Tag Archives: Imagination

22

Happiness is an Inside Job

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finding happinessI don’t know about you, but finding happiness in life depends on my perceptions of things and the people around me.   When you focus your actions around the things you can control (inside/out)and avoid letting the stuff outside of your experience, you can’t control the behavior you are living outside in. You will continually find yourself living at the whims of the things that happen to you rather than dictating what you would like to happen to you.

There seem to be two choices in life. Either I live from the outside in or from the inside out. The choice dictates how large the portion of happiness I  experience at any particular time is. But what does it mean to live from the inside out? There are factors we can control in life and others outside of us that we do not. We are blessed with the choice of the outside or inside dominating our consciousness, so we control the amount of happiness we experience. Awesome!

From the Outside In Not Finding Happiness

Too often, We can find ourselves allowing the things and the people who come into our lives to dictate our mood. A great example of this would be when a finding happinessperson cuts you off in traffic, and you let that act affect your mood negatively, your anger rises, and you let your whole day get away from you. When we allow others’ decisions and choices to dictate our moods and actions, we are far from finding happiness in life. It can be the same as the people we care about. If they are in a bad mood for no fault of your own or are mad about something else, it is all out of your control.

That leads to me not taking responsibility for my life. It is too easy to send blame in the direction of whatever or whoever has changed my mood. I blame the traffic, blame the crowd, blame loved ones, or blame my friends. All of these are a cop-out because the only one who can choose to be angry or suffer because of someone else’s act is you. All you can control in this situation is your reaction to someone or something. Make sure it comes from a place of love. Finding happiness starts with accepting responsibility for our actions and lives, which means seeing the outside influences for what they are.

From the Inside Out

This is when you are at your best because the opposite of what is described above is happening. All thoughts and emotions about life events come from inside, and we choose their influence on us. We do not have to be angry unless we decide to be. There is no need to be frustrated unless we choose to be. We don’t have to let the non-stop external stimulus dictate our mood because the choices are made from our positive perspective, accepting full responsibility for all aspects of our lives. When your emotions radiate from inside yourself out, they will be more positive, and they will also radiate outward from you either positively or negatively.

This is the ultimate responsibility because when you choose the reactions that you experience, your true self is allowed to come through. Each of us has this ability, but it gets clouded through the lens of what society has told us is essential, rather than making decisions based on what we feel is right or wrong. There is no unhealthy attachment to things outside of you because you’re living from the thoughts, words, and actions inside of yourself.

You Are The Shot Caller for Finding Happiness

finding happiness
Whatever Walter White says goes!

Living from the inside out allows us to be the best representation of ourselves that we can be. What the media tells you about how you should look no longer matters. Finding happiness does not come from what “they” tell you to do, be or look like; it isn’t relevant anymore. What they ask you to enjoy isn’t a part of your story anymore  (unless you allow it), and you are becoming your best self if you pay attention to the thoughts and emotions that radiate from you.

You are responsible for your moods and emotions because what you think, say, and do comes from inside you and radiates in waves out into the world rather than the other way around. Your inner goodness is a force that needs to be shared with the world. We are all happier when we focus on what we can control and make good choices and leave the things we can’t control, helping ourselves and others find happiness. Please focus on the things you can manage and push them in the direction you want to go. You have no idea what power you possess until you focus on deploying it in a valuable and vital way from the inside out.

“You can’t teach anybody anything, only make them realize the answers are already inside them.”
– Galileo Galilei

“How soon will you realize that the only thing you don’t have is the direct experience that there’s nothing you need that you don’t have?”
– Ken Keyes, JR

“Uncertainty is the only certainty, and knowing how to live with insecurity is the only security.”
— John Allen Paulos

“If the only thing people learned was not to be afraid of their experience, that alone would change the world.”
— Sydney Banks

“I did then what I knew how to do. Now that I know better, I do better.”
— Maya Angelou

22

Your Most Powerful Weapon

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All people have a powerful tool of the imagination. You can use this tool to achieve very positive results or a very negative experience. Each of us decides how our imagination is used and the benefits or suffering we receive from it. All of these things are a choice, and the power of our choice in using our imagination will determine our ability to reach our goals successfully and live a life of passion.

Or our imagination can cause us to spend our lives living in fear. It is one of the essential parts of our development as people, we look forward with hope and determination, or we look all around in fear. The choice is all up to you and how you choose to use your powerful imagination.

Start with The End in Mind

What is it that you want? This simple-sounding question is one everyone asks themselves at some point in their journey in life. The fortunate ones know right away and in great detail what they want to accomplish. Others struggle because our minds are clouded with thoughts of suffering, experience, and reasons we can’t do something. If you’re discouraged in your dream, tell it to someone else, and immediately they will tell you all the reasons you won’t possibly find success. But all of us can achieve, and it starts with the positive use of our imagination and knowing where we want to go.

