Build a Better Life

You can wake up looking for problems, or you can wake up looking for solutions… the choice is yours. You can wake up looking for aches and pains, or you can wake up looking for strengths and gains… the choice is yours. You can wake up looking for anger and frustration, or you can wake up looking for peace and contentment… the choice is yours. All day, every day, we get to choose the thoughts that fill our minds… and those thoughts become things; our world is built on our thoughts, so choose careful the thoughts you entertain. If my life sucks… it’s because my thinking sucks. The goal for today: choose righteous thoughts, kind thoughts, positive thoughts, loving thoughts, patient thoughts, Pure thoughts, peaceful thoughts—and build a better life for yourself and others. Have a great day everybody!

Real

My writings aren’t always fluffy, feel-good statements… because real life isn’t always fluffy and feel-good. I’m a realist… so some of todays unrealistic, meme style inspiration just doesn’t move me. I would prefer to be told the Truth, than to be inundated with fake positivity and false hope. Real hope is a wonderful thing, and I am a firm believer in the fact that there is always a solution; but I’m not a big fan of cute little statements that lead me to believe that I’m going to wake up one day, and like magic… everything’s going to be okay. The goal for today: know that there is always a solution, and that solution always requires work on my part; so “this too shall pass” right after I get up off my ass and do the work required of me to make it pass. Have a great day everybody!

Justifiable

Everybody in life is just trying to find their way… and sometimes we don’t act right. Then, when someone screws up… we judge, we criticize, we compare, we belittle, we misunderstand, we are apathetic, we are self-centered, we even hate… though most would never admit it. How and why have we convinced ourselves that these things are justifiable? We have convinced ourselves that when someone makes a mistake, or acts inappropriately, that gives us the green light to treat them poorly, or harbor ill will toward them. People lie, cheat, and steal because they are afraid. People harm others because they are afraid. People act arrogant, self-righteous, and superior because they are afraid. Most importantly… all people are afraid (me and you included). The goal for today: judge righteously, criticize constructively, compare equally, understand fully, live selflessly, and Love unconditionally; then, and only then, can we justify our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Have a great day everybody!

Sincerity… Honesty… Accuracy

The 3 most insincere things we say are: 1) I Love you. 2) I’m sorry. 3) I’m grateful. Most of us don’t even know what Love is; we are only as sorry as we need to be to get what we want; and we wouldn’t know real gratitude if it bit us in the ass. The 3 most dishonest things we say are: 1) I like being alone. 2) I don’t care what anybody thinks of me. 3) I don’t care about money. No one wants to be alone; absolutely everyone cares what other people think of them; and our love of money is destroying the world. The 3 most inaccurate things we say are: 1) These pills are working. 2) Fear is normal and natural. 3) Some selfishness is good. Pills don’t fix things, they mask symptoms; fear is the single most unnatural thing on earth; and selfishness (not caring about others) is always bad. The goal for today: maybe we should try some sincerity, honesty & accuracy. Have a great day everybody!

I Think I’ll Stay…

“I like this place and willingly could waste my time in it” ~Shakespeare.

I’ve come to a place in my life where giving Love is more important than getting it; where helping others has brought more contentment and fulfillment than looking out for number one ever did; where knowing the difference between my truth and The Truth has brought about a tremendous sense of actual inner peace. I’m no longer living my life based on fear; I’m no longer lying to myself; my random acts of kindness are now genuine; and my Love is unconditional. This is a very nice place to be… and I definitely intend to waste some time here. The goal for today: find your place, and settle in… you just might find out that Happiness can be a real thing. Have a great day everybody!

Repetition

Repetition is an important part of the learning process. That being said… I feel like I can’t say this enough: fear causes ALL of our difficulties. We ALL have a fear of public opinion, and you don’t fix that by getting a higher opinion of yourself… you fix it by overcoming the fear; if I’m doing what I know in my heart is Right, then your opinion of me truly shouldn’t matter. We ALL have a fear of financial insecurity, and you don’t fix that by getting a bunch of money… you fix it by overcoming your fear; if I know in my heart that I am pulling my weight in this world, then there is no need to be afraid. We ALL have a fear of ending up alone, and you don’t fix that by surrounding yourself with people… you fix it by overcoming your fear; if I’m not afraid of being alone, then not only will I be okay if I am alone… but letting go of that fear will pretty much guarantee that I won’t be alone. The goal for today: don’t seek reputation, money, and attention… seek fearlessness and let the rest of it take care of itself. Have a great day everybody!

Means & Measures

If the end result of war isn’t peace… then you didn’t win; which side killed the most people, isn’t the deciding factor in winning a war—peace is. If the end result of your therapy isn’t happiness… then you aren’t being helped; not feeling depressed is different than actually being happy. If the end result of government isn’t freedom… then you’ve elected the wrong people; a few people that really knew what they were talking about said if you vote for safety over freedom, tyranny will be the end result. Wars must be fought in self defense and end in peace… or we didn’t do it Right. Therapy must treat the soul and end in happiness… or we aren’t doing it Right. Elections must be based on the greater good and end in freedom… or we aren’t doing it Right. The goal for today: know that if we choose the Right means and measures… we will end up with happiness, peace, and freedom. Have a great day everybody!

Help… or Hurt?

“It would be insane to believe you could hurt someone else, without it also hurting you” ~Emmet Fox.

Who would you rather be surrounded by, happy people… or hurt people? If you answered ‘happy people’ then it would be in your best interest to contribute to the happiness of the people around you; if you hurt people… then that’s who you will be surrounded by. If you answered ‘hurt people’… well then you’ve got some serious issues to iron out. When we hate people, it harms us too. When we hurt people, it harms us too. When we lie, cheat, and steal from people, it harms us too. The goal for today: help people… because not only are we are all in this together, but in reality, we’re all one. Have a great day everybody!

Past/Present/Future

The last two days we have discussed depression (past), and anxiety (future); now we need to talk about living in the present… where peace and happiness reside. We can actually only alter the present… and we do so by getting our thoughts about the past and future right, here in the present moment. For example: you have the sun, a tree, and it’s shadow. Trying to change the past is like trying to alter the sun; trying to change the future is like trying to alter the shadow; in reality, the only thing we have the power to change is the tree… right here and now, in the present. The goal for today: know that using past mistakes as a guide to progress, we can presently live Right, which will ensure our success in the future. Have a great day everybody!

Anxiety

Yesterday we talked about how depression is remorse over past mistakes; today we will discuss how anxiety is really fear of what ‘might’ happen in the future. Just like we can’t travel back in time to erase mistakes… we are also incapable of traveling out into the future to alter it. Therefore, we must address the ‘fear’ rather than the future. We are always attempting to alter outer conditions, without addressing the inner condition that actually caused it… and that simply doesn’t work. The method of overcoming fear is this: we must first admit that we are afraid (which tends to be easier said than done), then we must tell ourselves the Truth (fear always causes us to lie to ourselves), and then we must do the opposite of what our fear told us to do. The goal for today: control your own destiny by eliminating fear, here and now. Have a great day everybody!