All posts by Jonathan Hilton

22

Are You Embracing Life?

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Where there is breathe, there is hope!!

The human experience is known for bringing a broad mix of experiences to your table. Some are difficult and change you and your perspective from the core. When someone else’s actions hurt you, it can be the most challenging thing to accept and keep moving forward. When you feel someone violated your trust, lied to you, or the way you saw things turned out to be untrue. Pain is the result, and these painful things lead us to question everything about our existence and self-worth.

There are dark days in every life, and it is reasonable to spend some time in self-contemplation about how we live and where we fit into the larger scheme of things. It is in these moments some people lose themselves. Recently finding myself in such a situation makes me remember times when I was lost before and managed to find a way through life’s challenges. We all have choices, and embracing who we are on the inside and looking to express that to the world is the most dramatic and worthwhile direction you can go. I am alive and still kicking and searching for the best expression of myself. Regardless of the value, anyone else sees in me. That is the last year’s lesson, and I am sharing ie with you.

Life Smacks You

I am not telling any of you anything new. We learn young; not everything works out as we hope. We build attachments to how we wish things would go, and circumstances combine to make events something else. Other people make choices and take actions we would rather avoid. We have no control over what other people do. The only thing we can control is our reactions. We can change what we are experiencing, accept them, or leave them. Life has presented a lot of unpleasant into

life smacks you
How you react is always your choice

my life over the past year. It is an easy way to blame someone else. My pain and loss are my faults because I believed the wrong person and accepted someone at face value when they were something other than what they portrayed.

My loss was devastating in a way I hadn’t felt in years, and it served as a reminder to understand other people better. Listen to what others are saying or not saying about who they are and life. People who say selfish things and live selfish lives are probably selfish. People who treat you like they don’t care about you don’t. That should be a notice to get as far away from those people as possible. Life is hard enough when your circle is cheering for you each step of the way, let alone when they have no belief in your value. That is a hard slap of reality because it makes you question your judgment about every aspect of your life. But if you never wonder what you are doing, you will never make the needed changes to become a better person and contribute to the world.

Remember, Life is a Short Game

Once you start to work through the pain of having a dream shattered or the loss of someone valuable to you, there is a tunnel you will emerge out of to find life is still moving along, and the harsh reality is this journey is a relatively short one. You only have a finite amount of time to play your dreams out, so time is not something you want to waste contemplating past regrets. It is what it is, and ruminating over it won’t change it. The people who hurt you have hurt you, and nothing will replace it. Time to move forward and take control of your own life and the things you experience for the rest of your time.

If you let your routines run your life and accept where you are, pretty soon, ten years are going to be gone, and you are going to be left wondering what you might have been able to accomplish if you had taken that chance, tried that thing, sang that song, published that book or just plain old followed that dream. You realize you are still alive and kicking. Where there is life, there is possibility. Exactly what opportunity means depends on your courage to overcome your past pains and attempt to find the best version of yourself. It is there waiting patiently inside of us all.

No Regrets

Take some time today, contemplate what you want to accomplish, and take the chance to make it a part of today. Learn what you need to know, try what you need to try, but most importantly, live your life without fear. Fear will limit your potential and stop you from doing what you want and learning to understand yourself. What makes you feel whole may be something you have never done. The place you feel most at home, maybe somewhere you have never been to.

Each day we have a chance to reset our goals and take the most minor, minute steps toward finding our best selves.   The most significant limit we face is the imaginary line of fear we have drawn around ourselves, which we dare not cross because of what might happen. We know what will happen if you fail to cross the line, nothing. That is the thing that will leave you with a blanket of regret. Years from now, do you want to look back and see all the changes you didn’t take and wonder what you might have accomplished if you just dared to try? Those are the biggest regrets I see in life and the ones I want to avoid. We have great possibilities in our lives. As long as we remember, we are still alive and kicking. Anything can indeed happen.

“Do the thing we fear, and death of fear is certain.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Never let the fear of striking out get in your way.” —Babe Ruth

“Being brave isn’t the absence of fear. Being brave is having that fear but finding a way through it.” —Bear Grylls

“Nothing is to be feared; it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” —Marie Curie

 

22

Building a Mindset

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I heard once it is possible that of the more than 7 billion people on this planet, most will live out the entirety of their life and never contemplate anything deep or thoughtful about their existence before they die. It makes me think everyone should spend a little time each day considering their cosmic presence.

