22

Change Leads to Growth for You and Me

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It should be a habit we all have not to get too comfortable with the way things are nowadays. Change is on the horizon.   If things are going well in life, you had better buckle up because life will send some challenges your way.  On the right side, if things are in a difficult place in your life, then good news for you, they will be changing soon.  We have no idea if our life circumstances will improve our experience or increase the volume of our suffering. But you can count that things will keep moving along the change timeline. Here are a few things to remember as you move through your day.

Change Happens

There are two types of people in the world regarding change. The first group holds on so tightly to how things are that they can’t imagine anything changing in life for the better. So when the inevitable changes come, they let them roll over them. Like being in a box slowly filling with water, and rather than leaving, they say right where they are, even with certain evidence things have changed for the worse.  It may be they just can’t let go of the past or wish things would never change. They stay in that catastrophic situation. It can happen in business, a relationship, or any other area of life.

The second type expects the change to come because it will.  These changes develop the skill of anticipating what will happen next. Even if they are wrong, they will still be ready for the changes that come their way.  They will be able to treat an avalanche like a friendly snowstorm because they know that with change comes opportunity, and opportunity brings the ability to make your dreams, ambitions, and goals jump to life.  You must embrace that change will happen, and life will move on. You might as well enjoy it because it beats the alternative.

Shifts in Life

Shifts in life can be hard when they bring changes you don’t necessarily want to experience—losing a job or the end of a relationship or something along those lines. But when you know change is coming, and it will happen, you can start to monitor situations to make solid guesses where the change is needed.  Maybe you can be proactive and bring about changes that will help circumstances or make your life or relationships more prosperous and fulfilling.  Recognize when a situation is getting stale and move on from it because it will eventually move on from you.

Then learn to adapt to change quickly. Let go of your attachments to the past and how things were and embrace the new stuff change has brought you in life.  It may seem like a weak trade-off sometimes, but at others, it will be a real bargain because the depth and quality of your experience will improve. Whenever something or someone leaves your life, they leave a space for something or someone else to enter. Growth does not randomly push you here or there. It will help you toward being the person you should be.  Move with it and embrace it.  People grow and change, things get old, and often, they break.  Roll with it and accept it.

Enjoy all the moments.

Savor the adventure and enjoy the new experiences coming into your life. You can’t get too comfortable with the situation. It may seem stable, or it may last for years. Maybe you have developed solid daily routines to help maintain things, but if you pay attention, you will see small cracks develop over time in your routine, and slowly, the buildings of your life will start to fall.  It is not a matter of if; it is a matter of when.  You can try to be proactive and create change the way you would like life to be, and sometimes that will work, but most often, things will change on their own and move in the way that suits life the best.

Don’t fight it because when you deny something happening, you create suffering for yourself. Please take a moment, with the past well, be grateful for it, and then let it go because there is so much to be thankful for right now and in the future.  Be ready to change and change quickly again and again.  You might as well learn to enjoy it and become an expert.  You will never be too comfortable, but you can always find joy, happiness, and fulfillment if you learn to adjust to the shifting sands of change.

“What do we need to let go of, and what do we need to move on to?”

“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude” -Oprah Winfrey.

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.” -Leo Tolstoy.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change” -Albert Einstein

 

22

Things Falling Into Place

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If You Correct Your Mind, the Rest of Your Life Will Fall into Place – Lao Tzu

correct-your-mindIt can be a very daunting task to correct your mind sometimes.  Each moment our awareness allows thoughts to occur, and what we pay attention to will bring a specific type of energy into our life, either positive, negative, or neutral. If you don’t like the current point in your life, you have the choice to start thinking about other things, which will lead to you doing other things and having a different experience in your life.

Do you spend your thoughts on supportive, kind, accepting thoughts, or are you focused on selfish things, others’ judgments, or jealousy? Once your mind is focused on positive things, positive actions will follow, and the results and experience of life will also be positive. So correct your mind by choosing thoughts and energies you would like in your life, and the rest of your life will fall into place. 

The Right Mind

So that begs the question, how to build the right mind? This is where the choice of your thoughts comes into play. Like all things in our lives, we have self-determination about our life experiences. We decide to pay attention to the thoughts we vocalize and act upon. Sometimes we get into trends of thought which result from life circumstances or the people we choose to associate with. A recent relationship, job, or location change can affect how you think about things.

