Beware of the symptoms of the disease
Incapable of moving forward with ease
All of a sudden completely paralyzed
Dreams, goals, & potential unrealized
Trapped in a space, unable to grow
The heart becomes weak, actions are slow
Loss of faith, loss of ambition
The mind stuck, lacking vision
No peace, only worry and anxiety
Missing all hope, blind to opportunity
Never attempting to step outside
Watching everyone else make strides
The disease I'm referring to:
The disease affecting many people I know is:
FEAR
Fear will have you in a relationship for the wrong reasons; a house you can't afford; a job that leaves you feeling empty and unfulfilled; a church where you are not growing; in school studying something of which you have no passion; with friends who don't reflect or support who you are; meeting expectations others have placed on you; never stopping to seek your purpose; setting goals; stepping outside of your comfort zone; ALL because you FEAR: the unknown, reactions of those around you, failure, commitment, accountability, and change. So while you are going through your "life routine" attaining those things you think you should have at "this point in your life." Others are doing exactly what makes them happy, having a positive impact on the lives of others, walking in their purpose while you peek behind your curtain of fear. Ask yourself some key questions: what is your purpose? why do you live? why do you wake up every morning? what makes you happy? who makes you happy? is it all worth it, living the life you are living? are you just going through the motions?
Without fear, you can accomplish so much. Fear is the wall between you and happiness. Fear starts in your mind. When faced with a decision fear kicks in naturally, it is up to you to kick it back. Fear can be debilitating for many, leaving them speechless and powerless, because of thoughts flying through the mind, all of the things that can go wrong; it is sometimes hard to see all of the things that can go right. Decisions made from a place of fear very rarely turn into something positive or productive. So you have to ask yourself, and you must be honest, why did you make the choice you did? Change your self talk, telling yourself that "you can" instead "you can't." Be your own cheerleader. You are able. You are capable. In many instances, all you have to do is make an attempt. Don't let fear leave you cripple to the point where you find yourself living a meaningless life. Live the life you were created to live, live without fear, you won't believe how freeing it is.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Perspective Changes the Game
Thoughts, words, ideas, instructions come to mind constantly. Regularly thinking of ways to become better and at the same time make others better. I won't say that I see things others cannot see but I take the time to see what others don't. I see the real, the real underneath the outward behaviors, anger, negativity, and acting out. When someone’s life is unstable with too many things going on, I can see chaos. I see the noise that drowns out what could be a peaceful life. Misunderstood many times, it's not that I'm a "know it all" or a psychic, not a all or that I think I'm better. These are the thoughts some people have that prevent them from receiving what I have to say. Some people think that the way that I live my life is not a way they could live their life therefore the message of what works for me doesn’t pertain to them. How do I live? In reality, learning constantly, and seeing things, situations and people for what they are, not for what I want them to be. See in my life I’ve experienced hurt, pain, tragedy, circumstances that could have stopped me in my tracks but I chose not to allow it. I chose to use those situations as stepping stones, as the motivators that push me forward putting me ahead in this game. I'm sure everyone can remember a time when someone, who otherwise should have been encouraging, told you that you could not accomplish what you aspire to be or made you feel like you were not capable of success. (Side note, people tend to not believe in you because they don't believe in themselves, how could you possibly accomplish something that they can't?- that's a whole nother story we'll get into a little later) There have been instances where advisors, teachers, counselors, family members provided their "thoughts" on what you can't do. It's funny how there are so many people who have a so much to say about what's wrong with your decisions or your life for that matter, but not as many people who would tell you what you're doing right or how to build after a set back. These words have an affect on us and at that moment we have a choice. We can prove them right or we can prove them wrong. Use those words to fuel your fire.
We all have choices. There are consequences and rewards for those choices. Every moment of our lives is determined by the choices we make. We have to take responsibility for where we are in life. As adults blaming society, our parents, our family, our past for where we are today is not acceptable. At some point you have to stop and look around. How did you get here? Where do you go from here? I can see the consequences before I make a decision to do something. If those consequences are not worth it to me, I decide against it. Sounds easy, but it's not. There are sacrifices when you make the "right" choice. Many times we do not want to make those sacrifices. Sometimes I went against my good conscience and had to experience the consequences of those decisions. We all do. So I am not saying I did not ever make the “wrong” choice, I did, but I tried to learn more about myself with every experience. The biggest lesson I have learned is about perspective. Everyone has a different perspective, how they see life, how they see people, how they see situations that happen in their lives, etc.