But maybe life is more comfortable, not considering the meaning of things. Thoughts about how you look at life and why we are here develop around our mindset. Recently I read the book Mindset by Carol S. Dweck. She discusses the two significant attitudes that exist, the growth mindset and the fixed mindset. Excellent thought for how you approach life, learning, and success presents here, and it would be worth your while to take the time to read through this one.

Know Your Fixed Mind

The bottom line is most people pull from both sides of this spectrum, having characteristics of each mindset, depending on the situation. First is the fixed mindset. The belief that you have the talent to do something or you don’t. Much of your self-esteem builds by results, rankings, and the ease with which something is accomplished. Challenges are avoided, and change is not welcome. In a fixed mindset, people focus on limiting you and often feel helpless when needing to change a situation. Criticism is seen as a personal attack, and they rarely leave their comfort zone. Most important, though, is the fixed mindset that thinks putting effort into something is a waste, and they rarely seek to learn new things.

I would be harder on this mindset, but I have practiced it for large parts of my life in many areas. We worry more about appearances than what would make us happier, better, or contribute significantly to the world. Beginning to recognize the fixed mindset in me has allowed me to step beyond it and look for ways to become better. Fear is behind the fixed mindset of not being accepted as who we are. Fear of not being perfect. Fear of experiencing failure. That is what happens when we let the results define our lives and provide our value. The narrow, limiting view of the fixed mindset, driven by fear, is how many live their lives. I hope to leave doubt far behind me.

Step Into Your Growth Mindset

If you look at your life, the moments when you felt the best about yourself and your accomplishments probably came from practicing the growth mindset. We welcome challenges in this frame of mind because we see their ability to help us become better and wiser and contribute more. We embrace change as an inevitable part of life. Continually seek opportunities to build. The thought is that anything is possible with the right plan, consistent practice, and maximum effort. Growth mindset, people, see learning and constructive criticism as something to be desired and sought out. New things are pleasant, and they love exploring them.

There is a lesson that will lead to your ultimate success in every failure if you take the time to learn about it. Rather than being afraid of not knowing, these people see challenges as an excellent opportunity to become better at whatever they are diving into. In a typical school, the growth mindset is not encouraged or recognized. Becoming better or growing should be life’s number one goal because growth brings purpose, fun, and interest and allows the best version of yourself to rise to the surface.

Building the Growth Mindset

Look at yourself and how you approach new things. Are you afraid to fail? Do you worry so much about what others think you limit yourself, give a half-hearted effort, or see failing as the worst thing possible? If you do, you are operating from a fixed mindset. We all tend to have a limited and growth-oriented mindset, depending on what area of life we live in. In some ways, we might be fearless and growth-oriented, and in others, we can be fearful and operating c

“Amid winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says, no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within, there’s something stronger- something better, pushing right back.”

“Every mistake you make is progress toward accomplishment.”

 

22

Accept Things as They Are

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Accept- believe or recognize (an opinion, explanation, etc.) as valid or correct.

acceptOne of the problems with having a creative and working mind is that it can create many different scenarios and situations to distract us from solving problems. Or, in the worst cases, it stops us from recognizing something like a problem at all.

Learning to accept things as they are at the beginning of all types of good stuff, like positive change, growth, and improvement.  The simple fact that we can’t change anything until we accept it provides a solid foundation for all good things.  Honestly, recognize and take the situation you are in and the person you are.  Raise your consciousness today by becoming aware of what it is and accepting it in your thoughts, words, and actions.   (Video Today)

Accept it, Change it, or Leave it.

One of the great lessons from Eckhart Tolle in the Power of now is that you need to honestly look at where you are and who you are and make a simple

accept
From Eckhart Tolle and The Power of Now

decision.  Accept it, change it, or leave it.  Those are your only three options.  It all begins with being able to evaluate where you are honestly.  Don’t waste your time complaining. That will only build a victim mentality and take all of your Power. Think when you are complaining about the weather, your spouse, your loneliness, your financial situation, or any other aspect of your life.  When you complain, you become a victim, and victims are weak, passive, and at the mercy of the complaints in their lives. You give away all your Power.

So accept what you are not happy with as a part of living life. Or you can choose to change that thing and make it into something more acceptable. Acceptance can happen in a relationship, a job, where you live, or any other matter. Of course, leaving the situation is the third choice and the most difficult. People look at going as if they have failed, which is not true. Why stay in a condition that is no longer a positive experience for you? Leaving for a new start is the beginning of the most important stories.  Be happy with the lessons learned, but if you can’t change things to become acceptable or accept them the way they are, what choice do you have? Leave it and move on.