These actions lead to our life experiences and mean that making the right choices of the thought or mind level is key to moving positively or negatively. So if you are thinking positive thoughts, you will see that all other things will fall into place. If you choose negative reviews, your life will operate from the negative side. You need to know the value you bring to life and bring it out as a part of your life.

Choices and Responsibility

Every moment of our lives involves this choice between the positive and the negative, right and wrong, or the light or the dark. We are each a master of our will and so must accept responsibility for what happens in our lives. You are the architect of your experience solely. Get your mind right, and the rest will fall into place. Some will claim that you have no choice, but that is untrue. All of your life is a choice you make and the thought that you are entertaining.

Your decisions are yours, accept responsibility
Your decisions are yours; accept responsibility.

Most daily choices are not complicated; they are subtle and consistent with your energy. In all interactions, including those with yourself, are you choosing:

Love or Hate?    Laugh or Cry? Create or Destroy? Persevere or Quit? Praise or Gossip?  Heal or Wound?  Give or Steal?  Act or Procrastinate? Grow or Rot?  Pray or Curse? Live or Die?

These are choices we make each day, and the choice will color your life and determine the direction it will go. The easy option is not always the right one, but our lives will follow the path of our decisions.  Nobody else is to blame for decisions other than ourselves; therefore, our lives are entirely in our hands.

If you correct your mind’s negative thoughts and make more positive choices, the result can’t help but be optimistic. Will it be precisely what you desire? We shall see. Perhaps it will become something better than you ever could have imagined. Every person can find a place to improve their mental game in life.  What things bring on thoughts of negativity? Why do we react negatively? Is it fear?  Usually, it is. Faith in life is the greatest thing we can face.

“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

“To carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision.” -Dalai Lama

“Pessimism leads to weakness, optimism to power.”— William James

If You Correct Your Mind, the Rest of Your Life Will Fall into Place – Lao Tzu

22

At The Mercy of Other’s Opinions

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The concept of judgment has always been a fascinating one for me. We live at the mercy of others’ opinions or try to force others to live their lives under the negative thoughts we carry about them. Either way, the process is decidedly negative and costly to those judged but, more significantly, to those doing the judging. Judgments limit your thought patterns and your possibilities of what someone else can be and what you can accomplish. If you live under the yoke of someone else’s opinion, you will never allow your true self to rise. It is in that true self that your power lies. To be free to grow as you should, you need to free yourself from the shackles that judgment will place on you and live your life based on the ethics of what is suitable for you and not based on what other people would have you be. Letting go of judgment, incoming and outgoing, allow you to be free to become the best version of yourself possible.

Subconscious Behavior

First, it is essential to understand much of the behavior we see in ourselves and others directly from our subconscious. These are decisions we make based on our experiences in life and the beliefs we have chosen to add credibility to. These thoughts can create judgments of others very easily and quickly. Essentially unconscious behavior is repeated over and over because it is easier than spending time on conscious thought. The thoughts we entertain, consciously or unconsciously, lead to the emotions we feel, the words we speak, and their actions. When running on autopilot, we let our unconscious behavior dictate how we treat others and represent ourselves.

It can be easy to judge someone’s subconscious choices and confuse them with who they are. You can say this because most people with conscious thought added will make less judgemental choices. We occasionally place our subconscious thoughts onto another and mistake that for who they are. Try to notice when someone is operating at this level and bring them back into their consciousness by asking simple questions. It usually works to snap someone out of judgment.

Recognizing The Process

When people act without consciousness, there are chances for misunderstanding and other damaging behavior that can hurt you or others. The words you speak come from reaction rather than thought, and the anger, judgment, and fear

Shining a light on unconscious behavior allows you to recognize and not react to it.

You feel associated with someone else, or their behavior will do damage somewhere and to someone. Be conscious of all things you think and speak about other human beings. Everyone is a few different decisions or circumstances in life to being exactly like you. Try not to judge people too harshly because you are judging yourself.

Recognizing this dark habit will allow you to see this process play out in others. It enables you to know what is happening rather than react to it. Instead of fighting the problem unconscious judgment brings, you will help cure it and improve things. You see the situation clearly, and doing that will allow all people you encounter to live as they are and not under the subconscious judgment of you or someone else.

“Life is beautiful. Suffering is due to the unconscious following.” ― Amit Ray.

“Allowing a negative sentence in your head to end itself forms the very nucleus of negative thoughtforms!” ― Stephen Richards.