Start with the end in mind. Think of where you want to be in a year from now. Create a picture in your mind of where you want to be living, what you want to be doing, who you want to be doing it with, etc. Then start moving your way backward to the present moment. What sorts of things have to happen to get you to that point. Maybe you see something that you are unsure how to happen, but that is alright because the steps will become more apparent as you move forward. When you get back to the present moment, take the first step to move in that direction. Continually do this exercise and use your imagination to create the end goal, and your purpose will start to take you there.

Purpose and Power

The purpose is the force that gets us moving daily to work toward our goals. It is the thing that makes life valuable and provides meaning to the movements we undertake daily. When you imagine the end goals happening, the purpose of achievement will drive you to take action. Each action will bring experience to your life, the price and reward of having a purpose. These moments of action between now and the accomplishment of what you imagine determine the joy you experience in life.

Many people have set their goals too short in their existence. Many have a retirement goal and then reach that without any purpose left for the rest of their lives. Without a purpose in life and a force to drive you toward something, life is filled with empty moments of activity. People do things to fill the time but not to nourish the soul. Always have a dream, using your imagination to create the favorable circumstances of your life, and you will always have a purpose in your life. Actions that have meaning. That is the power of purpose in life, always having a force behind it.

Overcoming Fears

Fear is a poor use of the power of your imagination. We have all done it, though. We are considering the worst-case scenario and worrying about the future and what might happen or what someone else will think and how that will affect us and our lives. Worry is a misuse of imagination because most things won’t happen. And if they do, worrying about them won’t make them any easier to handle. Somehow we all take the challenges of life one second at a time. Actions always defeat and erase fear.

Fear is an illusion. We all experience fear because we are afraid of suffering. But once you recognize it and how it feels, you can start to create some appropriate action steps to lessen or eliminate the impact the fear will have on your life. Then list the positive results from those action steps being taken, and the fear will most often fade away. Faith is the opposite of fear. When it is difficult to see past the fear because it is pervasive in your life, keep the hope alive in your mind. You will overcome it.

The Great Mind Tool

Imagination is one of our most powerful tools, and it can help you create almost anything in your life. Whether those things are good or bad will be totally up to you. Imagining your goals from the end and moving backward is a powerful method to master your dreams and goals. These dreams bring purpose to your life, and purpose is the fuel to the enjoyment of life. Imagine that.

“The man who has no imagination has no wings.” – Muhammad Ali

“The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination.” Albert Einstein

“What is now proved was once only imagined.” – William Blake

 

22

Your Magic Power!!!

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Inside each person who has ever drawn a breath, there resides a personal power with which people can move down the path of their choosing in the manner they choose. A person can use their ability to gain great things and find incredible success. All people are capable of this, but it would be too easy if all people realized how powerful they are. We are born with the potential to use this power in our best interest. Still, life presents us with situations that slowly drain this power until we are left beholding to other people, places, and things to feel the energy we are born with. Don’t just give up your passion for reasons which don’t add any benefit to your life or existence.

All Power is Choice

Our personal choices drive us in every moment of the day and all situations. You are the one who decides to go to work on time or not. To be kind to someone else or not. The option to treat other people with respect and dignity or be selfish is all made by you and leads to the display of your power in the world. The effect your ability has on the world, and the experience of your existence will be determined by the choices you make.

We give our power away too quickly and often by either making poor choices or allowing choices to be made for us. When you drift away from your conscious awareness, choices in your daily life are made through the subconscious programming of your experience. Your life is at the mercy of a process with no thought involved. Take a moment and look at any situation you are in and evaluate the choices that brought this into your life. There are always choices you have made. And, of course, you can make choices that counteract your preferences. You are still in control of your power, and it stems from the decisions you are making moment to moment. Make good ones.

Don’t Let Strangers Dictate Your Path.

We are looking at your choices, which often give our power away for some silly reasons. One is to fit into what society portrays as acceptable. We are fed a narrative of what is pleasing to the world, and we buy it and never think of why. Each time we do this, our power is drained away a little. To fit in, to be accepted, to find our lives an unquestioned success, we need their approval of them. But we don’t know any of the people behind the message, and they certainly don’t know or care about you.

Let your heart dictate your path toward what makes you happy, and follow that trail to whatever end it holds. I have given too much power to strangers who judge me for being different or making choices with a bit of risk involved. The times I have given credence to these voices of criticism, things have ended poorly. When I follow my intuition and make the choices that feel good to me, life flows positively. Our intentions are always our own, even when circumstances dictate otherwise.

Actions and Feelings

Whether you give away your power or claim it again, your actions follow through with personal choice. Each choice will lead to a story; each step will lead to a result of one kind or another. Look at the actions you take at this very moment. You will decide to look at your power and where you are giving it away. Then you will choose to continue on the path in front of you or move in a different direction.

Being in tune with your feelings about certain things will be a guide for you. Each thought we have, the choice we make, and the action we take will have a corresponding emotional guide inside of us. We are responsible for learning to read these feelings because they will tell us if we are moving positively or negatively. Too often, we let our thoughts be the only guide, and our mind is often confused or dealing with inaccurate information, but our hearts are rarely wrong. Listen.