Accept and Grow

Accepting our limits can be difficult because it seems like an ending, but that is the opposite of the truth.  When you look at your limits and honestly Acceptunderstand what they mean, you can find a way around them.  This makes them just what they are, an obstacle rather than a restriction.  That is the path of growth for all of us.

Many people are pleased with their current situation and have no desire to change. But often, there is a desire inside us that yearns for more. That calling will be recognized by the person feeling it eventually. Accept the call for more, for better, and for growth. You tell yourself to try for more, to give it a shot. Accept that you are not where you need to end up, and growth will happen before you know it.  Limits are just perceptions of our abilities.  We can’t change anything until we choose to accept it.

Accept Yourself

For many people, the most challenging thing to accept is ourselves. We see so many messages from society about who we should be and what we should have and should accomplish that we don’t feel we measure up.  The truth is that nobody measures up to these composite images thrust upon us by the collective media/corporate society. All acceptmessages have a purpose, and the value in you not accepting yourself is that you will pay to find something that will make you more acceptable to the herd mentality.  Change your complexion, financial situation, or a pile of possessions in your home, and you will be happier.

That message is a lie. You have a unique personality and a list of talents, and they make you a one-of-a-kind person. Since we all have our skills, we are all in the same boat.  Accept who you are, what you like, who you love, where you want to live, what you can buy, where you want to go, what you want to do, or any other thing you can imagine.  Not doing so will have you chasing someone else’s dream, not yours. You don’t have to like something to accept it.  Once you buy something, you can change it. A change will never come until you receive a situation as it is.

The challenge is to spend some time today being conscious of your situation and making an effort to accept it.  Again, that doesn’t mean you have to like it or stay in that situation, but to take that something is what it is. To do anything else seems like the definition of insanity.  It starts with a rise in consciousness of thoughts, words, and actions that you take today.

“Accept yourself, love yourself.” ~Chanel Iman

“Too often in life, something happens, and we blame other people for us not being happy or satisfied or fulfilled. So the point is, we all have choices, and we choose to accept people or situations or not to accept situations.”~ Tom Brady

“Accept who you are and your uniqueness. Define your choices and beliefs.” 
― Lailah Gifty Akita

“The truth, no matter how hard it is to bear, must be accepted and confronted head-on because it is real. Businesses and people who accept truth soar.” ― Germany Kent

 

https://youtu.be/dzy1O3NOE4s

Articles on Acceptance 

Live Your Legend

If you want to be happy accept life as it is 

How do accept you, your life, and your reality

How Acceptance can Crack Open Your Life

The Power of Acceptance 

 

 

22

The Room For Improvement

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self improvement “We are either getting better, or we are getting worse. Nobody stays the same.” The truth in this statement permeates all aspects of our lives. In all that you do, you are becoming more active or less vital. What you pursue counts, and how self-improvement enters your life is a simple matter of personal choice.   My three main areas of focus are the physical, mental, and spiritual parts of me. My goal each day is to become at least 0.001% better than I was yesterday. If I can keep growing and becoming a better person, my contribution to the world will build, and my experience will be much more significant. Failure is not to be me, being kind, considerate, caring, and unselfish.

Physical Self Improvement

Improving the material is not tricky. Even though in many ways, I will never be the athlete or as self improvementathletic as I was in my youth, I am better physically in some aspects today than I have ever been before. If you spend time exercising and you are just a little bit stronger or have just a little bit more stamina, then you are on your way to finding self-improvement for that day. I am better today than yesterday, and I can’t do much better than that.

Of course, the other aspects of your physical health can’t be ignored either. Eating a healthy diet and getting the right amount of sleep can also contribute to your improvement each day in the physical area. Be conscious of what you are doing, and you will see growth comes easily. A better body leads to a better mind, thoughts, energy, and mood. You don’t have to run a marathon to be .001% better than you were yesterday. Get started doing something; your life will change positively. We only get one body for this life; take care of it and treat it with the love it deserves. It will love you back. The body is also the conduit between the mental and the spiritual realm of your life.

Grow Mentally for Self Improvement

It seems we often forget that our mind is a learning machine, and just because our organized self improvementeducation is over, the learning should never end. You can improve your brain in several ways. Any method that gives you new information and causes the synapses in your brain to fire in a new direction will be positive for you. Once your mind expands, it will not shrink again. People are capable of developing new thought patterns throughout life.