“Elite competitors manage their unconscious minds by mastering their conscious thoughts.” ― Stan Beecham

22

You Choose to be a Positive Force or Not

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Let Your Thoughts Be a Positive Force

Positive forceAll things are made up of energy. That is a fact. You, me, and everyone we come in contact with throughout any day are made up of energy. All power comes with a specific charge, and energy will be transferred between people in any interaction they experience. All people are both receivers and transmitters of energy. How do you determine the kind of energy you are producing? The electrical vibrations a person transmits are based on the tone of their predominant thoughts. Simple as that. You might look at this and choose not to believe it, but look at any interaction you have ever had. What made the difference between a person’s positive and negative effects on us? It is nothing more than the tone and tenor of their thoughts that lead to their emotions, words, and actions. These have affected you your entire life, but it takes a little conscious effort in positive thinking to be a positive force in the world.

The Negative

Recognizing the negative is pretty easy because it makes you feel negative. The thoughts that bring up these things are based on fear. People who are angry, worried, mean, judgmental, selfish, or otherwise fear-based thinking will produce negative forcenegative energy in the world. These people are easy to spot if you pay attention because every word they speak is based on one of these emotions. They generally dwell on the negative and never have anything positive to say about anyone or anything. Being negative about something or someone is a way to build yourself by pointing out problems. These minimize you.

However, the cost of this type of thinking is that misery loves company. If you choose to spend time with people like this, you are in danger of being affected by this negative energy and falling into a negative pattern yourself. Once your energy has turned negative, turning it around cannot be easy. You can try to turn negative people around with positive answers to every negative comment, but the best way to avoid the negative is to stay clear of negative people. Spend your time in gossip and judgment, and you are producing plenty of negative energy that can destroy the joy in any room.

Creating Positive Energy

To create positive vibrations in yourself and your life, your predominant thoughts come from love. Kind, generous, accepting, joyful, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, truth, compassion, and faith. These qualities will raise your vibration and allow you to influence the world positively. It is difficult in our society because we are inundated with the negative. The “news” is a nightly horror show of society’s worst elements. You are designed to make you live a life of fear. If you live a life of fear, you will negatively impact the world, which is what most of us want to avoid.

Take some time today to look at your thoughts and the emotions, words, and actions they produce. Creating vivacious is easy and becomes easier the more you do it. Practice kindness, compliment, listen to someone with heartfelt sympathy, share something good, find something good in what you are doing, or find something positive in the world to focus your thought on. Once you start the process of being more positive, the easier it is to build and maintain. We are each responsible for the energy we create and its influence on the world.

Who Are You?

We all know people who bring you down just by talking to you. They make your day a little more complex and suck the enjoyment out of almost any situation. Some people are walking breath of fresh air. You are one of these two types of people to one degree or another. Either you suck the joy out of a room, or you supply it. Your decision is made in your mind by the thoughts you choose to entertain and pay attention to. So I ask you which person you are? We are all energy. Our thoughts and emotions provide this invisible power to the world. It can’t be seen, but you can feel it. It is never too late to change the type of broadcast you share with the world. If you don’t like the energy you are receiving, make new friends, visit new places, and leave negative influences behind. Choose to be a positive force by thinking and focusing on being kind, generous, accepting joyful, peaceful,  loving, hopeful,  serene, humble, kind, benevolent, empathic, helpful, truthful, compassionate faithful.

“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” – Paulo Coelho.

“With everything that has happened to you, you can either feel sorry for yourself or treat what has happened as a gift. Everything is either an opportunity to grow or an obstacle to keep you from growing. You get to choose.” – Dr. Wayne W Dyer.

“Hate. It has caused a lot of problems in this world but has not solved one yet.” – Maya Angelou.

“An attitude of positive expectation is the mark of the superior personality.” Brian Tracy

“We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.” – Anais Nin.

 

 

22

Put The Past Behind You

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Life is a strange play. We move through many of our days, never thinking things could be any different. But things are always in a constant state of flux, for the one constant we experience on a minute-to-minute basis is change. It washes over our lives in inevitable portions, perhaps not wanted, but it still comes anyway. When things are not so pleasant, there is hope that changes will bring relief from what you are experiencing today. When things are going well, we hide from change because it will ruin all of our current conquests and the kingdoms we have built.

For me, the last year was an experience in the latter. Things changed for the worse as people I relied on left my life seemingly complete proportions. There was nothing I could do, and I have spent the past months trying to pick up the pieces that used to be me and see where they fit. The feeling of significant loss is a form of suffering, and I can be aware that I had built too many attachments to the way things were. Perhaps too much trust too soon in some people. I have spent too much time looking at the past and wishing things would magically snap back to where they were a year ago. But that hope is holding me back from moving forward into whatever the following stages of my life will bring, which can be equally good if you allow them to happen. Loss is still something you need to grieve, which I have been doing lately.

