A penny will hide the biggest star in the universe if you hold it close enough to your eye. ~Samuel Grafton
We have all seen them - at least if we’ve been on the road at all. They’re big. Sometimes they whiz by very fast and sometimes they cruise at a slower speed. Sometimes maybe we even get annoyed by them, but it seems we can’t live in the world we do without their function. They serve a purpose.
Eighteen wheelers, transfer trucks, big rigs, trucks. Are there any lessons that we can learn from them - or better yet are there lessons we can learn from the drivers in charge of their reigns? Read More »
“Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things which matter least. “~ Goethe
The clock is ticking. It still is. Time doesn’t stop. You only have a limited amount of time that you live on this earth.
As you close your eyes tonight - this very night - another day will have ended. Will you look back at the day fulfilled - satisfied with how you spent your time? If you were to write down all the things you did or all the ways you spent your time what would it reflect?
What/who is important to you? Have you spent your time Read More »
In the last two posts, we have discussed the four preparations of peace and the four purifications of peace taught by Peace Pilgrim. We also discussed Peace Pilgrim’s message which is so very powerful. These posts generated much thought and discussion as we all went within to examine our own lives.
Today, I wanted to share with you some “random” thoughts that were collected from Peace Pilgrim’s teachings. I find each one of them thought provoking and powerful. See what you think….
* We can all spend our lives going about doing good. Every time you meet a person, think of some Read More »
It has long been accepted that Napoleon Hill is the expert in personal development. I came across this video by Napoleon Hill himself. It is so profound that I wanted to share it with you. You might come to the conclusion that I’m saying that money is necessary for inner peace. If you watch the whole video I think you will discover something different. This video makes a great follow-up to my post on realities. Read More »
In our last post, we discussed the importance of discovering what holds us back from acheiving what we want or from being where we want to be.
With all we said last week, there are some things to keep in mind as you work to figure out what is holding you back. We had some great discussion that I would encourage you to read if you have not yet. A common theme that kept appearing in the discussion (which was already going to be a major point of this current post) was…
* Don’t obsess over or stay focused on what is holding you back. Work to figure these things out, but don’t obsess over the problem. Remember that what you focus on expands, as Andrea Hess noted in our comment section in the last post. Stay focused on moving forward when you do work to figure out what is holding you back. THE INTENTION SHOULD ALWAYS BE TO LEARN FROM WHAT’S HOLDING YOU BACK SO THAT YOU CAN MOVE FORWARD.
* It is common to have fear of self discovery. Don’t allow this to stop or cripple you. Remember the purpose is to make you a better person, not to wallow in self pity. I used to fear looking deep into my life. Now I want to look there so that I can grow from it and become better.
* Don’t get discouraged if you can’t figure it out immediately and don’t try too hard. Suggest to yourself that you will figure it out. Set aside some time to think about it, say 20 minutes. Pray that God will help reveal these things to you. But don’t try too hard. Sometimes the harder we try the more we are working against ourselves. You may simply let your mind wander and see where it takes you and then move on. If you haven’t figured anything out after this time, don’t fret about it. It will come to you. Just focus on moving forward and go on. Our continued discussion will serve to reveal these things to you so that you can learn and grow.
* Once you figure out something that is holding you back, say to yourself, “Great, now I know how to move forward!” Then write down what has been holding you back and what you are going to do to overcome it and act on it immediately. Do you really want one more wasted day? Knowledge alone will get you nowhere. It will take action - action that will get you where you want to be.
Okay, now that you are not stuck on the problems, let’s get specific. To stay with our theme, the focus will be on what holds you back from inner peace. Many of the same principles can apply to any goal you set.
Let’s take a look at some blockers and how to overcome them.
Lack of knowledge - Many people don’t have peace in their lives simply because they don’t know how to have peace in their lives. That is the purpose of this blog. I’m assuming that most of you are here because you want to know how to have that peace. Keep reading. Knowledge is key.
Fear of the unknownor letting go - Many people are in their comfort zone and are afraid of pushing forward to the peace that is on the other side. Fear of getting away from the things with which they are familiar is very frightening. If this describes you, rest assured that what is on the other side is well worth the effort. Write down somewhere, “I recognize that I am afraid, but I realize that what is on the other side is much better. It is worth letting go of the things with which I am familiar in order to have peace in my life. I resolve to let go of all of it.” Let your mind focus on that for a minute.