One of my favorite methods is reading and learning about new ideas and philosophies. This can also come from conversations with people with different beliefs and lifestyles. Our differences can be a real education; the less we judge, the more we listen, and the better it is for your mind and mental state. Anything rigid and not pliable will eventually break under enough pressure when the flexible bends and survives. Our thoughts are like that. Do something that makes you think daily, and you will self-improvement mentally.

Remembering that our minds are just tools to create thoughts, solve problems, and focus is also essential. Our thoughts are not who we are, and our intention is not our identity. If you look closely, you will see that your mind often lies to you and pushes you in the wrong direction. It is best at these times to focus on your heart and see where it takes you.

 My Spiritual Self Improvement

When it comes to your relationship with God or a higher power, that is your spirituality. We all have a philosophy of what this life is about, why we are here, and the purpose of this whole game. To grow spiritually can be self improvementthrough religion, but I don’t look at that area. My thoughts and relationship with God are personal and mine alone. I do not want or need someone else to dictate what is right and wrong with that. Others may be different, and that is their choice. You are moving along the spiritual path each time you practice positive things. Kindness, acceptance, understanding, giving, forgiveness, or caring are always to walk along the spiritual way. Practice any of these from your heart, and your spirituality will increase.

Another way to improve in this realm is to do something creative. It doesn’t matter what you are creating; if it comes from your heart, it will enhance your spirituality. Do something creative that takes your concentration, and you will find that time drifts by without you even knowing it. An hour and a minute seem the same. Get in this zone while painting a picture, writing, planning something, building something, working on a car, knitting, or whatever creative thing you do, and your spirituality will grow. Meditate, pray, visit nature, whatever allows you a connection to a higher power or within yourself.

In the end, these are my thoughts on the subject because I want to improve and discover my capacity. Where are my limits, and what barriers can I cross? I know that to do my best, I must be my best, and that is the most we can do for self-improvement.

 

22

The Voices in Your Head

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egoKeep an eye on your ego. What can you do right now that is going to change your life?

That is a question that more and more people ask because they look at their lives and feel that it lacks in some way. At this point, people start to look at the possibilities, and almost as quickly as they think of something they would like to do, there is a competing voice explaining why it is a bad idea. Give it a try, find that great idea, project, or sure money-making thing, and then wait a few minutes. The voice of your ego will speak up to maintain the safe status quo.

It is no wonder we are often confused and discouraged. Learning to listen to your cheerful voice and ignore your ego’s negative chiming is one of the most valuable life skills that a person can develop.

Our Negative Voice or Ego

The negative voice in our head has had a lot of practice letting us know egowhat is possible and, more often than not, what is impossible. This is the voice of our ego based on the conditioning of life. From society, from our parents, teachers, peers, media, and anyone else we have listened to since we came into this world. It has become a constant companion to stop you from doing something “dangerous” or feeling the pain of failure. Or, more often than not, it is to allow you to fit in.

This egoic voice has been a part of our lives that we don’t even notice anymore. We accept the limits as “common sense” or “a fact” when there is nothing logical or factual about limiting who we are. Ask yourself, why not?

Positive Voice Cancels Ego

A cheerful voice in all of us knows what we want to try. It creative voicealways has and has been in constant competition with the voice of the ego. What do you dream about? Travel, a new career, a great relationship, and having millions of dollars are prevalent dreams, but think of your goals and listen to the limiting thoughts that follow.

Travel, “I can’t possibly get away, and I have obligations. Maybe next year.”

Relationships, “Nobody gets me. All of the good ones are taken. They are all crazy.” These limiting beliefs we choose to listen to will bring precisely what we have always experienced into our lives. At best, in a bad relationship or, at worst, alone.

Suppose you want something in your life. Then you must try to do it and learn to ignore the persistently negative voice of the ego in your head. You are a creative person with good ideas, and attempting to implement them will bring something positive into your life. Why not take a risk? Why not follow your dream? It is only through the effort of trying your goals have any chance of happening. Not trying because of fear, doubt, or negative thinking is the coward’s way out. Don’t go out that way in life.

You Can Do Anything

The bottom line is that you can do anything you want, and the chase dreamschoice is yours to follow the creative voice inside you, do what you feel you should, and ignore the negative limiting beliefs of ego that our lives have saddled us with.

We are in control of our experience in life, and that comes from the daily choices we make to be our dream, try what our creativity calls us to do, or retreat into the safety of our mediocre existence. We have this choice each day a thousand times. The next time you have an idea, your negative voice starts to tell you why it is unreasonable, and a positive could never happen. Ignore that voice of ego and focus on the thought of, “Why not!”

