All posts by Jonathan Hilton

21

Getting Better

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Are you getting better or worse?

ImproveIn every moment of your existence, you are getting better, or you are getting worse.  Rarely does an individual linger on the same level? Your abilities, talents, and focus fluctuate like the stock market. The center of your consciousness will determine the determining factor of which way your stock is going. The things you place your thoughts, words, and actions on and about will assess your ability to achieve and value those things you accomplish. Look at where you are and what you are doing and ask the simple question: Is this making me better or worse?

Your Mind is Yours

When it comes to your thoughts, nobody controls them except for you. However, you have to be aware of what you are thinking and why you are thinking. We are all creatures of input. From the time we are born, we are looking for information that will allow us to thrive and enjoy life.  Sometimes we get off track and let our thoughts drift to a focus on things improvethat do not make us better or honor us at all.  It is a simple list of the ideas that make a person better, and they are the thoughts that come from love. Gratitude, kindness, caring, acceptance, understanding, and the like will help you improve both your experience and the experience of those you interact with.

The thoughts to be avoided are all based on fear.  Gossip, judgment, hate, anger, selfishness, greed, and all of these types of ideas take you down the path of a weaker mind.  Your mind belongs to you, and what thoughts you choose to entertain is your decision alone. Taking responsibility for this is one of the first steps for mental improvement. Do not let the media, a teacher, a parent, a friend, or an institution make your choices of thought for you, or not improving will be the least of your worries. Be conscious of your options every moment, and you will be able to progress steadily to enjoying life more, and you will be able to help others as well. You can improve by being conscious about your thoughts every moment of every day.

You Only Have One Body

When we come into this life, we receive a body to go through this ride, and it seems that we are intent on abusing it until the day we die. How many people are killing themselves slowly with addictions, which also limit the improveenjoyment of life?  Smoking, drinking, abusing drugs, problems around food, and unrealistic body image problems are all ways we consciously or unconsciously need to improve.

Your body is a gift that, when you’re young, you take for granted. It does incredible things in movement, jumping, throwing, and running.  Yet, we seem intent on diminishing these skills from the start.  All addictions begin with a choice that something in you missing and can only fill it by adding something to us because we feel we are just not good enough.  Here is a secret that most people never hear. YOU are good enough. You are great, and no matter where you are today, you can improve and be a little bit better tomorrow.

If you have weight issues, do something to improve. Exercise, eat more consciously, or both. It is not easy, but anyone can do it. There are thousands of opportunities for life improvement, and they will only end the day you die.  Make the most of your opportunities to improve your body and your physical experience of life. Be conscious of your thoughts, words, and actions in all of your physical activities.  Are you getting better or getting worse?  It can seem like a mountain to climb, but you can’t undo 30 years of poor choices in an afternoon, it takes a continual focus, and that can happen. Improve your physical self today. Take a small step on your journey to enjoying life more.

We are All Connected

What is spirituality? I define it as how we look at life and what it means to have this human experience. Why are we here? There are many people much smarter than me who have come up with great answers for this. Unfortunately, each of us has to answer this question on our own. Improving your spirituality a matter of answering this question for yourself improveevery day.  How do your thoughts, words, and actions help others on their path? Or do you prohibit the development of others?  Your actions define the energy that you put into the world.

If you don’t believe it, look at your own experiences. If you spend time with someone who holds a negative view of the world and is always complaining, that negative charge can be felt and even transferred into your life. A person can do the same with a positive outlook. Their brighter outlook transfers into the lives of those they touch.  What type of energy are you giving to the world? I think that at its core, that is what spirituality boils down to in your life.  How you look at the world and your place in it.  Are other people out to hurt you or help you? Are you here to hurt others or help them.

Your conscious thoughts, words, and actions determine if you are getting better or getting worse in this area.  Choose to improve, and the world will improve as well.

Today you have a choice to improve and get better in all phases of your life or not. Nobody can control that choice unless you allow it, and in the end, when your life is slipping away, you will be the only one responsible for what you have done. Did you try to improve or allow other influences to determine what you did mentally, physically, and spiritually?

When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too. ~ Paulo Coelho

21

The Past

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udestiny historyrl So much of our lives revolve around the stories we tell. Not only the ones we tell others about our past but, more importantly, the stories we tell ourselves about the past. These stories about our perception of our history tend to color and temper our expectations for ourselves today.  What is the value of this? It is time to let go of history and move forward.