Lack of consciousness or awareness- Some people are stuck in autopilot without even the awareness that they do not have peace. They simply live their lives like they always have without a second thought, always doing what they have always done and not even knowing why. They do not know that they can change their lives by changing their thinking. They are just trying to get through the day instead of getting something from the day. If this is you, stay tuned to see how you can change your thoughts to change your life. Begin thinking about what you can do to get something out of the day. What can you do to brighten someone else’s day? Become aware of the negative thought patterns in your mind and begin replacing them with postive ones.
Lack of focus - Certainly focus is important. As we stated earlier, what you focus on expands. Do you want peace. Focus on peace. Is there chaos in your life? Are you focused on the chaos? Are you surrounded by problems. Are you focued on them? What if you asked yourself how you could turn these problems into peace? How would you do that? It takes intention. It takes focus - concentrated focus.
Are you focused on the right things? What are your priorities? If you don’t know, it’s time to think about them and write them down and number them. If you don’t know what your priorities are peace will never be possible in your life. Priorities are a must! Priorities allow you to focus.
More ways to move forward next time….
What are some more things that you have discovered that has held you back?
Have you ever wanted something so bad you just couldn’t stand it? Have you ever wondered why you just can’t achieve something or move forward? You want something or you set goals, but no matter how hard you try you just can’t get there? You’re not alone? There have been many times in my lifetime when I set goals and I could never seem to reach them. One goal after another and nothing, nothing. Very frustrating to say the least.
I have been thinking about a question related to this now for several weeks. It has pervaded my mind and I keep thinking about it. So I posed the question to my husband a week or so ago. Do you have to figure out what is holding you back from acheiving something in order to acheive it or can you simply make a goal and be so focused that you acheive it? My husband thought for a moment and then said, “I don’t know.” Later he said to me “Honey, I think you’re becoming a philosopher with some of the questions you ask me.” :) I certainly never thought of myself as a philosopher, but I do enjoy thinking and figuring things out now - something I never took the time to do earlier in my life.
My conclusion, from years of expereience, is that yes, you have to recognize and figure out what is holding you back from accomplishing something and work to process and remove that thing so that you can move forward. Everyone may not agree with me here, and I’d love to hear what you have to say if you don’t.
Do you want inner peace and happiness? Do you want success? Do you want to be the best at something important to you? Do you want to leave a legacy? What is stopping you? That is what I want us to discover.
* Look deep and ask the quesion, “Why?” Now there are two ways to ask the question, “Why?” One way says, “Why me?” or “Why is this happning to me? (or why did this happen to me?)” In other words, “poor pitiful me.” The other way to ask “why?” is to ask it in order to find the answers to what is holding you back and what you can learn from it. This could be in the form of “Why am I not reaching my goals? What is holding me back? How can I learn from it and change it so that peace can prevail or so that I can move forward to reach my goals?
* Realize that when you ask the question “Why?” that it is probably something deep burried in your subconscious mind. This is not always the case, but often it it. Nonetheless, it is something you are doing or not doing that is holding you back. It is your weaknesses that you are not aware of. Keep looking deeper and deeper and asking “why?” over and over again until you figure out the answer. In Jeffrey Liker’s book, The Toyota Way, he tells of how the Japanese in the Toyota company ask the question, “Why?” five times in order to find the source of a problem so they can improve upon it. What you will likely discover when you do this is that…
* Beliefs are usually the things that are holding you back. When you find these beliefs the next questions to ask are “Why?” (yes, again!) Why do I hold these beliefs? Where did they come from? Are these beliefs real or accuarate? Now that I see these beliefs what can I learn from them? How can I change my thinking in order to change my beliefs, in order to accomplish what I want? How can I use this information to help me have peace of mind and/or success at something?
