Category Archives: 21

Security

All of the things we do every day are to find true safety and security. The relationships we build, the jobs we work, the friends we make, the places we go, everything we do is build this illusion of being safe and secure.  It is only an illusion.  No matter how hard we work to establish a life with no danger, we are all continually susceptible to suffering.  So, where do true safety and security come from?  It can never come from outside of you; it can only come from the inside of you. This is the only place it can exist and grow in any real way for any of us. The human experience is full of pitfalls and ugliness, along with the magic and beauty we can see every day. It is time you started looking at the things stopping you from seeing what is stopping you.  It is your limiting beliefs.

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

Our beliefs have been formed over the experience of our lives. As young people, we look to our environment to see where we fit in and survive and thrive. We look at our role models and listen to the lessons we are taught.  We also are very good at feeling our way and where we fit.  When we find a situation causing pain or trauma, we create a limiting belief about it.  Pushing trauma away, hiding it inside of us, denying the suffering it causes and the pain you feel is creating a mess from your childhood that will affect you for the rest of your life until you make an effort to deal with your emotions around it.

The only way to overcome these childhood traumas is to learn to accept your pain. Whatever it was, no matter how big it was to you and your development, accept it. That doesn’t mean you approve of it, or like it, or forgive anyone for things they did. It simply means to accept it happened, you felt how you felt, it is over, you are still here.  Accepting it will take power away from that trauma, and you move past a hurdle of pain you have been carrying all of your life.  You will be able to move past it into a positive relationship, career, and life. Seems like a good deal to me.  Accept the experiences you have had in your life.

Building Real Security

Moving into a structure of real security inside yourself takes effort and conscious thought, but anyone can do it and become invincible.  First, be present at the moment at hand.  All we have is right now, don’t spend time waxing poetic about the past or worrying about the future.  Think about the future but don’t build an attachment to what has to happen.  Thinking of things you want to accomplish and taking organized steps toward these goals works. Obsessing and worrying about all the things you think can go wrong or must happen will not.

Accept yourself for the person you are. Just like you accept your past, you have to do the same with yourself. Wishing you were something or someone else is a slap in the face to you and the greatness you have.  Too many people look at their flaws and obsess about fixing what is wrong rather than looking at what is right and building on that solid and powerful foundation.  Successful people don’t deal from a place of lack, they work from abundance, and we all have abundance.  Open your heart to yourself and all that you have to offer.

Appreciate Life

Look at the world around you and celebrate what you see that is good.  There are always reminders of how great the universe is.  Sometimes we get so wrapped up with our own thinking we get run over by them.  Rather than appreciating the rain, we complain about it.  When it is sunny, we say it is too bright.  Look around you and see the wonder that is always right there. Feel a connection to it and celebrate it.  For example, you drive down the road and move past trees, lakes, birds flying, bright blue skies dotted with puffy white clouds, all pretty miraculous, but we don’t see them.  Appreciate it all, life is a short trip, and it will be over before you know it.  Don’t waste your time being self-centered and a prisoner of your thoughts.

Learning to have unconditional love for yourself and life all around you is one of the most difficult things to do.  We are constantly getting hurt, emotionally, physically, and spiritually leading to an almost constant healing process.  But as we heal, we learn, grow and become a different and most often better person.  Being yourself and giving that to the world is a true gift. Some people will break your trust and reject who you are. That is their problem, not yours.  You are one of a kind and incredible.  Be you, and don’t worry about being accepted by negative people with small minds and smaller conscious thought patterns.  Be the great you that you were destined to be!

Safety and security come through this path.  You can build huge walls around yourself, but they won’t keep you safe in the end. Only being yourself, being vulnerable, and accepting all of the things about yourself can bring security.  To do anything else is a definition of insecurity, and it is tough to be happy and healthy through a vision of insecurity.

Take action on your own vision.  Your emotions are a clue to what you need to work on. How you feel in certain situations will lead you to the issues in you that need acceptance and a place inside you so that you can move past them into the best version of yourself.

  1. “Absorb what is useful, Discard what is not, Add what is uniquely your own.” — Bruce Lee.
  2. “Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” — Viktor Frankl.
  3. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” — George Bernard Shaw.
  4. “The only journey is the journey within.” — Rainer Maria Rilke
  5. “They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” – Confucius
  6. “We must become the change we want to see.” — Mahatma Gandhi
  7. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” — Will Durant
  8. “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
  9. “What we think, we become.” – Buddha
  10. “Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” — Napoleon Hill.

