Some days, when I am feeling negative, or just not as motivated as I should feel, I find positive thinking myself with something motivational, and positive. I have learned that what you put into your mind will determine much of what you experience in life.
This is a quick video that contains quotes, and thoughts on positive thinking that I have seen on Facebook, and other sites. They were posted to motivate people, but I need them all in one place so that I can experience total immersion. They will help you get your mind in the right frame of mind.
Positive Thinking Gets you Moving
I wanted to have something that would allow me to quickly get moving in a positive thinking direction, and this collection of sayings has worked for me and I think it will work for you.
Simply watch the video, or a part of it, or whatever you have time for and then try and accomplish something. It will always go smoother afterward. Positive thinking helps make the day go by better.
This group of mini-affirmations will improve your mood and allow you to be more productive. Give it a try and let me how it contributes to your positive thinking.
Isn’t it Ironic? Bad Luck is Not Necessarily Ironic
Isn’t it ironic? I am sure that I am not the first person to take issue with Alanis Morrisette and her song Ironic. But I heard it today and have to point out once and for all, the many examples she provided of things that weren’t ironic at all.
Alanis Thinking about irony,
I hope that by pointing these out in detail, people will understand what irony really is, and may be able to identify it in their own lives.
Isn’t it Ironic
Let’s start with the definition of irony-
WHEN THE LITERAL MEANING IS THE EXACT OPPOSITE OF THE INTENDED MEANING, THAT IS IRONY.
or if you want to add a little more depth:
Definition of Dramatic – A situation in which the audience knows something about present or future circumstances that the character does not know
Definition of Verbal – A contradiction of expectation between what is said and what is meant
Definition of Situational – A contradiction of expectation between what might be expected and what actually occurs often connected to a fatalistic or pessimistic view of life
The word “irony” is among the most commonly misused (and misunderstood) words in the English language. Most people think that irony means a juxtaposition of opposites.
Now let’s look at all of the examples from Alanis Morrisette’s song, Ironic, and evaluate if they are in fact……….Ironic.
An old man turned ninety-eight, He won the lottery and died the next day
THIS IS NOT IRONIC, IT IS A LITTLE TRAGIC AND DEFINITELY BAD LUCK, BUT IRONIC? It does not fit any of the definitions.
It’s a black fly in your Chardonnay
DO YOU CONSIDER THIS IRONY, I DON’T. IT COULD HAVE BEEN BUG SEASON, BUT CALLING A DEAD INSECT IN YOU BEVERAGE IRONY IS NOT ACCURATE. THIS IS JUST THE CIRCLE OF LIFE. ALANNIS KNOWS THIS.
It’s a death row pardon two minutes too late
THIS AGAIN FALLS INTO THE BAD LUCK CATEGORY, OR EVEN THE TRAGIC CATEGORY, BUT NOT IRONY.
And isn’t it ironic… don’t you think.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!It’s like rain on your wedding day
HOW CAN RAIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY BE IRONIC? MIGHT CHANGE THE PICTURE LOCATIONS AND IS UNFORTUNATE DEFINITELY, BUT NOT IRONIC.
It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
ALREADY PAYING MAKES THE RIDE NOT FREE, SO THIS STATEMENT IS AN IMPOSSIBILITY, BUT ALSO NOT IRONIC. IT’S LIKE SAYING AFTER I PAID FOR MY HOUSE THE BANK GAVE IT TO ME.
It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take.
IF YOU AREN’T SMART ENOUGH TO FOLLOW GOOD ADVICE, YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVE. NOT IRONIC IF YOU HAVE POOR JUDGMENT. Who would’ve thought… it figures
NOT ALANIS, I GUESS.
Mr. Play It Safe was afraid to fly, He packed his suitcase and kissed his kids goodbye He waited his whole damn life to take that flight And as the plane crashed down he thought
“Well isn’t this nice…”
A PLANE CRASH IS NOT IRONIC, AND IF YOU WERE AFRAID TO FLY YOU WOULDN’T BE WAITING YOUR WHOLE LIFE TO TAKE A FLIGHT, YOU PROBABLY HAD A PREMONITION WARNING YOU THAT IF YOU FLY YOU ARE GOING TO DIE. PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR INSTINCTS BUT DON’T CALL IT IRONIC WHEN YOU DON’T.
