Glass Half Full Or Half Empty
December 7, 2009
By Graeme Renwall
Have you mastered the power of positive thinking? While we seem to know intuitively that thinking positively will result in positive results, too often we fall into a downward spiral of negative thinking. While it’s impossible to think positively 100% of the time, that should be our goal. Here are some tips to maximize the amount of positive thinking that you do:
1. Be around positive-thinking people.
That old saying about birds of a feather is true. If you hang around positive-thinking people, their thinking will cause you to think positively. And if you associate with negative-thinking people, the opposite will happen. Whenever possible, avoid such negative people like the plague. If you can’t do that due to mandatory social situations, then don’t allow those people to drag you down into their sludge of negativity. Keep your head above it!
2. Control your outlook on life.
Too often we allow others’ negativity to impact our outlook on life. As a wise person once told me, “You can’t control others’ actions-only your reaction.” Sometimes it’s easy to allow negative-thinking people to drag us into their web of negativity. Forget about them! Those types of people will do nothing to reach your goals in life or make you happy. Instead, focus on maintaining a positive outlook on life.
3. Constantly reflect on your actions and attitudes.
Always be aware of whether you are thinking and acting positively. It’s so easy to slip back into our own negative behavior and perceptions. That’s why you must be constantly vigilant. Whenever you catch yourself thinking or acting negatively-change those actions or thoughts immediately. The longer you wait, the more ingrained they’ll become in your life.
4. Make daily affirmations a habit.
A daily affirmation is a carefully-created statement that one repeatedly repeats and writes down. The goal of daily affirmations is to combine them with positive thinking in order to achieve success in whatever activity the person becomes involved in. Various recent books with a focus on daily affirmations have helped to boost the public’s interest in them.
5. Set goals and strive to reach them.
Avoid setting goals that are impossible. Instead, set ones that are challenging but within your reach. Even if you only experience minor successes, this will give you confidence to set more challenging goals to meet. Regardless of the obstacles you encounter, always keep your eye on the prize!
6. Live life to the fullest.
Sometimes the day-to-day grind can be as fun as getting a root canal. It doesn’t have to be that way! Indeed, variety is the spice of life. Try new experiences in life. Take up a new hobby. Travel to an exotic country. Taste foods that you’ve never tried before. By experiencing the variety that life has to offer, you’ll wake up each morning and be ready to face the day.
While thinking positively 100% of the time is impossible, there’s always room for improvement. These tips will help you to constantly see that glass of water is half full in every aspect of life.
The Core of All Our Problems is Right Here, We Just Have to Look in the Mirror
December 2, 2009
By Guy Blews
You can read all the relationship advice you like, but it’s a waste of time unless you work on the core of the problem.
The core of the problem is you.
Not the you that you think you are, but the you that you have been ‘miseducated’ into being; the you that society wants you to be; the you that you never thought you would be. That is who you have to work on. That is the you that thinks reading a book or flicking through a magazine will give you the instant answer, the instant solution – unfortunately, life doesn’t
work that way; and nor do you. Most of these books are too one dimensional to make much of a difference; most of the articles are too shallow to get to the core of the problem, they only address the superficial details.
Re-programming oneself is not an easy task, it requires a radical re-organization of old habits; both emotional habits and physical habits, but if you refuse to do this, then you have little hope of changing the path your life is on, the path that was chosen for you, or the path that you fell into by virtue of the people you were surrounded by; probably a path that you didn’t think about much; possibly a path you regret; a path you can change if you want to.
Although the task may not be easy, it is not complicated, it is based on simplicity, on refuting the ‘miseducation’ of the past and on seeing how the world really works, how humans truly behave, how situations usually play out. Essentially it requires honesty, with yourself and with those around you. Once you decide to strip your opinions down to the core, to the bare bones of right and wrong, then you can begin to work on building a solid foundation based on the truth you see not on the fairy tale you were sold.
Building a foundation on your own dreams and ideals is essential if you are ever going to be successful physically and emotionally – do not build a dream on the ideals that you were given or the stories you were told; it is only when you make opinions based on your own experiences and on what you actually see that you can begin to know who you are and how you truly feel. It is all very well to believe what you are told, but it doesn’t do you much good when you are told lies, exaggerations and falsehoods that don’t work out in real life; and after all, real life is where you live, not in a movie, a book or a pop song. There is no happily ever after in real life.
Allow me to generalize a little…
Most of us have been taught to always look for a solution to our problems outside of ourselves; we are guided towards thinking that an animal, a partner, friends or a child will make it all better, that God has a greater plan for us than the one we see, or that the Universe will lead us to a better place; we are rendered helpless by our belief that there is a greater force at work, an organizing energy that will work things out for us in the end just so long as we behave as we see correct, just so long as we do as we are told. This is a falsehood, a lie, a fairy tale that conveniently places the blame elsewhere, and inconveniently takes away our sense-of-self so that we are always cursing ourselves or thanking something else depending on how the situation goes. Living this way negates our core and shrouds our truth in misconceptions and impossibilities.
