Science fiction writer William Gibson famously once said, “The future is already here, it’s just unevenly distributed.” As leaders, how do we embrace the elements of the future that are here, and the ones that are just around the corner? By thinking more like a futurist.
In times of increasing change and complexity, it can be difficult to envision bold new futures with any certainty. Our go-to strategies for thinking about the future typically start with the elements that are known, such as projecting out historic results to future performance, analyzing existing competitors, or focusing on executing near-term results.
What’s missing are systematic approaches to understanding and taking advantage of the unknown. This is why leaders need to embrace skills, practices and behaviors of futurists.
Futurists don’t have secret powers to predict the future. They don’t have a Magic 8 Ball or special basket of fortune-cookie predictions. Rather, futurists discipline themselves to question the status quo. They regularly scan external trends, adjacent industries and underlying forces. They consider diverse perspectives. And they boldly tell stories about the future before all of the data is available to back it up.
Why Thinking Like a Futurist Is Valuable
We’ve been trained to think of the future as a linear extension of what we know, typically imagining change as a 10 percent improvement (or decline) from what we see around us.
We think we have a better understanding of the future than we do. Our implicit views about the future are so ingrained in business plans, financial models, and strategy conversations that leaders often don’t take the time to articulate underlying assumptions. When they do, they may discover plans rely on variables that are far from given and perhaps not the only options.
The future lives in a very broad set of possibilities, and these can unfold surprisingly quickly.
Technological, environmental and political changes will likely disrupt your business. How can you prepare for a different, even unimaginable world that will arrive faster than projected?
This is where methods commonly employed by futurists can help you strengthen your plans. Disciplined methods of strategic foresight systematically scan, analyze, probe and project the future beyond what we intuitively think might be possible.
How to See Ahead Like a Futurist
The first step is identifying the most important and uncertain macro forces shaping your business. These can usually be divided into five broad categories: social, technological, economic, environmental and political. (Tip: Recall these with the acronym STEEP.)
Under each of these categories, there are a number of driving forces and external variables that might lead to very different futures.
An insurance company, for example, might track variables related to the extension of human life (social), technologies disrupting treatment of chronic health conditions (technology), the rate of change from traditional employer-driven work arrangements to more independent “gig” jobs (economic), the frequency and impact of natural disasters (environmental), and the government’s stance toward regulation and potential new laws (political).
Once these high-impact variables are identified and prioritized, futurists gather diverse inputs to establish a range of how the variables are likely to play out over time. The further ahead they go, the wider the range of possibilities.
Futurists call this the cone of possibilities and carefully organize their forecasts into four buckets.
What are possible futures? This is the full range of events that could unfold. What are plausible futures? This is what we believe is possible but unlikely. What are probable futures? This is what’s most likely to happen. What are preferred futures? This is what we want to happen.
Although these futures stem from a common set of identified variables, the derived outcomes are significantly different.
This can be an enlightening strategic exercise for leaders: Is your organization overemphasizing its preferred future and neglecting the full range of possible futures? If so, perhaps there isn’t enough hedging of investments. Does your organization default to the plausible future? Consider broadening the view by investigating new technologies, adjacent industries and early startups to inform alternative strategic options.
Paul Saffo, Singularity University’s Chair of Futures Studies and Foresight, repeatedly warns us that “sacred cows make the best burgers.” A quick way to make your organization more future-focused is by asking team members to dive into their networks and scout for evidence related to the key variables you’ve outlined and post them on an analog or digital wall.
How to Create Preferred Futures
Once you’ve identified your preferred future, you can start to identify key activities and milestones that would help create that future.
Backcasting is the act of imagining a preferred future and then stepping backward toward the present, repeatedly probing what has to happen to enable each step.
Backcasting is anchored in an aspirational future state rather than being constrained by limitations of the current state. This allows people to create their own richly detailed stories of the future and leads naturally to the discussion: “How can our product/service do that?”
To dream up bold, new possibilities, try imagining an outcome 10 times better, cheaper, or more impactful than what exists today. What if, for example, we all had access to personalized artificial intelligence wellness care providers through emotional robots? Or what if the majority of our transportation services were provided by autonomous vehicles?
Now step backward from each vision to discover what’s needed to turn it into reality.
Like forecasting, backcasting can be improved by seeking diverse input. For example, consider carving out a few hours in a company-wide meeting to craft “headlines from the future.” Just a few hours of collaboration can spark new thinking and ignite fresh ideas. Such exercises can also fuel interdisciplinary engagement and encourage a sense of collective responsibility.
Don’t be afraid to get creative and even ditch the PowerPoint slides. Lowe’s Innovation Labs’ director Kyle Nel uses narrative driven innovation to imagine new futures. To jumpstart his efforts, Nel brought in science fiction writers and illustrators to create comic books that showcased possible alternatives stretching far beyond smaller, incremental changes, helping the company’s leadership concretely imagine and visualize the Lowe’s store of the future.
Getting Comfortable With Ambiguity
One of the most challenging aspects of practicing the skills of a futurist is getting comfortable with the reality that we simply cannot predict the future. For many senior leaders, this is deeply unsettling. How can we possibly make big bets on the future without all the facts and data?
Most of us are uncomfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty. Boldly looking ahead elicits doubt, fear, and anxiety — emotions we’d rather hold in check. We can learn to overcome our discomfort with the unknown, and even begin to revel in it, by continuously pushing ourselves to learn new things and seek out new experiences and people.
We are all capable of becoming better futurists. In doing so, we not only architect hope of new possibilities, we also build more flexible, adaptive and resilient organizations in the process.
YOUR MIND IS FULL OF THOUGHTS OF LOVE, JUDGEMENT, PEACE, FEAR, GRACE, GUILT, JOY, ANGER, FORGIVENESS, ATTACK, LAUGHTER, WORK, PLAY, JUDGMENT, KINDNESS, ISOLATION AND ONENESS ETC!
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YOUR HEAD IS LIKE A TOOLBOX: Everyday you make a thousand choices. You choose what to wear, where to go, who to meet, what to eat and what to do. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, YOU decide WHAT TO THINK. One thing is sure and that is that your day will not be better than you thoughts.
Just close your eyes for a moment and see if you can visualise this open toolbox and if you can see the hundreds of tools that are neatly placed in this toolbox. Now look if you can see the maker’s name on these tools. The creator of these tools (thoughts and perceptions) is you. You created thousands of thoughts and perceptions (tools) about everything since your childhood.
When confronted with any situation or problem you reach into this toolbox and take out what you think the most appropriate tool and attempt to fix the problem. It is estimated that your mind thinks at least 2,500 thoughts an hour. Every thought that you think is a tool (perception) that you have that you imagine would work best under specific circumstances. This thought process continue day and night and will do so for the rest of your life.
I am convinced that we think ourselves to a standstill. We never stop playing with these tools in our toolbox and can hardly ever really relax for a while. If we are not faced with a problem or task that needs completion we still continue to take out these tools and mentally rehears and contemplate how we will use them should something that we fear become a reality.
We are forever thinking and scheming and never become still and tranquil inside. Our bodies might seem relaxed, but deep inside our heads this thought process continues churning around. What I am most worried about is that most of the tools that you have in our toolboxes is very old and outdated.
Many of the modern problems that you face cannot be repaired using these tools. If you take a modern mechanic’s toolbox and you place the toolbox of a mechanic of fifty years ago next to it you will find that there are major discrepancies. When you are confronted with something that needs repair and you do not have the right tool for the task at hand it can be very frustrating. We usually improvise and try using some other tool and hope that it will also get the job done.
When you are faced with a problem you need to select the right tool for the task at hand. If you do not have the tool in your toolbox it can complicate your life. What most people seem to ignore is that it is sometimes better not to reach for your toolbox when faced with a problem. Sometimes you need time to pass or need to leave the problem with its rightful owner. How well you use your tools is usually reflected in the world you see around you. What would you do if you were faced with any or all of the following?
You get a flat tire on your way to an important customer or meeting. You can fall apart, develop a migraine and think that life is against you or you can take out the right tools (patience and reality) and take care of the problem in a relaxed manner.
You have been working on the computer for hours and suddenly lose all your work. You can drop dead with a heart attack, think that God hates you or you can take out the right tool (sanity and reality) and begin over again and remember this time to make a backup your work.
A lover or wife possibly cheated on you. You can go crazy and get an assassin to take her potential lover out, think that you are a failure or you can take out the right tool (no fear of loss) and get on with your life.
When you have the right tools in your toolbox it makes life a lot easier. The choices we make are vital in our lives. The more quality choices we make during any given day the higher the probability of success and peace of mind.
I suggest that you equip your toolbox with the best tools you can lay your hands on. If you discover that one of your tools are outdated or that a more modern version is available. How would you react if your TV packed up and a technician that obviously knows very little about electronics arrived at your house with only a sledgehammer and a few other primitive tools in his toolbox? I am sure that you will send him away and find someone better qualified and equipped for the task.
You might sometimes be like this incompetent and poorly equipped technician indicated above if you do not often update your tools (thoughts) in your toolbox. You can also have all the right tools in your toolbox and never use them because you are afraid that you might make a mistake.
You must remember that happiness and success is always just one thought (tool) away. You should remember when you find it difficult to cope with something that one new tool (thought) could change your life. One fresh thought and one new idea can change your life from pain and suffering to success and peace of mind.
You are what you think. Your choices that you make on a moment-to-moment basis decide your fate and future. You are really what you think. You can never feel or perform better than the ongoing thoughts that you allow to occupy your mind!
What would the implications be if we discovered that God want or need nothing from nobody? I know some of the readers may experience feelings of anxiety, fear, anger or even panic when they attempt to contemplate what might look like a preposterous statement far removed from the historical “God perceptions” that we grew up with. What would have happened to mankind if they discovered a long time ago that God actually never needed or expected anything from anyone?