And isn’t it ironic… don’t you think
STILL NO!!!!!!It’s like rain on your wedding day
STILL NOT IRONIC! It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
STILL IMPOSSIBLE AND NOT IRONIC It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take
STILL POOR JUDGMENT IN AND OF ITSELF DOESN’T CREATE IRONY Who would’ve thought… it figuresWell life has a funny way of sneaking up on you When you think everything’s okay and everything’s going right
And life has a funny way of helping you out when You think everything’s gone wrong and everything blows up In your face THE FACT THAT YOU THINK LIFE IS SNEAKING UP ON YOU LIKE A CRIMINAL SHOWS PARANOIA BUT NOT IRONY
A traffic jam when you’re already late
YOU CAN’T BLAME TRAFFIC ON IRONY, SMALL TRANSPORTATION BUDGETS AND PEOPLE WHO CAN’T DRIVE, YES BUT IRONY, NOT! A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
YOU SHOULDN’T BE SMOKING ANYWAY, BUT A SIGN DOES NOT LEAD TO IRONY. JUST BETTER HEALTH. It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife
THIS DOESN’T EVEN MAKE SENSE, THEY ARE NOT EVEN TRYING FOR IRONY, JUST CUTLERY. It’s meeting the man of my dreams, And then meeting his beautiful wife
TOUGH LUCK, HONEY, MANY PEOPLE ARE ALREADY IN RELATIONSHIPS. IS IT IRONY THEY DIDN’T SPEND THE LAST 10 YEARS WAITING FOR YOU TO DROP BY AND SAY HELLO. GET OUT MORE. OH, YEAH, THIS ISN’T IRONY EITHER.
And isn’t it ironic…don’t you think
NO, NOT AT ALL. A little too ironic…and, yeah, I really do think…
NO YOU CLEARLY DO NOT THINK
It’s like rain on your wedding day
UNLUCKY, NOT IRONIC It’s a free ride when you’ve already paid
ALWAYS IMPOSSIBLE, PLEASE TAKE AN ECONOMICS CLASS, AND A PHILOSOPHY CLASS AND A BASIC ENGLISH CLASS It’s the good advice that you just didn’t take
BECAUSE YOUR NOT VERY BRIGHT Who would’ve thought… it figures
BASED ON YOUR RECORD OF CONSISTENCY WHEN IT COMES TO RECOGNIZING AND GIVING EXAMPLES OF IRONY, I WOULD HAVE THOUGHT AND FIGURED THAT YOU WOULD NEVER FIGURE IT OUT.Life has a funny way of sneaking up on you Life has a funny, funny way of helping you out Helping you out
LIFE CAN HELP YOU OUT, AND WON’T USUALLY SNEAK UP ON YOU LIKE A THIEF IN THE NIGHT.
Lost in a flow of unfamiliar folks. Found in an instant by you.
Thinking and resigned to my fate, there is a waking up that leads me here.
I don’t know where I’ve been for so long, now I am sure it’s time to move on.
Moving on into the abyss of the dark, scary, exciting and inevitable.
not possible to know if circumstances will improve, but moving forward is the only thing to do. It is then you will find the message with only your name, left just for you.
The loneliness of life can at times totally swallow your soul, if you are not careful, there will be only a weak surface joy in life. Digging deeper with all you have will reveal the truth.
Try not to fear this change, and fight the instincts to run for safety, move boldly.
Strength of nerve will bring understanding so move boldly without hesitation.
There is no limit on your path, your potential is infinite, unless you choose to struggle.
All barriers before you fall, loneliness leaves, contentment grows, as it should.
When your beliefs are working with our dreams, this is a time in your life when …..
What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
Are you truly living?
by Jonathan Hilton
All people are going to answer this question differently depending on where they are in their life. To me being alive is a fact of nature, and enjoying life and living for a purpose is truly living. But how do you enjoy life?
Other people will answer this very differently. It only takes a few visits to any number of blogs to experience the wide variety of philosophies and beliefs that exist.
Young people are struggling to master life, yet so hopeful about living it is encouraging While older people are resigned to the fact that you may never figure it out everything there is to know about life, but they share their thoughts and experiences.
One of the things I like about reading so many different people’s opinions is to be exposed to ideas that are different from mine. Valid yet different and I think that is a powerful force of growth. These are my thoughts on truly living.