Faulty at Best

One of the things that I am sure of is that the history we remember and the stories we tell are not very accurate and controlled by the beliefs we choose to entertain. Memory is not a very trustworthy tool to use when looking at the past.  When five people witness an accident or another event, the stories will only have a base of consistency when interviewed separately. That is because we all have biases and beliefs that influence how we interpret the events in our lives. Accept that is true, and you can move forward without being attached to the results of stories from the past. Your memory is faulty, and you can’t trust that you remember things accurately at all. So living your life based on these lessons is faulty as well. Let go of history and move forward.

It Limits Today

Another reason to move past the stories that you let define you is that they will limit you. Focusing on the stories of the past that make up your character and experience establishes your identity. Who knows what new information and experience will do to change who you are and what you believe. Clinging to the past as an identifier for who you are will limit who you might become. It is like wearing a costume that you can’t get out of. Look at it, learn from it and discard it. There are no reasons to accept limits in your life.

You Can’t Change It

change the pastOne fact that is irrefutable is that no matter what has happened in the past, there is no way to change it. No matter what has happened, good or bad, it is what it is, and changing it is not an option. Many people spend their lives reliving old positive memories and glory days to remind themselves that they felt good about themselves at one point.  Or they spend a lot of time reliving mistakes and reminding themselves of the problems they caused themselves, like a badge of explanation for the problems faced today. Neither of these options is healthy or allows you to move forward. Your past can’t be changed, altered, or adjusted in any way. To think otherwise is a delusion. Learn from it and put it away, understanding that the only moment that matters is the one that you are in right now.

Our personal history can be an interesting thing to visit. There are people we met who we learned from, either good or bad. Some events affected the way we view life.  Some have allowed me to see the potential in all situations. Others make me wonder about the honesty of people. Regardless of the value, all of the past needs to be put away, so there is room for new growth experiences coming to you at this moment and in all the moments of the years to come.  One’s vision can only be clear without the shaded lens of the past.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa_JM287Lhk

21

Creating Outcomes

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Every day we are inundated with all sorts of experiences, some we see as positive. Others cause us pain. And still, more is generally neutral in their appeal, but most of us don’t have a plan to deal with the things we face consciously in a manner that makes us the force behind the outcomes of our lives. Most of the time, we react through a series of subconscious thoughts and emotions which arise automatically to any stimulus around us.  This moment is where we have a chance to take the controls of our life and steer it where we want to go.  Just for one day, imagine you chose to react to everything in a manner that projected your best self to the world.  Here is a simple formula to focus on to build mindfulness of action.  Events + Response= Outcomes, E +R = O.

Events

From the first moment you open your eyes in the morning to the time you close them for sleep the next night, you are faced with a nonstop stream of events. You are waking up, breakfast. You are running late. Someone is in your way at the gym.  Traffic is bad. Someone calls out of your work and makes your job more challenging. A project is assigned at work. Someone is rude to you.  You drop your lunch on the floor.  Your coworker is very annoying. There is a nonstop stream of these things happening to everyone in the world all day long.

The thing about events is that we have very little control over them.  They can be brought on by others’ actions, nature, or God, but we are generally going to face a lot of things in a day that we didn’t create or ask for in any direct way.  That is what makes the challenge. Many of the events we face are designed to bring a challenge into our lives, and in meeting that challenge, there is the possibility for growth.  Since growth is the purpose of life, learning to embrace all events will lead to the most favorable outcomes. We have little control over events, and they are going to happen whether we like them or not.

Response

This is the area where you have the opportunity to make all of the choices.  All of our responses are 100% in our control.  No matter what happens to you, nobody but you can decide how you respond. Drop your lunch on the floor, and you decide if you let it ruin your day or if you see it as an opportunity to eat something else. Or you can be grateful that you have something else to eat.  Someone cuts you off in traffic, or a loved one leaves a mess behind on their way out the door. You decide if anger or something else is the right way to respond to that situation.  Since you control your responses, always that means you are responsible for every aspect of your life.