Would there have been any meaningful theology?
Would there have been any churches?
Would there have been the endless number of religions and spiritual movements with all their individual dogmas?
Would there have been the ongoing love – fear relationships that many still experience today when they think of the God concept promoted by their church?
Would there have been fear of death, hell and Satan?
Would there have been fear of old age?
Would there have been the religious wars where many millions were killed in the name of various Gods?
Would there have been a Roman Catholic, Christian and a Muslim Movements that boast with billions of followers?
The reason why many of us still insist that God have always had strict requirements is because in some peculiar way it provides us with a sense of worthiness. Some might even reason that they will have to become atheists if they bought into the idea that God needs nothing from nobody. The idea never cross their mind that most of the God perceptions that they cling to were planted in their heads when still very young.
Churches, clergy, priests, emperors, kings etc. worked themselves into a very powerful and influential position by claiming that they are the earthly representatives of some or other God. They revealed hundreds of laws, rules, regulations and expectations that the God according to their perception of Him insist that must be enforced to make Him happy and assist Him to remain composed and not lose His cool. The prescriptions were always linked to dire warnings that, if ignored or not address to the letter would result in serious punishment in the near future or in some kind of afterlife. These warning included predictions of death, destruction, famine, droughts and hardship. These predictions were initially enough to control their followers and keep them subservient. It later became necessary to turn up the heat regarding God’s expectations and needs. This is where those that thought that they might get away with disobedience to God’s commands (like totally wiping out a so-called pagan nation) discovered that God also have a record keeping system and a court of law in heaven that is waiting for those that failed to fulfil the stipulated requirements when they die . The concept of Hell and everlasting damnation after death tightened the screws of control to a level where most in a sheep like manner remain loyal to the church.
The endless laws, rules and regulations continued to flow from God through so-called inspired individuals until Constantine decided to collate a book (The Bible). All the mystical inspired chats between God and the authors suddenly dried up. Not a single person according to this philosophy have been inspire after this event. God vanished from the stage of life and apparently retreated into his heavenly abode. The clergy however kept churning out endless often self-serving commands by interpreting the historical laws and commandments and in this manner kept the upper hand, power and money flowing.
Stop for a moment and think about the statements that I made above. Let us play for a moment with the idea that God never demanded anything from anyone. What would the implications be if man made Gods for themselves in their own image? What would the implications be if the depictions of the Gods were wrong and that God never insisted on the endless range of requirements now cast in stone in their Holy Books? What if the real God (life force) never meddled with man and allowed each individual to work out his own fate and future on a moment to moment basis with the choices he or she make? What if God gave man free will to make any choice and never metered out any punishment, but like a good parent allows His now physically mature children to learn via their own mistakes? Do not reject this option. Think about it for a moment and you will discover that a million and one things that might have bothered you about your current God concept now suddenly fall into place.
Most of us sooner or later discover that we have two forces that course through our veins. We automatically vacillate between the “upper” and “lower” limits of this force on a moment to moment basis. The UPPER end of the pole of this system is called the “ACTION” zone and the “LOWEST” end of this pole is characterized as the “NON-ACTION” zone. The feelings generated by thoughts, events or for that matter everything and everyone we encounter decides the quality of the output we intend using to deal with the matter at hand. The mistake we make is that many of us think that we are at the mercy of this so-called automatic reaction patterns that endlessly flood our minds and hearts daily. We jump with joy and run like the wind when good feelings are generated by the thought or event that we are confronted with (ACTION) or shut down and retreat into a dark place in our minds (NON-ACTION). What many of us never knew or understood is that there is no need to remain a victim of our historical conditioning or past mistakes. All that is real and valid is our current moment. We can if we decide to take control act in an appropriate and powerful manner notwithstanding the threat and feelings of doubt that we might be confronted with. You are part of a universal force that caters for evolution on a moment to moment basis. Call this force God my friend if it will make you feel more comfortable. This force is fair and allows every living thing in the universe to evolve, grow and expand notwithstanding his or her history. You can make a fresh start on a moment to moment basis. You are allocated 86400 new moments in any given day where you can make a fresh start. There is no need to fear failure or hide in the “NON-ACTION” zone. The NON-ACTION zone is a place where you become stagnant and RESIST risking the possibility of getting hurt or disappointed. The choices you make decide the quality of the outcomes you experience daily. Very few of us understand that not making a choice is actually also a choice that you make. You choose NON-ACTION and RESISTANCE and give up control.
Spend some time today to probe why you have this reluctance to take action. What is the cause of the resistance deep inside you that is preventing you from being the best you that you can ever be? Now make a list of all the things you will do if you knew that you cannot fail. Make a list of everything that comes to mind. Think it and then ink it. I will continue this series tomorrow.
Man fear failure, pain, loss, embarrassment, rejection, and a wide range of other stuff. Why do we allow the element of fear to play such a devastating role in our lives? The main reason seems to be that we don’t want to endure pain, discomfort and anxiety because we don’t enjoy the feelings that flood our body and mind.
Have the thought ever cross your mind that we don’t fear the same stuff universally? Some of us will allow a spider to sit in our hand without showing any anxiety or fear. Some of us will give a speech in front of a massive audience and enjoy it.
There are those that seem to be immune to verbal abuse and rejection. A thick skin repels verbal abuse like a rug treated with a soil repellent. The reason why we have different fear patterns is because those that conditioned us during childhood had different things that they feared during your formative years.
There are certain fears that are more universal. Religion and politics in the area where you grew up is usually responsible for specific fears. Fear became a universal control system that is used openly, but more often than not subliminally by governments, religion, banks etc. to put you in an almost endless state of fear. Look around you and you will discover that the whole system was designed to control the masses.
The more we fear the thicker the walls become around us that keep us a prisoner. We fear rejection and take endless abuse by our partner. We fear financial pressure and eat the abuse of a slave driving boss daily. We fear crime and build prisons with high walls with barb wire that we live in.
We are also controlled by our fear of other races, religions, political groups and the potential of disasters like earth warming or the second coming of Christ. We often fear Muslims and Muslims hate (form of fear) Christian. Can you see the endless invisible chains that keep us locked in a state of mental paralysis?
The only way that you can escape the fear trap is to see things as they are and not the way that your controllers want you to view them. Take anything you fear and start researching it. Make it your business to fully understand the dynamics of the subject of your research. Dig deep and ask questions. Knowledge will set you free. Knowledge shines a light in the dark dungeons where fear hide in your mind.
Most of the stuff you fear is nothing more than toothless paper tigers that make a lot of noise. Be bold and select one subject today that you would like to expose to the light. I guarantee you that there is virtually nothing that can threaten you once you start applying this principle.
Remember someone is benefiting from your fear. Ask yourself who is benefiting from your state of fear and you will identify your fear source and at the same time grasp his/her or their motivation.
YOUR MIND IS FULL OF THOUGHTS OF LOVE, JUDGEMENT, PEACE, FEAR, GRACE, GUILT, JOY, ANGER, FORGIVENESS, ATTACK, LAUGHTER, WORK, PLAY, JUDGMENT, KINDNESS, ISOLATION AND ONENESS ETC!
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YOUR HEAD IS LIKE A TOOLBOX: Everyday you make a thousand choices. You choose what to wear, where to go, who to meet, what to eat and what to do. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, YOU decide WHAT TO THINK. One thing is sure and that is that your day will not be better than you thoughts.
Just close your eyes for a moment and see if you can visualise this open toolbox and if you can see the hundreds of tools that are neatly placed in this toolbox. Now look if you can see the maker’s name on these tools. The creator of these tools (thoughts and perceptions) is you. You created thousands of thoughts and perceptions (tools) about everything since your childhood.
When confronted with any situation or problem you reach into this toolbox and take out what you think the most appropriate tool and attempt to fix the problem. It is estimated that your mind thinks at least 2,500 thoughts an hour. Every thought that you think is a tool (perception) that you have that you imagine would work best under specific circumstances. This thought process continue day and night and will do so for the rest of your life.
I am convinced that we think ourselves to a standstill. We never stop playing with these tools in our toolbox and can hardly ever really relax for a while. If we are not faced with a problem or task that needs completion we still continue to take out these tools and mentally rehears and contemplate how we will use them should something that we fear become a reality.
We are forever thinking and scheming and never become still and tranquil inside. Our bodies might seem relaxed, but deep inside our heads this thought process continues churning around. What I am most worried about is that most of the tools that you have in our toolboxes is very old and outdated.
Many of the modern problems that you face cannot be repaired using these tools. If you take a modern mechanic’s toolbox and you place the toolbox of a mechanic of fifty years ago next to it you will find that there are major discrepancies. When you are confronted with something that needs repair and you do not have the right tool for the task at hand it can be very frustrating. We usually improvise and try using some other tool and hope that it will also get the job done.
When you are faced with a problem you need to select the right tool for the task at hand. If you do not have the tool in your toolbox it can complicate your life. What most people seem to ignore is that it is sometimes better not to reach for your toolbox when faced with a problem. Sometimes you need time to pass or need to leave the problem with its rightful owner. How well you use your tools is usually reflected in the world you see around you. What would you do if you were faced with any or all of the following?
You get a flat tire on your way to an important customer or meeting. You can fall apart, develop a migraine and think that life is against you or you can take out the right tools (patience and reality) and take care of the problem in a relaxed manner.
You have been working on the computer for hours and suddenly lose all your work. You can drop dead with a heart attack, think that God hates you or you can take out the right tool (sanity and reality) and begin over again and remember this time to make a backup your work.
A lover or wife possibly cheated on you. You can go crazy and get an assassin to take her potential lover out, think that you are a failure or you can take out the right tool (no fear of loss) and get on with your life.
When you have the right tools in your toolbox it makes life a lot easier. The choices we make are vital in our lives. The more quality choices we make during any given day the higher the probability of success and peace of mind.