 

Possibilities

PossibilitiesThere are endless possibilities that exist in each new day. It can be difficult to remember this lesson sometimes when you see obstacles in your way.  There may be reasons we can’t do what we want, go exactly where we want, or be the person right now we want to be. But these barriers exist in everyone’s life and serve as a chance first to understand what you would like to see in your life. And second, as a springboard for developing skills, talents, and toughness, you need to accomplish anything you want to in your life. Our problems are not pervasive or permanent. Change your perspective on the situation, and nobody can stop you. How do you do this? Look at the positive possibilities that exist all around you; they are there. Sometimes you have to work to find them.

Difficult Times Provide Possibilities

Perspective is a choice. To see something as insurmountable is a possibilitieschoice. To think that you will never have the power, strength, money, or thoughts to overcome a challenge is your decision.  It is also your choice to see how things are shaping up because of what you have done so far and realize you need to make another choice. Perhaps the people you are spending time with are not positive or healthy for you. Choose differently.  The possibility for happiness and fun is there in every moment of every day.

Each barrier and obstacle in your way provide an opportunity. How is that, you ask? Well, every time you face a difficult time, there is an opportunity to get over it or around it. This may take some growth on your part or stretching of your comfort zone, but it can be done. You have to be willing to try.  Life is a journey from beginning to end, and it has a multitude of lessons. We are going to be continually learning and growing. Challenges come and provide the chance to be great. If you were never pushed, emotionally, mentally, or physically, then you would be happy right where you are, standing in place and leaving the goals to others.

Positive in Negative provide Possibilities

It can seem trite and simple to say that there is possibilitiesan opportunity for something positive in each negative situation. Tragedies happen all the time, and if we are fortunate enough to survive them, then we have a responsibility to find that positive possibility that will always exist. It needs to be looked for.

The choice, of course, is blame, bitterness, and anger. It is a valid choice, but the result will bring no positive presence to the world. It will only bring more tragedy, sadness, and fear.

Your challenges may be there to push you into becoming the best person you can be. Many dreams of having more wealth, love, and better health in their life, and the path to these things may travel through your challenges. Look at them however you want. It is a choice that you have, but recognizing the value and experience of your life will be colored by the choices you make. Just know all of the possibilities are there, just for you.

The possibilities are numerous once we decide to act and not react.” George Bernard Shaw

The only limits to the possibilities in your life tomorrow are the buts you use today.”   Les Brown

I see possibilities in everything. For everything that’s taken away, something of greater value has been given.”  Michael J. Fox

I’m open to possibilities. I’m open to choices. I always welcome new ideas. I’m always eager to learn. I’m never going to close my mind from learning.”  Cesar Millan

“Try to keep your mind open to possibilities and your mouth closed on matters that you don’t know about. Limit your ‘always’ and your ‘nevers.'”   Amy Poehler

History

forget your historyA limiting belief many people carry around in their minds is “History always repeats.”  As a former history teacher, I know that general themes in history do repeat themselves in the broad scheme of life. However, this is not a given, and it takes a combination of circumstances and choices for any event to occur. This is particularly true in your life, don’t be limited by the concern or fear that events from your past are simply going to play again in your mind. Forget your history.

Live for the possibility you have right now in front of you. The past is over, and history can’t change it. Did you make a mistake? Accept it. You can’t change it now anyway. Understand that if you could have done better at that moment, you would have. Now you have grown and developed more maturity and tools to help you cope and deal with situations life throws at you.

Forget your history of Fear and Worry.

The real problem with this belief is that it causes constant fear of the bad regret2things we have experienced. They hurt and were painful, and who would want to go through that again? Yet, we spend a lot of our time worrying and preparing, just if that situation rears its ugly head in our lives. If you sincerely believe that bad things are going to come, then they most likely will.

Patterns do happen in life, but how many of them occur because we allow them to. By spending so much time worrying about them and fearing certain things, we actually create the circumstances that create them. Not one worry or fear ever added anything positive to your life, certainly not as hope and love will. Where your focus lies has a lot more to do with the events of your life today, much more than your history ever will. Forget your history. Focus on the potential of today. It is as great as you want to make it.