Think about it, even if you are making subconscious choices about your responses, based on beliefs you hold from your upbringing and experience, you are responsible. Therefore you can create anything you want to. Look for the good in a challenge, see what it can bring to you that may not have been there before.  What growth came to you because of the events you faced? There is always something you gain and some way you grow, and development is the purpose of life.  You are responsible for your story, your reactions, and, therefore, the value of your life and all of the outcomes you experience.

Outcomes

Since you can react any way you can, then creating the life you want to have is achievable to everyone. We can choose to quit if things are too demanding. We have the talent to persevere and find a positive result even if we fail at first.  Choosing to learn lessons, apply them on the next attempt until we finally succeed is the recipe for success. In your job, your relationships, hobbies, and every aspect of your life will result from your reactions.

Challenges are going to come to everyone. When our reaction is to face them and learn what we need to know from them and become a better person in some aspect of our other alternative is to continue to get run over by the things we face in life. The simple choice of growth or stagnation of things. Right now, with no filter, our lives are a direct representation of how we have approached this little equation of life.

Take a moment today and evaluate how much you have let things out of your control, put you in a bad mood, or taken a pessimistic look at life.  Then try to spend an entire day deciding how to react to events positively. Some people will be incapable of seeing around their beliefs. It seems too daunting a task and too scary to let go of the things they cling to.  Life is a journey, and we may not always get to choose the transportation, but we still have the option to enjoy the view or not.

E+R=O

“It is our attitude at the beginning of a difficult task which, more than anything else, will affect its successful outcome.”  William James

“A positive attitude causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events, and outcomes. It is a catalyst, and it sparks extraordinary results.”- Wade Boggs.

“The POSITIVE THINKER sees the INVISIBLE, feels the INTANGIBLE, and achieves the IMPOSSIBLE.”- Winston Churchill.

21

Dancing

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Your Dance Card

Enjoyment and being happy are things that seem to be harder to find for many people as they get older. People live to survive from day to day, but there should be a deeper calling to participate in experiences that bring joy, happiness, and contentment. It seems many people are spending a whole lot of time becoming good at making fun activities, not that enjoyable at all. These folks have a genius for supplying the all-encompassing wet blanket to any event. Why is it that people are so good at looking for ways to do fun activities and not enjoy life at all?  Life is a dance, and we each have our way of moving around the floor.

What is Happening in Your Dance?

enjoy life 242Life can be a magical experience; we are moving along this path, seemingly for a purpose. The destinations are as varied as there are people in the world and dreams to follow. Most of the time, the problem is that our focus is on the destination, and we forget to pay attention to the occurrences we see along the way.

The challenges overcome, the friendships built, the people met, or the new things seen.  What have you experienced during your dance? Enjoy each step along the way.

Worry Lessens the Experience

It seems people are always worried about getting there or not getting there. Or what is in the way. Fear becomes the focus of life. No sunset or sunrise can be appreciated when a concern is on your mind. Each day there are beautiful things to see and experience. Nature makes sure of this, and it is up to us to take in the moments and enjoy them for what they are.

The beauty in each moment is there if you take the time to notice. It is hard to notice when your focus is on a destination in the future or the distance. Enjoy every step, see the movement and the joy that it brings. Dance with all your being.

Be In the Moment

enjoy life 132Living in the moment is the only way that this can happen. Not in the future, when the goal can be achieved and what life will be like tomorrow. Not living in the past and reliving moments gone by that you might or might not be remembering accurately. The past is over and can’t be changed. It is done.

The future is not guaranteed, and no goal or dream is written in stone. No matter what you do, it just might not happen. All we are guaranteed is this dance today, right now, so you had better learn to move with the music that is around you and enjoy every step. Enjoy today, today, and tomorrow, tomorrow, and you will have no regrets about the path you have traveled. 

“When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way.”  ~Wayne Dyer

 

21

Gratitude Attitude

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Another holiday is upon us, and we are still faced with the same old choices of how to respond.  On Thanksgiving, more than any other day of the year, it is a natural time to pause and consider all of the great things we have in our lives and, more importantly, all of the people who make your life go.  In today’s minutia, it is easy to pass by these things and people without so much as a mental mention. My challenge to myself and you is to find gratitude deep inside yourself and allow the thoughts to bring it to you to surface.  Here is my quick attempt to capture my own gratitude today.