Shutting Doors

When you look at all the cycles in your life, it can be challenging to find the courage within yourself to shut the door at that time in your life. Even if it was painful, disappointing, or negative, there are positive things about people and experiences you might not want to let go of. So you leave the door open just a sliver looking for the memory of that good thing to open the door and walk back into your life. But it will not and the focus you spend looking toward that door, hoping, is not paying attention to the other entries you may be able to open, behind which great things lie.

Who knows what will be hiding behind the next door that opens. It could be great; it could be just ok. Life doesn’t often allow us to choose, and we can only decide our reactions to and actions once they are open. The only thing you can be sure of is that doors will continue to open for you as long as you are alive and functioning. To End, a chapter of your life on your terms can be next to impossible, but how you accept an ending is always up to you. To fight against it is the greatest form of suffering—resistance to the reality of your life.

Be The Force of Change

Each moment presents us with choices, to do what we always have, to believe as we have always believed, or to make a conscious decision to start to think about something else different from the past. In my experience, life provides us with cycles of life that serve to offer us lessons about how to live but, more importantly, about who we are. You can be proactive in your choices of dealing with change by deciding exactly how the end of your chapters will play out for you.

If you seek out the things that need to change and then take positive steps in the direction you want, you initiate the change in your life and create the action. In this way, you are being the hammer of change and involved in just what new things enter and old things end. My experience is that life will reward this type of situation with answers, knowledge, and clarity about your vision of where you can go and the joy you can experience. The hardest part of initiating change is the fear that it won’t work out. But it always does, in its inevitable conclusion. Life will work out if you let it and are willing to accept what comes your way. Only through acceptance can you thoroughly move forward.

Leave the Past

The bottom line in life is that you have to leave the past behind you and live in the present as best you can to make the future the best possible. The people who seem to live best are the ones who can recognize an ending, take a bow, let the audience applaud, and allow the curtain to close. Then take the makeup off, remove their costume and leave the theatre, moving into the next play of their life.

To continually relive old plays is a trap of mediocrity. Each stage we perform in life provides a purpose, and you should never forget the lessons, but do not try to live there. It will only stop you from moving forward. Leave your life moments that have finished where they are and move forward into a great new day. These are easy thoughts to think about but much more difficult in actions taken. Our minds connect to people and things. It is hard to let them go because it is painful when seemingly tangible things turn to dust and leave us. We need to be able to understand why. With the seeming hope, we can avoid painful losses in the future. Perhaps we can make the pain less, but I think pain comes with a purpose and the lessons we learn through it are lasting and valuable as long as you don’t let them make you bitter. Allow them to make you better!!!

“The truth is unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over, you cannot move forward.”  Steve Maraboli

“Forget what hurt you, but never forget what it taught you.”–  Shannon L. Alder.

“If you want to fly in the sky, you need to leave the earth. If you want to move forward, you need to let go the past that drags you down.”   Amit Ray

“In the process of letting go, you will lose many things from the past, but you will find yourself.”  –Deepak Chopra

 

22

Everyday People

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To separate yourself from others because of arbitrary factors is unhealthy and potentially dangerous.

In all your activities you take part in, beware of anything that leads to separation. With separation, the few rule the many, the narrow-minded take advantage of the masses, and inhumanity can take advantage of common sense.   Humans need to belong, and leaders and organizations take advantage of this by establishing an “us against them” mentality. Look at our world today. The government and media tell us to fear terrorists, immigrants, poor people, and anything else that puts the label of us against them into the equation. Today’s word is to raise your consciousness about the perceptions of separation we accept blindly every day. It starts with our thoughts, words, and actions.

Labels and Control

When you look at a situation, honestly evaluate where the information comes from and its purpose. One of the age-old methods for discrediting people is to label them with a derogatory designation. This leads to stereotyping and denying their value and point of view, dehumanizing them, and making anything you do alright.

Do not label all people in the same category. A thinking person can differentiate between individuals. Labels and stereotypes control the masses and steer the public discourse toward a beneficial point for whoever originally placed the title. This happens in politics and so much now that nothing is ever done except labeling and stereotyping. Be a thinking person and understand these are just tactics to separate people into groups by religion, race or heritage, friend or enemy, good or bad, us or them. These are charades of trouble to control your behavior and steal your power. All negative behavior and immoral decisions are justified this way. Beware of separation.