 

22

Some Things that Aren’t True

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We all have an ego, which feeds us information about ourselves and life that isn’t true.

Which defines you.

Most thoughts the Ego creates stem from fear and are designed to keep you from making ANY changes. It just wants you to stay in the known. But the problem is that most of your greatness and dreams lie in the unknown, which can be scary. The Ego is your false self, a voice in your head telling you things to limit you.

This little writing is about some daily popular lies your Ego creates for you. If you do nothing else, look at your thoughts objectively and see if they are in your best interest. If they are causing you to suffer, harm yourself, and not allowing you to step into the best possible version of yourself, then make a change. Of course, like all things, YOU are the one who needs to make the decision.

Lie # 1 You are what you own.

Your are not what you own
You are much more than this……

Many of us buy into this one. Our Ego equates accumulating things with being critical, safe, successful, and happy. Yet, even though this thought is in our heads, experience teaches everyone that the enormous pile of material goods will not make you a good person. Once a purchase is made, there is a momentary feeling of gratification followed by a search for the next thrill of possession. If only it were this simple. Buy something and be a better person. The funny thing is that what you own will never make you happy.

Our society is so consumer-oriented, and we are all conditioned to consume from birth. Propaganda teaches what things you need to be popular, influential, or successful. If a person feels a lack, we are introduced to fill it with popular clothing or highly processed foods loaded with sugar. All of that is not going to make you any closer to happiness. You are what you own is a lie that we all believe, but it is still a lie. In the end, when you are taking your last breath in this drama called life, you will not be thinking about the things you own. You will wish for the people who mattered to you—those you loved and loved you back, even for a short time. The lies of the Ego push love to the background with a need to make you safe. What you own doesn’t create character, love, enjoyment, or happiness. Find your true self.

Lie # 2 You are what you do for a living.

In American society, this is particularly true. When you

You are not your job
Are you happy?

Meet someone, and one of the first questions asked is, what do you do for a living? Why? We can glean their success, value, and personal development by the profession one decides to pursue. This is a lie, as well. What someone does for work does not define their character, caring, kindness, and ability to care about others. This is your Ego, looking to measure yourself against someone else and making yourself feel better about your life, choices, and prospects. It has no merit at all as to your value and contributions as a person. A profession is what you do to make money, not who you are.

This is your Ego, looking to measure yourself against someone else and making yourself feel better about your life, choices, and prospects. It has no merit at all as to your value and contributions as a person. A profession is what you do to make money, not who you are. A better question to ask a person you just met is, “What excites you right now?”  That passion is a more realistic indicator of what a person is all about.

What you choose to do to make money is not a vote of confidence or an indictment of your ability; it is a reflection of current circumstances. The e will change but will still have little to do with your value, and your actions will show this.

Lie # 3: What others think of you defines you.

One of the most harmful lies your Ego tells you. It  s a simple fact that some people are going to love you,

Prison of what others think
Who wants to live in prison?

Some are going not to like you so much. Most of the reasons for this have nothing to do with you but more with that person’s biases and experiences. When someone notices something about another that bothers them, it reflects something they don’t like about themselves.

Often, I have created imaginary thoughts in others’ minds, in which I make explicit assumptions about their thoughts of me with absolutely no factual evidence. To give validity to these thoughts (which don’t exist) is insane.  So  thoughts that help me – 1. What someone else thinks of me is none of my business. 2. Ego is not who you are ev r form assumptions about another’s thoughts. 3. if someone thinks something negative about you, it doesn’t make it accurate.

One of the most challenging lessons here is not caring about what others think about you. Your thoughts and feelings about what you do should be necessary.

The bottom line is that you have control over the thoughts that you entertain and add validity to in your life. Cho sing to add value to negative thoughts about yourself is a self-defeating activity that can be changed at any moment.  You are not your possessions, your job, or what others think of you……….That begs the question, “Who are you then?”  Looking for this answer is the first step to expanding consciousness, a deeper understanding of life, and a feeling of fulfillment.

22

Cancel Your Complaining

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What do you do when things don’t go your way or life puts something in your less pleasant path? Often, the most straightforward approach is to resort to the ancient verbal exercise of complaining. We complain about the weather, our boss, our coworkers, our significant others, our family, our clothes, the time of year, or anything else I am sure you can think of. There is a feeling of expression that comes from this activity, and of course, misery does love company, but it is one of the unhealthiest things you can do. It spreads negativity and makes your mood sour and your life less enjoyable—time to stop complaining. You are choosing to be unhappy and, worse, to make everyone else who has to deal with you sad. Rather than complaint, appreciate.