See

How much around you do you notice? Really notice and appreciate it? From the way, it feels when cold snow hits your face to the old, worn-out way a tree looks in late November, with a few stray brown leaves clinging to branches as the chill wind blows them around in the dance of the inevitable. Most moments, we are wrapped up in our thoughts too much to notice much of anything outside of us.  That is a shame and a loss of possibility.  Start right now and put the thoughts of gratitude for the things all around you.  The sunshine on your face shows you all will be ok,  The rainfall and how it feels.  Too many people rush through the rain as if it is a major inconvenience, and in some ways, I know it is, but think of life, somewhere a person is lying on their death bed, wishing that just one more time they could feel that rain on their face. Please don’t take it for granted.

See the world, and appreciate it.  We all will face challenges, and people will disappoint us, and life will push us. Yet, it always gives you these tiny reminders of beauty to help us along the way.  If your troubles are too big to notice the small salve of nature and the miracles all around you, then you are too wrapped up in yourself. I have been there, and unwrapping your mind and letting the meaningless thoughts go is the first step. Be grateful for all the things in your life you never notice.

See Your Cast

Shakespeare claimed all the world is a stage, and we are merely players.  You are the star of your production of life, and you also choose who is cast into the leading roles in your life.  Too often, we allow people who don’t deserve to be even minor characters in your life, assume staring roles.  You determine who these stars are or are not.  Be grateful for the ones who deserve to be in your life. You will know

You have a choice to decide which roles you play and who is on the stage with you. Choose wisely, and your life depends on it.

Because they feel like sunshine. Not just once in a while, all the time. Warm, comforting, and accepting.  A wise person constantly evaluates their cast and makes sure to make changes in the production if warranted.

People are good actors, so sometimes it is hard to know who to keep and who to move on from, which creates all the good drama in your live production. Those who are not what they seem will eventually display their true selves.  Be careful of the attachments you build to the roles you play, they will change, and the people with you may change too.  Allow change to happen, create your cast wisely, allow those who care about you, and contribute to your best self to be in your life. You cast your troupe of players every day and have the opportunity for change. I have learned this lesson the hard way.

You Decide

You make all of the choices in your life, be grateful for that ability, and take full responsibility for those choices’ results.  Too often, we want the choices but only claim them as ours if it works out.  If things do not happen as we envision, we point the finger of blame at the situation, other people, the weather, God, or everything else but us.  We are the driving force behind our lives, be grateful for this gift because it means you really can do whatever you want.

Our thoughts are the power behind the momentum of our lives. A thought leads to an emotion that then will lead to action, and the results of those actions are what we call life.  You are the creator of thought and, therefore, of emotion and action. Choosing thoughts that will help you and not harm you is the first step in accomplishing anything. If you don’t like the results of a certain thought, then it is time to make a different choice and think some other way.  It is a great day to appreciate that skill in yourself. If you are not where you want to be right now, you have time to think of things you would like to experience and start moving toward it.

Next year you will have more to be thankful for and different people to think about, and probably new adventures to embark on.  Understand that you are the creator of it all and with great power comes great responsibility.   I wish you well on your journey.

21

Be a Thinker

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thinkOne of the things that all people can do is think. Some of us do a better job than others at this skill, but we all create thousands of thoughts each day. In all of this thought creation, it is fun to look at how the brain works. We can only hold one thought in our minds at a time. The tenor of that thought will affect us through a chemical reaction in the brain, so how you think can affect your health and quality of life.

Subconscious Workings When You Think

Most of us go through life thinking that we have control over our lives and the thinkthoughts we think, yet it is estimated that somewhere between 95-99% of our thoughts come from the subconscious mind and are automated responses to well-rehearsed stimuli. This is great in some ways because there are things we do like eating, walking, talking, etc., which would make life difficult if you had to relearn these tasks daily.  The problem comes when other ideas are accepted as true that limit your life abilities or your enjoyment of life.  Most of this programming is done to the subconscious brain during the first 12 years of life. That makes sense as our brains try to figure out the best way to manage our way through relationships, education, expectations, family, and all of the other things that life presents.

Think About Limiting Beliefs

thinkThe limiting beliefs become a part of our programming and lead to our minds telling us what is possible. When we set a bigger goal, our subconscious mind will come up with an attack of negative self-talk. Which makes the goal seem impossible for us to achieve.