Nothing is Guaranteed; forget your history.

There are no guarantees in life that anything is going to happen, which is forget your historytrue about difficult things and positive, easy things. History always repeats robs a person of some freedom to make choices in their lives. We have choices in every second of life to have this experience or that one.

Should I work or watch Netflix? Write something or create nothing? Move or stay? All of these are choices that come in all moments of the day. You are the driver of this vehicle called life, and it doesn’t matter what has happened in the past. All roads are open to you. Your past is history, and history is in the rearview mirror life is not moving that way. Don’t let the limiting belief of history always repeats dim your future.  Forget your history. Focus on your future.

Make Your Future Great

The time that you see that the options for you are wide open. A few alterations here or there, and you can see what might happen. Your choices will determine how much happiness and personal fulfillment is in your future. Only you and your thoughts can make history repeat. Choose not to. You choose your life, and your past has very little to do with it unless you allow it to. Forget your history.

Today may be the day that you achieve that dream, meet that person, accomplish that goal, your life changes for the better in radical ways. Forget history and live.

 

Thoughts and Reality

thouths matterAre you aware that everything we think and do matters in the reality we create?  This is not something that I knew all my life, and it is a concept that I think everyone should contemplate at least a little each day.  When you are looking at your life experiences and wondering why you are where you are, look back at your thoughts, choices, and actions of the past, and there will be a direct connection to the path that you are on right now, the job you work, or the relationship you are in. Your life is the extension of what you believe about yourself and the world.

You Can’t Fool Everyone.

As a young person, I thought I was pretty smart. There were times where I could manipulate situations through lies and deception to make things work out my way seemingly.  I told lies to people that nobody could have possibly known were not true.  I believed there was no harm in manipulation or deceiving someone else for a short-term gain.  Yet, that has not been the case.  I have paid the price for every deception I have ever perpetrated in my life in the long-term.

All of your choices have repercussions. The energy in your life is going to attract more of the same. If you deceive, prepare to be deceived. If you lie, prepare to be lied to. If you are honest, get ready for honesty from others. It is a fact of life, and the way life works. I wish someone had told me this earlier. I was never as smart as I thought.

It IS How Your Play the Game

It is one of the greatest things about the Universe and how it all works that nobody really gets away with anything in the long run.  Often I have seen a person seemingly benefit from doing something that is not right.   It seems unfair that someone should benefit from doing something wrong, while those who do things right seemingly see no tangible benefit (besides having a clear conscience and morals and happy life).   But you shouldn’t be upset because you are looking at the scoreboard in the middle of a contest, and the final score always tells a different story, one that defines how you played the game.

Doing what treats others with respect, understanding, and kindness is always the right thing to do. Follow this guide, and when the final score is tallied, you will be far ahead in any way that matters.

The Great Thing Is

There is no escaping the fact that in the end, thoughts that come from love lead to happy people, and the choice to react and think from fear generally leads to misery in the long run.  To prove it, honestly look at your life and analyze something that you are not happy about.  Make a list of the thoughts and actions you have about that thing, not only right now but in the past.

change thought change worldIt is human nature to feel like we are being singled out and life isn’t fair, but when you do this little exercise, most often you are going to see what actions you took, thoughts that you had, or beliefs you cultivated that put you right where you are at this moment.

Here is the part of being grateful for. This can change at any moment.  There are countless stories about people who seem in a day to have changed their lives, themselves, and their circumstances.  None of the personal changes we experience in life would ever occur if we didn’t make the conscious effort to change the way we think about something or a belief that we once held.

We all have the same ability to make these changes, and they start with our thoughts.  I am grateful that all that we think matters.

You make a choice every day about how your scoreboard is going to read.

 

Chances and Changes

winds of changeThe most potent constant in life is the experience of change. We try to ignore it, and if things are going well, we resist change, but inevitably and continually, change is occurring all the time, and how we deal with the changes that we face will define our life experience.  Change doesn’t have to provide a painful experience. It is our attachments to what was that causes the pain.  Allowing modifications to enter our lives rather than fight against it will determine a lot about your enjoyment of life.

