something different.

But if you never try anything other than what you already do, you never evolve, and your ideas, thoughts, and emotions never become original. The growth we experience is the natural path of our lives, and all we need is to muster up a little courage to accept the changes happening all around us all the time.

Resistance

There is a natural resistance that exists in people to fight change. It is there personally as people cling to routines and avoid growing on an individual basis. Resistance also exists on a larger scale, as only well-tried and accurate methods of doing things will be accepted, and all other ideas are dismissed or even attacked. Not because they are wrong, but because they are different. All of the social upheavals in the 20th Century provided excellent examples of this. The Civil Rights movement seems like a common sense thing today. Of course, all people are equal.

But fear developed over the years and made people resist messing with the conventional way and societal expectations.

Of course, today, I would like to think that our society has solved the problem, but racial divides seem to permeate all of our community still, and at their roots are people who are resistant to change and unwilling to grow. There will be moments of resistance to change in our lives, even though change is a constant and inevitable experience.

The consciousness of your thoughts is the answer to defeating resistance. We see our beliefs as to what they are and where they guide us. The voice of your ego resists change. The ego exists and grows in the background of your unconscious mind. Its main objective is survival. So when you are in a safe situation, your ego will generate thoughts to keep you there. You would never change or grow. No matter what fantasies your ego creates, life will find a way of making change happen.

Allowing and Acceptance of  Change

There are two ways to deal with life; you can fight or flow with it. Resistance and fighting come when we think we have all the answers. Flow happens when we realize that there will be continual adjustments and changes to the experience and allow them to happen and accept them as they are. All things, our lives, careers, and relationships have a shelf life, and that is just a fact. Like life itself, all items will not last forever. It is in this scarcity that provides the value a thing possesses. Each moment in a situation should be cherished and enjoyed. Allow the lessons and the joy of the moment to seep into your consciousness and teach you precisely what it is supposed to.

Some changes will be painful, and there is a lesson in the pain. To lose something valuable to you is an experience that will allow you to become more selfish or open up and share more of yourself. Accept what happened, take responsibility for where you are, and move forward with an open heart and clear mind. Your journey isn’t over, and many great things are still to come. It is a life skill to learn to allow things to change because it will happen whether you like it or not. To accept and recognize is the action of the soul. To resist and fight is the ego.

“Transformation is not five minutes from now; it’s a present activity. At this moment, you can make a different choice, and these small choices and successes build up over time to help cultivate a healthy self-image and self-esteem.” —Jillian Michaels.

“Transformation means going beyond your form.” —said Wayne Dyer.

The only way to make sense of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

 

22

Try A Little Kindness

Leave a comment

It is part of life. Most people experience some pain daily because of the selfish, thoughtless behavior of others, and this phenomenon has been

Be aware of your imprint on the world daily. It exists.

occurring throughout time. Just as there have probably been people like me, who have realized the pain that we might have caused others, not only by what we said to or about someone but also by the things we didn’t say or the small acts we didn’t do when they might have made all the difference to someone else’s outlook on life and experience, it amazes me so much anger and unhappiness could be avoided in life if we would take a moment to say the kind word or do the thoughtful act for someone. These are the little pieces of hell we perpetrate on ourselves and others throughout our lives. But it doesn’t have to be this way. We always have a choice. We can always practice kindness

Be Responsible for Someone Else’s Smile

It is estimated that 90-95% of a person’s behavior is completed without the benefit of conscious thought. We react based on patterns and stimuli that have been ingrained in us through experience. So when we are faced with a situation where our kindness needs to be consciously shared,

smile
You can be responsible for someone else’s smile with just a little effort.

We fail to do it because we are reacting rather than caring.

Our daily lives provide opportunities for growth and kindness regularly, and our ability to see this chance and seize upon it can change someone else’s life in a better way and improve your life as well. When choices are made that honor ourselves, the enjoyment derived from our lives increases. The simple things can do the trick to speak kindly, forgive a transgression, allow someone to feel valuable, and celebrate the smallest of accomplishments with enthusiasm. Still, someone else’s happiness and well-being are ahead of your own. It can be as simple as smiling.

You cause a little hell in someone’s life when you deprive them of this experience because you are too busy or wrapped up in your own life or just unaware of how your kindness could make a difference in someone else’s life. What kind of world would it be if being kind and caring to others were the focus of our lives? What kind of difference can you make?

Accepting of Things

Our thoughts are as dangerous for creating small hells as our words or actions. How poor, different, short, tall, beautiful, or ugly someone is

be a good person
To Be A Good Person, or at the least, don’t be a jerk.

It shouldn’t be the first thought that comes to your mind. Your negative ideas about others will lessen the positivity in your life, and each view that demeans another diminishes your reality.

This doesn’t mean that you accept the poor behavior of others. Never tolerate behavior that is against common sense or decency. But don’t follow that act with one conscious choice that is just as harmful to you. Judge the action but send understanding to the people. Even the worst criminal was once an innocent person with hopes and dreams, but their experiences led to poor choices that didn’t honor themselves.

All actions and consequent blanket judgments of others are not honoring thoughts. They bring negativity to your life and diminish the positive capability of making a difference in the world.

Final Thoughts

Consider your actions, thoughts, and words in all situations and evaluate them honestly. Do they bring a benefit to the lives of anyone? Do they honor you? If they don’t, it is best to focus on other things. Every day, we all have this choice in each thought, word, or action to extend a little heaven or a little hell to someone.

We are unique people, and our value to the world is not determined by how much money we make, the size of the house we live in, or the status of our social circle. The value we bring to the world is in the little acts, thoughts, and words we speak each day. Each person, from the richest to the poorest, leaves the proof of a person’s ideas, ideals, and character in their wake. There is either a garden or mangled wreckage left in someone’s path. Which have you left behind you?

“Human kindness has never weakened the stamina or softened the fiber of a free people. A nation does not have to be cruel to be tough.”  -Franklin D. Roosevelt.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear, and the blind can see.” -Mark Twain.

“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.

“Guard well within yourself that treasure, kindness. Know how to give without hesitation, how to lose without regret, how to acquire without meanness.” -George Sand.

“A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” -William Arthur Ward.

“Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate.” -Albert Schweitzer.

“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” -Princess Diana.

 “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.”  -Barbara de Angelis