“When you take charge of your life, there is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask permission, you give someone veto power over your life.”
- Abert F. Geoffrey
The first two spokes of ones life have to do with your money and your life withing society. Each are described here. As noted in my previous article, ther are six spokes the complete the wheel of your life. All must be in working order for your life to move forward and achieve greatness.
Financial and Career
So just how much do you enjoy your job. Myself, I love getting up and going to work each day. The people I work with and the type of work I do is great. Everyday I feel like I am contributing something to the company and I get paid a decent wage.
In your life, can you say the same thing? If not, then change needs to happen and it is up to you to do so. What you do for a living, how much you enjoy it and the money you earn performing your job function are all related. One effects the other - if you are not happy, you likely are not performing well which means you don't earn as much.
If you are earning, are you giving back part of your money to society. Maybe to your church, to a charitable organization close to you or maybe directly to others in need. By giving of your money, you will feel better about yourself. It also creates in different ways a return of goodness to you as well. But you say you don't have much money, then start small. Maybe five dollars or ten.
So create your own destiny within your finances and career. Don't spend more then you make as debt is a serious problem. Adjust your budget and spending habits to the level of your earnings. Doing so means you will have less financial stress, feel better and perform better at work. Your performance goes up and most likely your earning.
Social and Cultural
Do you have friends in your life? A recent CBS NEWS Health Watch story indicates that "...most people's circle of confidants is on average about one person smaller now. The percentage of people who say they have no one to confide in has reached about 25%." All of us need those one or two close confidants. People that the article refers to as a "discussion network" — people you reach out to for help, advice, or just as a sounding board. In the new research, they say the network is important because it shapes "the kinds of people we become."
How do you develop these friendships? By having a life outside of work that allows you to draw back and recharge. It also rounds you out better as a person, to be in tune with what is happening in the world around you. You can better effect the world around you when you understand it and engage in it.
Be a part of the world around you - make changes to strengthen these areas of your life.
Saturday, July 01, 2006
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Your Inner Self
“You are led through your lifetime by the inner learning creature, the playful spiritual being that is your real self. Don't turn away from possible futures before you're certain you don't have anything to learn from them.” - Richard Bach (author of 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull)
All of us have this inner self that we listen to and argue with. Yes, you can have an argument with yourself. It is your inner attempt to reconcile or deal with information. One may think that we are of a single mind so therefore no conflict should exist. Yet it does and some may call this self actualization. This is the process of understanding oneself more completely and being aware of issues affecting one's life.
From The Conscious and Unconscious Mind by Kendra Van Wagner, according to Sigmund Freud, the mind can be divided into two main parts:
1. The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our awareness. Freud called this ordinary memory the preconscious.
2. The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences.
Two parts of us at conflict with each other. It is this inner-self that you must attempt to deal with in order to better handle what life sets before you. I'm not certain any of us fully reach a point in which we completely understand our inner self. But we all need to reconcile ourselves to that inner voice. Once you have done this, it releases you to move forward in life to go after your dreams.
"Believe in your vision, act upon your vision and realize your vision." - Joseph Primm
All of us have this inner self that we listen to and argue with. Yes, you can have an argument with yourself. It is your inner attempt to reconcile or deal with information. One may think that we are of a single mind so therefore no conflict should exist. Yet it does and some may call this self actualization. This is the process of understanding oneself more completely and being aware of issues affecting one's life.
From The Conscious and Unconscious Mind by Kendra Van Wagner, according to Sigmund Freud, the mind can be divided into two main parts:
1. The conscious mind includes everything that we are aware of. This is the aspect of our mental processing that we can think and talk about rationally. A part of this includes our memory, which is not always part of consciousness but can be retrieved easily at any time and brought into our awareness. Freud called this ordinary memory the preconscious.
2. The unconscious mind is a reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness. Most of the contents of the unconscious are unacceptable or unpleasant, such as feelings of pain, anxiety, or conflict. According to Freud, the unconscious continues to influence our behavior and experience, even though we are unaware of these underlying influences.