* Understanding how beliefs work can go a long way. Beliefs form habits, habits that we are often not even aware of and these habits dictate your actions and your entire life without you even realizing it is happening. You see, no amount of positive talk can get you where you want to be if you have negative beliefs burried deep within you telling you the complete opposite. Uncover and remove the negative so that you can believe the positive. Once you believe it you can acheive it as Napolean Hill says in his time tested best seller book, Think and Grow Rich. If the voice burried deep within you says, “You’re no good. You’ll never accomplish anything. It’s not really possible for you to have peace” then it is right. You will not until you first recognize that voice, figure out where it came from and then replace it with an accurate thought and belief.
One of the reasons I like Dr. Nicole so much is because she uses the “why? approach to physical problems. She digs deep asking why, why, why til she gets to the root of the problem, exposes it and there finds the solution. She figures out what is holding people back from good health. This is evident in her post about McInflamation and Tell Me What’s in Your Shopping Cart and I’ll Tell You What Is Wrong with You.
* Often the beliefs burried deep within you that are holding you back are fears.Benny Greenberg is doing an excellent series on this topic of fear now which helps to reveal those fears that you may have hidden deep within you. Recognizing these fears and learning to replace them can go a long way towards helping you have the life that you want - that peace of mind we all want.
In the next few posts we will discuss some tips and some more things that hold us back along with the things that we can do to overcome them.
In the meantime, this is open for discussion. I would love to hear what you have to say about all of this. What are some things that you have figured out that has held you back?
Have you ever had your head spinning because you had so much going on, so many things to do? Chances are you have. Why is that? Why is life so cluttered with so much? Well, it doesn’t have to be. It wasn’t designed to be that way? So why is it? Let’s discuss….
The topic of simplicity has been prominent in my mind lately. I’ve been thinking about how we will have so much peace in our lives if we simply simplify.
How much time do we spend chasing after things that aren’t even important? How much time and energy do we spend chasing after money and material possessions? It seems that often that is what makes our lives so complex (not always, but often). “So you mean to tell me that we actually have control over the chaos and craziness in our lives? - that it doesn’t have to be so crazy and complex?” Absolutely. You always have the power to control how you live your life and to fill it with peace. But…. I know, there’s so much you have to do. I know… I know… I really do understand.
My husband and I were shopping for a clothes dryers a week or two ago. The one I wanted was a Fisher & Paykel. Ever heard of them? I hadn’t until about a year ago. They are the best on the market. They are a New Zealand company? What makes them so great? What does this have to do with anything? Fisher & Paykel are the best, yet they are the most simple machines out there. They have seven moving parts? Why? “The less moving parts, the less parts to tear up” is their moto. Well, I didn’t quiet want to pay the price tag on that dryer, so we bought a good ole American made dryer with lots of very cheap moving parts that will only last a few years. Maybe in about 5 years when my dryer breaks down, I’ll break down and shell out the dough for something that will last for more than five years.
So what can we learn from Fisher & Paykel? Simplicity - They have simplicity mastered. They have eliminated the unnecessary parts and only kept the absolute necessary ones for the dryer to work. So how can we eliminate the unnecessary things from our lives so that there is less to tear up or break down?
1. It is first of all important to understand why we make our lives complex. People are looking for peace. They are looking for happiness. They are looking for contentment. They are looking for approval. Because they don’t have these things on the inside, they look for it in outside - in things like possessions and activities. Working on making ourselves beautiful on the inside will eliminate the need for so many possessions and things to do on the outside.
2. Reducing our lives to the absolute necessary things by laying out what is most important to us is crucial if we want to have any semblance of sanity. Knowing what is most important is key to eliminating what is least importanat. This is such a liberating thing to do as it will free up so much time - time that we didn’t know we had because we were spending it on things that were’t even important to us to begin with.
3. Remember that the more things we have and buy the more responsibility we have and the more we have to worry about and be concerned with.The more things we have the more of our time and energy is required to tend to them. I know that when I was child I didn’t have a lot of toys - I had some, but not a ton of them, and I loved life as a kid. I didn’t need a lot of “things” to make me happy. I was content to go outside and play in the dirt or the woods beside my house. These days, kids have so many toys they could never possibly play with all of them and they never do. They can’t even fit them in their room or garage.
4.. Here are some questions we can ask ourselves to help simplify life:
“Which of the things I have and am doing now are the least important to me? Which are the most important to me?”
