Tag Archives: Positive Thoughts

Some Things that Aren’t True

 

We all have an ego, which feeds us information about ourselves and life that isn’t true.

Which defines you.

Most thoughts the Ego creates stem from fear and are designed to keep you from making ANY changes. It just wants you to stay in the known. But the problem is that most of your greatness and dreams lie in the unknown, which can be scary. The Ego is your false self, a voice in your head telling you things to limit you.

This little writing is about some daily popular lies your Ego creates for you. If you do nothing else, look at your thoughts objectively and see if they are in your best interest. If they are causing you to suffer, harm yourself, and not allowing you to step into the best possible version of yourself, then make a change. Of course, like all things, YOU are the one who needs to make the decision.

Lie # 1 You are what you own.

Your are not what you own
You are much more than this……

Many of us buy into this one. Our Ego equates accumulating things with being critical, safe, successful, and happy. Yet, even though this thought is in our heads, experience teaches everyone that the enormous pile of material goods will not make you a good person. Once a purchase is made, there is a momentary feeling of gratification followed by a search for the next thrill of possession. If only it were this simple. Buy something and be a better person. The funny thing is that what you own will never make you happy.

Our society is so consumer-oriented, and we are all conditioned to consume from birth. Propaganda teaches what things you need to be popular, influential, or successful. If a person feels a lack, we are introduced to fill it with popular clothing or highly processed foods loaded with sugar. All of that is not going to make you any closer to happiness. You are what you own is a lie that we all believe, but it is still a lie. In the end, when you are taking your last breath in this drama called life, you will not be thinking about the things you own. You will wish for the people who mattered to you—those you loved and loved you back, even for a short time. The lies of the Ego push love to the background with a need to make you safe. What you own doesn’t create character, love, enjoyment, or happiness. Find your true self.

Lie # 2 You are what you do for a living.

In American society, this is particularly true. When you

You are not your job
Are you happy?

Meet someone, and one of the first questions asked is, what do you do for a living? Why? We can glean their success, value, and personal development by the profession one decides to pursue. This is a lie, as well. What someone does for work does not define their character, caring, kindness, and ability to care about others. This is your Ego, looking to measure yourself against someone else and making yourself feel better about your life, choices, and prospects. It has no merit at all as to your value and contributions as a person. A profession is what you do to make money, not who you are.

This is your Ego, looking to measure yourself against someone else and making yourself feel better about your life, choices, and prospects. It has no merit at all as to your value and contributions as a person. A profession is what you do to make money, not who you are. A better question to ask a person you just met is, “What excites you right now?”  That passion is a more realistic indicator of what a person is all about.

What you choose to do to make money is not a vote of confidence or an indictment of your ability; it is a reflection of current circumstances. The e will change but will still have little to do with your value, and your actions will show this.

Lie # 3: What others think of you defines you.

One of the most harmful lies your Ego tells you. It  s a simple fact that some people are going to love you,

Prison of what others think
Who wants to live in prison?

Some are going not to like you so much. Most of the reasons for this have nothing to do with you but more with that person’s biases and experiences. When someone notices something about another that bothers them, it reflects something they don’t like about themselves.

Often, I have created imaginary thoughts in others’ minds, in which I make explicit assumptions about their thoughts of me with absolutely no factual evidence. To give validity to these thoughts (which don’t exist) is insane.  So  thoughts that help me – 1. What someone else thinks of me is none of my business. 2. Ego is not who you are ev r form assumptions about another’s thoughts. 3. if someone thinks something negative about you, it doesn’t make it accurate.

One of the most challenging lessons here is not caring about what others think about you. Your thoughts and feelings about what you do should be necessary.

The bottom line is that you have control over the thoughts that you entertain and add validity to in your life. Cho sing to add value to negative thoughts about yourself is a self-defeating activity that can be changed at any moment.  You are not your possessions, your job, or what others think of you……….That begs the question, “Who are you then?”  Looking for this answer is the first step to expanding consciousness, a deeper understanding of life, and a feeling of fulfillment.

Thinking About Positive Thoughts

positive thought“Every good thing begins with one positive thought.” ~Bryant Mcgill

Do you realize any small, minuscule, infinitesimal positive thoughts you entertain in your head could lead to great things in your life?  Our thoughts build on themselves, adding momentum to whatever you create.  They remind me of being a kid and building a snowman. You start with a small round ball that easily fits in the hands of the smallest of children. Then you put it on the ground covered in snow and roll it along. The ball will grow in size as long as you can find the power to push it along. Soon you have created a snowball that is so big it is difficult to pick up. You need three of these snowballs to create a decent snowman.  carefully placing each on top of the other and decorating it in the fashion you choose

That is the way of our thoughts. As we move them around, they collect more of the same charge of energy you used to create it, and soon your little thought has transformed into an action, which can be duplicated by others, and soon it can’t be stopped. You are the potential catalyst for all good things that happen in the world, and of course, you can be a part of the negative aspects.  We each decide how our thoughts will infect the world around us in every small moment.  Does the snowman you are building wear a smile or a frown?