Acceptance over Judgment

So how to defeat separation is by falling back onto your humanity. It is in our common human experience that we are all connected. Each of us is having a human experience of life, and although we have differences, we are still all just humans, after all. This connection can defeat all the separations forced on us by using the tools we have as decent people. We can be kind to others regardless of where they are from. To be sympathetic to those in a less fortunate position than us. To look at another person in the eye and accept their humanity, which they share with you.

It is your choice to adopt the perspective that we are all a part of “us.” Regardless of financial standing, geography, or any other factor, we are all humans living on the face of the Earth for a short time. It is our choice to see a world full of dangerous people trying to hurt us or, as a more accepting place, all people are just a different version of you. Understanding this will eliminate separation and allow humans’ interests to be placed above, just collecting the most money we can or using the resources of the Earth to further our interests.

This game eventually will end in chaos unless something is done. Be conscious of the power you have of acceptance and doing away with stereotypes. Look at each individual as a singular entity. There will always be those who act poorly, make selfish choices, and disregard others’ best interests. People will steal, lie, and cheat. But that is not representative of any group.

People are People

Each person you meet has a story that has shaped their life, and all have had challenges of some kind. The most critical battle each fights is to see their value. This is hard enough dealing with our baggage, but it gets compounded when others place stereotypes and ignorance on top of that.

Make judgments based on the character of the people that you meet. Don’t accept the decision of others and never take the fear-mongering that separation brings. Even when the emotions run high and all others feel they are right, that doesn’t make sense. Focus on eliminating the invisible barriers of separation and practice kindness. Do this toward all others and even toward yourself. Each moment in our lives, we have the opportunity to contribute something positive to the world. Do this in your thoughts, words, and actions, and pretty soon, the world may start to see the commonality rather than the separation.

“There is a yellow one that won’t accept the black one.
That won’t accept the red one that won’t accept the white one.
And different strokes for different folks.
And so on and so on and scooby dooby doo.
I am everyday people.”

“Oh sha sha, we got to live together.
I am no better, and neither are you.
We are the same whatever we do.
You love me, hate me, know me, and then.
You can’t figure out the bag I’m in.
I am everyday people, yeah yeah.”

 

22

Knowledge Will Change You

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BeliefOur minds work overtime sometimes, and we must establish a clear representation of our thoughts, goals, and perspectives on life to find our direction based on the things we truly believe. All knowledge will change you and move your consciousness one way or another and leave you with a final set of core beliefs representing your experiences and how you choose to interact with the world. Looking at my experiences over the last year, I needed to revamp my collection of what I think and look at other people.

So here is the current version of MY Mission Statement. Presented in no particular order, here are a few things I hold as truths in my life.

We Are All Connected

Call it God, the Universe, or whatever your religion dictates, but to me, we are all connected through a divine order. All people have the same abilities for great love and equal power to commit evil, which is just a part of this crazy game called life. We are given individual gifts at birth to make our unique mark on the world if we choose to do so. When you look at all things, events, and people in your life, you can see the thread that connects everything.

This connection runs through the hearts of all people. There is an illusion that our experiences are seperate events; a universal force is running between us all, connecting all of our stories. Remember this the next time judgment of others and separation’s effects enter your life. There but for the good fortune of your circumstances, go you. There is no difference between you and anyone else but choices and details. We are all connected.

Our Beliefs Control Our Lives

Each of us has developed throughout our lives a core belief system. We established most of these beliefs early on in life. These are limiting beliefs that delay or even stop our development completely. Our expectations were built by our parents, grandparents, siblings, teachers, religion, and peers. Most were developed before age ten and have remained with us to this day. Our beliefs have to power to achieve goals or stop us from becoming what we should be.

The great thing is that all beliefs can change at any point in life when we look and find irrefutable evidence that contradicts them. All of the “you can’t,” “no’s,” “you’re not good enough’s,” “You can’t make a living doing that’s,” or any other limiting statement from your youth making you feel like you are not good enough can be eliminated — the processing and acceptance of new information about you and your abilities.

Here is a secret; you are powerful and can do anything you set your mind to accomplish. You have the chance to try anything. Look honestly at the barriers stopping you; most often, you will find insecurities and limits that we place on ourselves because of limiting beliefs we choose to accept. Accept new ideas to guide you.