Personal Power Is Yours

These things dictate each moment, and to live your life without fear is the best way to find, keep, and grow your power. This is difficult to do in a world seemingly inundating us all with fear from all sides of existence. But you are restoring your energy when you learn to make choices without regard to the worry that seems to accompany everything we do. To take action without regard for the result. That is to do something because you know it is right in your heart and not because of a product you seek.

Look at our lives as a conduit to experience certain things and turn these experiences into a guide to take you in the direction you are supposed to be moving in. Disregarding the worry about the future or regrets about the past dictates the substance of our lives.

Maintaining Power

Don’t let life chip away at your power over time. People bleed their energy away over attachments built to specific outcomes in life we think are suitable for us and can’t see the better option sitting next to that poor choice. We allow the accumulation of things to become a false standard of our value when things are nothing. It is the experiences in life that build the substance of our lives. Seek knowledge and value the ones you are allowed to have in each moment of each day you live.

Fears and problems are developing in each person’s life; we continually give our power to these things. Most have arisen from simple distress or pain from a childhood memory or experience that has grown out of proportion. Even significantly traumatic experiences from childhood can rule our lives with power if we let them. Reclaiming our energy will come from forgiving others and, most importantly, forgiving ourselves for whatever has happened in our memories’ deep, dark recesses. Taking our power back starts with this.

Give it a Try

Look at your power today and see that it is responsible for creating your current life. If you have dreams, you feel the urge to follow and pursue them. In each choice you make today, look at the result and get used to seeing how powerful you are in all of your conscious decisions. Too often give away our strength because we are afraid of asking for what we want. Ask for what will make you happy and bring you experiences in life you want to have.

Start right now. Today. With the very next choice you make. Will this add to my power, or am I giving it away to something or someone out of my control? See where this path will lead you.

“The past cannot be changed. The future is yet in your power.”

“Your soul has a plan, but it may not be
the one you could ever have dreamed of
without reaching for expanded consciousness.
Keep your eyes on the unlimited skies of Spirit
so you won’t miss something amazing.”

“Love is like emergency oxygen masks in an airplane:
just as you must put on your mask before assisting others,
you must love yourself first in order to love others next.”

“Your higher self guides your true voice,
who knows your life plan and can whisper advice
that will lead you down the path you were meant to take.”

 

 

 

 

22

Just My Imagination

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One of our most powerful tools as people is our imagination. Each person can conjure up images of the most marvelous and creative things in the mind.  The ability to think in original thoughts separates the innovators from the pretenders in business and life.  Imagination is creative thinking running wild and looking at the world in a new or different way.  It is so unique that we all have this ability. It is one of the gifts of having a human experience.  We are only limited by the amount of effort we put into our imagination practice.  Our minds create the experiences we have in life.  Why is it that so many people do not use this gift?  Most people seek concrete avenues of thought which solve minor problems and lead to no significant contribution in life.  They are safe but will never lead to innovation in any area of life.  Let’s think about this for a bit.

The Concrete Path

This is a road of thought taught to us from our earliest moments. As we are taught the right way to behave at the dinner table and in public as children, which are all great skills, we are also inundated with many other things. The shame of not being exactly like everyone else, fearing being different, or not fitting in is also drilled into our minds. We are all seeking this level of normality in our behavior and, more significantly, in our thoughts.

Instead of being challenged to look at things creatively, we are stunted in our development and pushed into a fixed mindset of limitations.  This is true of the ideas of what is expected from children to what is expected from adults.  Follow the concrete path, and “you will be happy.”  Go to school, get educated, have a career, a family, work for 30 years, retire and wait for this ride to end.  Following this concrete destination is supposed to make us all happy with life, but it doesn’t work like that.  We have our paths to follow and things to create that don’t fall on that path.

Our Purpose

It is our purpose that drives us once we start looking for it.  It isn’t going to be found on the concrete path of society, but off of it, down some dirt path that others tell you not to follow.  Yet you still follow it to find the thing you have felt has been missing in your life.  That purpose is yours to discover, ignore, avoid, or build a life upon as you see fit, but it is always their calling to you. Some are fortunate, and they find their calling early on in life and have a chance to transform it and themselves over time.  Others are not so lucky; circumstances and experience will allow you to discover or rediscover precisely what you should be doing in this life.

Your purpose doesn’t have to be a giant mountain to climb or an overwhelming responsibility, and it can be a more simple life or better decisions about the ones you care about.  Mark Twain famously said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”  This is the process of finding out why.  Without looking for your purpose, you will never find it, and that is the secret to enjoying life, taking your path without fear, and seeing where it takes you. The most incredible tool you have is your imagination to help you.

Use Your Imagination

Imagination will allow you to see how things might be if you can follow your purpose. To create a world that only exists in your mind and actively look for steps that will take you in that direction. Nothing in this world was ever created by man that wasn’t first, just a thought in someone’s imagination. Each of us has the same ability to take an idea through the process of creation and into reality.  It is a matter of focus and commitment.