Positive Thinking

positive thought
Like a snowball rolling down a hill, your positive thought can grow to enormous size! Choose your small thoughts carefully. They can destroy or create the world.

So what does it mean to have to think more positively?  Every second of each day, there is a choice that all people have regarding the thoughts they entertain. I have heard the average person has about 70,000 thoughts a day. Our minds are constantly creating ideas, opinions, and interpretations based on our experience in the world. Thinking positively is a choice somebody has to make; we all choose this course, or we choose to be negative.  It isn’t anybody else’s fault. You choose the thoughts of love over fear, and you are on your way to a positive mind frame.

To be more specific about these choices, there are choices of love over hate, laughter over crying, creating over destroying, perseverance over quitting, praise rather than gossip, healing thoughts and actions over those that hurt another or yourself, giving rather than taking, action over procrastination, growth over stagnation, or choose to live rather than to exist.  Each favorable decision will allow for your energy to grow in either direction. Positive or negative, it is all up to you, and the most minor positive thought can lead to at least one small good thing. As with all things, there is a possibility of growth, just like the snowball.  This can be created in either direction, again chosen by you alone.

What Are You Growing Today?

So the challenge for you today is to look at the thoughts you are entertaining. Where do they fall on the chart, positive or negative? Our thoughts lead positive thoughtto words that lead to actions that lead to the reality we are experiencing. Look at your thoughts critically and ask: Is this a thought I would like to grow? If it isn’t, it is time to make a different choice. Our future is created in every choice of thought we make today, at this moment.

We are responsible for the reality we create through our thoughts and our personal energy. Are your snowballs made of white clean snow containing all of life’s potential? Or do they contain the dirt and grime of negative thoughts brought on by negativity?  Life is created through energy, and you, yes, you, play a part in charge of the energy around you in your life and how others in your life experience because of you. Positive attracts positive, and negative attracts the same.  So the snowball you hold in your hand at the beginning will determine the type of snowman you are left with at the end. You are responsible for that in all moments of your life. What are you building? Watch your thoughts.

Every good thing begins with one positive thought.  Keep in mind that the reverse is also true.

“Change your thoughts, and you can change your world.” –Norman Vincent Peale

“There is only one corner of the universe, you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self.” –Aldous Huxley.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” –Alice Walker.

 “You, and only you, are ultimately responsible for who you become and how happy you are.” –Rachel Hollis.

“If you say you can or you can’t, you are right either way.” –Henry Ford

Letting The Negative Ones Go

You Can’t Have a Positive Life with a Negative Mind – Unknown.

positive-life-negative-mindOur thoughts are the most important thing that we create. Every day there is a non-stop production of views from our minds, and we are subject to the powers of those we pay attention to. In life, if we are truly looking to live positively, we have to learn to pay attention to the positive thoughts and let all the negative ones go.

What is a Positive Thought?

In the mass of thoughts, it can be easy to pick out positive reviews, especially if you are not sure what you are looking for. Positive thoughts are based on the positive emotions that you have each day. Joy, interest, love, kindness, acceptance, gratitude, cheerfulness, happiness, confidence, etc., these thoughts are the ones that you should latch onto and focus your thoughts on.

A negative mind is a result of focusing on the negative thoughts that are produced. Ideas that focus on hate, sadness, uninterest, meanness, judgment, ingratitude, gloom, and lack of confidence will create a negative mindset. When you focus on thoughts with this tenor, you will not find life a satisfying process.

Simple Ways to Build a Positive Mind

  • positiveSpend time with positive people. Like attracts like, and if you are spending time with people who have a healthy, optimistic outlook, it will rub off on you. Conversely, if you spend time with negative-thinking people, move away from them, and you will see the difference this makes in your life.
  • Avoid being a victim by taking responsibility for your actions. We all make choices that aren’t so good but accept our part in them, learn what we can, and move on with our life. Accepting the victim mentality will lead to not taking our power in life. You are in control of how you experience life.
  • Give to others regularly, and you will have a more positive outlook. Giving naturally makes you happy, and what you offer can improve your perspective on the world. Giving will always open your life up to receiving.
  • Read positive books and articles. Avoid the negative stories the media is known for and focus on the positive things. Life has its dark side, but you don’t have to wallow in it. Look at the positive in books that teach you something about life. Learning new things expands your mind and naturally makes you more positive.
  • Avoid watching movies or television shows with malicious content. Negative messages about women diminish the value of a human being, and viewing these messages will bring you down. Make positive choices to move on and build your positive frame of mind.
  • fd02d2b50d27f91869ebe449f60c8323Remember that you are powerful beyond measure. We are often getting so used to fitting in and being what others expect, and we forget that we have tremendous power. All people can become great.
  • Forgive yourself for any perceived or actual wrongdoing. It doesn’t do any good to carry the blame, and it will only lead to a negative outlook and a negative mind. It doesn’t mean that you do no wrong, but you take responsibility for your actions and move forward in a positive direction. To do anything else is to let a situation define you, and if it is a negative situation, well…………..there you go.