I suggest that you equip your toolbox with the best tools you can lay your hands on. If you discover that one of your tools are outdated or that a more modern version is available. How would you react if your TV packed up and a technician that obviously knows very little about electronics arrived at your house with only a sledgehammer and a few other primitive tools in his toolbox? I am sure that you will send him away and find someone better qualified and equipped for the task.
You might sometimes be like this incompetent and poorly equipped technician indicated above if you do not often update your tools (thoughts) in your toolbox. You can also have all the right tools in your toolbox and never use them because you are afraid that you might make a mistake.
You must remember that happiness and success is always just one thought (tool) away. You should remember when you find it difficult to cope with something that one new tool (thought) could change your life. One fresh thought and one new idea can change your life from pain and suffering to success and peace of mind.
You are what you think. Your choices that you make on a moment-to-moment basis decide your fate and future. You are really what you think. You can never feel or perform better than the ongoing thoughts that you allow to occupy your mind!
Being at peace is the wonderful state of mind and body where all is calm, where thoughts are quiet and serene, and where muscles are relaxed and comfortable. In this article, you’ll learn how to attain this inner peace in a matter of minutes.
Once you are adept at controlling your mind and body, you are always only one simple thought away from perfect peacefulness.
You can “will” perfect peacefulness at any time. You will be able to move out of stressful situations immediately. All you need to do is follow a few simple steps to train yourself. A little practice is all that is required. But, you must take the time to direct the mind and body in positive ways so that you can ensure the pleasures of inner peace.
You’re at the wheel. So let’s drive on!
Let peace happen.
Being at peace is a choice. When we stop struggling and fighting the world around us—and the world within us—peace can happen. Our individual fight is with our thoughts, emotions and physical bodies. The fighting can be directed toward ourselves or those we face each day. Here are several approaches to quickly give up the fight and win at the same time.
There are many ways your physical body can take on struggles you face each day. Maybe you clench your jaw when you get mad. Maybe you collect tension across the back of your neck and shoulders. Maybe butterflies trouble your stomach. The first step is being aware of what you are doing. The second step is to consciously make the choice to release the tension.
Your mind takes on struggles in the form of mental images. Do you tend to imagine the ideal end result or the worst possible situation? Troubling and negative mental images translate into unpleasant emotions and stressful physical reactions.
Choose carefully the thoughts you think because they absolutely affect how you feel. Realize that the only person who can change your thoughts is you. You can then take charge and change your thoughts for the better.
Emotions are natural physiological changes that occur when thoughts are held in your mind. You can easily direct your emotional states by changing your posture; for example, sit straight, tilt your head, use facial expressions, walk differently, etc. You can also direct your emotional states by holding brighter and more pleasing visual images in mind. You have the choice, but you must make the choice.
Creating Peace of Mind
To create peace within yourself, simply relax your body and breathing; then, direct the mind.
A still body is the reflection of a calm mind, but the mind cannot be still until the body is still.
Begin by making your body comfortable. Then release areas of tension. As example, gentle movements of the neck and shoulder muscles can help stretch and release tension in those areas.
Breathing in an even and steady way will quickly calm both the body and mind. Make the inhale and exhale of equal length without any pauses in between. Your breathing will become smooth and even.
The next step is to quiet the mind. Start by bringing your awareness into this present moment, here and now. By doing this you can effectively eliminate distracting or troubling thoughts. Any anxieties about the future or tensions from the past will leave your mind and body.
Another way to direct the mind is to direct your inner voice–especially if it is anxious or overbearing. Play with the idea of changing the volume of your inner voice. Have it be quieter.
Modify the tone of you inner voice until it is pleasant, warm and nurturing. You can have it say pleasant and comforting words to you—words of encouragement and self esteem. Some people even repeat soothing words or phrases in a rhythmic way.
The final step is to hold images that encourage a peaceful mind. For thousands of years, prayerful and meditative people have directed the mind by holding steady mental pictures. For example, the image of a candle flame can be used to concentrate one’s attention and steady the mind. You can use images of a peaceful scene from nature, a vacation setting, an imaginary room of comfort, a cathedral, rose bushes, or anything calming, wonderful, and peaceful.
What To Do Once You’ve Got There.
Getting to a relaxed state of mind and body by the above steps may take 20-30 minutes at first. With practice, however, you’ll be able to accomplish this within a few minutes.
When you try to extend this peaceful feeling for long periods of time, you may find that your mind will race to other thoughts. After all, your mind is trained to race, to go full throttle, all day long. If you suddenly stop for 20 minutes, will your mind to cooperate? No. It will do what you trained it to do for the 16 hours–race!
So, what’s the solution? How do you create a peace-filled life, and not peaceful three-minute spurts? Take it one moment and one thought at a time. Bring peaceful, serene, and positive images and feelings into the rest of your day. Learn to release tensions as they occur. Learn to direct your thoughts and emotions at the time they start getting out of hand. You’ll discover that not only can you create a peacefulness, but you are living a peace-filled life.
BE BOLD AND STRETCH YOUR COMFORT ZONE DAILY – NO GROWTH IS POSSIBLE WHILE YOU REPEAT THE SAME OLD STUFF ENDLESSLY- IT IS OK TO BE SCEPTICAL, BUT OPEN YOUR MIND AND BEGIN TO LOOK AT LIFE FROM MANY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. YOU WILL OFTEN BE CHALLENGED WHEN YOU VISIT THE READING ROOM. WE ONLY GROW AND EVOLVE WHEN WE DARE TO GO OUTSIDE WALLS OF OUR BELIEF SYSTEM. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO BECOME LOVE. NOT ACT AS IF WE LOVE, BUT TO BECOME UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. OUR INTENTION DIRECT ALL OUR ACTIONS. – VISIT THE READING ROOM DAILY AND DISCOVER HOW POWERFUL YOU ARE!
There is a saying that ignorance is bliss. This might be true for some, but it is as far as I am concerned the root cause of most of our suffering, pain and anxiety. Accepting life, people, religion, politics, perceptions, choices, rules and laws at face value imprisoned the mind of mankind. Looking at anything in life from a single perspective is the lazy way out. Seeing and experiencing from a limited range of perspectives have shackled man almost since its inception. Primitive man could not read, write or decipher the range of threats that confronted them and were forced to turn to priests and other individuals for guidance. This disposition provided a wonderful opportunity for those that claimed that they understood to take over control of their followers minds. The initial flimsy net that these opportunists wove gradually grew stronger and more sophisticated.
You will later see how this initial ignorance created an ideal vehicle of enslavement for those in control. Mankind have been kept in a state of ignorance since the beginning of time by greedy power hungry individuals, groups and organizations. Primitive methods of pain, pleasure and hope were used to restrain the masses. Man experienced fleeting moments of pleasure while they blindly obeyed the “commands” of these controllers. Thousands of written laws, spiritual and otherwise came into being over the years. Those that remained subdued and subservient were praised and rewarded while anyone that questioned anything faced the intricate range of pain that these controllers could bring to bear on them. They were cruelly tortured in the dark ages when they questioned anything to do with religion or the state.
Mankind became the slaves of the controllers. They were carefully manipulated to let go of a fair percentage of their hard earned income. The state took their pound of flesh while the religious leaders demanded at least ten percent of all income earned as well. The system sucked in mankind to such an extent that only a handful of individuals over the years showed the courage to point out the deadly trap that we find ourselves in up to today. Do you grasp that the slaves of this system not only police the deadly system on behalf of the controllers, but breed the future slaves that will take over from them when they produce children? I can write a fairly substantial book on this subject matter, but believe that you can see what I am addressing in this document.
My plea is that everyone make it his or her business to get rid of the veil of ignorance that is responsible for most of their anxiety, pain and lack. You might have noticed that I post a very wide range of perceptions daily on an endless range of subjects. My motivation is that I want you to look at stuff from many different perspectives. Nothing is as it seems. I will continue to write on the endless range of methods used to keep us ignorant if I get a fairly acceptable responds on this post.
Happy people have an advantage over unhappy ones — they may be healthier and may live longer.
An extensive review of literature using seven types of evidence indicates that high subjective well-being (SWB), such as life satisfaction, optimism, and positive emotions, causes better health and longevity. The review, published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being (2011), examined 160 studies which showed compelling evidence that positive feelings predict health and longevity.
The findings of the review, based from seven types of evidence, are summarized below:
Longitudinal studies. These studies, which have large sample sizes and have followed participants for a decade or more, revealed that SWB was related to lower mortality rate in both healthy and diseased populations. Positive moods such as joy and happiness, life satisfaction, hopefulness, optimism, and a sense of humor were associated with reduced risk of mortality and predicted longevity.
Physiology and health. Moods and emotions are associated with biological markers such as blood pressure, cortisol, and inflammation. Studies found that pessimists have higher blood pressure levels. Anger and hostility were related not only to the development of cardiovascular disease, but also to disease progression and inflammation. Stress predicted lower levels of immune response; whereas, positive affect strengthened immunity. Positive affect was associated with greater social connectedness, perceived social support, and greater probability of performing healthy behaviors.
Experimental manipulations of emotions. In experimental studies, positive and negative moods are induced which are then measured. Research showed that participants exposed to positive mood induction had quicker cardiovascular recovery after a stressful task than subjects who were exposed to neutral and negative mood inductions. Studies also revealed that couples who were generally higher in hostility had slower wound healing than low hostile couples, as well as more tumor necrosis and a poorer immune response.
Animal studies. Animals are used in experimental research to obtain information about how certain positive and negative situations affect their health and longevity. Studies revealed that socially-stressed monkeys developed more extensive atherosclerosis than unstressed ones. Stress, threatening human behavior, and isolation suppressed the immune system of monkeys, chickens, and pigs. Pigs that learned a mastery task to obtain rewards, giving them some control over their environment, later showed quicker wound healing and carcass quality.