Hang On For All You Are Worth

When the winds of change are blowing hard in your life, people usually have some pretty predictable responses. The most common reaction is to grasp hard and fast to whatever is changing and try to keep it the same. It has hold on tightlybeen my experience that it doesn’t matter if the change results in greater happiness or not.  It is the things that are known that are important to most people. Even if it is painful and not healthy, at least you know what you can expect from it. Change brings many unknowns with it, and even if it is good, the unknown is very scary for many people. They naturally resist.

Fear causes people to hang on to the past for all they are worth and refuse to let go. Let go of the doubt and accept the new change as bravely as possible. The odds are that it will bring something new and more positive in your life. Either way, the difference is happening how you deal with it will determine your existence’s mood.

Enjoy the Adventure of Change

Change brings with it the last opportunity for new and beautiful possibilities in your life. Embracing the energy of transformation can guide you toward a dream you always have had. If you are not Change2where you want to be in life, only change can take you there. Looking at change as the most exciting thing that ever existed will allow you to enjoy the adventure that change brings into your life. The unbroken line of possibilities is just waiting for you to join them.

New job, new relationship, new workout routine, new ideas, new thoughts, new life, the change will bring all of these to your life, and none can arrive without it.  Most of us sit by idly, fearing the steps that change requires. We cower in the enjoy the ridecorner grasping to practices, people, and things in our lives that are not working in any way, shape, or form — not realizing that by getting rid of things that aren’t working, we create a space for something or someone who will work.

Look for the change in your life each day and embrace it as a great opportunity. Life is a non-stop movement from one place to another, from birth to death and everything in between. It is up to you to learn the lessons, understand the differences, and experience the adventures that come with life.  Some will be monumental in stature, while others will be small and easy to digest. All of them will guide you along the path of life and make the journey a much more exciting ride.

When life brings changes you are not wild about, Chances are when said and done.
Who’ll be the lucky ones who make it all the way?  Though you say I could be your answer, Nothing lasts forever, no matter how it feels today.  Chances are, we’ll find a new equation. Chances roll away from me.  Chances are all they hope to be.

“Change is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.”

“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.”

“All things are difficult before they are easy.”

“Change is inevitable. Growth is optional.”

Kindness

2664d0e2789d58be9784c145b6b47963It is in our nature to judge others. We do it naturally, judging someone else’s behavior, actions, motives, or past. It is a biological need to do this because it will help protect you from harmful situations and people, and of course, this is important to your survival.

It really jumps out at you when you observe people being judgmental about the behavior of others. It seems that today the judgments of others are high, and the reactions to others are based on blind judgment and hate. It stands out and makes you wonder why it is that way. When you judge someone else in this manner, you define yourself, not them. I think it is important to remember this.

Judgments are Easy

It is easy to look at one action a person takes and judge their entire lives judgment 2because of it. The deed may be terrible and unforgivable, but does that void all the good that they might have done in their life? What were the circumstances that led to this event?  It is effortless to judge the behavior of others in a vacuum devoid of all the facts.  This is being done all the time, and most of these judgments lead to hate. It is important to remember that we are all human beings with an equal disposition for both darkness and light, and it is our experiences, intentions, and choices that move us toward one or the other.

When facts are learned and the whole story is revealed, humanity is often revealed by people that can be understood. Understanding is not acceptance; it knows that faced with different circumstances, you might make such a poor choice yourself and there but for the good fortune of your life, go you.  You can judge all of our lives in a vacuum, and you can be made to look insensitive, cold, and uncaring. It is a matter of perspective.

Acceptance Is The Cure

The opposite of judgment is acceptance. This does not mean that you agree with everything a person does regardless of morality. It means that imagesyou can accept that people make mistakes, do mean things, cheat, lie, or commit any number of sins in their lives.  Acceptance means that we understand that we ourselves have made poor decisions at times, and none of us want to be defined by our worst moments.

Each person has a moment in their life that is unquestionably positive. These actions and events have made the world a better place in even just the smallest of ways. It is up to each of us to show kindness to others as best we can. Show compassion and understanding to people who need it so that they will do the same when they have the opportunity.  You do not have to condone someone’s behavior to show compassion and acceptance of their humanity.

You have to have a little kindness in your heart.