Ultimately,  it is your choice if you have a positive or negative outlook on life. It is essential to think about it because having a happy life with a negative mindset is impossible. It is impossible to have an unhappy experience with a positive outlook.

You must decide, but you can’t Have a Positive Life with a Negative Mind.

” Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.” – John Wooden

” We become what we think about.” – Earl Nightingale

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.” –Alice Walker

” Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it.” – Dennis P. Kimbro

” But you will admit that it is a very good thing to be alive.” – L. Frank Baum

 

Getting Better or Getting Worse

In all things, we are either getting better or worse. Wisdom is one of the factors in our lives that determines the soundness of our actions or decisions, based on our use of the experience we have, the knowledge we have acquired over the years, and the excellent judgment we have produced. When do you know that you are wise? When do you know that your decisions are sound? It takes some thought and effort to evaluate everything we experience in life.

Thoughts to Seek

Our minds are a powerful tool, producing a non-stop stream of thought left unguarded or unwatched; it has just as much negative energy as positive energy. Our mind reacts to the input you give it. From the books, you read, shows you watch, games you play, or people you choose to spend your time with. All have input into the machine of the mind. Like children, our thoughts will run wild and unruly without discipline. There are thoughts you can choose to seek, which will make you stronger.

Any thought that weakens you in any way should be avoided and eliminated. How can you control what you think? In some ways, you can’t, but what you can do is choose the thoughts you pay attention to. When a negative thought comes up, and you know it doesn’t serve you become your best self. Let them slide by you without addressing them. Then move your thoughts to something that does move you toward your best self. Invest your energy into these thoughts and follow where they lead you. And your thoughts will become a more valuable and powerful commodity.

Which Thoughts are the Right Ones

Recognizing the thoughts you should hold onto is easier than you might think. Look simply at the source and result of the thought. Does it come from fear? Or does it come from love? It is easy to recognize which is which. Thoughts of fear are negative and bring with them all the downside of fear. Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, arrogance, self-pity, dishonesty, arrogance, false pride, and ego are thoughts you should let slide by you. While thoughts of peace, acceptance, happiness, joy, humility, kindness, serenity, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. These are the thoughts you want to pay attention to.

The paradox is that no matter what you do, all of these thoughts exist daily within each of us. It is the ones we give our attention to which will dominate our lives. Every person will represent their dominant thoughts or the ones they choose to focus on. If fear is your predominant thought pattern, the negative list will be on your way to feeling happy. When you are worried about what you are getting out of something, it will generally be negative. When you are concerned about what you give to a situation, it will probably be a positive experience. These thoughts empower you and allow you to enjoy the knowledge that life is providing you.

Why It Is Important

It is essential to know that you control which thoughts you focus on because if you are entertaining a constant flow of fear, they will eventually wear you down. You will slip more and more into a mindset of fear allowing all of the negative things above to creep into your reality. For example, hating someone will wear you down, make your reality less enjoyable, and never once harm your enemy. Letting these things dominate leads to easy anger, needless conflict, and general unhappiness.

Learn to embrace the positive in you and follow those thoughts, and you will see the enjoyment of your life improve. Rather than fearing getting robbed of something or not getting your fair share, you will be looking at what you can share. The positive thoughts allow a person to live in harmony with the things around him and not let needless anger cloud their judgment. Wherever you are in your mental world, please take a moment and evaluate it and remember.

We are constantly getting better or worse, and the thoughts we choose to pay attention to in each moment will determine both the level of our improvement and the amount of enjoyment we get in life.

“Start each day with a positive thought and a grateful heart.” – Roy T. Bennett.

“Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.” – William James.

“Be mindful. Be grateful. Be positive. Be true. Be kind.” – Roy T. Bennett.

“The positivity in our life is a function of our thinking. So think positive, stay positive!”

 

Raise Your Energy

Vibration—a person’s emotional state, the atmosphere of a place, or the associations of an object, as communicated to and felt by others.