Perspective changes the game. Perspective is something you have control over. Sometimes our emotions are so strong we think that we can only see things one way. Once we get past the emotions, we must look at a situation from all angles. It is so easy to point out what is bad or negative about a situation so in the beginning we have to make ourselves see the good or positive side of things. No matter how you see it, it is truth. The negative is truth, the positive is truth, but the question you must ask where do you want to focus your thoughts and energy. If you think about it, every situation has a negative and a positive side. For example: a new job is good right but there could be negative things you can point out like the salary, your co-workers, the annoying tasks, etc. On the positive side you have a new job, getting new experiences, learning new information and skills to build your career. There are so many angles, the perspective we choose to take is how the situation will turn out. Most of the time the negative aspects are things we cannot control anyway. Why focus on things you can't change? To me my perspective is real. I see people and situations for what they are. I try not to over analyze or put meaning to it or them. And guess what, it may not be personal. When things happen to us, we take it personal as a personal attack. Sometimes it's in close relationships or in situations where you think people should be looking out for you so we get hurt. Sometime we look at people who do things and we try to put our meaning to it or try to figure out why or make excuses for them. Not your job. Take the action for what it is. We do the same thing with circumstances in our lives. We have to step outside of ourselves and look at it from all angles. What is the lesson in this? How can I work this out to be in my favor? If it's overwhelming at first, step away, don't think about it for a while, do some activities to take your mind off of it. Then come back to it with a clear head. Our first response is to panic, fight that urge. Things are never as bad as we think.
Postive perspective is a habit. What we have to do is practice it until it comes natural to us. Healthy eating, exercising, taking naps are all habits. It is something you have to do over and over again before you do it without thinking. We may see things from a negative perspective, we have to catch ourselves doing it, replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts. It is work at first, like any other good habit. Eventually you will find your self seeing the positve aspects of a situation. The outcome helps; when you think positive, your actions will follow and your results will also be positive. Once you see the link, you will be more open to having a positive perspective. Also people don't want to be around a sour puss, complaining all the time, so if that's the song you sing, you may want to change that tune, before your find yourself by yourself. Sing a joyful song!
We all have choices. There are consequences and rewards for those choices. Every moment of our lives is determined by the choices we make. We have to take responsibility for where we are in life. As adults blaming society, our parents, our family, our past for where we are today is not acceptable. At some point you have to stop and look around. How did you get here? Where do you go from here? I can see the consequences before I make a decision to do something. If those consequences are not worth it to me, I decide against it. Sounds easy, but it's not. There are sacrifices when you make the "right" choice. Many times we do not want to make those sacrifices. Sometimes I went against my good conscience and had to experience the consequences of those decisions. We all do. So I am not saying I did not ever make the “wrong” choice, I did, but I tried to learn more about myself with every experience. The biggest lesson I have learned is about perspective. Everyone has a different perspective, how they see life, how they see people, how they see situations that happen in their lives, etc.
Perspective changes the game. Perspective is something you have control over. Sometimes our emotions are so strong we think that we can only see things one way. Once we get past the emotions, we must look at a situation from all angles. It is so easy to point out what is bad or negative about a situation so in the beginning we have to make ourselves see the good or positive side of things. No matter how you see it, it is truth. The negative is truth, the positive is truth, but the question you must ask where do you want to focus your thoughts and energy. If you think about it, every situation has a negative and a positive side. For example: a new job is good right but there could be negative things you can point out like the salary, your co-workers, the annoying tasks, etc. On the positive side you have a new job, getting new experiences, learning new information and skills to build your career. There are so many angles, the perspective we choose to take is how the situation will turn out. Most of the time the negative aspects are things we cannot control anyway. Why focus on things you can't change? To me my perspective is real. I see people and situations for what they are. I try not to over analyze or put meaning to it or them. And guess what, it may not be personal. When things happen to us, we take it personal as a personal attack. Sometimes it's in close relationships or in situations where you think people should be looking out for you so we get hurt. Sometime we look at people who do things and we try to put our meaning to it or try to figure out why or make excuses for them. Not your job. Take the action for what it is. We do the same thing with circumstances in our lives. We have to step outside of ourselves and look at it from all angles. What is the lesson in this? How can I work this out to be in my favor? If it's overwhelming at first, step away, don't think about it for a while, do some activities to take your mind off of it. Then come back to it with a clear head. Our first response is to panic, fight that urge. Things are never as bad as we think.