We are indeed our own worse enemy in this case.  We need to learn to put our foot down and refuse to listen to this talk. It is time to start to trust your talent and give your goal the attention and action it will take to achieve it. Our thoughts are the true measure of what we can accomplish. Our lives are a direct reflection of the quality and depth of the things we think. Our ability to accomplish is only limited by the level of thinking we create. High or low, you are behind it all.

Feed your brain positive and positive will result, negative will result in negative.

 

Life

Grow As A Person

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Personal Growth Leads to Living Well

personal growth 22There is nothing so important in our lives as seeking out and pursuing opportunities to grow as a person. Like any other living creature, our purpose in life is to contribute and move toward becoming our best selves continually. Just as plants are born and start to grow throughout their lives.

Look at your life and each activity you participate in, asking yourself about the growth potential.  We are all consciously, physically, and mentally going one of two ways.

  1. We are getting better or becoming more or growing.  2. We are getting worse, becoming less or shrinking.

Nobody is staying the same. Our actions that stem from our decisions each day are the forces that determine our direction.

Personal Growth Through Pain

Sometimes growth stems out of pain. We often

Unique personal growth can come from painful expeirences
Unique personal growth can come from painful experiences

wonder why painful events happen in our lives. Yet, these events often move you to strike out in a new direction rather than stay where you are. The pain can provide motivation and momentum to us to find new avenues for our talents or roads to travel, which we would never have conceived of before.  Our shell is broken, and a new life of growth will result.

With those we love, we try to shield them from the painful things in life. Our children, especially, under the guise of protecting them, are potentially robbing them of some of the most potent growth experiences. Being with them at painful times allows them to feel and provide empathetic support and sharing in their suffering, realizing that there is a time in life that pain happens, and all we can do is reassure them that healing comes. Eventually, it does come if you let it.

Life-Long  Education= Personal Growth

personal.growth.barrier.3.bGrowth can also occur through production by taking action. An interest will present itself, and through the natural forces of inquiry, a person will pursue their interest to find out more.  The student learns throughout their education and training to master their craft.

The problem is there is a lot of life left after your formal education is completed. Learning needs to be a lifelong pursuit that will continually keep you on a path of growth.  Most often, this is an individually motivated choice of practice. If you don’t look for ways to improve yourself, learn something new, or develop your mind and body, the alternative is to move backward slowly. Today we have access to a world of education and can learn how to do anything at all. We only need an internet connection to learn about anything from anatomy to rocket science.

Growth is NOT Difficult

It is not difficult to grow in your mind or in the talents you possess. Like anything ever in life, it involves taking an interest, developing an intent, and taking action potentialtoward completing a goal or developing a skill.  The passion that a person has toward achieving that goal will determine how severe the task will ultimately be.

Looking for opportunities to grow daily is vitally important. You are never too old, too weak, too significant, too small, or too anything else to find avenues for personal growth.  Reading something of substance each day is an excellent way to start. Each new idea or thought you experience will allow your mind to expand and think better and more efficiently. Once a consciousness expands, it takes a lot of neglect to move it in the opposite direction. Choose to grow!

“Every moment of one’s existence, one is growing into more or retreating into less.” ―Norman Mailer.

“Income seldom exceeds personal development.” ―Jim Rohn.

“You cannot dream yourself into a character; you must hammer and forge yourself one.” ―Henry David Thoreau.

“Life is growth. If we stop growing, technically and spiritually, we are as good as dead.” ―Morihei Ueshiba 

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

 

21

Give Them Kindness

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kindness-22744798One of the simplest treasures we can give to others is the gift of kindness. It cost no money to be kind, and it takes no talent. In fact, all you have to possess to practice kindness is a willing heart to undertake the action and actually be kind. Many are the person I have met who could benefit from putting the well-being of another, even in a small way, before the seemingly never-ending drama of their lives.  Drop a pebble into the lake that is kind and watch the ripples flow from it. Who knows where they will eventually reach. Your conscious choice to show compassion for another may ripple throughout the world.

There is probably no better method for improving a person’s outlook on life than to experience a little kindness. All people deserve your kindness, and like most things in life, the more willingly this gift is given, the more easily it is received. Are you the kind one today? 

Kindness is Contagious

One of the great things to see is that one act of kindness provides happiness that will be shared with kindness is contagioussomeone else, one way or another. You can’t help it when someone is kind to you, and there is a feeling of warmth inside that you want to share with someone else. And most people do.  Some people practice random acts of kindness and bring light to the world. Some people are just kind to others all of the time. It must be a wonderful way to live.