It is the Victim Mentality

When you complain about something, you have chosen to adopt a victim’s mentality. You are no longer in charge of your thoughts, emotions, words, or actions. They are now being controlled by whatever you are complaining about. To complain about things you can’t control, like the weather, is an exercise in futility. All your complaints will make you feel bad, and your poison will spread to others around you. You will become a force of negativity and dread that people in their right mind should avoid. But those who are of a similar mentality will flock to it. Complain about something at work or home, and you are not in control. Your complaints control you, and the result will not be positive or pretty.

But you can stop being the victim as soon as you stop complaining about things. You are working from your power when you speak out for what you want or desire. All situations can be changed for the positive when you find your passion and express constructively what is bothering you and solve it. The weather is what it is. Complaining about things you can’t control is futile. But to speak to someone who is hurting you or doing something that irritates you is powerful. Face a problem with your action and your words.

Three Choices

You have three choices to make in all situations in life. Rather than spend your valuable time complaining about things that hurt or diminish your life, confront them and make one of three choices. The first choice is to change the situation. This can be done through conversation and honest expression of how something makes you feel. We often hide from our emotions because we fear them make us look weak. They don’t and tell us how we think about things now. Expressing them appropriately to lead to a change in a situation is robust and healthy. Changing is inevitable and constant; guiding this process forward to improve your life is a good thing.

The second choice is to accept things as they are. You are not willing to institute changes now, and if you are not going to do anything constructive, rather than spending your energy complaining, you should accept things the way they are for the moment. It is a better fate than to be the victim of something. Perhaps they aren’t where you want them but as you decide what you want, accept the way things are. As long as you are physically and psychologically safe, get what is, move on, and be happy about your life. When it comes to weather, there is little choice but to take it as it is.

The third choice is difficult as well. Rather than complain about things and be a victim, leave the situation. Just put it behind you and no longer participate in it anymore. This works for all things, relationships, jobs, hobbies, friendships, or anything else you can think of. What are you waiting for if there is nothing but complaining and you are not the least happy? Life is too short to be spent in unhappy circumstances, which isn’t good for you or anyone else.

Change it, accept it as it is or leave it. Never complain. 

“Stay away from ‘still’ people. Still broke, complaining, still hating, and still nowhere.” Anonymous

 “Complaining never makes anything better.” Anonymous

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” Maya Angelou

 “Go 24 hours without complaining. (Not even once). Then watch how your life starts changing.” Anonymous

22

A Life Is Defined By Action

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wd oooHow many great ideas are destroyed before they have a chance to take root? How many are discarded by the neglect of time? Due to fear of failure or a lack of self-confidence? The time to wait is over, and the time for action is here. Taking action is THE ingredient that turns the perfect combination of raw materials into a masterpiece. Life is defined by the actions one takes or, in many cases, the inaction.

I wanted to share a few things I have learned about grasping your life by the throat through action. None of them are complicated to do, but they can be daunting, and I continually have to remind myself about these things.

Forget your Fears

We are all afraid at some point. Fear has served its purpose in your life to help keep you safe in a wild world, but it can become too much for people to function at the level of their highest capabilities. What is there to be afraid of? Action will defeat fear. Always!

inactionIf you stretch yourself, reaching for something you want, what is the worst thing? Fear will stop you from getting because you may be hurt, but that cocoon you exist in has become a cage, and it is time to let that go. Action will destroy fear.

Ignore the negative voices of others and even your mind. When someone behaves without fear, it can make people uncomfortable because their worries are displayed in comparison. Encourage the negative to seek positive actions. Actions will defeat fear.

Recognize your fear, thank it for caring and then do what you should. Move forward with all of the drive and ambition that you have in your heart. You are a bright light that doesn’t need to be hidden anymore. It is your time to shine through the dim fog of fear. Action will destroy fear.

Focus on Your Voice

There is a voice guiding our actions in each of us, and it performs this duty perfectly and for our greater good. Unfortunately, many of us lack a practical aptitude for hearing this voice, much less following it.

The voice is not in your mind but in your heart, and it can only be heard when you quiet your mind and listen. This is the guide that can tell you what you need to know and help guide your steps toward your dreams. To quiet the reason is a simple breathing practice, focusing on your breath and not paying attention to the endless stream of thoughts in your mind. 99% of these are not essential or relevant.