Postive perspective is a habit. What we have to do is practice it until it comes natural to us. Healthy eating, exercising, taking naps are all habits. It is something you have to do over and over again before you do it without thinking. We may see things from a negative perspective, we have to catch ourselves doing it, replace the negative thoughts with positive thoughts. It is work at first, like any other good habit. Eventually you will find your self seeing the positve aspects of a situation. The outcome helps; when you think positive, your actions will follow and your results will also be positive. Once you see the link, you will be more open to having a positive perspective. Also people don't want to be around a sour puss, complaining all the time, so if that's the song you sing, you may want to change that tune, before your find yourself by yourself. Sing a joyful song!
Monday, July 4, 2011
Welcome to The Journey to Better
Welcome to The Journey
From the time I was young, I found myself writing in journals, I have several. I write about everything: events, experiences, feelings, people. I love to read my writings to remember where I was, how I felt, and appreciate how I've grown. With the internet came Facebook, another outlet for me to write. First signing up with FB I found myself updating my latest readings, lunch choices or activities. That's all fun but as I looked at the statuses of FB friends and some of the experiences I had with family and friends I felt that my status could be used differently, in a more positive way. Some things I go through, I have learned to encourage myself, what I tell myself, I share on my FB status. Many people were going through similar situations and found my statuses to be helpful. To know that we all go through similar trials and successes, we can motivate and encourage each other. We all want more, want better. Sometime fear keeps us from moving forward or stepping outside of the box, but when we have support, we can do it and will be happy we did.
I would hope that the information I post will enlighten and encourage self growth for both of us. As I learn, I share, and hopefully as you learn, you will share; we all are touched by each other. The Journey to Better is about how we grow in who we are as human beings to become better. Life is continuous. Our lives are affected by our experiences, our experiences are the results of our decisions. We make decisions based on what we know and don't know. With everyday we learn more about ourselves if we pay attention. Maya Angelou says "when we know better, we do better." With more knowledge, we make smarter decisions resulting in more positive and fruitful experiences. Please join me as I continue my Journey to Better. Feedback is welcome as well as your experiences in your Journey to Better or just let me know that you stopped by. EnJOY!
From the time I was young, I found myself writing in journals, I have several. I write about everything: events, experiences, feelings, people. I love to read my writings to remember where I was, how I felt, and appreciate how I've grown. With the internet came Facebook, another outlet for me to write. First signing up with FB I found myself updating my latest readings, lunch choices or activities. That's all fun but as I looked at the statuses of FB friends and some of the experiences I had with family and friends I felt that my status could be used differently, in a more positive way. Some things I go through, I have learned to encourage myself, what I tell myself, I share on my FB status. Many people were going through similar situations and found my statuses to be helpful. To know that we all go through similar trials and successes, we can motivate and encourage each other. We all want more, want better. Sometime fear keeps us from moving forward or stepping outside of the box, but when we have support, we can do it and will be happy we did.
I would hope that the information I post will enlighten and encourage self growth for both of us. As I learn, I share, and hopefully as you learn, you will share; we all are touched by each other. The Journey to Better is about how we grow in who we are as human beings to become better. Life is continuous. Our lives are affected by our experiences, our experiences are the results of our decisions. We make decisions based on what we know and don't know. With everyday we learn more about ourselves if we pay attention. Maya Angelou says "when we know better, we do better." With more knowledge, we make smarter decisions resulting in more positive and fruitful experiences. Please join me as I continue my Journey to Better. Feedback is welcome as well as your experiences in your Journey to Better or just let me know that you stopped by. EnJOY!
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