People can practice and fine-tune this talent, like someone training with weights works their body into shape. You can exercise the ability to be creative and make something where once there was nothing. I enjoy doing just that with an empty page and creating thoughts that weren’t there before. Like they are buildings holding the secrets to many lives.  Whatever you want to make, be conscious of the process, have a thought, imagine what it will be like completed, then take steps to move your idea toward reality.

We are all pushed down the concrete path of life to be exactly like everyone else, but none of us are the same, and all seek individual expression. Creativity is the vehicle for expression that lives in us and needs to be nurtured.  Practice the creative process, work with your imagination today, and see what path it leads you down.

“Every human has four endowments – self-awareness, conscience, independent will, and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.” -Stephen Covey

“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.”- Mark Twain.

“I believe that imagination is stronger than knowledge. That myth is more potent than history. That dreams are more powerful than facts. That hope always triumphs over experience. That laughter is the only cure for grief. And I believe that love is stronger than death.”- Robert Fulghum

 

22

Looking for You

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Do you Let Your True Self Shine?

Do You Know?
Do You Know?

I have had to pause to ask myself about my path quite often. What makes each of us unique? Let me tell you what I think. Each of us is born with unique talent or skill that is ours alone. It is given to us at birth, and we need only to follow it to find our purpose in life.

Life isn’t ever that easy, though. From the moment we come into the world, we are met with limits and expectations from others.

Sometimes the limits come from a place of love, like a parent guiding their child safely, and sometimes they come from a much darker experience.

It matters little where the limits come from, and they cause us to be ashamed of who we are and what talent we have.

These “would have’s” and “should have’s” of life make you shy away from your true self, pretending to be something more acceptable. Some who experience abuse early on in life never really get to see their authentic self, making it much harder to find.

Looking For Me

Are You Looking For Me?
Are You Looking For Me?

I have been hot on the trail of my authentic self for much of the past two years. It has been a slow and sometimes scary chase. It all began almost two years ago.

When I realized that I didn’t know anything about life, I was not happy, and like many people hadn’t been happy in a long time.

There had been moments of extreme happiness, and I enjoyed people, but the inner feeling of joy escaped me. I had resigned myself to think that this was how you felt in life, empty and bored.

I was waiting for the clock to run out. However, life had other thoughts, and events reminded me that I wasn’t always this way.

Dreams were a vital part of my youth. My imagination guided me in almost every adventure I had every day, and I dreamed of everything from playing for the Red Sox to racing horses.

I believed that everything that I thought of could happen, and it was just a matter of getting a little older for me to do all of those things. That person was my authentic self, the true me. I was gifted with the ability to dream vividly, and it seemed life was determined to make me forget that.

The Cover-Up

cover upOver the years, the feelings of trying to fit in, not rock the boat, and be “normal” made those thoughts move from the front to the back of my mind.

Finally, they were forgotten, neglected, and abandoned as I got older. I was an adult, and there was no place for dreaming in adulthood.

It was like knowing a secret that you couldn’t remember, but you knew it was a good thing, and if you could connect with it, then all would be well.

Life, however, moves in, and the job, the relationships, and the expectations all jump on top of you and push that authentic identity far back into your memory and may never let it out. Like you are asleep and can’t wake up.

Waking Up

wake upI am not unique because I think others have gone through some traumatic events and are shocked by the malaise of life.

I started to remember it piece by piece, and it is still coming back to me. Like waking from a slumber, you begin to experience life differently.

Each of us is born with an authentic self with abilities meant for us alone. Some people are right to them their whole lives, and others never see their authentic selves again.

Most people spend their early life forgetting and the second part of their life trying to remember. It doesn’t matter who you are or what age you are; there is a unique person inside you that is a mere alarm clock ringing from waking up.

Do you know your authentic self?

“Authenticity starts in the heart.” Brian D’Angelo

“Authenticity over everything.” Anonymous

“If you’re your authentic self, you have no competition.” Anonymous

“Don’t trade your authenticity for approval.” Anonymous

“Honesty and authenticity are a big deal for me.” Scarlett Thomas

“Authenticity: The courage to be yourself.” Anonymous

“Be fearlessly authentic.” Anonymous

“Authenticity is magnetic.” Anonymous

 

21

Just My Imagination

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Imagine-Form a mental image or concept of something or a situation. 

When left to their own devices, children can imagine genuinely, thoroughly, and amazingly. Their power to look at the world and create a mental image that only exists in their mind is fantastic.  Unfortunately, as we grow up, we develop too much sense and forget to imagine anything outside of our daily reality.  It is little wonder that so many people are unhappy and feel desperate about life and their existence in it. Today I am asking you to look at what you imagine daily.  Do you see what your life might be like? Do you see places that you would like to go to?  Treasures you want to amass? Love you want to experience?  Imagination is a powerful tool in helping all people create great things.  Be conscious of your vision or lack thereof today.  In your thoughts, words, and actions today, know what is real and what you imagine.