The problem with Life
For me there is a question that came to me as I got older and thought that I was on the
We all have questions, I know I did.
path I should be on. After carefully contemplating the experiences I have been fortunate enough to have in life I came to the conclusion that being alive was not enough and that I needed to start truly living and for me that meant I had to make a lot of changes in my perceptions of people, life, God and everything that at one time I was sure of.
I wasn’t sure what was “right”, but I knew there was more to life than a conditioned accumulation of material goods to supply comfort to life.
What comfort did I ever give to others? What did I contribute? Even as an educator, I was contributing stories about living which happened long ago, espousing the morals and actions that young people should aspire to follow, with the awareness of the world around me the size of the head of a pin.
I don’t think I consistently enjoyed what life gave me. There are easy things to enjoy and appreciate, like those we love, and those that love us, a sunny, beautiful day, a large sum of money, all of these can be easily enjoyed, but how many people pass through a day without having gratitude for anything in their life, because they are too busy looking at what they don’t have.
I was one of these, searching for the right amount of stuff that would bring happiness with it. I never found that.
The Past
Which direction do you follow?
One of the biggest problems people face,when trying to truly live is that they always seem to distract themselves from the moment they are currently experiencing.
Perhaps spending time with someone you love, reading a book, exercising, or doing whatever it is you do, because you allow yourself to be distracted by things that make you feel the moment you are in is not a good enough thing.
One distraction is the past, which often allows you to reminisce about the past and feel that things were so much better back then, when you were happy.
Often the past is not quite what we remember it to be and it really doesn’t matter in the scope of today. It is over and gone, good or bad and to short change today for yesterday is selling something tangible and of extreme value for nothing but a fantasy.
Often I had looked to the past to the good old days, which were nice memories, but other than lending experience to today, couldn’t help make me very happy or allow me to truly live.
The Future
Others choose to focus on the future, planning and scheming the best way to route their lives to get to the point where finally they will be happy. They think that if they do this particular thing, at this particular time then I will be happy, satisfied, successful, or whatever.
The problem with this is that when you put all of your focus onto tomorrow you miss the great things that are happening today. You can prepare for the future with the actions of today and enjoy today at the same time, the difference is that you don’t put anything off, like being happy and satisfied with life or anything else. Tomorrow may never come and rarely does it happen as you plan, so putting happiness off is a bad gamble that will most likely never pay off.
I’ll Be Happy When I am Rich
Materialism is another distraction that keeps people from enjoying the moment, often it goes hand in hand with waiting for the future, but tying your happiness into the acquisition of some material thing is going to stop you from appreciating today, because you are going to be thinking that happiness is going to come when you get that house, or car, or Ipad or whatever.
The satisfaction of that acquisition will be short-lived and soon you will be looking for the next thing that should bring happiness and satisfaction to your life, as you ignore the opportunity for happiness that you have in your experience today. Being grateful for what you have will allow you to enjoy the day. If you don’t believe me, then try it. Be truly grateful for what you have.
Your Choice
You can choose if you are alive or truly living
So truly living to me is the appreciation of what life is giving you right now in this moment.
That doesn’t mean that it will always be perfect. Sometimes there are painful things in life, and we have to deal with feelings that are not so nice, people get sick, accidents happen, people die, life is not perfect and there is no guarantee that everything is going to go your way.
However, there is a choice that comes pinned to each of those experiences to make it a positive or a negative factor in your life. Only you can decide for yourself the difference between being alive and truly living.
Poetry is not something that I have never written much of. One of the great blogs I read, shared a sonnet on Thursday. I am taking the opportunity to write one myself, because I never have and it should be a unique experience. It was an interesting : first I didn’t realize how much I enjoyed rhyming. Secondly I apparently have some unresolved issues inside. I think they are resolving.
I Remember You
by Jonathan Hilton
Oh, yes I remember you,
As a deep dark mystery I sought to reveal.
I never found or discovered, what was due,
The truth about you, hurts too much to feel.
We used to talk and be together every day,
Laughing and sharing each special time.
Now you have left, and moved along your way,
The emptiness inside alone is mine
Where is the justice? Where is the Peace?
I destroy all the selfish evidence of us.
There is a thought that this will bring a release,
Nothing worked, nothings fixed, It wasn’t worth the fuss.