Quasi-experimental studies in natural settings. Studies in quasi-experimental studies suggest that events and disasters are associated with cardiovascular and immune changes. Disasters, bereavement, and observing exciting sports events can trigger cardiac deaths in vulnerable individuals. Further, people with work overload and worry showed higher cortisol response at awakening and on weekdays but not on weekends.
Interventions that influence SWB. Researchers found that transcendental meditation and progressive relaxation reduced blood pressure over a 3-month follow-up period, compared to a control group. People who wrote about intensely positive experiences had fewer health center visits for illness during the following 3 months, compared to people who wrote about a control topic. Patients who suffered from myocardial infarction, who received Type-A counseling (for Type A behavior) in addition to traditional cardiac counseling, were less likely to die within 5 years.
SW’s impact on quality of life and pain. Studies showed that positive emotions were related to lower pain and greater tolerance for pain. Patients suffering from fibromyalgia and rheumatoid arthritis reported less pain with positive mood induction while women reported less pain to heat stimuli when looking at photos of their partner.
In sum, these converging studies form a compelling proof that SWB, such as happiness, causally influences health and longevity.
My mood was cold, dark, and directionless. My tortured mind was filled with thoughts of missed opportunities and broken promises.
The cutting wind on my unshaven face made my eyes water and drove the dark clouds of depression into my shattered soul.
The years slipped by like fleeting dreams. Moments of joy and victory came and vanished like the waves of the ocean bashed on the black rocks of sadness.
I looked up and noticed the sheets of rain that endlessly poured its gift of life and growth in all directions.
A thought darted into my tired defeated mind. I suddenly noticed how nature shares her abundance with everyone and everything.
Mother Nature is not selective when she sends gifts of rain and sunshine to feed, nourish and rejuvenate everything with a smattering of life at their core.
These gifts of life are given to the seeds that are still sleeping in the soil. The dark scorched earth will soon put on a new coat of colour and in turn pass on these gifts of life to the bees, birds and everything else that waited patiently on Mother Nature to return as she has done since the beginning of time.
I suddenly understood that it is mankind’s inability to give unconditionally that is responsible for the inequality that drips off this planet like black wax from a candle.
Our homes are filled to the brim with stuff, but we want more, better, faster and the latest. Something inside us drives us like a hungry pack of wolves forward in our quest to feed our greedy ego.
There is no time for compassion in our busy lives. Poverty stares at us on every corner, but we are so obsessed with our own little world that we never notice that cold and hungry child on the corner of the street or a mother that worked her hands to the bone to serve us where we sit in our artificial castles sipping our wine of success.
The clouds of gloominess gradually lifted from my bowed shoulders. I knew what Mother Nature came to teach me in this dark night of my soul. She came to teach me about compassion and gratitude. She showed me that I must learn to give unconditionally and abundantly if I want to make a contribution to life on this planet.
I noticed that the sun began to break through the clouds announcing that the rain moved on to go and do some more teaching down the road. A rainbow suddenly appeared on the horizon. I slowly got up, wiped the water from my face, pushed back my shoulders with new hope in my heart against the backdrop of the singing of the birds that were thanking Mother Nature in advance for the new gifts that she will bring the next time she pays us a visit. She will like before pour her gifts on the rich and the poor, on those that have in abundance and those that have virtually nothing. She deposits her gifts on everyone regardless of their status, race or career and knows that a time will come when mankind has evolved enough to grasp that we are one and an extension of her.
THE SOFTWARE THAT CONTROLS EVERYTHING YOU DO AND THINK!
ACCORDING TO YOUR EGO, HAPPINESS MUST ALWAYS INVOLVE A PAY POLICY, A PLAN, SOME JUSTIFICATION, HARD WORK AND STRUGGLE. THE EGO IS ALL THAT STANDS BETWEEN YOU AND HAPPINESS, LOVE, PEACE OF MIND AND INSPIRATION!
THE SYSTEM THAT CONTROLS YOUR DESTINY: Your ego is the sum total of all your small ideas you hold about yourself. Your ego and the perceptions you have of yourself will regulate every thought or action in your life. The ego has never been photographed or x-rayed. No autopsy ever revealed this powerful control system called the ego. You can search the web right now and see if you can find a photo or illustration of the ego anywhere.
The ego is nothing more that a collection of ideas that you have of yourself. Your ego creates the impression that you separate from everything that you see around you. This mechanism is the software that you run your life on. All your actions and decisions that you make stem from this source. When you look at most modern appliances and motor vehicles you will discover that most of them have “computers” that that regulates and controls the overall performance of such appliances. Instructions are programmed into these “micro chips” that direct and control all the functions of these devices. These instructions are called the software.
Our egos are nothing more than our collective perceptions that we have of ourselves that are programmed into our subconscious minds. We act and react as if all these perceptions are true and allow our egos to run us in the same way that a cheap microchip controls your toaster in the kitchen. It is vitally important to understand that your ego and your real self are two separate systems.
You real self is perfect and connected to everything in the universe while you ego is the programmed perceptions that are predominantly false, outdated and warped. You ego software wants you to feel isolated and separated from everything else. We have in previous thoughts studied the motives and intensions of the programmers that played a vital role in the preparation of this software.
The impression was created that everything that could possibly be fun, productive or happiness generating is outside your reach. Most people search for happiness and contentment for the best part of their lives. These people are too afraid to challenge the programmers and must thus labour under this misconception for the rest of their lives.
If you were programmed to feel unworthy, unlovable and not good enough you will continue to strive and search for acceptance that might never come. This clever move to remove happiness from you and convince you that you must constantly qualify for happiness has been at the bottom of most of your pain and fear.
The illusion that you are a separate entity and that you must go from where you “are” to where you “want to be” have caused indescribable pain and suffering for many people. They searched and strived their hearts out and still found that happiness remained just out of their reach. They bought the bullshit of separation and continue to run like hell like a rat on a treadmill in an attempt to catch happiness, success and peace of mind.
They prayed and hope that someone or something will one day hand them what they are yearning for. Everything that we do is focused on generating feelings of happiness. We hope that money, friendships or status will bring us this feeling of happiness. We all achieve moments of happiness, but soon discover that it is temporary and that it slips away from us like a peace of wet soap on a tile floor.
The illusion that we must qualify and strive puts us under constant pressure all the time. We believe the software that states that we are removed from happiness and as such never feel that we are worthy to just be happy without paying some kind of price.
Your ego programmed with your perceptions of yourself puts you through hell on earth. You are always on the back foot and feel that success; love and happiness might be hiding around the next corner or in another city or relationship. You might find this difficult to accept, but you are already “there” and may enjoy the “now” without buying a ticket or paying any price. You can only appreciate this permission if you understand that the “now” in its imperfect state is better than the illusion of potential happiness that you hope you will feel when you arrive at your selected destination.
The expectation of potential happiness that you will enjoy when you arrive at your destination will never really materialise. You will continue to run on the treadmill of life after these illusive dreams until the day you die. The fleeting moments of happiness when you achieve small objectives cannot be compared to the ongoing happiness that you can experience when you appreciate what you already have. If you do not own a three-story house with a wonderful view right now you can still fully enjoy where you live right now until you one day achieve this objective.
There is no need to postpone your happiness.
This happiness shift requires of you to sterilise your ego. To get rid of the perception that you are unworthy and that you must first qualify or achieve something before you can be happy.
You are already perfect and will remain perfect notwithstanding the defective software of your ego. You have the right to enjoy life one moment at a time notwithstanding your current station in life. You will achieve all your gaols and objectives if you become patient and allow time to pass. You are not the new vehicle, your job title, your sins and the house that you live in.
You are not the warped perceptions that you have been conditioned to believe since the day of your birth. These perceptions want you to fight, strive, grovel and suffer in your endless pursuit of something that you already have and own.
1. A child reared without clear boundaries has little chance of success. Limits are necessary to give purpose, direction and structure to life. The fool swims in a boundless sea of opportunity and finally drowns because of his failure to latch onto a specific purpose. He tries to own the sea while the wise man selects a single purpose (opportunity/goal) and then pursue it with all his heart. The wise man understands the power of commitment and focused thought and is well rewarded.
2. A defeated person becomes indifferent about his fate. He finally stops feeling ashamed or sorry. He stops resisting and fighting to reclaim his dignity. The wise is very aware that passive behaviour could make him act like a dog with a broken spirit. Our parks are filled with defeated individuals that tragically accepted their fate in life.
3. A desperate or worried person displays the tendency to cling to anything or anyone that displays even slight compassion. A true warrior understands that this behaviour will eventually exhaust the person that he clings to. A champion never makes panic decisions or choices. He lives in the moment and knows that his winter season will pass like so many times before and make way for a brand new summer.
4. A few moments of indiscretion could become a burden that you might haunt you for the rest of your life. The need for instant gratification is usually at the root of most of our less spectacular choices. Any choice that we make can be compared to the pull of a trigger on a gun. Once the bullet leaves the barrel it cannot be recalled.
5. A good friend is like a good investment. To make good longterm friends be a friend. Friends become a shield in troubled times. Friendship is not a one-sided deal. There are people that claim that they are your friends, but they are often just stranger exploiting you. Several of the friends you make during your lifetime will stick a knife in your back the first time your friendship is really tested.
6. A grievance poisons your mind and chains you to the past. It leaves you bitter and twisted. Everyday of your life you chose between grievances and freedom. You must make up your mind if you want “pain” or “joy” or the “old” or the “new”. When you choose to go for freedom then learning the art of letting go becomes a top priority. When you have mastered the art of letting go of your history you begin to predominantly live in the now.
7. A man that cannot find enough compassion in his heart to forgive is a fool. We all make mistakes, but the fool continues trying to convince everybody that he is flawless. When you master the art of forgiveness you enter a safe harbour and gain peace of mind.