Why We Don’t Imagine

We live in a world where imagination is ridiculed and discouraged. When we are young, we are naturally full of creativity, but as we are conditioned through life, each step of “growth” tells us to put our vision aside and focus on reality.  The message is clear, “Stop daydreaming and get to work!” The world wants you to believe only sober, cold interactions with facts, and what you see in front of you is all there is.  Sadly, most of us understand this and abandon our imagination, along with the rest of our childhood.  Never even realizing the tool for success and creation, you are casting away to assume the mantle of school, work, and death.

Our society prizes those with no imagination because they are very reliable and keep a straightforward version of reality running.  Imagine a world where this wasn’t the case.  All great artists, inventors, writers, actors, and entrepreneurs could imagine a different world.  It is through the use of this imagination things change for the better. Don’t listen to the message declaring what you believe is a waste of time. Anyone who rails against vision is afraid of change, life, and growth. Don’t live your life in fear. Live a life of possibility.

Imagination Hostage

Look at the messages you get today.  From the media, advertisers, and even the government. These entities are using your imagination against you. They do this by creating a dark, scary, and dangerous version of the world.  Each negative news story is sensationalized to the point, and you imagine that every person you meet has wicked intentions, and you can’t trust anyone.  Your imagination runs away with you, surrounding you in fear, and you live your life like a scared rabbit.

Advertisers use your imagination as well. They are very good at making you feel inadequate in some way, and you imagine buying this or that will make you whole again.  Messages like: “If you love her, buy this necklace.” or “If you want to be cool, wear these jeans I wear!” Imagination is the only thing that makes you feel less than whole, and jeans or a necklace will not fill that hole in you, and that is because there is no hole in the first place.

It was learned a long time ago; people who don’t use their minds will allow others to do it for them. Imagine if you took control of what you imagined every day.  It would be bad for the economy, and the government would be held accountable for their actions.  Imagine a world that doesn’t live in fear of terrorism, immigrants, crime, or nuclear war.  This negative view is the reality you are buying into, and it merely keeps you isolated and easily controlled.  Your imagination has been hijacked. Take control of your imagination back!

Imagine Being Free

All is not lost because once you’re conscious of the manipulation, you can see it everywhere and see the actual power of using your imagination.  Use your mind to imagine what you want to have or be.  The perfect day, the person you want to meet, the place you want to go, the thing you want to do, all of this is there in your mind, waiting for you to mine it out and use it. Visualize the picture the way you think it might be.  Try it right now, in a small way, and use your imagination to picture something not with you at this moment. Creating images in our minds on demand makes us powerful as people. When you can get a group of people to imagine something simultaneously, the magic happens.

Use your power to imagine to improve your life and the world. There will always be those who tell you that you’re mistaken, untalented, aimless and lost.  Remember that critics look in a mirror and project their faults onto you.  Ignore those who limit you and become the best version of yourself you can imagine. That is a person I would like to meet.  It begins with being conscious of what you believe each day and, even more importantly, what others imagine.  Be alert and aware of the imagination and vision used all around you.  The messages you choose to follow your thoughts, words, and actions will dictate the reality you experience.  Imagine that!

“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will see what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” ~ George Bernard Shaw

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.” Albert Einstein

“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it, we go nowhere.” Carl Sagan

“Imagination and creativity can change the world.” Anonymous

“Everything you can imagine is real.” Pablo Picasso

“The world is but a canvas to the imagination.” Henry David Thoreau

“Imagine all the people living life in peace. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one. I hope someday you’ll join us, and the world will be as one.” ~ John Lennon

 

 

21

Being Mindful

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The thought is not uncommon in a day to see or deal with someone who is seemingly juggling two or three different tasks at a time.  They are hurriedly looking from one screen to another or carrying on a conversation and texting someone else. Our world encourages us by providing so many different outlets for our attention. It is no wonder people have a problem focusing their attention, and we present them with many flashy and distracting alternatives.

It is one of the limits of being a human being that we can only hold one thing in our minds at a time, and one thought can dominate our actions, emotions, and productivity at any moment.  The challenge then is to be a single-tasking person in a multitasking world. Here is my effort to convince you to do one thing at a time for the most productive and healthiest life experience.

What Happens In Multitasking

Some of my favorite people are lifelong multitaskers. When you question them on it, they funnily look at you and exclaim loudly, confidently, and even condescendingly, “I need to do this to be productive!” They continue trying to perform two or three tasks at a time.  People operate like performers juggling knives at the circus. They are very skilled, but I would argue, not completing studies at the highest level possible.  Here is the peek behind the illusion.

Nobody is doing more than one thing at a time, and they are merely moving from one task to another very rapidly. Attention shifts from a conversation to a computer screen to a phone in their hand, quickly and seemingly without interruption. But that is the illusion.  Since we can only focus on one thing at a time, as we switch from one thing to another, there is a brief moment of change in our mind between tasks called attentional blink.

This distraction is usually a very brief and almost imperceptible amount of time where you disengage from one thing and engage in another. When we are at our best, this phenomenon is not even noticed, but as we get fatigued during the day, these blips become more of an issue, and regaining focus can be troublesome to impossible.