If you have a fail, it is this voice that will tell you to keep on going. Regardless of what others or your mind think, your greatness will be revealed when listening to this voice. Quiet your mind and focus on your voice. It is never wrong and will guide you into the action and places you need to go. You have to have faith and follow what it tells you. This is admittedly difficult to do, but what have you got to lose? A life of comfortable mediocrity?

Be Conscious of Your Vibration

Quantum physics has proven that each object globally projects a measurable vibration based on its physical makeup. You and I are no different, with the minor exception that human being seems to be able to adjust their vibration by changing how they perceive the world. Your thoughts are paramount to this. You can’t control all of your thoughts because they come pretty rapidly sometimes. Yet we have total control over the views we pay attention to and, of course, our reaction to those thoughts. 

In a nutshell, focus on the thoughts that come from love, such as kindness, joy, peace, hope, benevolence, empathy, truth, faith, and compassion. They provide a higher vibration and power.   Give no attention to thoughts like envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, resentment, guilt, inferiority, lies, superiority, or ego, which are all thoughts of fear. These lower vibrations will thwart your plans and make your life less enjoyable.

Positive thoughts are the motivation for our best actions. Our actions will define us. Many believe that your vibration will determine what type of life you will experience. Be conscious of which thoughts you focus on, and they will evaluate the experiences that come into your life. The quality of people you meet and the success you ultimately enjoy through your experience.

Kick  It Now

All of this is to urge you to go for it. If you have a mountain in front of you, climb it! Start swimming if there is an ocean between you and what you want. Now is your time.

All people are born with extraordinary abilities, and how much of those the world will see is determined by your conscious decisions to take action. If you want to lose weight, start doing something to lose weight!

If you want to be successful, start doing what you can to achieve your goals. There is absolutely nothing between you and your dreams than a lack of action. 

Life

Seeking Positive Things

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The things I seek are integrity, energy, and intelligence.

There are specific characteristics universally desired by people looking to create success in their life. When falling short of your goals and things are out of balance, look at yourself, and analyze where these three simple factors lie. Are they a high priority? Do they exist in your thoughts at all? If not, it is time to make sure you start incorporating them into your daily thoughts and actions. Also, look for these things in others you want to work with. You will not go wrong if you invest in these things. They are not the only factors you should look for in potential energy investments; they are an excellent place to start.

What You Do When Nobody is Watching

Integrity is a practice that can fade in and out of your existence and practice if you are not focused on looking for it. Good people will let things slide bit by bit because they start to forget about the power of having integrity in your life. What you always do matters, even if nobody else is paying attention. You create energy with every thought and every action, and that energy is attached to you. This is true of everybody in every moment of every single day.

Therefore, when you evaluate a situation, invest your time and effort into starting with the amount of integrity the person shows in their life. Do they let things slide when nobody is watching, or are they consistently stepping up with their actions? You can count on these people in all situations and the ones you want to surround yourself with. Find those with integrity, invest time with them, and avoid those who lack it. All of the people you choose to spend your time with are representative of you. Seek integrity.

How a Person Moves Through Life

The second factor to look for is energy. All people can produce and act energetically. Are they constantly taking sick days at work? Are they doing things in their lives to the best of their knowledge, or are they sliding by? You can give two people the same task, and the one with energy will produce find it easy to

What kind of energy do you bring to the things you do?

Accomplish, even if challenges arrive. The person with low energy will drift through the task. If all goes well, it may still turn out great, but if you face any challenges, it may take much longer or never get done at all.

Energy is subjective, but you will know it when you see it. People with power get things done more accessible and, of course, are much better to work with. They are the ones you want to invest your time with. All items are done to accomplish the goal, not only accomplishing what is in their best interest. Lack of sleep is a small challenge in my personal life, and all tasks are challenging. These are people to be avoided because they will make your life difficult and not provide a positive return on your investment. Find high-energy people and work with them.

Understanding Best Ways To Do Things

Intelligence is a skill that can be built and developed. Intelligence is not how well you learned in school or the grades you received. That might be a form of intellect but not the one you look for exclusively when looking for situations and people to invest in. It is the ability to understand the complexities of a task and get the job done most efficiently. You sometimes have to encourage this type of in

Being efficient is a skill it stems from intelligence. Look for the people striving to do things better, even if that is different from what you do now. Change in any form makes people uncomfortable because others may not work. But change is inevitable and constant, and it calls on the intelligence in all of us to strive to make things more efficient and produce more value in our efforts. There is a fine line between positive change and things that waste time.