8. A man that is mature, fair and respectable is worth more than precious jewellery. Everybody respects maturity and predictability. Wisdom only comes to those that are slow to anger and careful in their judgement.
9. A man that lacks self-esteem needs titles and certificates to justify his position in life. A man at peace with who he is does not need the constant blessing or praise of others. Never allow a person’s title or position to intimidate or dominate you. See yourself on equal footing with others. Do not allow a person to intimidate you with his pedigree or current superior vantage point.
10. A man with willpower always has the best chance of coming out on top. The main reason why people fail is not because they do not have the skills and know-how, but because they lack the willpower. A person without willpower and determination always ends up the slave of those that do.
Rene
(from my book – PORTABLE LIFE SKILLS WISDOM GUIDE)
When we detect something via one or more of our five senses “it is what it is” until we make up our mind what we are going to make of it and what we are going to do about it. Its status remains neutral until we “respond” to the event detected of that we possibly thought of.
Example – someone said something that and we proceed to lodge it in the “process pending” file in our subconscious computer. No rational and objective reaction can take place until we hit the process button. At this stage we only have unqualified raw data in our mental “in box”. We are most probably composed and don’t feel sad, angry, upset or rejected. We continue to sustain our “current” mood. It is only after we begin to process the input received that we detect a change in our mood. It is only after we filtered and judged the “input” that our brains release the appropriate chemical cocktail into our blood that it deem appropriate to the task at hand. This is when we begin to experience elation, anger, joy, sadness or frustration. We also then received a “spontaneously” action plan as part of the reaction protocol. Can you see that nothing happened until we pushed the process button? Let us look at a few examples of input that most of us experience often.
We are late for work. We think suddenly conclude that there is a conspiracy against us. We woke up to the fact that most robots are either out of commission or red.
Our partner makes a negative comment about a mistake that he/she perceived we made.
We receive a final request for payment of something we bought in a moment of possible “insanity”.
We read that there is a child dying of poor water quality in Africa every minute.
We hear on the news that our crime rate achieved new horrific record levels.
We see on the news that Malema outperformed himself at a political meeting with a new harebrain idea how even more funds can be extracted from those that he deem financially affluent.
THE FORMULA
ONE – Accept “what is”. Do not send the input for processing to the processing part of the mind.
TWO – Ensure that you fully understand the INPUT that you are confronted with. Ask question, and do proper research.
THREE – Now send this data to your conscious mind for processing.
OPTIONS
What many of us fail to grasp is that there is no rule or valid reason to respond or react until you feel ready to deal with a task at hand. The best responds is often to not to do or say anything and remain detached emotionally. A series of out of order robots must be accepted as something that we can do absolutely nothing about. It will be silly and a total waste of energy to react like a mad man every time you are confronted with a red or defective robot. The outcome of such behaviour could produce a totally unacceptable outcome and can result in your getting arrested for road-rage. The same holds true with most of the examples that I provided earlier. Most of our reactions are silly, a waste of time and meaningless. We in a moment of insanity bought something that now put us under serious pressure. How will massive feeling a guilt, fear and anxiety make this problem go away?
NOTHING HAPPENED – STORY
Most of us have a tendency to write a whole script around everything unacceptable that we are faced with. We become the main actor on the stage in our heads. We to top it all also play the role of a victim in these dramas. Most problems that we are faced with can be resolved if we learn to cut out the drama part of our processing.
ACCEPT WHAT IS
Accept what is – Don’t go into a “why me” mode. Don’t moan and fret while you think what could or should have been. Accept the current situations and deal with in when you are composed and have valid data to work with.
Accept that most of the stuff that we perceive as a crisis is silly and should not even be processed. Malema said something that you deem a threat. Understand that there is nothing you can do to modify or change what he said. All you are going to achieve is to mess up your blood pleasure and flirt with a heart attack.
Just observe what was said in a detached manner. Don’t make what was said good or bad or right or wrong. Become a dethatched observer and look at the whole silly game the same way you will observe a tree that you pass on your way home. All you see is a tree. You have no specific opinions about the tree. You allow the tree to enter your field of vision and allow it to leave your field of vision without thinking or making up stories about this tree. It is our reactions that provide the power to most of the stuff that we are faced with.
The earth will remain stable on it axis and the sky will not fall if you OBSERVE all input in a detached manner. Refrain from attaching any emotions good or bad to any input. You take back your power when you accept “what is” and stop processing every event as if your life depended on it. It is your ego that is causing most of the shit that you are faced with daily. Your ego must always react to everything and everyone. Your ego is the one that drag you through an endless range of unpleasant emotions and experienced daily.
The question that you need to ask yourself is, “Do I want to win or do I want to be happy?” Allow yourself to float downstream. Stop swimming upstream in an attempt to pacify your ego’s desire to retain control or take control.
This does not mean that I expect you to become a bowl of jelly. I repeat that we must “accept what is and observe “what is” in an objective and relaxed manner without saying or doing the first thing that comes to mind. Only take action when you are composed and have solid and valid data to work with.
ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THE CONTROL AND SILLY GAMES WILL YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS BOOK IS ALL ABOUT!
The mechanical matrix of post modern consumer society, built by ordinary men and women, is a reality that is indeed a snare, serving only to isolate its inhabitants from a truer, wider, and richer interpretation in which all things are interwoven and cooperative. The matrix we live in, and which we uphold with each and every one of our thoughts (though as we shall see, these thoughts are not our own), is a world built blindly, through fear and rationality, a prison pervaded by misery, hostility, confusion, resentment, and despair. It ain’t no playground. And if it’s a game, then it’s one which few of us ever get to enjoy playing, perhaps because no one ever told us the rules.
Most of us sooner or later discover that we have two forces that course through our veins. We automatically vacillate between the “upper” and “lower” limits of this force on a moment to moment basis. The UPPER end of the pole of this system is called the “ACTION” zone and the “LOWEST” end of this pole is characterized as the “NON-ACTION” zone. The feelings generated by thoughts, events or for that matter everything and everyone we encounter decides the quality of the output we intend using to deal with the matter at hand. The mistake we make is that many of us think that we are at the mercy of this so-called automatic reaction patterns that endlessly flood our minds and hearts daily. We jump with joy and run like the wind when good feelings are generated by the thought or event that we are confronted with (ACTION) or shut down and retreat into a dark place in our minds (NON-ACTION). What many of us never knew or understood is that there is no need to remain a victim of our historical conditioning or past mistakes. All that is real and valid is our current moment. We can if we decide to take control act in an appropriate and powerful manner notwithstanding the threat and feelings of doubt that we might be confronted with. You are part of a universal force that caters for evolution on a moment to moment basis. Call this force God my friend if it will make you feel more comfortable. This force is fair and allows every living thing in the universe to evolve, grow and expand notwithstanding his or her history. You can make a fresh start on a moment to moment basis. You are allocated 86400 new moments in any given day where you can make a fresh start. There is no need to fear failure or hide in the “NON-ACTION” zone. The NON-ACTION zone is a place where you become stagnant and RESIST risking the possibility of getting hurt or disappointed. The choices you make decide the quality of the outcomes you experience daily. Very few of us understand that not making a choice is actually also a choice that you make. You choose NON-ACTION and RESISTANCE and give up control.
Spend some time today to probe why you have this reluctance to take action. What is the cause of the resistance deep inside you that is preventing you from being the best you that you can ever be? Now make a list of all the things you will do if you knew that you cannot fail. Make a list of everything that comes to mind. Think it and then ink it. I will continue this series tomorrow.
As Maria Robinson once said, “Nobody can go back and start a new beginning, but anyone can start today and make a new ending.”
Nothing could be closer to the truth. But before you can begin this process of transformation you have to stop doing the things that have been holding you back.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
1. Stop spending time with the wrong people. Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you. If someone wants you in their life, they’ll make room for you. You shouldn’t have to fight for a spot. Never, ever insist yourself to someone who continuously overlooks your worth. And remember, it’s not the people that stand by your side when you’re at your best, but the ones who stand beside you when you’re at your worst that are your true friends.
2. Stop running from your problems. Face them head on. No, it won’t be easy. There is no person in the world capable of flawlessly handling every punch thrown at them. We aren’t supposed to be able to instantly solve problems. That’s not how we’re made. In fact, we’re made to get upset, sad, hurt, stumble and fall. Because that’s the whole purpose of living to face problems, learn, adapt, and solve them over the course of time. This is what ultimately molds us into the person we become.
3. Stop lying to yourself. You can lie to anyone else in the world, but you can’t lie to yourself. Our lives improve only when we take chances, and the first and most difficult chance we can take is to be honest with ourselves. Read The Road Less Traveled.
4. Stop putting your own needs on the back burner.The most painful thing is losing yourself in the process of loving someone too much, and forgetting that you are special too. Yes, help others; but help yourself too. If there was ever a moment to follow your passion and do something that matters to you, that moment is now.
5. Stop trying to be someone you’re not. One of the greatest challenges in life is being yourself in a world that’s trying to make you like everyone else. Someone will always be prettier, someone will always be smarter, someone will always be younger, but they will never be you. Don’t change so people will like you. Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.
6. Stop trying to hold onto the past. You can’t start the next chapter of your life if you keep re-reading your last one.
7. Stop being scared to make a mistake. Doing something and getting it wrong is at least ten times more productive than doing nothing. Every success has a trail of failures behind it, and every failure is leading towards success. You end up regretting the things you did NOT do far more than the things you did.
8. Stop berating yourself for old mistakes. We may love the wrong person and cry about the wrong things, but no matter how things go wrong, one thing is for sure, mistakes help us find the person and things that are right for us. We all make mistakes, have struggles, and even regret things in our past. But you are not your mistakes, you are not your struggles, and you are here NOW with the power to shape your day and your future. Every single thing that has ever happened in your life is preparing you for a moment that is yet to come.
9. Stop trying to buy happiness. Many of the things we desire are expensive. But the truth is, the things that really satisfy us are totally free love, laughter and working on our passions.