Multitasking breaks down your ability to focus breaks down as you experience sensory overload. The once fast-moving multitasking machine is now making many mistakes and taking more and more time to refocus on getting different things done.

One at a Time

It makes a lot more sense to move in a pattern of work and thought, which requires you to focus on one thing at a time. As you are participating in or completing a task, be there paying attention to it.  Then when it is complete, move on to the next one. When your whole being is working on one thing, mind, body, and spirit, all of your power is focused on that thing. You will come up with your most creative and influential work, and you will perform the task consistently well.

Also, you will work at a higher level longer and experience less mental fatigue as you have fewer attentional blinks and more concentration on what you are creating. This task is a challenge to most people and contradicts what we have been doing all of our lives. Still, until you consciously give it a try, you will never know how practicing single-tasking will improve the quality of your ability and enjoyment of your life.

Is Multitasking Harmful

There are several behind-the-scenes issues that multitasking can cause in your life experience. The number of things we try to pay attention to become an addiction.  When these stimuli are removed, we are left feeling empty and lost.  As if something is missing.  We have gotten away from using our minds to be creative or “entertain” ourselves. The ability to use our imagination needs to be practiced.  All of the external stimulation turns us into imagination pygmies.

We become bored if we have a moment that is not filled with electronic stimuli from video games, television, computer, or of course, our ever-present phones.  Electronic devices are replacing our ability to be naturally creative and think and solve problems, leading to boring results from our lack of ability to be creative in any situation. Things are not dull; people lack the skills to think appealingly.  That ability is all up to you, and it always has been.

Final Focus

Every experience you encounter has some value from building confidence in solving a complex problem. To contribute to your community, increasing your ability to create wealth in your life. Multitasking will not disappear because we believe we are more intelligent than nature.  But in the end, it is your own ability to be creative and fantastic that is being stunted.  Make a conscious effort to do one thing at a time, give it your complete attention, and see how your life experience is different.

“To do two things at once is to do neither.”-Publilius Syrus

“If you chase two rabbits, you will catch neither one.”-Russian proverb

“Efficiency is doing the thing right.  Effectiveness is doing the right thing.”-Peter Drucker

“Success demands a singleness of purpose.”-Vince Lombardi

“Be like a postage stamp —stick to one thing until you get there.”- Josh Billings

“Not everything matters equally, and success isn’t a game won by whoever does the most.  Yet that is exactly how most play it on a daily basis.”-Gary Keller

“Multitasking is the opportunity to screw up more than one thing at a time.” -Unknown

 

 

21

Better

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I believe that all challenges in life bring with them the opportunity to grow and become better.  The pandemic times of today get an excellent chance to become better people. In the way, we think, act, and in the amount of compassion we show others.  One of the things I am working on today is understanding my mind to bring my best to the table, should this isolation ever end, and I am allowed to venture freely out into the world again.  I want to share four habits I am trying to practice in all areas of life to become a better person and to have the sacrifices we have all made have some intrinsic value.

I read about these habits as they apply to Navy SEALs training, which is some of the most difficult mental and physical challenges any person can face.  Looking at those that passed and those that dropped out, there are four mental habits that you can apply to your life and become mentally and physically more demanding.

  1. Focus on the Now

When you are doing a task, painful or not, focus on completing that as best you can and don’t time looking to the past, thinking of past failures.  It is also defeating to look at the 52 other things you have to do once this task is complete. Focus on the right now. If you are on a three-mile run with a full pack, focus on this one step, then the next, not the distance you still have to cover.

You can apply this idea to tasks in your life by focusing solidly on what you are doing right now and giving it your best effort.  I work in production right now, and it doesn’t do any good to complain about how long the day is when you are just getting started. It does do good to focus on completing the task at hand, one thing at a time.  Our focus is powerful when you do this. It can be challenging as others place demands on you but move methodically through your tasks one at a time, and soon you will have everything done and done well. Focus on the right now.

2. Imagine Joy

Challenges are complicated, and to complete them and maintain your positive attitude. It will help you remember accomplishments from your past and how good it felt when you finished them.  Just as you focus on the now, break your immense task down into smaller steps on a list and have an inner celebration as you check them off your list. Learning to transfer feelings of success from our experiences onto today will allow you to move with vitality and purpose through the functions of the day.

Each accomplishment gives your brain a hit of positivity, and this will fuel you through your day. Rather than look at the tasks you are facing and diminishing them or yourself, which will only bring you a negative attitude and a bad day along with it.  The more you practice the mental exercise of putting joy, success, and accomplishment in all things you do, the easier it will be for you in all areas of your life.

3.  Breathe

Breath in for 6, hold for two, out for 6, two between

When everything seems to be falling apart, and the pressure is getting to you, and you feel overwhelmed, take a moment and breathe.  Breath deeply for a count of six.  Then pause for a count of two and then exhale for a count of six. Pause for two seconds and do it again.  Do this three or four times.  Each in-breath will increase the oxygen to your brain and give you a chance to catch your breath.