These three things, integrity, positive energy, and common sense intelligence, are things to seek in people and situations you want to invest in. Also, keep in mind that you should look for ways to develop these things inside yourself. Find your suitable investments and become an excellent investment for everything you are involved in. Success is something we give ourselves the best chance to create in life.

“Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling others the truth.” –  Spencer Johnson.

“It’s a funny thing about life; once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.”― Germany Kent.

  “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” –  Stephen Hawking.

 

22

Time To Rise

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Are You Ready To Rise?

For a long time, I believed that if you created a graph of the activity and thought a person experienced in their life, it would inevitably have a wide variety of points. There would be big moments where you shared your best, and of course, the predictable low moments where tragedy and disappointment visited a life. Between the highs and lows are the steady moments of life that make up most of our experiences. We can’t fear the low moments because they lead to the most significant personal growth. I can look at my life and plot the points of success, failure, satisfaction, fun, contentment, anger, hatred, and love. My experience provides a virtual rise and fall of personal accomplishment and fear. But where they fall on my chart is based on my own beliefs. The events of my life generally have neutral except for the value I assigned to them. I decided what was “good” and what was “bad” and reacted as such. Was I lost or just plain wrong? Looking at the events of falling in love, graduating from college, getting that job, and accomplishing that goal, along with everything else that I viewed as a positive, represented positive growth. While their corresponding low points represent every failure, loss of love, job change, unfulfilled dream, and damage suffered the opportunities I have had for growth. I thought you could never have a high without a low. Was I right, or can we all rise at this moment and become the best version of ourselves today?

I was Wrong

As I look at my life, I realize that I have been plotting things all wrong.     Each of my experiences is not meant to be judged as good or bad and then charted to riaing upsignify my advancement toward happiness. Each experience was given to me to help me learn a lesson that I needed to know. Either I will master the task and move forward to accept new teaching.   Or perhaps if the experience isn’t acquired, the lesson will continually be presented until I finally get a clue and learn what I need to know.

That realization is powerful, although I don’t like to have “bad” things happen to me because that experience is not great fun at the moment. The momentum and direction a challenging experience gives you can be the same push you need to become something you always dreamed you could be.

So charting your life through highs and lows is merely adding our perceptions of things into your experience. Nothing is inherently good or bad unless we believe them to be so. A more accurate chart would be a straight line that continually moves upward to a fuller development as a human being.

Finding your Gift

I believe that we are all born with a gift that is unique to us, and that gift is the the-meaning-of-life-is-to-find-your-gift-pablo-picassothing that makes us happy. Often throughout life, that gift is forgotten due to the conditioning that society, our peers, families, and the educational system provide us with incomplete information designed to make us forget who we are.

People are encouraged to fit in and excel in the acceptance of someone else’s ideas. Our educational system gives out Kudos for being a properly trained individual. It seems like avoidance of creative thinking is all that concerns most people. Individuals become docile, accepting sheep who devour all of the provided fodder, and falling in line will bring reward. Think outside the expectations, and you will have a significant problem.

To find the unique gift, you must overcome this conditioning and realize that you are a great human soul with unlimited potential. A fact that is not debatable, and what is up for discussion, is how you use that gift.

Rising

So as you move through life and experiences come your way, remember that each moment comes to help you overcome the narrow-minded conditioning of life and remind you what your natural talent is.

You are learning not to label these experiences as either good or bad and accept them as things happening right now. Some lessons are inherently more pleasant than others, but all experiences have value. It is often difficult to see the value of the forest when you are lost amongst the trees.

Remember that no matter what stage of your life you are in, the graph does not fluctuate wildly, up and down, depending on experiences. That would give you seasickness or whiplash. Your chart always moves in a continually upward direction, moving you closer to your true self and unique talent.   It may level off as you stop searching or get lost, but it will never go down, just as your chronological age will never go backward. Your identity will continually climb.

When you are ready to recognize your talent, you will see that you have been and continually are rising all the time.

“You decide how high you rise in life. Nobody can stop you but you.”

“Never let the fear of falling stop you from rising to your highest potential. Fear is just a thought.” 

“Falling is a part of life; we all fall. It’s getting up every time that makes you a legend.”

“In all situations, you dictate the meaning for you. You decide if it builds you or breaks you. No person can ask for more power than that.”