The dusty, empty room is inside of me,
It is as vast and as deep as the mightiest Sea.
So what did you think of my first poem? I know, but it is the first try.
Here are a couple I remember you songs to help set the mood.
Skid Row: I Remember You
Someone Like You
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Inspiration comes from who we see and what we experience every day.
by Jonathan Hilton
The more I look for topics to write about and expound upon, the more my writing process comes clearly into my mind. I write best when I have someone specifically in mind to write about, because it is like I am explaining my thoughts or emotions to them, or that I am giving them advice. Often I know the advice would never be received directly, so I just give it on the pages of my writing.
Since these people of inspiration are all around me, they may not even know that I have been inspired by them. I can look at almost every one of the approximately 200 articles I have written on this website and remember clearly the lesson or situation that prompted the thoughts or feelings that caused me to put it to paper. This clearly shows me that people do not recognize the impact that they have on others just by living life as an example.
As we approach the new year of 2013 I am endeavoring to dig deeper into those relationships that I have had in the past to wring out the valuable experiences that I have been fortunate to experience in my lifetime. That means that if you have ever met me than you will probably be the motivation for some piece of writing that I have done in the past or I will do over the next year or two.
All things create stories in your mind, all you have to do is tell them.
I have never mentioned a name or directed a thought directly at someone because my intention is not to publicize anyone’s short comings or problems. I simply have had experiences with people in my life that have taught me lessons from their positive actions or from their negative behavior. Each situation has value, it is just much more fun to remember the positive, and often more valuable to recall the negative behavior some have displayed.
What this means as we head into a new year is that I am going to be writing and publishing a lot of material over the next year and when you read it, you just might see something of yourself in that writing. I am grateful in advance for all of the experiences and looking forward to sharing them in the future. It is definitely true that there is inspiration all around us and all we have to do is look for it, to find it.
I am planning on continually publishing articles about inspiration, but I am also going to be sharing short stories from all aspects of my youth, because they were great and they helped make me what I am today. I can not wait to get started.
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Smile, Inspire, Be Grateful. Looking forward to 2013
Have you ever seen the focus of your life change in thirty days? This is the experience that I have had over the last month as I have looked to improve my writing skill and myself, as a person as well.
This is an evaluation of my project to answer one question each day for thirty days, and to work on putting more of myself into my writing for the purpose of being more honest and open about the things I write about.
The beginning of this project
It began with a conversation with a collaborator who is a great writer and I was wishing that I was more honest in my writing; it was the conversation that led me to see this video on YouTube about this guy who undertook thirty day challenges to work on things he needs to work on. Almost immediately I came across a list of “30 Questions That Will Change the Way you think about the world.” The fact that there weren’t 35, 25 or 50
The beginning of any journey starts with one small step.
questions, led me to believe that this was the project for me.
The rules I developed on the fly, but stuck to them until the end of the project, because I need rules apparently.
Rule #1 – had to answer a question each day and it had to be at least 300 words. Many I could have answered in a sentence, but that wouldn’t have helped develop my thoughts.
Rule #2- I had to share my answers on Facebook, so that someone could read them if they wanted to. This really kept me more diligent and serious; I avoided some wise ass answers, because someone might read it.
Rule # 3- Much like fight club, I couldn’t talk about what I was doing. I posted each question on FB every day, mostly to get some ideas for the days when I was low on creativity. I was interested by the responses, and the different people they came from. I really appreciated the responses from everyone even if there was only one time; I read them all and appreciated it greatly.
I also published my answers on my website www.jonathanhilton.com and they are all there if you check the categories, Thirty Questions will bring them all up.
What Was the Goal of this project?
Answering from the heart was key
The goal of the project was more honesty and putting more of myself into my writing, which I thought was a weakness in my overall writing, it is difficult to put personal things out there, what you believe, what you think, but I think that if you never overcome this, you will be untrue to yourself the rest of your life, so that was the motivation. Most importantly I wanted to be able to write from a place that I didn’t care if someone liked it or not. That it was my answer and that would have to be good enough.
When someone asked me what the questions were about, I told them, if they wanted to know my answer, I directed them to my website. Other than that I simply posted a question in the morning and then answered it on my website. I never looked at the next question until the current question was answered.