It is a fact that deep, controlled breathing is a powerful method of improving your mood, thoughts, and attitude in just a short amount of time.  Try it right now and see what it does for you.  Too often, we are so wrapped up in our thoughts we forget to take the control we have in our breathing and focus our minds on the things we can do right now to become better.

4. Be Your #1 Fan

Too often, people let their negative thoughts about themselves and their abilities rise to the top of their thinking. Rather than allowing your thoughts to go into a negative spiral about life, thinking every aspect of your existence is terrible or boring, you can actively work from your greatness.   Instead of doubting yourself or the path life is taking you, have confidence it is taking you in a direction needed for growth. If you make a mistake, you will learn from it and be even more remarkable because of it.

Instead of listing all of your problems and challenges, make a mental list of everything that feels good in your day.  There are always things that feel good if you look for them.  It could be enjoying the people you work with, being better than you were the day before, doing something new, or just going home at the end of the day. Find the positives and think about them. It will improve your attitude and allow you to accomplish more than you ever believed you could.

The next time you face a difficult challenge in your mind, give these four habits a try, focus on the moment, Imagine how good you will feel, breathe deeply and be your own best cheerleader.  It is easy to dismiss these practices as so dull they will never work, but you have to decide if you want to struggle continually in life or take proactive steps to be more confident and find success in all that you do.

“Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.” ―Sean Covey

“It is “easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.” ―Benjamin Franklin

“Our character is basically a composite of our habits. Because they are consistent, often unconscious patterns, they constantly, daily, express our character.” ―Ste “hen Covey

 “I have learned that champions aren’t born; champions can be made when they embrace and commit to life-changing positive habits.” ―Lewis Howes.

“You leave old habits bd by starting out with the thought; I release the need for this in my life.'” ―Wayne Dyer

 

21

Defining Fear

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In all lives, there are two forces always fighting for control, fear and love. What is fear really but the thoughts about things that will cause us to suffer? We all deal with these thoughts to some degree. Some people who are consciously aware of the moment are not affected very much because they avoid the two traps of fear. At the same time, those who do not contemplate their thoughts and see the moment are ruled by fear and all of its cynical cousins, judgment, anger, selfishness, and a lack of empathy. Look at yourself today and see where fear is sitting in your consciousness. Is it front and center, or have you conquered it and placed it safely in a cage in the back of your mind. Remember, we all feel fear at some point; the key to life is how we deal with it.

Fearful History

There are two ways that fear enters into your thoughts and pervades your feelings and actions. One is when we think of bad things that have happened in the past—remembering painful experiences from earlier days in our life experience. When you feel fear and have a conscious awareness of it, many try to push it away, bury it deep in ourselves and not deal with it. For a while, that can work, but eventually, it will pop out when you least expect it, outside of your control. The original episode of fear could have happened when you were five years old, or 30 years old, when the concern arises rather than pushing it down, invite it to stay.

Look at your fear and face it back to its origin. Something occurred, which caused you to suffer. It could have been a lack of care, a break in trust, a physical or psychological pain that you have pushed down and never dealt with before. Let the fear enter your mind, get to know it, and face it head-on. Investigate them. Where did they come from to visit you? Accept them and forgive those who might have caused the suffering, including yourself. The past is over and dead, and nothing can change what has happened. Letting it control your experience right now is a waste of time and effort. Face the fears of the past, allow them to exist, and leave you alone.

Future Fear

Fears’ other big weapon is the future. Unlike the past, the end has not happened yet and is wide open to possibilities. Fear and worry rob you of your freedom as you live your life hiding from problems created inside the fertile walls of your imagination. Your imagination is a powerful tool, it can guide you to great things, or it can paralyze you and rob you of your potential. Worry and fear of the future is a misuse of your most powerful tool of imagination. Creating scenarios that will lead to suffering but never really existed. These worries will stop people from following their dreams and doing what they want because fear says they might look foolish, or not someone else might think poorly of them.

Fighting your imagination is a tricky thing, but it works similarly to facing your past. Embrace the fears and follow them to their source. Fear of abandonment, loss, being alone, or the biggest one of all, dying. All people fear something. Learning to deal with it actively, embrace it, and face your fear will take you to its source. Conscious awareness of your concerns and their origins will free you to use your valuable imagination for good in your life. In your imagination, great things reside, which once thought we could bring into reality. They are creating the best future for yourself and the world you can. Only when we conquer our fear and move forward.

Society of Fear

We are inundated with messages of fear continually in our community. If you watch the “news” from a significant network, their job is to create fear in your mind. It is not to keep you informed because they choose what you hear and how the message is presented. People who are afraid are easy to control and manipulate. Don’t allow others to control you with fear. Live in the moment. Are you in danger at this moment? If not, then don’t let fear move you to stereotype or label anyone else as an immigrant, Russian, Korean, or anything else. People are people just like you with worries and desires all on their own. To see anything else is a manipulation of the facts.