10. Stop exclusively looking to others for happiness.If you’re not happy with who you are on the inside, you won’t be happy in a long-term relationship with anyone else either. You have to create stability in your own life first before you can share it with someone else. Read Stumbling on Happiness.
11. Stop being idle. Don’t think too much or you’ll create a problem that wasn’t even there in the first place. Evaluate situations and take decisive action. You cannot change what you refuse to confront. Making progress involves risk. Period! You can’t make it to second base with your foot on first.
12. Stop thinking you’re not ready. Nobody ever feels 100% ready when an opportunity arises. Because most great opportunities in life force us to grow beyond our comfort zones, which means we won’t feel totally comfortable at first.
13. Stop getting involved in relationships for the wrong reasons. Relationships must be chosen wisely. It’s better to be alone than to be in bad company. There’s no need to rush. If something is meant to be, it will happen in the right time, with the right person, and for the best reason. Fall in love when you’re ready, not when you’re lonely.
14. Stop rejecting new relationships just because old ones didn’t work. In life you’ll realize that there is a purpose for everyone you meet. Some will test you, some will use you and some will teach you. But most importantly, some will bring out the best in you.
15. Stop trying to compete against everyone else.Don’t worry about what others doing better than you. Concentrate on beating your own records every day. Success is a battle between YOU and YOURSELF only.
16. Stop being jealous of others. Jealousy is the art of counting someone else’s blessings instead of your own. Ask yourself this: “What’s something I have that everyone wants?”
17. Stop complaining and feeling sorry for yourself. Life’s curveballs are thrown for a reason to shift your path in a direction that is meant for you. You may not see or understand everything the moment it happens, and it may be tough. But reflect back on those negative curveballs thrown at you in the past. You’ll often see that eventually they led you to a better place, person, state of mind, or situation. So smile! Let everyone know that today you are a lot stronger than you were yesterday, and you will be.
18. Stop holding grudges. Don’t live your life with hate in your heart. You will end up hurting yourself more than the people you hate. Forgiveness is not saying, “What you did to me is okay.” It is saying, “I’m not going to let what you did to me ruin my happiness forever.” Forgiveness is the answer… let go, find peace, liberate yourself! And remember, forgiveness is not just for other people, it’s for you too. If you must, forgive yourself, move on and try to do better next time.
19. Stop letting others bring you down to their level.Refuse to lower your standards to accommodate those who refuse to raise theirs.
20. Stop wasting time explaining yourself to others.Your friends don’t need it and your enemies won’t believe it anyway. Just do what you know in your heart is right.
21. Stop doing the same things over and over without taking a break. The time to take a deep breath is when you don’t have time for it. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Sometimes you need to distance yourself to see things clearly.
22. Stop overlooking the beauty of small moments.Enjoy the little things, because one day you may look back and discover they were the big things. The best portion of your life will be the small, nameless moments you spend smiling with someone who matters to you.
23. Stop trying to make things perfect. The real world doesn’t reward perfectionists, it rewards people who get things done. Read Getting Things Done.
24. Stop following the path of least resistance. Life is not easy, especially when you plan on achieving something worthwhile. Don’t take the easy way out. Do something extraordinary.
25. Stop acting like everything is fine if it isn’t. It’s okay to fall apart for a little while. You don’t always have to pretend to be strong, and there is no need to constantly prove that everything is going well. You shouldn’t be concerned with what other people are thinking either cry if you need to it’s healthy to shed your tears. The sooner you do, the sooner you will be able to smile again.
26. Stop blaming others for your troubles. The extent to which you can achieve your dreams depends on the extent to which you take responsibility for your life. When you blame others for what you’re going through, you deny responsibility you give others power over that part of your life.
27. Stop trying to be everything to everyone. Doing so is impossible, and trying will only burn you out. But making one person smile CAN change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus.
28. Stop worrying so much. Worry will not strip tomorrow of its burdens, it will strip today of its joy. One way to check if something is worth mulling over is to ask yourself this question: “Will this matter in one year’s time? Three years? Five years?” If not, then it’s not worth worrying about.
29. Stop focusing on what you don’t want to happen. Focus on what you do want to happen. Positive thinking is at the forefront of every great success story. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, and you pay close attention, you’ll often find that you’re right.
30. Stop being ungrateful. No matter how good or bad you have it, wake up each day thankful for your life. Someone somewhere else is desperately fighting for theirs. Instead of thinking about what you’re missing, try thinking about what you have that everyone else is missing.
1. A child reared without clear boundaries has little chance of success. Limits are necessary to give purpose, direction and structure to life. The fool swims in a boundless sea of opportunity and finally drowns because of his failure to latch onto a specific purpose. He tries to own the sea while the wise man selects a single purpose (opportunity/goal) and then pursue it with all his heart. The wise man understands the power of commitment and focused thought and is well rewarded.
2. A defeated person becomes indifferent about his fate. He finally stops feeling ashamed or sorry. He stops resisting and fighting to reclaim his dignity. The wise is very aware that passive behaviour could make him act like a dog with a broken spirit. Our parks are filled with defeated individuals that tragically accepted their fate in life.
3. A desperate or worried person displays the tendency to cling to anything or anyone that displays even slight compassion. A true warrior understands that this behaviour will eventually exhaust the person that he clings to. A champion never makes panic decisions or choices. He lives in the moment and knows that his winter season will pass like so many times before and make way for a brand new summer.
4. A few moments of indiscretion could become a burden that you might haunt you for the rest of your life. The need for instant gratification is usually at the root of most of our less spectacular choices. Any choice that we make can be compared to the pull of a trigger on a gun. Once the bullet leaves the barrel it cannot be recalled.
5. A good friend is like a good investment. To make good longterm friends be a friend. Friends become a shield in troubled times. Friendship is not a one-sided deal. There are people that claim that they are your friends, but they are often just stranger exploiting you. Several of the friends you make during your lifetime will stick a knife in your back the first time your friendship is really tested.
6. A grievance poisons your mind and chains you to the past. It leaves you bitter and twisted. Everyday of your life you chose between grievances and freedom. You must make up your mind if you want “pain” or “joy” or the “old” or the “new”. When you choose to go for freedom then learning the art of letting go becomes a top priority. When you have mastered the art of letting go of your history you begin to predominantly live in the now.
7. A man that cannot find enough compassion in his heart to forgive is a fool. We all make mistakes, but the fool continues trying to convince everybody that he is flawless. When you master the art of forgiveness you enter a safe harbour and gain peace of mind.
8. A man that is mature, fair and respectable is worth more than precious jewellery. Everybody respects maturity and predictability. Wisdom only comes to those that are slow to anger and careful in their judgement.
9. A man that lacks self-esteem needs titles and certificates to justify his position in life. A man at peace with who he is does not need the constant blessing or praise of others. Never allow a person’s title or position to intimidate or dominate you. See yourself on equal footing with others. Do not allow a person to intimidate you with his pedigree or current superior vantage point.
10. A man with willpower always has the best chance of coming out on top. The main reason why people fail is not because they do not have the skills and know-how, but because they lack the willpower. A person without willpower and determination always ends up the slave of those that do.
The rain of forgiveness wash away the hurt and pain of yesteryear. No healing can take place while you cling to your historical letdowns and painful experiences of the past. Great purity of thinking and the miraculous healing of wounds usually take place after unconditional forgiveness. Remember that forgiveness does not mean that you approve what was done to you. The act of forgiveness release the person that “sinned” against you from your mind. The lack of the ability to forgive and detach prevent you from moving on. You get stuck in what could or should have been. Wonderful opportunities will pass you by if you live in the past. The train of life is constantly moving forward. You are either on the train (in the now) or stuck on a station hoping that things can return to what could or should have been. The ability to let go of toxic thoughts, events, failures or broken promises with set your mind free. All you have is this very moment. What could or should have been is nothing more than “files” that you recall from your sub-conscious mind. You are the one that supply the past with the power to contaminate your current moment. Yesterdays failures will remain powerless files in your mind if you stop recharging its batteries with your thoughts and regrets.
We sometimes feel like a swimmer in trouble a long way
from the safety of the beach. We have no idea where the
currents are taking us. We feel dwarfed by the immense ocean
that seems to go on forever. We see water wherever we look.
We feel the powerful churn of the awesome power under us.
We panic and try to make our way back to the beach, but soon
realise that we are not really making any progress. We start
panicking and try even harder, but to no avail. It suddenly
dawns on us that we will surly die if we continue to fight the
ocean.
The ocean will allow us to disperse all our energy. It will then
swallow us and later spit us out on some lonely beach a long
way down the coast. The only way we can buy time when in a
situation like this is to relax and to go with the flow. There is
absolutely no benefit in fighting a problem that is currently
out of control or too daunting to handle. There is a time to
fight and a time to just bide your time. It will make sense if
you swim to the best of your ability to reach the beach if you
are strong or fit enough, but it will be foolish to try and fight
the waves if you have absolutely no chance of winning.
Most of our problems, yes even the ones that seem extremely
daunting have a way of working itself out in the end. Most of
us have been faced with a wide range of problems, some of
them quite serious that today are nothing more than faded
memories. The biggest mistake we make when faced with a
problem is to immediately jump in and try to make it go away.
We say or do the first thing that comes to mind. We must not
fight problems. The best way to cope with problems is to
gather as much information as we can before we take action.
We are only escalating a problem to crisis proportions when
we panic and attempt to fight our way out of a trouble zone.
Relax, gather information and then do what you can, one
moment at a time. It is sometimes better to do nothing until
you have the strength, resources or finances to cope with
what you are faced with. Panic feed a problem while relaxed
action in turn become like the steering mechanism of a boat.
You can steer your way out of virtually any trouble during the
stormy period on the sea of life if you remain composed and
continue to think things through before you take action.