It is with our judgments as with our watches: no two go just alike, yet each believes his own.”   Alexander Pope

Hesitancy in judgment is the only true mark of the thinker.”  Dagobert D. Runes

In our judgment of human transactions, the law of optics is reversed. We see most dimly the objects which are close around us.”  Richard Whately

One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty councils. The thing is to supply light and not heat.”Woodrow Wilson

Men are often biased in their judgment on account of their sympathy and their interests.”

A Comeback

“Every setback leaves behind a path to make your comeback.”

comeback storiesEvery person who has lived life has experienced the need to come back from adversity. We all face challenges and how we respond to them goes a long way in defining our lives and our character. Do we shrink in the face of adversity, or do we face it as best we can and move forward? How have you fared in your comeback stories from adversity?

Setbacks Abound

No matter how careful you are living your life, there will be things that hurt, upset, and/or distress you. They are going to happen. Loved ones pass away, relationships end, we are blamed for things, we make mistakes. All of these things will happen, and the first reaction may be from instinct, fight, or flight with the problem and those involved. Runaway and hide or work up your anger and fight the problem, but neither of these solutions is going to comeback storiesreally help. What will help is accepting the challenge? It happened, there are consequences? Accept them and move forward.

There is no avoiding the challenges of life because they are put here to make us better, stronger, and more complete people. It would be nice if we never had to face death or the loss of a job, or the rejection of our romantic gestures. But in life, these things are going to happen. We are all united in the conditions of our collective misery. We are not unique, or by ourselves. It only appears that way. Everyone is faced with the same challenges. After a bit of time passes from the loss, there will always be a path lit, just for you, allowing you to move toward a more substantive life. The story of your comeback will not only enrich your life, but it will also inspire others to face their problems as well.

Rise From The Ashes

The Phoenix is a mythical creature that rose from the ashes, again and again, to become its majestic self once more.  We are all like the Phoenix in our lives. Life can be a difficult game, and we make it so by believing limiting things about ourselves and accepting the limits others place on us. We blame comeback storiesothers and God for our failures, and until we accept what has happened, we can’t move forward. We cannot rise from the fire. We are going to be stuck in place.

The unfortunate things that happen to people are often not their fault, and we may all be the victim in a relationship, be robbed, attacked, taken advantage of. Those are the actions of another. Our responsibility to ourselves lies in how we decide to react to that event. Does it cripple us? Does it make you wallow in depression? Does it make you bitter and angry about everything? Or do you rise above it? Do you define yourself with your powerful qualities? Your innate goodness and caring. Do you accept your power to choose your path? The choice is always yours and yours alone.

Every setback that you have or will experience leaves a path to make a comeback. The power and direction of that experience are dependent wholly on you and your attitude. You are as powerful or as weak as you choose to be. Your personal choices will always tell your story.

Is it time for your comeback stories to be shared?

Life ain’t all sunshine and rainbows, but it is better with a little Rocky in it.

Dream Possibility

7825225598_c7cd7347c8It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.  – Paulo Coelho

As we live our lives from day to day,  waking up in the morning, getting prepared for challenges ahead, and then journeying out into the world to see what adventures the day has in store for us, what is it that we are seeking? Some people are looking for fame, some are looking for fortune, and some are looking for it all.  Having a dream is the juice that makes life interesting. It provides unlimited possibilities and the chance of failure. We are all looking for something.

Losing the Dream

Living in America today, we are taught the dream that we “should” be pursuing. We have all heard it. You should do well in school, get good grades, get into the right college, graduate, develop a career, find a special someone, get married, have 2.5 kids, raise them, at 65, dreamyou retire and “live the good life.”  It seems to me that it is at that point, people realize that they never really had a dream of their own.

There is nothing wrong with this collective dream if it makes you happy, but for many, it replaces your desires, and you end up doing something that you are not devoted to.  A dream will allow you to have a special kind of passion for what you are trying to accomplish. There are rewards once the goal is achieved, but the journey is also a reward because you are doing what you are passionate about. How do we lose our dream?  It starts when we stop making choices for ourselves and allow others, society, family, the media, or others to choose what we think we should do.

The Interesting Thing About Dreams

Interestingly, our lives are a consistent pursuit of our dreams. When we are looking to live our dreams, we see new things and have new experiences that make our lives far more interesting. Remember those that tell you, “You can’t,” or “You can’t make money doing that.” or “That is so 7777777777777777771unrealistic,” all of these are just the limitations of other people. Accept them, and they become yours. Ignore them, and the limits you face will be created by you alone.