Your Actions Define YOU

Talk is cheap; what you do is the definition of your character. I have heard the soft and sympathetic words that were worth nothing but have been blessed by the actions of many great people. Saying you are something means nothing, and being that thing means everything.

Each day is a new opportunity to take action toward a goal or a dream that you have. Take a step, mail a letter, make a call, or do whatever small thing you can that will lead you toward your goal. Action is the power source for people’s dreams and will cancel out fear.

Every person that has ever been born has had a dream of some kind, and there are no exceptions. When a person takes action, they can make their dream come true. If that action leads to failure, then at least you know, and a direction more suitable to you may show itself from the effort.

Thinking Positively Leads to Positive Results

Bad stuff happens to everyone at some point in life; how you deal with it is crucial. Life is full of things that we define as good or bad. Positive thinking is not about ignoring the “bad” in life and always looking on the bright side, although those factors result. Positive thinking is bringing the focus of love, understanding, kindness, acceptance, and peace to all you experience—ignoring your counterpart’s hate, judgment, separation, meanness, and conflict.

All experiences have the power to bring the positive or negative inside a person to the surface, and what emotions and thoughts you let dominate your behavior will decide what actions come from you and what feelings are happening inside you. All things are just things until we assign a value to them and determine how we look at them.

All People Have Value

A person’s value is difficult to remember when I am angry or someone has hurt me, but that doesn’t change the fact that I believe this is true. People live differently, make poor decisions, and look differently, but they are all valuable and unique individuals.   All that separates us from the circumstances of another is mere chance. At our core, we are all beings of love, and understanding and are looking for acceptance in the world.

We are all born with a unique gift that can contribute to the world’s good. It is the meaning of life to find out what that gift is and how to use it. Some people lose their way through the experience of life and bury their talents too profoundly to be retrieved, but the reward is still there. With the right nurturing, perhaps it could resurface.

Gratitude is the Gateway to Abundance

How often do you appreciate all the positive things in your life? Moving through life each day is easy; let events and people swirl past you without absolute acknowledgment. Stop for a moment and give thanks for each experience. Even when the lessons are not what you are looking for, they will provide clues as to the direction you should be moving in.

Being grateful and putting yourself in that mindset each day creates an energy of acceptance around you, and that energy attracts more into your life. What you focus on multiplies; if you are grateful for what you have, you will have more things to be thankful for having in your life. Take time and reflect a bit each day on the blessings in your life. Breathing in and out and having an experience is a blessing many lose daily.

Forgiveness is Necessary to Move Forward

To forgive someone for something they did that harmed you is very difficult. It can’t just be lip service of saying you forgive; it has to be inside your heart. The only one who can give forgiveness is you, and the sooner you give it, the sooner you can move on. Letting go of pain, sadness, anger, or any other negative emotion is key to enjoying life.   I read somewhere that you know forgiveness occurs when you think of that person, and there is no subtle searing inside your heart. It can take a conscious effort, but with forgiveness comes freedom and strength.

Embrace Love, Avoid Fear

All people carry this inside of them, and the one you pay attention to will determine how much you enjoy this ride we call life. Focus on the love-based emotions like kindness, understanding, generosity, acceptance, patience, and love while avoiding the fear-based feelings and thoughts of anger, hate, separation, jealousy, stereotyping, and judgment. It can be harder to do than it sounds, but the effort is well worth it.

Remember that fear will be a continual battle for you throughout your life. It will attack you both outwardly with dangers real and imagined. It will also subtly invade your life through indirect methods, invading your thoughts and being powered by your emotions. All things will work out if you let them. Some powers exist which are far wiser than you. Learn to trust them.

Our beliefs are essential to the type of life that we live. If you do not work to control them, they will direct you. We all have to live with the results.

22

Don’t Forget Your Second Wind

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resilience
We all have faced challenges and suffered at some point. What did you do with the experience?

Nobody would ever seek out painful experiences and cause suffering, but life often presents us with many difficult things to handle and out of our comfort zones. The great thing is these situations bring with them an opportunity for growth. Through our resilience, people gain confidence, learn life lessons, and grow into a better version of themselves. Look for the possibility that comes with every challenge that you face. Over the past year, I have experienced some challenging situations and operated outside my comfort zone. Although I would never want to go through that again, I have learned many things and made changes that have allowed me to develop as a person. It seems we need suffering to find the momentum to move forward. How has suffering helped you become better?