Two parts of us at conflict with each other. It is this inner-self that you must attempt to deal with in order to better handle what life sets before you. I'm not certain any of us fully reach a point in which we completely understand our inner self. But we all need to reconcile ourselves to that inner voice. Once you have done this, it releases you to move forward in life to go after your dreams.
"Believe in your vision, act upon your vision and realize your vision." - Joseph Primm
Monday, June 26, 2006
Open Heart for a Great Life
The idea of trying to make a change based upon things one does not understand can be difficult. Stepping into the unknown without a full clue as to the outcome is a daunting transition. Yet making change is never done in a completely blind manner. All of us do a certain amount of research and soul searching on anything we do.
Some will talk to others for advice, some dive into books, while others pour over internet web pages to seek information. This is done in an attempt to fill our physical mind with an understanding of the situation. Attention is then turned to what some call that 'gut feeling'. This is an attempt to satisfy the heart. It is also referred to as turning to the spirit that lives within us. Whatever it is you call it, your heart drives this part of the decision making process.
The sad part is that there are many people who do not make change because they allow the mind to dominate the process. They do not allow their heart to have an equal chance. Why do we do this to ourselves?
It is because what you can not understand or control, you reject it. If you can not grasp it, human nature (the natural part of us) wants to understand it completely. If this part of us can not do so, we discard and turn from it. This is where the heart comes into use.
There are going to be things in this life beyond your control. Certainly humans are constantly in search of the 'answers' to everything presented before us. Everything must be rationalized and categorized and completely analyzed. This is a good and natural thing for us to do. But at certain points in our individual lives, there will be things beyond your control or understanding. At this point you turn to your heart and simply have to accept it on faith.
Your heart will tell you if it is right for you or not. It is not meant to say that because your heart accepts it on faith that others are wrong. It does not mean that you are wrong for accepting it because others didn't. It only means that you are right in your own heart in combination with the natural process as it relates to you.
Change takes us to the unknown sometimes. To a place that the natural thought process can not fully provide answers to. Let your heart help you accept change on faith that making a move to better your life is the correct decision.
"Human nature is designed to limit ourselves to all of the possibilities life has for us", as related to me by Dean Sweetman. What he wants, what I want, what all of us want is to allow our hearts to open us up to those possibilities for a greater life. Each person deserves a great life and most importantly, you deserve that great life.
Some will talk to others for advice, some dive into books, while others pour over internet web pages to seek information. This is done in an attempt to fill our physical mind with an understanding of the situation. Attention is then turned to what some call that 'gut feeling'. This is an attempt to satisfy the heart. It is also referred to as turning to the spirit that lives within us. Whatever it is you call it, your heart drives this part of the decision making process.
The sad part is that there are many people who do not make change because they allow the mind to dominate the process. They do not allow their heart to have an equal chance. Why do we do this to ourselves?
It is because what you can not understand or control, you reject it. If you can not grasp it, human nature (the natural part of us) wants to understand it completely. If this part of us can not do so, we discard and turn from it. This is where the heart comes into use.
There are going to be things in this life beyond your control. Certainly humans are constantly in search of the 'answers' to everything presented before us. Everything must be rationalized and categorized and completely analyzed. This is a good and natural thing for us to do. But at certain points in our individual lives, there will be things beyond your control or understanding. At this point you turn to your heart and simply have to accept it on faith.
Your heart will tell you if it is right for you or not. It is not meant to say that because your heart accepts it on faith that others are wrong. It does not mean that you are wrong for accepting it because others didn't. It only means that you are right in your own heart in combination with the natural process as it relates to you.
Change takes us to the unknown sometimes. To a place that the natural thought process can not fully provide answers to. Let your heart help you accept change on faith that making a move to better your life is the correct decision.
"Human nature is designed to limit ourselves to all of the possibilities life has for us", as related to me by Dean Sweetman. What he wants, what I want, what all of us want is to allow our hearts to open us up to those possibilities for a greater life. Each person deserves a great life and most importantly, you deserve that great life.
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