We can only be responsible for our behavior and choices and the example we set for other people to follow. Take control of your actions today and implement kindness into each interaction that comes your way. You will be amazed at how much difference it will make in your life and, of course, the lives of others that you come in contact with during the day. What is the alternative? To be selfish and self-centered, only concerned with yourself and how everything affects you? Let those things go and accept the chance to change the world in one small positive way, and it can be done just by treating the people you happen to come in contact with today with a conscious choice to be kind.

Kindness Defeats Mean

It is important to practice kindness with those who are unkind. They absolutely need it most. To be moving through your life and to consciously be unkind to others, a person must have experienced some awful things. Kindness can break through the darkness and bring light into those spaces where kindness countsmean, desperation once resided.  Some of the people I have cared about the most were tremendously unkind and callous to me. It took a while, but I had to forgive them because their life must be a miserable experience if they could treat other people with that kind of cruelty.

A mean person who does not practice kindness has probably forgotten how it feels when someone takes the time to be kind to them. Once they experience that, there is a chance that they will develop a more positive outlook and perhaps practice kindness toward others. Again it is important to stress that you can only be responsible for your actions. Others are responsible for theirs. If they choose to be mean, hateful, spiteful, and unhappy, that is their choice. Your choice is not to treat them like their condition is permanent. Kill ’em with kindness. That is all you can do.

Be Grateful

Look at your life and find the positives. I know there are many dark things and days in life. But there is always something good and positive too.  Always. You have to find it, recognize it, and be grateful for it.  Gratitude and kindness walk hand in hand in life.  Even if many tough situations come your way, even though you feel defeated, sad, and worn out, do you want to live in a world where there is no kindness?  Be angry for a time but then find forgiveness for those who hurt you, gratitude for what you learned, and the positive things in your life.  And, of course, find a way to treat someone out there in your life with kindness.  It is up to you to determine what kind of world you and your loved ones inhabit.  If cold, harsh words and actions are all you have, your world will reflect a shiny, cold hardness right back at you.

Amazingly, the people who look for good tend to experience good. Kindness brings more kindness.  Experiment today. Do something simple, like hold a door for someone, or let them go in front of you in line at the store.  Watch how that small action affects people. They often, almost immediately, pass the gesture on to another in short order.  Consciously thinking of others and their well-being first. That is the essence of kindness, you matter, and I see your value.  Remember that when you are contemplating your behavior.

Sometimes it takes only one act of kindness and caring to change a person’s life.” – Jackie Chan

“Do things for people not because of who they are or what they do in return, but because of who you are.” – Harold S. Kushner

“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

“Because that’s what kindness is. It’s not doing something for someone else because they can’t, but because you can.” – Andrew Iskander

“Remember, there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” – Scott Adams.

 

 

21

Shine Your Light

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Shine Today Like the Star You Are!!!

Focus on how YOU shine today!

There are enough negative influences in the world, and I believe that through a conscious focus of thought, we can improve our emotions, words, and actions and make the world a better place.  (See Video Here)

Whenever you do anything in life, from walking down the street to performing your job, you should always focus on how you shine.  This word means to be very talented and perform very well or, in another sense, to give off a bright light.  I think that both of these apply to how I would like to approach the world today consciously.  There is nothing I want more for everyone else to do as well. Approach everything worth your effort with a shine of enjoyment and accomplishment. When you shine, you make the world a better place.

Simple Way To Shine

Look at your attitude and actions today when it comes to other people.  You have a choice in every interaction to show caring and kindness or do not do this.  Every single act of service allows a person’s inner light to shine. It shows who they are and what makes them so great. So as you go through your day, rather than  become self

Shine through acts of kindness and caring

absorbed in what is in this world for you, look for ways to make other people have a better journey. Compassion and caring are great ways to do just that.  One simple act of kindness allows your light to ripple through the world, and there is no telling how far it can go if you let it.

The alternative is not to extend this light. Not just behaving in the opposite manner of cruel selfishness but just withdrawing the sun you have from the world.  Having lots to offer and giving nothing is defeating to you as a person. The world doesn’t benefit from what you have to offer.  Look for ways that your kindness and caring can infiltrate the world and shine their light today.