We are under the impression that specific things or people
can and should contribute to our needs and preferences. We
become depressed and unhappy if any of the things or people
that we deem attached to us let us down or fail to meet our
expectations. We only discover the intricate and inclusive
web we weaved since early childhood when we notice how
invisible and subliminal cables bind us to thousands of
objects and preferences. We in a way think we own these
objects and suffer separation anxiety when even a single item
is disconnected from us. Most of us suffer with fear of loss
and rejection. We absorb serious abused from those that we
think we are attached to. We tolerate the pain they inflict
because we are afraid that they might let go of us if we show
our disdain with their actions. A partner, child or lover can
cause us unwanted discomfort if they threaten to let go of us
or indicate that they want to be released from our comfort
zone. It is our attachment that makes us extremely vulnerable.
We do not only develop this invisible bond with people. We
allow furniture, books, a house or even an old coat to own us.
Attachment seems to indicate ownership to most of us. We
thus allow a wide range of people and things to own us and to
decide our moods and perceived security. Buddha taught his
students the powerful law of detachment. He indicated that we
can never achieve spiritual freedom while we allow anything
or anyone to own us. His advice is to let go of the false notion
that our lives will grind to a halt if we let go of the false
perception that it is what we own that sustain who we are. We
are not what we own, the car we drive or the house we live in.
We are not our money or titles. All these labels sustain our
egos and have nothing to do with the perfect self at our core.
God needs nothing from nobody. The same holds true with
our perfect selves. We are an extension of God and not our
physical bodies and the things that we accumulate around us
during visits to this dimension. Learn to detach and you will
change your life overnight. Let go of your anger, fear of loss
or desire to be respected and loved. These desires are snacks
for your ego and have absolutely nothing to do with the
reason for your current or future visits to this plane. Become
still and mentally see how you cut the endless number of
cords that currently bind you to things and people in the
matrix. You will discover real freedom when you are no longer
influenced and manipulated by the false perception of
ownership. It is our clinging to people and stuff that give them
power over us. Detach from what people say or do, detach
from the negative messages in the newspapers and media.
You can never fly with the eagles while you strut around like a
chicken in a pen with your head in the sand.
We spend years trying to work out the mysteries of life. We
want to know who we are, where we come from and what we
are doing in this dimension. We want to know why people do
certain things or why they failed to do as we expect they
would. We want to know what tomorrow, next week or next
year will confront us with. We want to know all there is to
know about God, his plans for us or what will happen to us
when we die. We want to understand why we get tired or feel
ill. Most of us have been asking “why” questions from early
childhood. We read thousands of books in an attempt to
understand what life is all about. The more we read the deeper
we need to delve into the subject matter. There is no book
that can provide all the answers. The problem with books or
lectures is that they leave us with more questions than
answers.
We begin to feel like a person that is trying to dig a hole in the
sand. Every bucket of sand that he takes out results in two
buckets that slide back into the hole. Those that developed
the historical God concepts pulled a serious stunt on us. They
created so many laws, rules, expectations and regulations
that they claim God expect of us that they left us in a no win
situation. Nobody could since the first man appeared on this
plane sustain God’s requirements that he apparently
personally dictated to the early so-called inspired authors. It
was our inability to meet the expectations of these man made
Gods that forced mankind to cling to religion and those that
claimed that they have direct access to God. We became
these mediators’ slaves and financiers. We ate out of their
hands and jump to their commands. It is impossible to get
closure on our endless range of “why” questions.
Each question answered will just dig up new ones that need
to be answered. It becomes a vicious never ending cycle. We
spend the best part of our life in a state of ignorance. We will
never know why people that we love and trust let us down or
stick a knife in our backs. We will never know why individuals
act and react the way they do. We will live longer and become
much happier if we stop trying to dig up answers to the many
mysteries of life and why people say or do certain things.
This is why I recommend that you live your life one moment at
a time and give each moment your best shot. Live as if there
is no tomorrow, as if this will be your last day. Be bold and
know that you can cope with anything that life can throw at
you tomorrow, next week and five years from now. Stop
asking “why” questions. Learn to mentally dump your “why”
question in a mental bin if you do not have a satisfactory
answer in sixty seconds. We are like a dog that tries to catch
a bus with “why” painted in big bold letters on its side. Our
problem is that even if we are fortunate enough to catch this
bus now and then we have no idea what to do with it once we
caught it. Your perfect self know all the answers. It is your
ego or false self that becomes frantic and petrified about the
unknown.
We have ongoing input from our five senses. We are exposed
to millions of stimuli every hour. We have a reticular
activation system in our brains that are programmed to
immediately bring any input to our attention if it might pose a
threat to us at any time. Anything that we see, hear, taste, or
smell that might have caused us discomfort, loss or pain in
the past or that could cause us loss, pain or discomfort in the
future is immediately brought to our attention. This is a good
system because it warns us of pending danger.
Our problem is that something went wrong with our system
that validates incoming data. The holes in the filter became so
clogged up that it hardly let anything through. Many of us can
see danger or possible disaster in virtually anything.
Thoughts that pose no problem simply flow through our filter
system and have little or no impact on us. It is the thoughts
that are captured in our potential threat filter system that we
feel compelled to deal with. The mistake that we then make is
that we begin to construct mental movies about the perceived
threat in our heads. We mentally see, feel, smell, hear and
taste the negative outcomes that we write into these scripts.
We are not satisfied with one show in the theatre of our
minds. We replay these movies many times and experience
the possible painful negative outcomes a million times. We
wear ourselves out while we work through these illusions in
our heads. We find it difficult to sleep, eat or do our work
because of these horror movies. We end up with health
problems and in the process destroy our relationships as
well. We take the residue that got trapped in our mental filter
system and make it into a monster that haunts us day and
night. We will be safer and saner if we remove the filters in
our heads. The original purpose of these filters was to protect
us against physical threats. We knew that if our filter detected
a hungry dinosaur that it will be a smart idea to put as much
distance as possible between him and us in the shortest
period of time.
We must however now begin to understand that we live in a
different time under different circumstances. I promise you
that you can allow most of the stuff that are today trapped in
your filter system through. It will not harm you and become a
faded memory in an hour or two. We must allow the endless
stream of thoughts to simply flow through our reticular
activation system. Do not block them. Let them slide through
and join the billions that came before them on the garbage
heap in your past. Keep this in mind the next time you feel
sad, overloaded, trapped, anxious, worried, let down, defeated
or angry. Let these thoughts slide by. Do not energise them.
They have no power until you plug in the power with your
thinking. Your perfect self can and will assist you when you
are faced with a real threat. Do not allow your ego to take up
so much of your time. Your ego needs answers and
protection because it is a coward. Your ego want answers to
his “why” questions. Your perfect self is positive and know
that it can handle anything that anybody or life can throw at
you.
What would the implications be if we discovered that God want or need nothing from nobody? I know some of the readers may experience feelings of anxiety, fear, anger or even panic when they attempt to contemplate what might look like a preposterous statement far removed from the historical “God perceptions” that we grew up with. What would have happened to mankind if they discovered a long time ago that God actually never needed or expected anything from anyone?
Would there have been any meaningful theology?
Would there have been any churches?
Would there have been the endless number of religions and spiritual movements with all their individual dogmas?
Would there have been the ongoing love – fear relationships that many still experience today when they think of the God concept promoted by their church?
Would there have been fear of death, hell and Satan?
Would there have been fear of old age?
Would there have been the religious wars where many millions were killed in the name of various Gods?
Would there have been a Roman Catholic, Christian and a Muslim Movements that boast with billions of followers?
The reason why many of us still insist that God have always had strict requirements is because in some peculiar way it provides us with a sense of worthiness. Some might even reason that they will have to become atheists if they bought into the idea that God needs nothing from nobody. The idea never cross their mind that most of the God perceptions that they cling to were planted in their heads when still very young.
Churches, clergy, priests, emperors, kings etc. worked themselves into a very powerful and influential position by claiming that they are the earthly representatives of some or other God. They revealed hundreds of laws, rules, regulations and expectations that the God according to their perception of Him insist that must be enforced to make Him happy and assist Him to remain composed and not lose His cool. The prescriptions were always linked to dire warnings that, if ignored or not address to the letter would result in serious punishment in the near future or in some kind of afterlife. These warning included predictions of death, destruction, famine, droughts and hardship. These predictions were initially enough to control their followers and keep them subservient. It later became necessary to turn up the heat regarding God’s expectations and needs. This is where those that thought that they might get away with disobedience to God’s commands (like totally wiping out a so-called pagan nation) discovered that God also have a record keeping system and a court of law in heaven that is waiting for those that failed to fulfil the stipulated requirements when they die . The concept of Hell and everlasting damnation after death tightened the screws of control to a level where most in a sheep like manner remain loyal to the church.
The endless laws, rules and regulations continued to flow from God through so-called inspired individuals until Constantine decided to collate a book (The Bible). All the mystical inspired chats between God and the authors suddenly dried up. Not a single person according to this philosophy have been inspire after this event. God vanished from the stage of life and apparently retreated to his heavenly abode. The clergy however kept churning out endless often self-serving commands by interpreting the historical laws and commandments and in this manner kept the upper hand, power and money flowing.
Stop for a moment and think about the statements that I made above. Let us play for a moment with the idea that God never demanded anything from anyone. What would the implications be if man made Gods for themselves in their own image? What would the implications be if the depictions of the Gods were wrong and that God never insisted on the endless range of requirements now cast in stone in their Holy Books? What if the real God (life force) never meddled with man and allowed each individual to work out his own fate and future on a moment to moment basis with the choices he or she make? What if God gave man free will to make any choice and never metered out any punishment, but like a good parent allows His now physically mature children to learn via their own mistakes? Do not reject this option. Think about it for a moment and you will discover that a million and one things that might have bothered you about your current God concept now suddenly fall into place.