Do not sell yourself short or play a small game. You have greatness in you, and your dreams will be your expression of that greatness. The goals will allow you the share the best of yourself with others and inspire others to follow their dreams in turn.  If we are all striving to follow our dreams, what a world would it be?

Dreams make life more enjoyable because we don’t know the limits of humankind in any given area. We don’t know what our limits are.  The best of each of us can provide something the world has never seen before. What if nothing can stop you? What if you can invent the next big thing? What if you can sing that song? Win that race? Be famous? We can dream and see a more significant field for us to play in makes the world much more enjoyable.

What are your dreams, and how has the journey to achieve them make your life more enjoyable? 

It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.  – Paulo Coelho

Challenges

What would your life look like if you were more positive in your thoughts?

challengesNo matter how confident and successful you are, life has a way of throwing challenges at you that will push you to make decisions redefining who you are and your substance.  In everyone’s life, there will be events that force a constant expression of this experience and force you to take actions that will bring growth in your life.

In the end, even after facing a challenge,  I like to think that we have found a more galvanized understanding of who we are, and we hold on to this self-image with a more critical and realistic passion. Sometimes the challenges are so overwhelming that it takes quite a bit of time to find your equilibrium and look at things with a more open mind and accepting heart.  Will you find positivity at the end of a challenge in life? Only you can tell that for yourself. I have always thought I would. But recently, my life has taught me many things from challenges. I have experience loss, betrayal, poor judgment and found a perspective of forgiveness and, hopefully, positive growth in all areas of my life because of it.

Being Positive, When the World is Negative

Even though I have spent a lot of time learning about the power of being positive, I know positive thoughts produce positive energy. I have, on positive_redcoccasion, slipped into being judgmental and critical of others for no reason other than because I was experiencing something negative. When you are experiencing fear of any kind and are afraid of your needs not met, this can happen.

Being positive becomes difficult when you look at life and the people in it as things that affect you, rather than seeing them as people who are just doing the best they can to survive day-to-day.  All people have weaknesses, and from time to time, they are annoying and rub you the wrong way.  One of the biggest challenges in life is accepting these negatives and still supporting and highlighting the positives of every individual in your life. The things that annoy us the most are the weaknesses we see in ourselves. We are maintaining a focus on love, understanding, acceptance, and kindness, which can be a challenge, and the reward in accepting others is a better view of ourselves.

It becomes challenging to do this when an atmosphere of negativity engulfs you, focusing on the negative features of things like judgment, sarcasm, and just being plain mean.  That is when you have to work a bit harder to find the positives.  The best way that I have found is to look for the things that are going right and not worry about what is wrong with the job, community, or each other. Especially each other. 

Find Time For You

No matter how busy you think you are or what others believe you should be doing, it would help if you found time dedicated to yourself.  Scheduling this can be a challenge, but vital to allowing person la growth. Rather than get all wrapped up in the daily chores, problems to be solved, and performance, find time for you. Don’t lose your focus on pure kindness and courtesy; people should show one another each day.

One of my favorite ways to maintain a more positive focus is to spend a little time each day learning something new and digesting that information productively and healthily. You are never too old to learn, and growth is a lifelong process.  Learning about yourself makes you less judgmental of others and keeps the focus where it belongs, on your thoughts and ideas. Those who don’t find growth are slowly dying. Finding time to think and put your experiences into perspective will allow your life to have a much more significant flavor. Life is continually trying to teach you lessons. Your reflection is their chance to sink in and make an impact.

Focus Your Energy

All experiences are going to change your life in one way or another.  People often choose to let most of what happens to them be negative and spend time trying to overcome whatever life has given them.

focus expandsI think there is a better way, and that is to remove the labels of good or bad that are associated with experiences and label them all “Experiences.”  Changing our perspective can be difficult when things are personal, but in reality, everything that happens is just an experience that brings something to our lives that we apply value to, good or bad.  We choose to smile and take what we can or to frown and feel overwhelmed by things happening to us. We have a choice.

The choices we make in each moment will determine the path of our day, and our days discover the way of our lives. There are many great things in life we all experience each day, from pleasant weather to a good cup of coffee. We need to notice and appreciate them.  Being grateful for the positives in life will always take the focus and power away from the negatives.