“If I were only given one month to live what would I spend my time doing?” What about one week? What about one day?
Before buying something, ask yourself, “Is this going to make my life more complicated? Will this free up my time to do what is really important or will this take time away from the things that are most important to me?”
“Will this thing or activity add value to me or to those that I love or will it take away value?”
“What did I enjoy as a child?” Chances are those are still the simple things that will still bring joy to you.
“How can I accomplish my goals and be the most effective with the least amount of time, resources and money?”
“Is this important or just urgent?”
And to sum it all up: “What can I do or elimate today to make my life less complex and enjoy it more?”
For more information on simplification I recommend these posts:
Well, for some reason I can’t get this last link to work. Simply go to http://yes-to-me.com/ and scroll down on the far right hand side to “Best of Yes to Me” and click on the first link there. Point number 3 is the one I was drawn to on this post.
In a previous post we began the discussion of wisdom - what is it and how to obtain it. We are going to continue this discussion as we add some more steps to the process…
In the previous post we defined wisdom as the ability to see the big picture. (As we will see it goes far beyond simply seeing the big picture, although that is the foundation.) Then we began discussing the first two steps to obtain it: 1. Defining your values and ordering them and 2. Setting goals and ordering them.
Step 3. in obtaining wisdom is to now take your list of priorities and goals and take a look at them EVERY morning BEFORE you begin your day. This constantly reminds you to see things in perspective.
3a. It’s always a good idea to evaluate your priorities (see previous post) and goals lists and ask yourself, “Are these the noblest of priorities and goals that I could possibly have? Are these really what is important? In the whole scheme of things, are these the really important things?” Make sure everything has congruity and that it will bring you the most satisfaction. If you need to change anything then do it at this time. If you are satisfied with your lists as it is, then…
3b. If you haven’t already, break your long term goals down into more specific attainable intermediate goals by asking yourself how and when you will obtain them. Write them down.
3c. Begin dwelling on these list and lay out your day according to them. Make out your “to do” list according to the priorities and goals lists and what you want to accomplish in your life.
Now, you will begin to see things from a larger perspective. When something comes along that could distract your attention, somehow it doesn’t seem so distracting anymore, because you have a bigger picture. Life all the sudden makes sense. Step 4 in obtaining wisdom is to raise your level of consciousness. Become conscious of everything you do. In laying out your priorities and goals you are already well on your way with this step. Become conscious of everything you are doing. When something distracting comes along ask yourself, “How does this affect the big picture? How does this fit into my values and priorities?” If it has no relation to them, then you can just dismiss and continue on with the direction you want things to go. ” Will this matter next week, next month, year or next decade?” is another good question to ask.With these questions you will easily be able to see what is important or what is simply urgent, but has no real importance. Step 5 in obtaining wisdom is to focus on value. Before doing something, ask yourself, “Does this provide value?” “Does it provide value to those I love, the world or to me?” Will it make a real long term difference?” Really, if you have laid out your priorities well, this one has already been answered for you ahead of time. But, if a situation arises and you are wondering what to do, this is another great question to ask.
Step 6 is to train your mind to think about consequences - good or bad. When trying to decide whether or not to do something ask yourself, “How will this action affect that or what will it lead to? If I choose to do that, what will be the outcome? What will be the consequences of this action?” Will it produce good results or consequences or will it produce negative consequences that you will have to live with for the rest of your life? In other words, look at it from every angle and determine what the outcome will be.
As someone who used to be the most indecisive person in the whole world, I enjoy learning new questions to ask myself….What questions do you ask yourself to help make wise decisions?
, he tells of how the Japanese in the Toyota company ask the question, “Why?” five times in order to find the source of a problem so they can improve upon it. What you will likely discover when you do this is that…
If the voice burried deep within you says, “You’re no good. You’ll never accomplish anything. It’s not really possible for you to have peace” then it is right. You will not until you first recognize that voice, figure out where it came from and then replace it with an accurate thought and belief.
Have you ever had your head spinning because you had so much going on, so many things to do? Chances are you have. Why is that? Why is life so cluttered with so much? Well, it doesn’t have to be. It wasn’t designed to be that way? So why is it? Let’s discuss….
.