The Universe runs on laws that dictate everything. One of these is the Law of Vibration, which states: Everything in the Universe vibrates or offers a vibration. When it comes to an understanding how things work, this is a great place to start. All items have a level of vibration, focusing on everything from quantum physics to holistic medicine. Since you and I are a part of everything, we also offer a beat, and what constitutes that vibration is where our focus of thought most often lies. We have complete control over this because we are the only ones who can decide how to react to anything.   The frequency at which we vibrate is determined by the thoughts we think, the corresponding emotions, and our actions at any moment of each day. You are responsible for your life experience — nobody else.

High or Low Vibrational Frequency

Since we all have a frequency and vibration, our thoughts bring energy to our life. Positive thoughts and their corresponding emotions vibrate on the higher level of the scale. While negative thoughts and feelings vibrate at a lower level, they will have that effect on your life. Knowing where you are on the ranking of vibration is essential because it directly relates to what you are inviting into your life. Like attracts like. When you drift into a bad mood, you have decided to focus on something negative. Changing an attitude is as simple as consciously changing your thoughts.

Look at the thoughts that you focus on and the emotions that result. It is, again, a simple choice for me. Ideas of joy, peace, love, hope, humility, acceptance, understanding, kindness, empathy, and truth will create a higher vibration level. At the same time, a focus on the fearful thoughts of anger, judgment, hate, jealousy, resentment, greed, lies, or ego will vibrate on a lower level. I am not judging, just observing. I see these thoughts in myself and have to deal with them. Each of us has a choice to make in our actions and interactions with others. The decision we make will define us to the world and ourselves.

Choosing Your Vibration

The choice is a simple one. Be conscious of your thoughts and understand that a lower-end vibration results when you entertain fear and let the emotions permeate your consciousness. This result is essential to understand, and I think it isn’t easy to accomplish anything from this level of consciousness. Honestly, look at your life and when you have been operating at your best. What were you thinking? Feeling? Doing? It is often something you believe and feels optimistic about in you.

To start choosing the vibration you offer to the world. It begins by looking at your thought and noticing where it leads you emotionally. Then choose to follow the positive and move away from the negative. This movement doesn’t mean you ignore bad things, but you don’t wallow in them. Change your focus from conflict and separation to cooperation and acceptance. In the end, it is all up to you, and the reality that you experience will be a result of the choices you make. Some people can’t seem to move their thoughts in a positive direction because their conditioning on a subconscious level is negative. That is not a death sentence to positivity but a roadmap to improvement. Seek high vibrational activities.

High Vibrational Activities

Activities you can participate in that will allow your vibration to rise are common sense. Increase your level of physical activity. The human body wants to move, and the mind releases endorphins that improve your mood, make you more optimistic, and allow your vibration to rise. Not to mention the added benefit of having a higher quality of life. Spend some time contemplating nature. Noticing the things that naturally occur all around us can create a more positive mood in your life. Being conscious of the foods you eat can raise your vibration.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know that there are things that feel good in life and those that don’t. Being honest, practicing kindness, meditation of some kind,  and pure gratitude for what we have in life will create a higher vibration. Focus your thoughts on these things and see what makes in your life—thinking of others before yourself and being unselfish will also vibrate on a higher level.

Lower Vibrations to Avoid

These are as varied as there are people in the world. For me, a good rule of thumb is that if it doesn’t feel right, it should. The mainstream media is something that I avoid because they sensationalize events to create fear for the sake of ratings. There is nothing positive about their productions, and most are overhyped looks at people’s worst behavior. But simple things like judgment, gossip, and even sarcasm can vibrate lower because they are harming someone else. You can never hurt someone else without hurting yourself, which is the vibrational truth.

Avoid people who are continually complaining about things or criticizing others. You can feel the negativity, which will stay with you for a time. At the very least, it will take a bit of effort to get yourself back on the upbeat track. Life is too short to waste, criticizing others and their choices. Focus on the positive choices you can make.

Your Overall state of being

Life will be defined by the choices you make in thought. Each decision carries its energy into your life and the lives of those close to you. It involves the way you eat, sleep, exercise, and work. Take a moment to look at all of these areas. See if you are vibrating on the low or the high side. Like attracts like and living at a higher vibration allows you to draw more of the same into your experience. Spend time each day looking at the manner you treat other people. That is your gift or curse on the world. Each person matters as much as the next. How you treat others provides a mirror you can look into to see yourself. What you give to the world will get back in return. It is Karma.

“Vibrate at the highest frequency possible.”- Anonymous

“Everything in life is vibration.” -Albert Einstein

“Your vibration or energy state is a blend of the contracted or expanded frequencies of your body’s emotions and thoughts at any given moment. The more you allow your soul to shine through you, the higher your vibration will be.” -Penney Peirce

 

Your Thoughts

We are too smart for our good sometimes. The mind is a fantastic tool to enhance lives and solve problems. Still, I often forget it is just a tool to navigate our movements through life most efficiently and beneficially possible. I forget an instrument is not infallible, and this tool is not our identity.  Left working on its own, the thoughts created by your mind will mislead you, make you feel unwanted and unnecessary emotions, and move your actions in circles rather than in the direction that might benefit you.  Too often, we trust our minds and identify with our thoughts. We believe them and give credence to them, allowing them high power over our lives.  The sad fact is our minds lie, mislead, and produce thoughts based on past programming, and following thoughts blindly will lead to treating perceptions as reality and having emotions run your life. Don’t trust your mind.