What if you decided to accept everything that happens to you as if you chose it? 

What you spend your time and effort focusing on in your life will increase.

“Keep your face to the sunshine, and you cannot see a shadow.” — Helen Keller.

“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” — Willie Nelson.

“Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.” — Lyndon B. Johnson.

“In order to carry a positive action, we must develop here a positive vision.” 

 

Daily Thoughts

Positive thoughtsThinking has been a major activity for me in my life. I seem to have many thoughts, and I wonder if they all have any actual meaning. Are my thoughts designed to guide me? Or are they here to distract me? I could believe either scenario because they seem to provide equal situations of positive and negative things. Do thoughts actually provide any concrete information, or do they arrive to distract you from accomplishment? I think Positive thoughts always contribute to your greater good, and negative ones waste your time.

Some books I have read have stated that your brain clearly produces most thought to distract you and most of your thoughts are not worth paying attention to. They are negative and self-defeating and should be ignored, cast away. Yet others believe that through our thoughts, we can create anything. By focusing on the correct thoughts, speaking similar words, and taking actions will lead to creating whatever we initially thought about.  NOw that is a phenomenon worth thinking about.

Distractions, Distractions, Distractions

The human mind creates thoughts continuously all the time. That is its job, and it does it well. The quality of these thoughts is not always at the highest level, but the positive thoughtsflow is constant. Most of the time, people really pay no attention to their thoughts and definitely never consider where they come from. Thoughts about everything under the sun are great, but they can focus away from accomplishments and goals.  In fact, somewhere around 95% of our thoughts are repeats of thoughts we have had before.

The danger is that if you don’t use your mind to pay attention to your thoughts, somebody else just may.   I was never sure of the validity of that saying until now. How often do you let a friend dictate your opinions? A colleague? A boss? A religious leader? The media? Or some catchy advertisement campaign telling you how to look? Think about that when you start to trace your beliefs. They are only thoughts that we put a strong emphasis on and accept as fact. That can come from us or someone else. Where do your beliefs about life, yourself, and others originate from? Our thoughts are distractions from what is really happening continually behind the scenes.  Do you know what that is? Look at yourself and start asking questions about your reality and life. Is this true? Why is this true?  Do I want to be represented by that?

Be Exactly What You Want

Now is the time to think about what you really want to be. If this isn’t the time, what are you waiting for? positive thinkingIf you decide that you would like to be fearless, confident, kind, or more enlightened, it is up to you to think positive thoughts representing that particular characteristic. Then focus on taking it to your words. Discuss being fearless. Talk like you already are. Then act like it. Do things that a fearless person would do. And then guess what? YOU ARE FEARLESS?

It all begins with a thought, and a simple process can make it a reality. If you looked at your thoughts, how many of them are of the limiting variety? They tell you that “You can’t possibly do that.”, “You aren’t smart enough to accomplish anything.” “You don’t have enough to do that.”  These thoughts are fine if you never want to accomplish anything or have self-esteem very much.  But most of us want to feel good about ourselves, and our beliefs will determine how much we accomplish and what enjoyment we have while we are doing it.

Changing those to positive thoughts is as easy as focusing on “You can definitely do that!”, “You are smart enough to accomplish anything.” “You have more than enough brains, talent, kindness, the power to do anything you want.”  Change the focus of your thoughts to thoughts of can do, and the thoughts that hold you back will fall away.

What is real, and what is the illusion in your life? Is it what you choose to think?

Free Greatness

People put their goals on hold because they don’t have the money or time to invest at this moment in one thing or another. Here is an opportunity to look at your life with gratitude, acceptance, surrender, and releasing judgment from your life right now. It won’t take any more money or time to accomplish all of this.  And the benefit to your life will be phenomenal.  All of your thoughts that used to be wasted on the unmonitored flow of foolishness can now be directed in a way that will provide great benefits to you and those you come in contact with.

Each of our thoughts has the potential to change our lives positively or negatively. You owe it to yourself to pay attention to the direction you will be moving in. The person who holds a beautiful vision of themselves or life in general in their mind, and applies positive emotion to it, will one day have it as a part of their life.

What are your thoughts creating today? Don’t make excuses. Pay attention to positive thinking.