The first thing I want everyone to understand is that this isn't a positive thinking blog. We could sit here all day and talk about rainbows and unicorns while eating bubble gum pies giggling about jokes that have a punch line of "could you please pass the peace pipe", but we won't. That might get people happy for a short time, but when the next day comes you won't remember what you were happy about. My goal is to give nuggets of information that you can use that stick with you and most importantly WORK! I want you understand that everything that I will ever say in these blogs will reflect one person's experience...MINE. I want people to take what they need and leave what they don't. The last thing I want you to do is blindly absorb information without thinking about it. Albert Einstein hit a homer with this statement, which after reading made a lot of sense;
"You have to remain critically vigilant. Question every premise, challenge conventional wisdom and never accept the truth of something mearly because everyone else views it as obvious. Resist being credulous".
What the hell does credulous mean? I thought the same thing. Let me help. Credulous means willing to believe or trust too readily, especially without proper or adequate evidence. Basically it means gullible. There's a lot of people who are probably shocked that I would say something like this and agree with Mr. Einstein (mainly my roommate, Adam, because if it's shiny and sparkly I NEED it!), but one of my resolutions this year is to think for myself and ask my own questions. It's too easy to read something and look at it as truth. I have the most wonderful mentor and absolutely hang on every word that comes out of his mouth. Not too long ago I noticed something. For the first time I had someone challenge something he taught me. My ego immediately started playing defense like it was trying to shut down Kobe Bryant for the last shot of the NBA finals. We are NOT our ego, but that's for another blog. That's when I had the "ah ha" moment. I wasn't thinking for myself. I never questioned anything that I read or that was taught to me. Questioning it doesn't mean not believe it, but rather try to understand why the belief is the way it is. We need to keep a beginners mind. The mind of a beginner has options of many, but the mind of an expert has options of few. When we close our mental doors on different points of view, we can't learn. We are either growing or dying.
Here is a review I wrote online about two years ago. It's simple and to the point.
"It's important that everyone understands that positive thinking sucks. I know, it's the most ridiculous thing you've ever heard. Let me explain. When people "think positive" and ONLY think positive, it can prove to be destructive. Think about it. When is the last time you thought positive and then had numerous things go wrong from which you were thinking? What will happen next is you then start abandoning your previous positive thoughts and trade them in for passionate, negative thoughts and feelings. What needs to be done is internalization. This is positive thinking with an EMOTION added to it. By ONLY using positive thinking you keep it from your neck up. Internalization thrives all throughout your body. You add a feeling to your thoughts and it imbeds it into your subconscious mind through auto-suggestion. This will allow you to not be so quick to abandon your positive state of mind. It's funny how a group of people could receive the same information and yet half of them would be successful with it. Knowledge without application is simply entertainment! Don't think just because you read a certain self help book you will have all of your life's problems solved. Take what you've learned and apply it. If it's not working, find someone who is where you want to be and has this knowledge and have them mentor you! If you WANT more you must BECOME more.
What I wanted to get across with this review of the book, "As a man thinketh" by James Allen, I wanted to show people how you can start to resent positive thinking if it's done wrong. It's a positive feeling. It's not positive thinking it's positive doing. Your deepest most inner thoughts become you outer most tangible realities. An athlete can THINK about being a great player, but it's the ones that ACT on those thoughts and add balanced emotion that are experiencing their inner world on the outside. The bridge between your inner and outer worlds is ACTION. Without it, all your positive thinking is just "good ideas." Heck, a 5 year old could look up at the sky and say, "I want to go to the moon!" HELL WHAT A GREAT IDEA! It's not the thought that gets us there, right Mr. Armstrong? Last time I checked a "step" was an action (no matter how small or giant). When logic is entered in to the equation, fear starts to take over and second guess the action. Here is a great acronym for fear; False Emotions Appearing Real.
"INFORMATION MAKES YOU THINK; EMOTION MAKES YOU ACT"
In the topics to come I challenge you to take what is said and think for a change. I don't want you to say, "I'm going to be positive today". I'd rather have you take the approach of being balanced. I will be going over my belief of everything is exactly as it should be. We just need to find the seed of benefit. I am going to stop myself so I don't go off and write the whole blog about that one subject!
Thoughts?
2 comments:
What is the purpose of life anyway other than to allow us to be born and through our "actions" find joy. Its the will of the Universe for us to be happy and successful. Arent we all simply trying to achive those things which bring us joy on a daily basis? I'd say that to think 'positively' is simply the first minor step toward achievement, but without action in a forward direction towards joy, than we are simply not fullfilling our destiny as human beings.
We are all connected in this universe and therefore everytime we speak, act, or even sit unmoved we do so in accordance with the laws of the universe. Yet most of us lumber around our daily life with no sense of direction lost. Whether wealthy or impoverished you see it everywhere - joy and sadness on all of our faces, and what is the difference between the two? Our ACTIONS.
Most often we do things that we "think" are positive for us or done to create some financial outcome to feel joy, but instead we get caught up in those 'thoughts' rather than the 'feelings'(your gut) and eventually end up snarled into the wrong path or purpose in our lives. Action without purpose is also just as worthless. So as we look for purpose in our lives look within yourself and see what it is you want most of all, from the GUT, its root purpose, and from there you will have all the joy and success you ever desired!
Ah...Far to many times have I been asked. "what do you want to be?, what do you want to do with your life?," etc, etc. Honestly, I have not the slightest inclination as to where life is going to take me. I know what people expect of me and what I expect, no rather what i expected, of myself. But In life there are no certainties, only uncertaintes. Too often people search for the right answers, solutions, etc. But who is to judge what is right and what is not. No one is able to fully step into someone else's shoes, no one can ever really know what someone else knows. Everyone is programmed differently, was brought up differently, thinks differently, etc. To one person success may be having a well paying job, a wife and raising 3 wonderful children, to another success may be climbing mt. everest before they die. Therefore, how is One person's opinion or view of right able to set the standard for anyone else.........
Positive thinking....You are ultimately in charge of you. No one, no thing, no situation can make you think or feel a certain way unless you allow them or it to. Life is fully and completely what you make of it.
Post a Comment