Tricks of the Mind

Our thoughts will trick us into believing something that isn’t true. The mind will often produce a story based on half fact and half rumor to support a thought you have and make it seem valid.  It does this to justify your feelings and your actions even when your steps are not proper.  All evidence is produced to make it seem ridiculous to question any part of it. Did you treat that person fairly?

How you choose to look at something often dictates what you see.

Were you open-minded?  Was that statement you made right or speculation? Our minds will find a way to make it seem right, but it may not be.

Like a lawyer arguing a case with no opponent, you will only get evidence that supports your thoughts and none that contradict or question. Unless you make a conscious effort to find it, eventually, the validity of thought will be revealed in the value of your life. Choosing not to question your beliefs will lead to a life of not getting what you need, but what is easy. We pay attention to each thought and believe going to bring a feeling with it, and it will lead to your actions in what you do and how you treat others. Much of what we “think” is done on the subconscious level, and thoughts are produced because of experiences in the past, not the thing you face today.

Confusing Movement of Thought

If you are honest, the truth is far from our minds. Our thoughts can prevent us from seeing if we don’t ask conscious questions. Opinions tend to overcomplicate things by adding a view upon the idea and creating wild speculation about what might occur if this happens or that does.  The mind also produces many different possible solutions to a problem, which makes finding the exact answer hard in a world of choices that is no choice.

The hard lesson is that we think things into reality—nothing ever created in existence, which was not a vision in someone’s head first. Change is a fear producer in mind, and our thoughts will support this fear with a litany of “what if,” doomsday scenarios that lead us not to move forward. They keep us safe in our place, stunt any possible growth, and stop us from reaching for the next goal. There is no moving forward.  We listen to alternatives from our thought which cause us to walk in circles of safety rather than trying something new. Your heart will always know the correct answer for you, but if you are listening to a thousand loud thoughts, you can’t hear the quiet calm voice inside of you. Don’t let the clouded judgment of untamed thoughts move you in cycles and circles in your life.

The Mind Avoids the Truth

Ask yourself any question, and your mind can move out on unconnected tangents of thought to avoid the more complex, more difficult choices and directly answer questions. A specific issue may be uncomfortable, painful, or just what you don’t want to hear. The mind is a deceiver, and it knows how to make you feel like you are

Too often, we allow our thoughts to avoid hard truth and bury our heads in the sands of the past.

Being busy and productive even when you are not. Look for absolute truth with probing questions like, “Is this thought true?” Or “Is this thought relevant to the problem at hand?”

We will follow our thoughts into a place we shouldn’t allow them to take us where no action or movement exists. Thoughts about our past often provide no value other than to keep us spinning our wheels today. Thinking is the gatekeeper of our powerful tool of imagination. Instead of using this power to create today, untamed thoughts will turn into fantasies of the past, which will have you running in place, thinking of dead dreams, and a waste of your power. Using your mind well will allow you to create the world you live in and your experiences. Or you will be used by your meaningless thoughts, creating nothing but an eddy of mediocrity and unguided powerless action.

Question Your Thoughts

Take the time today to look critically at the thoughts you are producing and the subsequent issue of their power.  Are your thoughts pure?  Are you 100% sure? If you are not, you are letting your perceptions rule you, not the facts.  Anything you are not sure of is just speculation, and if one side of the coin can be seen as accurate, then so can the other with a bit of effort. “That relationship ending was bad.” How was it wrong? List these things, then look and see if there is an argument for how it was good.  Momentary pain can make something seem devastating, but the benefits might be very positive in the long term.  Sometimes, just looking for them in your thoughts will reveal this to you.

Either we know the truth about something, or we don’t. Being honest about this will lead to seeing the power of your mind and the gifts it can provide. Following thoughts we are not sure of will lead to a rise in our anxiety levels. By merely admitting we are not sure and don’t “know” the answer, our negative emotions will decrease, and there is room for positive thoughts to exist.  Create this room for positive thinking by questioning the validity and truth of all of your thoughts.