Change is a Tool of Resilience

When troubles come into your life, they will inevitably bring a call to change. People

resilience
New roads open up when you look for them.

tend to settle into routines that allow us to be comfortable with everything. However, comfort may not be the best for accomplishing new goals, developing unique perspectives, and becoming our best selves. Loss can present a challenge that forces us out of the grooves of life’s complacency that have dictated our actions for too long. This can be the skip in the record that pushes you toward that goal, relationship, or dream. Please don’t fight with it. Understand that you have the resiliency inside of you to handle, bounce back, and overcome adversity that you face.

Many challenges are sitting there waiting for you. They exist just outside of your comfort zone and are ready to teach their lessons when you find the courage to attempt to handle them. It could be a new career path, relationship, or just trying something for the first time. Resiliency is your power to bounce back from setbacks and rise to a new height. All great people have this power because it is impossible to be great without experiencing some issues that challenge us to our core.

The risk of an unknown path is suddenly worth the reward of a new experience, love, or income stream. You are shaken out of your routine of complacency and pushed into a chance for success. There is no reward without a risk of failure, change forces growth, and that promotes risk. Take the opportunity to travel the pathways that are open in front of you. Embrace the path and trust that you have the resilient energy to overcome any problem that you might face. Your resilience is a treasure.

Guiding Hand Of Life

All people have goals and dreams that help propel them forward. Life has a way of helping you along.

resilience
If you let it, life will guide you toward the things you are supposed to experience.

Sometimes to get where we want to go, there needs to be a push or a pull on our actions. Hard times can provide the momentum we need. How many times have you asked, “Why Me?” at the moment. Only to understand years later how the dots all connected to provide you with a great experience or success that could not have happened any other way? Even the most painful things can work for good if you allow them the time to do so and pay attention.

Life will guide you down the best path for you, but it is still up to us to decide what our lives will look like. Do we sit still, or do we move? It is your choice to live in triumph and conquer new worlds or to sit in self-pity and defeat. It is always up to our free will, and we are given a choice many times a day regarding our direction and experience. Listen to life, look for the compass, and dare to follow. All difficulties have a silver lining if you look for them, and it will almost always come in the form of growth and understanding.

A Better Version of You

Through this new level of understanding, you will find a better version of yourself. There are levels of resilienceyour consciousness that you will never scratch as long as your life moves along, undisturbed, without any form of suffering, and I think that is just how people are designed. If things are going well, there is no need to change them.

We are all responsible for our choices in response to each challenge we face. Many will blame others for their situation and circumstance for their bad fortune, but in the end, the reckoning lies with the choices we have made and continue to make. We are ultimately in control of our choices and, therefore, in control of all aspects of our lives. We can’t blame the events that are out of our control. We can only accept our choices after the fact. These choices will define success or failure for us from that moment on.

Pain hurts, but it isn’t fatal. Nobody in their right mind would seek out difficulties, but when they come, as they inevitably will in life, be aware of the opportunity that comes with them. To choose to sit still and watch our wounds fester is a dead-end street. Accept the scars and move on to what is in front of you. Trust your resilience.

Don’t Forget Your Second Wind………..

Get knocked down 7 times, get back up 8. You decide what your experiences are going to teach you.

22

It Can Be Difficult to Be There

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It can be hard sometimes to be there for those we care about.

Being a human being living a human life is going to present a roller coaster ride of experiences. We can feel on top of the world one minute but then down in the gutter a little while later. Experiences are neither positive nor negative, except for the emotional thoughts we apply to them. We will have times of being up, times of being down, and being in the middle. Our attitude determines what we will feel and contribute to the world through all of these times. I wanted to put four thoughts in your mind today that might help you navigate the rough waters of life.

“I am here for you.” — Sometimes, all you can give is your presence. People experience pain and disappointment, and all the talk in the world will not help ease the pain inside them. But a simple statement and following actions of being there provide support and kindness no word could explain. I am a problem solver and want to solve every problem for everyone. It takes wisdom to step back and be there, not with solutions or ideas but with love and support. Look for the places you can give the gift of your presence to someone else.

“I know you are there, and I am happy.”–  I think recognizing when someone is there for you is also vital. It can be easy to look past a person’s effort to be there and get caught up on our thoughts, worries, and problems. Look at who is there for you, that you care about, and know they care about you, and allow yourself to be happy about that. Being happy is always a choice, and having someone who cares about you enough to be there is always a good thing.