Whenever someone mentions God or the Universe as the omnipotent force in their lives I will always question them; I will point out the self-centered nature of their belief, (their importance becomes inordinately magnificent because God or the Universe cares about them so much as to interfere with their path on a moment by moment basis); I will argue that the second you place the responsibility of your life on an outside force then you immediately negate free will, for the moment something else has the final say, the moment there are ‘no coincidences’, is the moment that we are being controlled by that force down to the last millisecond otherwise nothing would work out as ‘it’ intended, therefore, these people deny free will as a possibility (even if they think they have it)… And usually, after a little bit of defensiveness, these people will argue themselves into saying something like, “No, I mean that God is inside me, he is energy…” – did you just say “he”??!! Did you just change your argument to suit your position right now??!! Did you just make no sense whatsoever??!! I hope you see my point – let go of the external beliefs and convenient scape goats and start looking at what is really in front of you.
Until we confront who we are and what we actually experience, until we actually take responsibility for ourselves, our lives and our situation, then we are never going to progress as well as we should, we are never going to find balance or peace; we have to let go of the crutches we have been bred to believe in and we have to get to the core, to the essence of who we are. It is only then that we can reject the ‘miseducation’ and see what really happens around us rather than sugar coating life and letting our wishes complicate the truth.
Now the truth is not always pretty, but it’s here, and in order to create the best possible version of ourself we need to be open minded, we need to be able to re-shuffle what we were taught and re-think what we were told, we have to objective rather than subjective about our actions and reactions. What we were sold is not what really happens – what we see is what really happens; in order to see the truth we have to keep our eyes open, our ears alert and our minds active, we have to take into account our own actions and thoughts and we have to analyze the bigger picture as well as the smaller details; if we can do these things then we can begin to create a solid foundation and the basis for a strong core; if we can strip away the fluff and fantasy then we can find the core to ourselves and we can see the core of what is in front of us.
Avoidance is our biggest problem.
Because the truth is sometimes ugly, we have been programmed to hide from that truth, to deny that truth and to invent another truth that makes us all feel a little bit better about the cruel, mean, vicious world we actually inhabit. If we continue on this path of avoidance then we will never get to the core of the problem and we will continue to exist in lives that make no sense, lives that are riddled with disappointment and lives that follow the failed path of those that went before us.
The core of the problem is clear to see if we are prepared to be honest about life, about human nature, about the world. If we exist in reality, if we observe the workings of the world, if we are clear in our own minds about the way we truly are, then we can begin to learn from what we see, and hopefully when we read and when we teach we will do so with truth and honesty, we will make decisions based on sound principles and we will eradicate the core problem that creates so many repetitive problems.
(Do not blame your weight problem on outside forces – do something about it in a practical and sensible way. Do not blame others for your relationship issues – look at who you are and choose people that suit you better; learn to be alone and begin to grow. Do not expect the failed systems of the past to work in your favor – think for yourself and do what works for you. Remember, nobody cares about you as much as you do, so do something about you.)
If we can get to the core of the problem, if we accept the truth about human nature and the (often disastrous) role of nurture, if we have the strength of character to stand up to the ‘miseducation’, then we can create lives and loves that will last, situations built on integrity and not fantasy, relationships with real possibilities and children with a mind of their own.
Get to the core of the problem. You.
Guy Blews
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Aim For Excellence
November 30, 2009
Jim had just completed his last objective for our coaching engagement and we were wrapping up our work together.
“Before we conclude, I want to pick your brain on one more thing. Knowing I intend to be a CEO or company owner one day, what are some things I should keep in mind as I continue to shape my career?”
I was so glad he asked! This was the perfect opportunity to share a powerful insight that I learned from basketball icon Michael Jordan. Here is my response:
“Jim, you’ve done very well for yourself, quickly rising to the top tier of your company. Several of your colleagues have done the same. But if you want to get to the top, if you really want to be a person of excellence, don’t compete with them. Compete with yourself.”
“Someone once said to Michael Jordan, ‘I notice you’re always on the court, practicing and practicing your game. But you’re already the best! You don’t even need the practice! Why don’t you just relax every now and then?’
“He fell silent for a moment, and then he looked them in the eye and said, ‘I don’t practice to be better than everyone else. I practice to be better than me. I only compare myself to this person you’re looking at. If I compared myself to other players, I wouldn’t be as good as I am today. I’m playing the game of excellence.”
I’ve seen that same attitude in Tiger Woods and several other people at the top of their game, and upon further reflection, it makes a lot of sense. When we’re comparing ourselves against the competition, we’re redirecting some attention away from our own work. This diminishes our focus and reframes the goal: to beat the competition. But you can beat the competition and never achieve excellence.
Aim for excellence. It will keep you focused and fulfilled, not distracted and frustrated.
Something to reflect on:
The mind is a funny thing… it’s always looking to compare and compete. But even if you’re better than the next guy, you may still be only a shade above average.
Someone once said, there will always be people better than you, and there will always be people worse than you. So comparison will bring you self-satisfaction or frustration, but it will never fulfill you.
When you strive for your own standard of excellence, well, that’s when the game really gets interesting!
Pamela Dunn, founder of Executive Coaching International, is passionate about helping successful professionals and entrepreneurs achieve their highest vision of success. As a former trainer for world-class success coach Tony Robbins, Pamela has a tremendous amount of insight into personal and professional success. Her unique High Performance Coaching System is a results-oriented program that has helped countless professionals find focus, build efficiency, and eliminate overwhelm. For information about Pamela’s coaching program, or to sign up for more free, high-performance articles like this, please visit her online at http://www.pameladunn.com/.