  1. “A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” — William James
  2. “Clear thinking requires courage rather than intelligence.” — Thomas Szasz
  3. Did you ever stop to think, and forget to start again?” — Winnie the Pooh
  4. “Few minds wear out; more rust out.” — Christian N. Bovee
  5. It is well for people who think, to change their minds occasionally in order to keep them clean.” — Luther Burbank
  6. “Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” — Benjamin Lee Whorf
  7. “Misery is almost always the result of thinking.” — Joseph Joubert
  8. “Most of the mistakes in thinking are inadequacies of perception rather than mistakes of logic.” — Edward de Bono
  9. “Thought is the blossom; language the bud; action the fruit behind it.” —  Ralph Waldo Emerson
  10. “What we think, we become.” — Buddha

 

Better

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

 

Love It or Fear It

To fear or to love?

You May Disagree
You May Disagree

All situations in life can break down into simple choices. Will you think and act out of fear? Or will you believe and work out of love?

I believe EVERYTHING you think will make a difference in your life and come with emotions attached, which affect your decision-making. I believe this because of a lifetime of experience and entertaining the wrong types of thoughts. I lived much of my life under the influence of fear but have chosen to make a change and look at things with feelings of love. No small endeavor, but I encourage all others to attempt to do the same.

How You Think Leads to How You Live

This article is about the fundamental belief that I have developed in my game of life. If you are thinking judgmental, mean, sarcastic, or hateful thoughts about other people or groups of people, there is no doubt that you will experience those things in your own experience.

These are negative thoughts which lead to unhappy experiences
These are negative thoughts that lead to unhappy experiences

If you choose to focus on accepting, kind, and loving thoughts, then that will be the overall experience of your existence. How do I know? I used to think the former and now try to focus on the latter, and although I am the same person, the experience of life has been entirely different and much more positive and enjoyable in all ways.

Fear is the chief motivation of those who are critical. A person rejects any thought or action that will lead to change or be different from comfortable beliefs. Even if things are currently going poorly, people avoid change because they fear that changes might make things even worse.

There is nothing wrong with experiencing fear itself because fear gives you adrenaline and or motivation to act. Still, if you focus on and allow it to move your actions from day-to-day, your experience will suffer from negative energy. We all face fear every day, but it is how you deal with it that matters. Each moment comes down to this simple choice between fear and love, the one you choose will define your life and you as a person.

Change is Always Possible

change-thoughtsThe most daunting task for anyone to accomplish is to change the way that you think. We have spent a lifetime accumulating experiences that come along with mental programming, which has managed to keep us safe and alive. But it also can make us unhappy and not allow us to reach our capabilities.

Yet, at some point, even though we are safe and alive, the quality of our life needs value. Once you start to pursue happiness and caring, you notice what has been making you unhappy. What is it that makes you hang your head with worry? What makes you afraid to speak? What makes you hide your individuality? What makes you disappear who you are? Fear.

Fear that you won’t be accepted, or fear that someone will take something from you that you love. Fear that someone is going to harm you or those that you care about can hurt you. The mainstream media feed these fears to gain ratings and Madison Avenue to earn consumer dollars.

The reality is that fear is just a thought and an illusionary thought at that. What you are afraid of is not accurate, it is a thought, and that is it. What if? What should? What Might? Questions that provide these thoughts; are not real they don’t exist, yet they offer genuine suffering for people. Your thoughts about things are the cause of most of our issues. Change your thoughts, and many of our problems go away.

There are many dangers in the world, and those should be avoided because they can hurt you, but fear of them will only stop you from doing what you want and becoming the best you can be. Fear limits you and destroys dreams.

Getting Out of Fear

Beliefs are merely thoughts that you choose every day to add weight to.
Beliefs are merely thoughts that you choose every day to add weight to.

Getting rid of fear in your thoughts is simple, but it is not easy.

Stop thinking fearful things. Now that would be easy to control all of our thoughts, but you really can’t.

Thoughts pop into your mind at a rapid pace, representing your lifetime of experience. Bias, prejudice, hatred, fear are all a part of your knowledge, and they are all associated with others.

You can’t stop them from popping into your mind, but you can control how much you pay attention to them. Simply noticing the thoughts of fear as what they are fake surprisingly releases you from their power. All of their power over you comes from inside your head and the thoughts you choose to give power to. Let the negative go and replace them with something more positive. The human mind is only capable of entertaining one idea at a time. If your thought is positive, so will your mood, actions, and life.

Replace thoughts of fear with thoughts of love

enigmaOnce you recognize and admit your worries and let them go, it is incredible how easy the right ideas and feelings flow. It feels better to be happy, healthier to love, and more enjoyable to live without fear.

It takes time, and you have to be honest with yourself. Recognizing your weaknesses can be painful and challenging, but you have a simple choice here. Choose caring over callousness, kindness over being mean, understanding over judgment. Keep living your life in fear and be unhappy or admit to your negative thoughts and recognize that you can just let them go and think differently.

The choice is up to you! Nobody else can make it for you.