Being Your Best Self

Every person in the world has the opportunity to be the best version of themselves every day. The relationships we pursue, the jobs we work, and the activities we fill our free time with should be a reflection of your desire to become the best version of yourself. Being unique is how you shine.  When you are functioning at your best, doing your best, the positive impact on the world is immense. First, you are an example to others that to pursue your interests is something that you can thrive.  Second, the results of your pursuit are going to make the world a better place just by having the best version of you in it. You will shine.

There are interests in you and your talents undiscovered. Our job is to keep seeking the skills that exist in us and become the best version of ourselves that we can be.  Put aside our society’s negative programming and decide for ourselves just what talents we want to develop and what skills we want to learn. It is totally up to us, and in the pursuit of this growth, you will shine.

Shine Today

The focus is for you to shine today.  Do this through your conscious choices and behavior and do this through your pursuit of finding your true calling.  The results of your efforts probably won’t be realized immediately, but the quest will allow you to shine as bright as you possibly can, and that will make the world a little bit better place directly.   Don’t miss the opportunity to make the world a better place.

“The beautiful light behind her smile makes her eyes glow with a love for life I’ve never experienced before. What true beauty is.”   Anonymous

“Space for the sunflower, bright with a yellow glow, to court the sky.”   Caroline Gilman

“Shine your light on love and truth, and your soul will glow.”  Anthony D. Williams

“Let your light shine. Shine within you so that it can shine on someone else. Let your light shine.”-Oprah Winfrey

“Shine your light and make a positive impact on the world; there is nothing so honorable as helping improve the lives of others.” – Roy T. Bennett

 

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Creating positive mindsetThings To Consider When Creating a Positive Mindset

Every word we use has an energy attached to it and impacts the lives of all that hear it. Too often, we use our words without consideration of how they will affect others. Words are the building blocks used to build our mindset, either positive or negative. Our words radiate around and within us long after they are spoken. All people must be vigilant in noticing the charge of our words and their thoughts. Focusing on speaking positively will allow us to create a more positive mindset. This will make life a happier and more enjoyable experience.

Positive Mindset Musts

The most negative words that are used at some point by everyone are those of gossip. Gossip has the power to draw almost anyone in and drag 3e904ff58b78afd415f20809bbd9610athem down as well. Gossip is attractive because it allows people to feel included in a secret group of thoughts that only the group currently gossiping knows. It allows someone the opportunity to judge someone, their actions, and their lives without knowing anything as a fact. Gossiping leads to many problems and lessens your life. The most important drawback is the negative energy you generate in your life.

When you participate in talking about others and their lives when they are not present, you increase your life’s negative energy. You are spreading rumors, speaking about things that are at best half-true and worst outright lies. This sticks with you and will stay with you. If you are speaking with people who thrive on gossip, guess who they are talking about when you leave the room?

Each time you speak negatively about someone else’s life, you are diminishing your own life. You destroy your integrity.  Our behavior tells the world what we are and our actions define and accentuate that. When you participate in negative talk like this, then your life will be decidedly negative. It is difficult to experience happiness when we are constantly looking at and talking about others’ negativity.

How to Speak Positively

The great thing is that we all have a choice about how we speak and the things that we speak about. It starts by paying attention and what you thinkmaking good choices, creating a positive mindset. The simple way to manage your words is to be consciously aware of all the words you use and what energy they bring.

Learn to T.H.I.N.K. about what you are going to say, and this little acronym will allow you to look at all of the things you say to yourself and others.   Use this before you say anything about anything, and it will allow you to speak more positively about yourself and others, which will make your energy and life more positive.

T- Is it true? That is a significant factor in speaking about you or someone else. If it isn’t true, don’t say it.

H- Is it helpful? If you are about to say something that is not helpful, then choose not to say it.

I – Does it Inspire confidence? If you are about to say something that does not inspire confidence in yourself or others, you should choose not to say it.

N – Is it Necessary? This is important to consider as we speak. Often the answer is no. A thought is not worth expressing through your words.

K – Is it Kind? One of the most important considerations that we should consider when looking at the way we speak about others and ourselves. Speaking with kindness is positive and builds positive energy around yourself and others.

By following this simple guide and evaluating your thoughts, and being mindful of the words you speak, you can make your life and the lives of those around you exponentially happier by developing a positive mindset.