“I know that you are suffering, and that’s why I’m here for you.” — When someone we care about is in pain, I think we all want to take their pain and suffering away. But that is not how pain and suffering work. It is a part of our life story, and we have to learn to deal with it positively or harm and destroy us. We can recognize the suffering of those we care about and let them know we are here for them. Saying this is a critical way to support those who need it and speak it, not just assume they know it, is essential. Who could you talk these words to today? Who would you like to hear them from?

“I am suffering. Please help me.” — People are stubborn and individualistic when it comes to asking for help. It is seen as a sign of weakness in our culture to ask for anyone’s help, but sometimes, that is just what we need. Just the warm and loving presence of another who we know is there to support us when we are down. Suffering is a part of life. It happens when you care; it occurs when you love. It simply happens. The human mind is a complex machine and allows us to think, and with each thought comes a corresponding emotion. Sometimes it is just good to share that pain without worrying about what someone will think. Seek the people who can listen to you and be there for “you, and “help ease your suffering.

These four simple thoughts will affect you when you are suffering and can help you provide help to others. Give them a try, see how they can help you give, and positively get support.

“Being t “ere at the moment is everything.”–unknown” n

“Presence is more than just being there.”–Malcolm Forbes

“Just being there for someone can sometimes bring hope when all seems hopeless.”–Dave  Llewelyn

“I may not be the kind of person you want me to be, but I will always be there for you.”–Alfus Liney Jallow

“If someone needs you, don’t let them down. Because when you need someone and there is no one to be found, you will know how they felt.”–Isabe “la Poretsis

22

Achieving Some Personal Growth

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personal growth
These walls are built when we are young and live in our minds as limiting beliefs.

Look around and see what is there to stop you from achieving personal growth. As I examine the life that I am living, I see things that limit what I can accomplish. There are walls, both literally and figuratively, around me, making taking some actions seem difficult to nearly impossible.

The excuses of life are used, one on top of another, each with their own fear. Unfortunately, it appears that once you start to accept limits in one area of life, they will creep into all parts of your life and stop you from being your best and accomplishing your worthwhile goals and dreams. Don’t be discouraged. The exciting thing is that if you look inside, there is an answer. It is the strength and courage to accomplish great things. You have to believe in yourself, and doing this is the best kind of personal growth.

Beliefs Lead to Personal Growth

I believe that all of us are born with the ability.

personal growth
Escape to the greatness of your potential. Look deep inside of yourself and see what is there.

And the potential to be great and to accomplish fantastic things. The barriers we have built for ourselves often hold us back from achieving success in our pursuits. The simple belief that “I am simply not good enough.” Or “I don’t deserve it.” can stop almost any endeavor before they have a chance to get off the ground. These barriers are some of the most significant factors forcing us to act in a small way when more meaningful, dynamic actions are required. If we operate with a slight intention, we can’t be too surprised when the results are negligible. Only through a concentration on personal growth will we see a bigger target and act more significantly.

Understand Limits Honestly for Personal Growth

So it comes down to learning to look at your limitations with honest thought and recognition, understanding what is in your way and what is an excuse. All of us have built walls called beliefs that

personal growth
It can be frightening and painful, but action is the only way to find what you can do.

have been ingrained into us since we were very young. Some served us well and helped to keep us safe. Yet it is my recent experience that safe isn’t going to lead to growth, and only through growth and change can new things come into your life. If you never do anything differently, your life will never change, and you will never meet the goals you dream about. They will remain wisps of thought, floating out in front of you like a movie on a screen. It is just imagination, and it isn’t real. By making a plan for personal development and taking action, they can become real and tangible parts of your life.

Positive Choice for Personal Growth

The choice is to start to look for a boulder answer. To stop limiting ourselves and move forward toward our dreams with an understanding that success, in one form or another, is out there and only through action and belief in ourselves is it attainable. There is greatness in each person, and it is time to knock down the walls that limit you, which are merely the creation of your thoughts and experiences. Your

personal growth
Only escaping the walls of your limiting beliefs can make others see your contribution.

The ego will be pleased to keep you in a safe place without challenges, safe and sound. That is because safe and sound provide an illusion that looks like an excellent way to live. Ask yourself: are you satisfied? Have you reached your potential? Have you found the gold that lies inside you? Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones that have, but if you haven’t, then I urge you to reach for your goals and find the board that you were meant to play your game on and by all means, PLAY IT BIG! Escape from the walls of your perceived limitations, pick a dream, and chase it for personal growth.

With personal growth, you may even reach the Hall of Fame…………………….

“Income seldom exceeds personal development.” ―Jim Rohn

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

“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 

 

Personal Growth, Self Improvement, Positive Thinking