“Fear and love can never be experienced at the same time. It is always our choice as to which of these emotions we want.”-  Gerald Jampolsky

“Love and fear represent two different lenses through which to view the world. Which I choose to use will determine what I think I see.”-Marianne Williamson

“Love is what we were born with. Fear is what we learned here.”-  Marianne Williamson

“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.”-  John Lennon

Joyous

Joyous- a good, affirmative, or constructive quality or attribute.

positive thoughtToday can be a good day, or this can be a bad day. Positive thinking will make sure it is a good day. The decision is yours to make. A pretty simple choice, isn’t it? You have total control over what kind of experiences you will have only by how you look at the circumstances you find yourself in at the moment. Positive thinking allows you to be hopeful through all sorts of situations. It sees the long game of benefits in a short set of experiences. It is choosing to be a force that helps others in the world. Positive thinking is a chance to be a positive change in the world. It starts with a conscious awareness of how your thoughts move you today toward the positive or the negative and how your corresponding emotions, words, and actions stem from that. I have experienced many images over the past year, betrayal, loss, lies, and selfishness. My conscious choice is to look ahead and leave the past in the past. That is what I was supposed to do all along.

Positive Thinking Determines What you Will Accomplish

It is said that “your attitude will determine your altitude in life.” What this implies is that what you get from life is what you put into it. When it comes to your career, if you expect to find the work you love and develop the knowledge and skillsets required, you are well on your way to achieving that goal. The next step is action. It would help if you took action; without it, you would not reach your destination.Positive Thinking

I was once told that life is 10 percent what happens to you and 90 percent of how you react to it. The ratio may be wrong, but the general idea is correct in its meaning. Many things in life happen to us that we have no control over, but we always do have control over how we react to them. Positive thinking allows those reactions to be helpful and productive rather than unhelpful and destructive.

How do you put this into practice? Well, it is as simple as making a decision. It can be anything from losing a job to getting a flat tire. There can often be things in our lives that are not pleasant to experience. Still, they allow us challenges that would enable growth and increased self-awareness that we would never have had if these unfortunate events had never occurred. If you can manage your anger and the urge to indulge in self-pity, you will be able to find a bit of good in anything. That is positive thinking.

This is How Positive Thinking Works

How can the loss of a job possibly be a good thing? Because when the injury occurred, you were forced to branch out and explore options you would never have explored or looked at had you never lost the previous job. You positive thinkingwould never know if you have the strength or will to survive something until you do. That is positive. All of life is a constant movement of change. It is difficult to see the long-term benefits until you are looking backward. But they are there. Your choice is to be optimistic about the future or be cynical about past experiences. One will lead to growth, and one will not.

How can getting a flat tire be a good thing? You never know what is waiting for you down the road. You might have gotten into a horrible accident if an annoying flat tire hadn’t waylaid you. It could have saved you from destroying your vehicle or even protected you from significant bodily harm. It is all a matter of perspective and outlook. Often we see the problem and focus on that because of the stress of the immediate situation. How you deal with issues in life determines the experience you have in life.

Being Positive doesn’t Ignore the Negative

I hear many people look at the prospect of being positive and seeing the bright side as being unrealistic. All events happen, death, crime, accidents, and they can happen at any time. Each brings with it a set of challenges to every human that faces them. Our thoughts and emotions are intertwined. So we need to grieve, and that is not a “good” thing, but it is a necessary part of living and enjoying life. No matter what or who has left your life, life is still moving forward. What will you do with your time remaining?

Some will choose to sit and look at what is lost and never move past it. Others will see the loss as a change in life, but life still has a lot of good things to give to your experience. Many times it is up to our consciousness to notice the good things that are remaining. We only have a finite amount of time to have this human experience. Each of us decides for ourselves if it is spent in fear of what life may bring or in love with what life is giving us. Always your choice and nobody else’s.

Positive Challenge

So I challenge you to put this into practice and choose to make today the best day that you possibly can. Enjoy the good things in your life, from the cup of coffee at the beginning of the day to the caring thoughts that others send your way throughout the day. This day you have a thousand choices of what you think, feel, and do. Be conscious of your positive protonreaction to all things. Is it positive or negative? Why is it that way? Then take it into the next day.

Make someone else’s day a little better, compliment them, or be kind. It’s free! Practice positive thinking and make your reality a little bit sweeter and gentler today. If you are thinking in a positive direction, don’t let someone else’s negative thoughts influence you toward the negative. Use them as a springboard to become more positive. Only a positive frame of mind will allow you to enjoy life and all it has to offer. A negative mindset will let you fear life. It is your choice, and it starts with a greater awareness of the thoughts you entertain. The emotions they bring to the surface. The words you speak to others because of your dreams—your actions because of your positive or negative mentality.