We are inundated with images of the perfect physical body, or the perfect home, perfect marriage, perfect relationship, perfect this or perfect that. Perfection is impossible, and feeling fear about not measuring up is delusional. Looking inside yourself and being the person you were meant to be is most important. Put the fear of what others think of you or how you measure up to the fake standard of our society. Be the best you that you can that is good enough for everyone.

Finally

To lessen the impact fear has on your life, invite it to the surface of your life. Look at it and analyze it rather than push it way down inside of yourself. Shine the light of reason on it, and it will cease to be fearful to you. We all have fear in many areas of life because we want to avoid pain. Pain is going to come when it comes; often, its anticipation is worse than the actual situation itself. Face your fear with courage and thought, seeing its origins, and you will rise above it.

“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light.”― Plato.

“Keep your fears to yourself, but share your courage with others.” ― Robert Louis Stevenson.

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

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”― Franklin D. Roosevelt.

21

You Better Think

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Think-direct one’s mind toward someone or something; use one’s mind actively to form connected ideas.

We receive the most important tool we could ask for when we are born — the ability to think. Yet, so often, we waste the power of our thought on things that are petty, unproductive, selfish, and short-sighted.  The mind can do so much good when focused on the positive and so much mayhem if thinking in the negative. Nothing has ever arrived in the world that did not exist in someone’s mind first. It is through the power of their thought that turned whatever is into reality.  Look around you and see furniture, lights, fire extinguishers, chairs, or whatever else you see around you. They were nothing until someone thought of them in their mind and took steps to bring them into reality.  So today, I challenge you to focus on how you think.  A person becomes what they think about in life.  And, of course, how you think, what you say, and the actions you take will reveal what you are and what you will become.

Are You Positive or Negative?

Your thoughts control the energy you produce, plain and straightforward.  All people are both transmitters and receivers of energy. Either you will be positive or negative based on the tenor of the thoughts you entertain regularly. Favorable views of love, kindness, acceptance, understanding, and forgiveness will lead to a production of positive energy. These are the people who pick you up, make you feel good, and cause you to believe all things are better than you thought they could be.

On the negative side, thoughts focus on fear, judgment, non-acceptance, hate, meanness, or unforgiving. These negative thoughts come through in your words about others and will transcend into your actions. This energy transmits to all in your life, spouses, children, friends, and coworkers.  If your life seems like a negative experience where everyone is selfish and petty, look at your thoughts.  The negativity you create attracts other negativity.  Are you optimistic or pessimistic in your life? Your feelings tell everything. But on the positive side, you can change this experience whenever you choose to, by focusing on different thinking. Eliminate the negative and create some positive in your life.

Imagination Creates Everything

When you think, it is not all about facts. A mind is a creative tool if you allow it to be and use it as such. When we are young, our imaginations run the show. We create fantasies about what we will become, where we will go, what we will do, and everything about life.  As we grow, society tells us to stop daydreaming and get to work.  And we do. We are leaving behind the most powerful and joyful ways to think and forget to use our imaginations.

What could happen if we had all the people in the world using their imaginations to solve problems and create beautiful things?  Too many people are not controlling or noticing their thoughts at all. They just let them run in whatever direction they go like a wild animals. Wild animals are hard to corral and harness. Practicing meditation can allow us to focus our thinking and find the thoughts that resonate with us. Use your creative ideas to make things that will enable you to happiness and make the world a better place. Think with imagination. You are the only one who can think your thoughts and bring your perspective to the world.

Control what you Think

If you don’t control what you think others will.  That is a fact of life that becomes more apparent with each passing day. Look at the messages we are receiving from the media and telling you what to be afraid of, who you can’t trust, or what activities are acceptable.  Advertisers are no less invasive, selling your thoughts about what products will help you be healthy, famous, and in the end, happy.  Listen to those thoughts, and the only ones who will be satisfied are the people collecting your money.  Happiness comes from within you, not from outside of you.

When it comes to fear, that is a negative thought that allows others to control you.  If you’re always afraid, you will act a certain way.  Usually just like somebody else wants you to.  The danger is something that can hurt you, and you should be careful of it. Fear is just a thought that controls you. It makes you fall in line with the system. Support government actions of violence in the name of security. Justify poor treatment of people who are not “one of us.”  Look at your thoughts and honestly see which are your own and which belong to someone else.   Control Your thoughts, or someone else will.

Thinking Skills

Thinking it is a skill that can bring all things into your life, both positive and negative. The only person who is responsible for your thoughts is you. If you don’t like the energy of your life, change it with a conscious awareness of what you are thinking throughout your day.

The thoughts you decide to entertain will either bring great things in your life or create negatives.   You are a potent being, and your views are your weapons. They lead to everything about you. From what you will accept for treatment from other people to how much money you can make to the quality of your relationships.  Your thoughts determine all of these things. Your creativity in all things is nothing more than a different and unique way to capture and organize your thoughts.

Take some time to look at the thoughts you are entertaining today. See the emotions that are naturally attached to them. Observe the words you use to express these thoughts to the world.  Finally, the actions that you take will turn your dreams into reality.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein. 

“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”  ~William Shakespeare

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re right.”   ~Henry Ford