The first thing I learned was that my philosophy is developing and that I have a lot of consistency in what I believe in. What I have been working on personally has pervaded my thought and I believe that I have a great start.
Secondly when you ask one question and find an answer to that question, there are always going to be more questions that result from thought and that is ok. The questions were answered and there were always a bunch more that cropped up.
Third, that there are different answers to questions, everyone has a different perspective and opinion and that is ok. All you can do is be open minded, yet faithful to what has been proven to you.
There are a lot of good people in the world and many have been asking themselves questions as well. Others are going to look for their answers in other places and find different behaviors satisfy them and they will find what they need to find in their answers, they may not have the same answers as you.
What Surprised Me?
There have been several neat relationships that have developed through the process of asking questions. Some people that I hadn’t heard from in years were prompted to contact me and see what the heck I was doing. Even with people I see every day it gave me a chance to not only have an opinion but support it and fight for it. My understanding of people is definitely higher, and my understanding of myself really was a surprise.
The many responses I got from such a wide range of people, some serious and some extremely funny, some sad, some just plain old sincere.
Success, Success, Success
The most surprising thing was the freedom that came from just practicing the power of action into this thought process. Creating and producing something that was completely of my own, based on what I believe is liberating. Many people have opinions on everything, but never publish them or have to stand by them which allows for a waffling on the beliefs. I believe that through answering these questions, my thoughts are there to be agreed with disagreed with defended or adjusted as they should be. The biggest surprise was the power of the simple action on my own creativity and understanding of myself and others.
Was it a success?
I think by any measure the process was a success, the questions did actually change the way I looked at the world, and understood other people, so that awareness led to growth, and growing is a good thing. I encourage anyone who has something that they want to work on to adopt a thirty day challenge of your own. You will be surprised how it changes the way you look at the world, it definitely changed my perception of the world and those in it.
I definitely have written from the place inside me that does not care what anyone thinks about what I think or write, which is a major victory for my own self development. I think that if I can do that then everything else will be easy.
What is Next?
Well it is inevitable that one action is going to lead to another, so there are bound to be more of these 30 day challenges, in all areas of my life, in places that I feel I need personal work on. So branching this type of growth out into other aspects of my life is definitely going to be a goal for me. Taking more action to find what I am looking for.
It all started so innocently. I was looking for a way to improve my writing and to increase the original content on my website. I was also looking for a way to write more about what I feel without a filter and to express what is going on in my mind. A friend motivated me to do this, and that led me to watch this video about how this guy had done a string of personal thirty-day challenges to improve his life in some way.
This challenge resonated with me, and I started to think about what kind of project I could work on and improve my writing and expressing myself in thirty days. That was the day I saw it, thirty questions that will change your life. I didn’t check them out or read over them in advance, the whole project clicked in my mind, and I was committed. I would answer one question honestly for the next thirty days and publish them on my blog.
I have been right about only reading one question at a time, so I only deal with one a day. It has been a revelation personally. Many people say what they would do in a particular situation or are quick to share their opinion, but it takes quite a bit more to put it into writing and to place it out there for anyone to read. The key for me has been to write honestly from a place that is honest and true, that doesn’t care for approval or worry about disapproval because it is right exactly how it was answered.
Also, I posted only the question on Facebook to get some ideas, and have found some interesting things by doing this. I have gained some insights from some, and if they ever wonder why I am writing all of these questions, then they can read my answers and see what I am all about in life. If they aren’t interested, that is ok too.
Here is a list of the questions, you can click on the questions and read my answer if you would like.
How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
2. – Which is worse, failing or never trying?
3. When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
4. What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
–Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
6. To what degree have you controlled the course your life has taken?
7. -Are you more worried about doing things right or doing the right things?
–If you could offer a newborn child, only one piece of advice, what would it be?
–Would you break the law to save a loved one?
–Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
-What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
–How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
What one thing have you not done that you want to do? What’s holding you back?
14. -Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you believe it makes the elevator faster?
–Why are you, you?
16. -Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
–Would you rather lose all of your old memories or never be able to make new ones?
18. Is it possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
19. Has your greatest fear ever come true?
20. At what time in your recent past, have you felt most passionate and alive?
21. If not now, then when?
22. If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
24. When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
25. If you knew the world was ending tomorrow, who would you make sure you visited today?
26. Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by ten years to become extremely attractive or famous?
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