“Each day, I come in with a positive attitude, trying to get better.”- Stefon Diggs

“Your positive action, combined with positive thinking, results in success.” Shiv Khera

“Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson.

 

Believing it

my mind works overtime, sometimes
my mind works overtime, sometimes

 

I developed a post about my core beliefs a few years ago. Since then, I have experienced a lot, but, remarkably, so much of what I believed has stood up to the test of time.

These personal beliefs are ever-evolving, but this is where they stand right now.

All People are Connected

Call it God, the Universe, or whatever your religion dictates, but to me, we are all connected through a divine order.  All people contain the same abilities for great love and an equal capacity for evil.   I believe that the perceived separateness of the world leads to many of the problems we face in religion, race, age, sexuality, or any other label we can apply to each other. Just as many drops fall together to make the ocean, we are all unique pieces of the whole. The more we recognize the same, the more understanding and kindness we can show each other, and the better the world will be.

Practice kindness with all people because you are a few circumstances away from being exactly in their shoes.

Your Actions Define Who YOU Are

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

Taking action is the catalyst to all achievements, great and small. Having the courage to go, stay, jump, start, stop, begin again, love, share, understand, give, etc. It is the beginning of anything and will lead you to understand who you are and find your place in the world.

Live in the Moment, and it is all you have

It seems like I have wasted a lot of time, feeling wrong about the past and the things I can never change or worrying about the future and the things that most likely will never come.  When I can live in the moment, I find peace, motivation, enjoyment, love, etc.

Being in the moment and being grateful for all that exists with you at that time is a great recipe for happiness. Plan the best you can through goal setting and dreams but understand that you can’t control everything, and sometimes the things that happen, which seem unwanted, provide unforeseen growth and understanding. They catapult us into places we wouldn’t have thought to go.

Thinking Positively Leads to a Happier Life

“Bad” stuff happens to everyone at some point in life. How you deal with it is essential.  Life is full of things that you define as good or bad. Describing them as positives allows you to enjoy life more, be healthier, and support those you love. At the same time, negative thinking is defeatist and will supply you with the exact opposite.

How you choose to perceive anything will determine the overall value it provides to your experience of life. All things have the potential to work for good. Your mental state will determine how much interest they provide your life if any.

Positive thinking does not ignore the negative, and it should put it into a perspective of positive, as best that you can. It also doesn’t mean that you accept the poor behavior of others. It means that you do not choose to let poor behavior negatively influence you. I can’t control the behavior and choices of others, only the choices that I make. That is it. I try to do better than I did yesterday. That is all I can do.

All People Have Value

Sometimes, this is difficult to remember when I am angry or hurt, but that doesn’t change my belief.  People live differently, make poor decisions, and look differently, but inside they are all valuable. Every person that you meet knows something that you don’t, and that is the thing that is one of the many values of meeting new people.

All that separates any of us from the circumstances of another is mere chance.  At our core, we are all beings of love. Keep this in mind and be patient with others. There are always thousands of unseen reasons that lead to behavior. Don’t be quick to judge a story by the one short chapter you see. Read the whole book so that you can understand things in context.

Dreaming is Vitally Important

Every person that has ever been born has had a dream of some kind. There are no exceptions.  Life has a way of making many of us forget these dreams as we are swept up in living from day to day and the years drift past us.

Dreams of being a musician, a painter, a doctor, an astronaut, a professional athlete, or any other dream you might have had are a good thing.  Dreams help us to set our intentions for our actions. It is never too late to pursue a dream, and whether the dream is completed or not, the journey will be the valuable part that makes you who you are.

When a person takes action, they can make their dream come true.  That action will lead to a result of success or failure. Failure is not an ending, and it is the roadmap to finding another way to find success. Action toward your dream is the only way that you will know what works.

Gratitude is the Right Attitude

Being grateful for what you have in life leads to appreciation. Rather than looking for something else you don’t have for comfort or happiness, look at what you do have and be grateful for it.

There are many benefits that gratitude will bring to life, but happiness and enjoyment are two of the best. Remember that those you love and who love you are the greatest gifts and should never be taken for granted, be grateful for them.

Forgiveness is Necessary to Move Forward

Who hasn’t been hurt? Let down? We all have issues with others, and we all have a choice, be angry or forgive them. Forgiveness is a tonic that will allow you to be free. It isn’t condoning or approving of the behavior of others, but it is an acceptance of what has happened and making a choice not to let the power of that event rule you.

To forgive someone for something they did that harmed you is very difficult. It can’t just be lip service of saying that they are ignored. 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 that someone is forgiven when you think of them, 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 choice inside of them. The one you pay attention to will determine the experience of your life.  Focus on the love-based emotions of kindness, understanding, generosity, acceptance, patience, and love while avoiding the fear-based emotions 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.  Our experience is primarily the result of this continual decision. Fear or love?