Not because its easy, but because its hard

What have you taken steps to learn today? What kinds of experiences enable you to grow? Some people figure we have some pre-determined pattern for a life journey. As long as you remain open to expanding how you see and what you think you know, then you also remain open to bettering yourself. You define failures and successes and these ideas evolve with your self-awareness. How will you choose to learn from them or not?

Each of us has different ideas about what makes life meaningful and about what would make it even more meaningful. You have this desire to carry on, even if you also feel somewhat apprehensive. What you think is easy or what you believe will be difficult are all relative. You may feel that self-improvement requires you alter your mindset and some of your life choices. You may think its vital to contribute to the world in new ways rather than simply taking from it.

Consider John F. Kennedy's famous speech about the U.S. Space Program which triggered a great deal of enthusiasm and self-improvement among actors in the Space Industry of his time:

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.

Relive precious moments

Everything that happens to us and everything we believe in (or not) affects everyone else. Each of us is meant to be emotionally touched by thoughts and feelings. Its for our own good that we relive precious moments and get nostalgic. These events and feelings become a closer part of us. Its this relative closeness to positive feelings that connect us to guardian angels, those beings that are forever beside us, and can enable us to come into our own sense of completeness.

Before a recent public talk, I took a brief survey of the audience. In response to my question about believing in angels, the vast majority of hands were raised. These people came from all walks of life, and varied in age from their 30s to their 70s.  All of them recognized a desire to believe in this mysterious possibility. 

Throughout my presentation, they were formulating complete and expanded answers for themselves in their own minds.  Did they believe my stories? Were they becoming even more curious about the possible significance of events in their own lives? Had strangers assisted these people in ways that may have actually been Divine intervention?

My immediate reaction was: 'definitely.' In speaking with them later, I got to re-experience again what had happened to me, to see it differently, to realize we all desired these shared experiences and we had chosen to be at that venue for a particular reason. We were using each other as soundboards and silent listeners to better understand ourselves.

I left with the impression all the answers to any of my questions were accessible inside. It was like realizing I had more knowledge at my fingertips than I thought. Reliving precious moments reminds us we're all here to learn "why."  Reality is only reassuring to people who do not fear or do not wish to ignore it.  Are you ready?

Time to face whose truth?

For some of us, its difficult to accept or even care about reasons why we behave as we do. You learn from what you've been taught, by whom you've been taught, in societies or institutions where it happens. You develop habits and inclinations that lead to patterns and habits, but how often do you think about them or the implications on others? You instinct may be to say, "why bother?" How could you begin to change cycles or vicious circles? Why would you even desire to do that?

Let's say that you may have moved away from what is good for you, from what enables you to feel positive and motivated, from what connects you to people and makes you feel valued. How would you know?It pays to ask why you do things and for whom. Dig inside yourself. What do you find?

Why do you permit society to decide when its time for you to retire, how much money the government will pay in benefits or pensions. Why do you ignore the role young people or older people could play in certain settings, based purely on things like age or a desire to marginalize? Why would you avoid acknowledging that this situation is real and that you may buy into it?

What would happen if you suddenly began to see your choices for what they really were? For reinforcing stereotypes, hierarchical systems, power dynamics, the growing disparity between the 'haves and have nots?'  Each time you buy something, support a cause,an organisation, religious institution or a government in any way, then you're advocating the whole process behind it, the lifestyles that are upheld and denied.  Why would you desire to do that (or not)? Each moment, you make decisions that enable you to play into the hands of somebody's truth. Why isn't it your own?

Sort through to your core truth

As you create a sense of success, your mind recognizes different levels of decision-making.  You draw from intuition, emotion, rationality, which may all conflict at different periods of time.  How you think can attract success or push it away.  You may not yet recognize your own strength.

Each day, you search for clues.  You take steps to guide your own natural discoveries.  How you were raised or what life experiences have guided you may not define your true sense of success.  You may ask yourself how you'll know what this particular thing is.  There may be more than one. The meaning of your instincts and feelings are usually conditioned by your elders before you to grow to interpret them for yourself.  Perhaps your true self has been contrained or denied?

How you think about what is acceptable, feasible, affordable, laughable, achievable is all influenced by external sources.  This translates into your life choices.  How you think about yourself, your potential and circumstances essentially enables you or holds you back from goals.  Your mindset reverberrates in your attitude, your beliefs, and life choices.  Even relationship choices mirror or hide your true self.

Its never too late to rethink your inhibitions and the reasons why they have evolved.  A sense of success can be revised and reworked based on how you understand your truth.  People around you will only share the truths they know.  Yet, what you devise and believe is possible could be very different indeed.  As time passes, you will learn to distinguish which truths aren't yours.

How often have you talked of your life as if it was based on the life of a parent, a teacher, a mentor, your culture, society or religion, and you really don't know your own self outside of these life views? Your ideas of success are your core truths.  This is a life quest. How and why are you searching?  Only you answer for yourself, and only when you're ready.  Rethink success in totally new ways.  Be true to yourself.

Reframe your view

Some people will ask, "what must be done to make life work more in my favor?" or, "why do I seem to deserve repeated struggles?" Perhaps the trouble starts in your own mind, along with nagging questions and your reactions to prospective answers.

The thing is, the truth of your life is actually proven or disproven based on how you think. Raising your awareness is what you need to do. You may ask about what? Why not teach yourself to expect good things? You can't grow through negative thinking. Condition positive thinking instead. Consider spending time on those things that enable you to feel good about yourself. Learn to understand why you think as you do. How could you take steps to focus on more uplifting thoughts?

Every day is a new beginning. Perhaps you could stengthen the skill of forgetting? Move on. You need to be determined to overcome weaknesses which focus your thoughts of guilt and fear. We only need to train our minds, reinforce an attitude with affirmations. This will prompt your own transformation. You realize there's never a better time than now to reframe your point of view.

"If you realized how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought." ~Peace Pilgrim