BE BOLD AND STRETCH YOUR COMFORT ZONE DAILY – NO GROWTH IS POSSIBLE WHILE YOU REPEAT THE SAME OLD STUFF ENDLESSLY- IT IS OK TO BE SCEPTICAL, BUT OPEN YOUR MIND AND BEGIN TO LOOK AT LIFE FROM MANY DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. YOU WILL OFTEN BE CHALLENGED WHEN YOU VISIT THE READING ROOM. WE ONLY GROW AND EVOLVE WHEN WE DARE TO GO OUTSIDE WALLS OF OUR BELIEF SYSTEM. OUR OBJECTIVE IS TO BECOME LOVE. NOT ACT AS IF WE LOVE, BUT TO BECOME UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. OUR INTENTION DIRECT ALL OUR ACTIONS. – VISIT THE READING ROOM DAILY AND DISCOVER HOW POWERFUL YOU ARE!
ONLY WHEN YOU HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THE CONTROL AND SILLY GAMES WILL YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS BOOK IS ALL ABOUT!
The mechanical matrix of post modern consumer society, built by ordinary men and women, is a reality that is indeed a snare, serving only to isolate its inhabitants from a truer, wider, and richer interpretation in which all things are interwoven and cooperative. The matrix we live in, and which we uphold with each and every one of our thoughts (though as we shall see, these thoughts are not our own), is a world built blindly, through fear and rationality, a prison pervaded by misery, hostility, confusion, resentment, and despair. It ain’t no playground. And if it’s a game, then it’s one which few of us ever get to enjoy playing, perhaps because no one ever told us the rules.
There is a saying that ignorance is bliss. This might be true for some, but it is as far as I am concerned the root cause of most of our suffering, pain and anxiety. Accepting life, people, religion, politics, perceptions, choices, rules and laws at face value imprisoned the mind of mankind. Looking at anything in life from a single perspective is the lazy way out. Seeing and experiencing from a limited range of perspectives have shackled man almost since its inception. Primitive man could not read, write or decipher the range of threats that confronted them and were forced to turn to priests and other individuals for guidance. This disposition provided a wonderful opportunity for those that claimed that they understood to take over control of their followers minds. The initial flimsy net that these opportunists wove gradually grew stronger and more sophisticated.
You will later see how this initial ignorance created an ideal vehicle of enslavement for those in control. Mankind have been kept in a state of ignorance since the beginning of time by greedy power hungry individuals, groups and organizations. Primitive methods of pain, pleasure and hope were used to restrain the masses. Man experienced fleeting moments of pleasure while they blindly obeyed the “commands” of these controllers. Thousands of written laws, spiritual and otherwise came into being over the years. Those that remained subdued and subservient were praised and rewarded while anyone that questioned anything faced the intricate range of pain that these controllers could bring to bear on them. They were cruelly tortured in the dark ages when they questioned anything to do with religion or the state.
Mankind became the slaves of the controllers. They were carefully manipulated to let go of a fair percentage of their hard earned income. The state took their pound of flesh while the religious leaders demanded at least ten percent of all income earned as well. The system sucked in mankind to such an extent that only a handful of individuals over the years showed the courage to point out the deadly trap that we find ourselves in up to today. Do you grasp that the slaves of this system not only police the deadly system on behalf of the controllers, but breed their future slaves when they produce children? I can write a fairly substantial book on this subject matter, but believe that you can see what I am addressing in this document.
My plea is that everyone make it his or her business to get rid of the veil of ignorance that is responsible for most of their anxiety, pain and lack. You might have noticed that I post a very wide range of perceptions daily on an endless range of subjects. My motivation is that I want you to look at stuff from many different perspectives. Nothing is as it seems. I will continue to write on the endless range of methods used to keep us ignorant if I get a fairly acceptable responds on this post.
Everyday you make a thousand choices. You choose what to wear, where to go, who to meet, what to eat and what to do. MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL, YOU decide WHAT TO THINK. One thing is sure and that is that your day will not be better than your thoughts. ...................
Just close your eyes for a moment and see if you can visualise this open toolbox and if you can see the hundreds of tools that are neatly placed in this toolbox. Now look if you can see the maker’s name on these tools. The creator of these tools (thoughts and perceptions) is you. You created thousands of thoughts and perceptions (tools) about everything since your childhood. ..................
When confronted with any situation or problem you reach into this toolbox and take out what you think the most appropriate tool would be and then attempt to fix the problem. It is estimated that your mind thinks at least 2,500 thoughts an hour. Every thought that you think is a tool (perception) that you have that you imagine would work best under specific circumstances. This thought process continues day and night and will do so for the rest of your life. .....................................
I am convinced that we think ourselves to a standstill. We never stop playing with these tools in our toolbox and can hardly ever really relax for a while. If we are not faced with a problem or task that needs completion we still continue to take out these tools and mentally rehears and contemplate how we will use them should something that we fear become a reality. ............................
We are forever thinking and scheming and never become still and tranquil inside. Our bodies might seem relaxed, but deep inside our heads this thought process continues churning around. What I am most worried about is that most of the tools that you have in your toolbox are very old and outdated. .......................
Many of the opportunities, problems and obstructions that you face daily cannot be repaired while you are using old and outdated tools. If you take a modern mechanic’s toolbox and you place the toolbox of a mechanic of fifty years ago next to it you will find that there are major discrepancies. When you are confronted with something that needs repair and you do not have the right tool for the task at hand it can be very frustrating. We usually improvise and try using some other tools and hope that it will also get the job done. ........................
When you are faced with a problem you need to select the right tool for the task at hand. If you do not have the tool in your toolbox it can complicate your life. What most people seem to ignore is that it is sometimes better not to reach for your toolbox when faced with a problem. Sometimes you need time to pass or need to leave the problem with its rightful owner. How well you use your tools is usually reflected in the world you see around you. What would you do if you were faced with any or all of the following? .........................
You get a flat tire on your way to an important customer or meeting. You can fall apart, develop a migraine and think that life is against you or you can take out the right tools (patience and reality) and take care of the problem in a relaxed manner. ........................
You have been working on the computer for hours and suddenly lose all your work. You can drop dead with a heart attack; think that God hates you or you can take out the right tool (sanity and reality) and begin over and this time remember to make a backup of your work. ....................
A lover or wife possibly cheated on you. You can go crazy and get an assassin to take out the potential threat to your relationship, think that you are a failure or you can take out the right tool (no fear of loss) and get on with your life. .......................
When you have the right tools in your toolbox it makes life a lot easier. The choices we make are vital in our lives. The more quality choices we make during any given day the higher the probability of success and peace of mind. ................
I suggest that you equip your toolbox with the best tools you can lay your hands on. It is important to upgrade if you discover that one of your tools are outdated or that a more modern version is available. How would you react if your TV packed up and a technician that obviously knows very little about electronics arrived at your house with only a sledgehammer and a few other primitive tools in his toolbox? I am sure that you will send him away and find someone better qualified and equipped for the task. .....................
You might sometimes be like this incompetent and poorly equipped technician indicated above if you do not often update your tools (thoughts) in your toolbox. You can also have all the right tools in your toolbox and never use them because you are afraid that you might make a mistake. ..................
You must remember that happiness and success is always just one thought (tool) away. You should remember when you find it difficult to cope with something that one new tool (thought) could change your life. One fresh thought and one new idea can change your life from pain and suffering to success and peace of mind. ........................
You are today what you were programmed with yesterday. The choices that you make on a moment-to-moment basis decide your fate and future. You can never feel or perform better than the ongoing thoughts and feelings that you allow to occupy your mind! .......................
The mistake we make is that most of us live our lives on a reactive basis. We start and complete our day in a reactive state of being. Something comes to our attention via our five senses or via a thought in our mind. We automatically slip into the “role” that we created for ourselves many moons ago. We act, react and experience the same feelings and emotions that we embedded with our scrip at its inception. We do exactly the same when new stimuli push the previous “drama” off the stage in our minds. We sustain this reactive mode of thinking until we finally go to bed at night. Most of our days are made up of a tapestry of “roles” that we played in our own colorful way. It is important to understand that nothing is going to change until we do something different. We cannot repeat the same old recipes and expect a different outcome. ....................
You can use the “Portable Life Skills Wisdom” book to develop a range of appropriate scripts that you can use when you are faced with a problem or project that need your attention. You will if you apply the scripts in this book find that you no longer run your life on a reactive basis. The new scripts will help you to live your life in the moment. You will become more realistic. You will treat each event on its own merit. How do you do this? ......................
The Process ....................
Read the first message in your book. Write it down if at all possible. It will assist you to absorb the data provided. Now sit back and close your eyes and visualize how you will apply the specific message in the various areas of your life. See yourself on the screen of your mind using the message in all your day-to-day activities. It is important to attempt to feel and experience the benefits that this new mode of thinking will bring into your life. Do this for ten minutes. Then open your eyes and begin to apply the wisdom on all occasions where appropriate in your activities on that given day. ...........................
Proceed to do the same with second message etc. in your book tomorrow. You will upload almost a thousand powerful recipes if you sustain the process indicated above. You can in less than three years upload a powerful “tool” system that will serve you for the rest of your life. This can be a life changing experience if you apply it daily. You will discover that the ten minutes you invest daily will upload countless new strategies into your subconscious computer. Build a successful and happy life. The key however is action. You can have the best tools available to man and still fail if you don’t use them daily. Wishing you the very best with this endeavor. .............................
Daily Support System (This Blog) ................
You not only have the massive key ideas in the book that you can use when appropriate you also receive daily posts on a wide range of subjects that will expand this system to a level never offered before. Visit this blog daily for fresh new ideas with a sprinkle of historical wisdom that stood the test of time. ..........................
Rene
Why Thinking Like a Futurist Is Valuable
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PORTABLE LIFE SKILLS DAILY WISDOM GUIDE 