Michael

Realize that true happiness lies within you. Waste no time and effort searching for peace and contentment and joy in the world outside. Remember that there is no happiness in having or in getting, but only in giving. Reach out. Share. Smile. Hug. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without getting a few drops on yourself. - Og Mandino

Note: Please check out my Best of Alaska Cruise photos. Hope you enjoy.

True happiness is within us. That’s a powerful statement. The implications are enormous and the least of which is that we truly have control of our happiness and the direction of our lives. We are raised differently of course and that is because the people that raised us forgot that fact.

So, all we have to do is to remember that we are responsible for our happiness, our lives and really the world we live in. We have more control than we know.

When we are happy, those feelings naturally spread to others. First and foremost from the example of how we are living our lives. Maybe a smile here and there. A hug when appropriate. A hearty laugh. A passion for life. Giving someone your time. Listening. Holding the door for someone.

We all want to be happy. Maybe some people have buried that fact deep within themselves, but I believe it’s always there.  Maybe you can help bring that out in others by being happy yourself. When they become happier it will probably spread to people they know. Before you know it, real social change has taken place.

I’ve begun. What about you?

Michael

Stop. Listen. Observe. These three simple techniques either used singularly or together can be a great way to get more in touch with yourself and your world around you. I’ve used them successfully for years.

Observe. Observing is another way of increasing our information inflow. In the natural world, observing events can evoke powerful emotions or still our spirit. Think about the feelings you had when you stopped and observed a sunset. It’s almost inexplicable what happens when we watch natural phenomenon; sunsets, sunrises, waterfalls, campfires, clouds, animals in the wild, birds flying, the wind blowing tree leaves, ocean waves, lightening in a thunderstorm.

It connects us with the wider universe. We see our place in the great book called life. We understand how everything is connected. We feel humbled. Our spirits soar with the sheer beauty of what we are seeing. Observing nature energizes and gives us joy.

When we observe people, we begin to see the subtler meanings behind the words we are hearing. We start to understand the complexities of what we call ourselves. Remember that most communication is non-verbal and much comes from observation. The way someone moves when they talk. The way their posture shifts when speaking about difficult subjects. The connection we feel when we watch someone’s eyes as they speak from their hearts. They say that watching someone’s eyes is a gateway to their soul. There are definitely subtle, non-verbal things happening when we do this.

Observing ourselves can be challenging. It requires us to step out of our perpetual habit of ignorance. Observing ourselves is a key element in becoming something more. If we can observe ourselves in the same way we observe the world around us and others, we will gain a level of objectivity that will help us unlock our potential. Observing ourselves goes hand in hand with accepting who we are. As we accept who we are, the ability for us to be or go somewhere else dramatically increases.

Stop. Listen. Observe. Change your live in unlimited ways

Michael

Stop. Listen. Observe. These three simple techniques either used singularly or together can be a great way to get more in touch with yourself and your world around you. I’ve used them successfully for years.

Listen. When you practice the art and skill of listening you gain additional information well beyond any other technique. Listening requires that you stop thinking and completely focus on the moment in front of you. We can listen to ourselves. We can listen to others. We can listen to the world around us.

Listening to ourselves makes a connection to our true being. We tend to ignore messages from internal sources, but they can be vital for our growth and well-being. All of us possess the knowledge needed to insure that we are on the right path and living our lives as happy as possible. We have all the answers we need to help us in any situation. It only requires that we stop and listen. The more we listen the more we will hear. Remember that the important messages are from the “voice” that is subtle, quiet and less imposing. It’s that fist thought we hear after asking a question. It’s the intuition to make a change in direction.

Listening to others is one of the most important skills to master for mature interactions with people. When we actively listen to others, we’re not thinking about our response or calculating our next verbal move. We are hearing what the other person is saying; how their tone enhances their words. We are completely focused on understanding their thoughts or the point that they are trying to get across. The more you listen, the more you will connect with others on levels beyond your current understanding.

Listening to the world around us is a great way to get out of ourselves, to connect with the natural world and become more informed about what is happening around us. Most of us walk around in a fog and don’t hear what is going on in our vicinity. We miss the richness of our world. We don’t hear sounds that could soothe us. We miss important messages that could protect us.

Practice the skill and art of listening every chance you get and watch how your level of understanding dramatically increases

Michael

Stop. Listen. Observe. These three simple techniques either used singularly or together can be a great way to get more in touch with yourself and your world around you. I’ve used them successfully for years.

Stop. We live in a faced paced and hectic environment. Always rushing from one activity to the next and taking very little time to stop and notice what is around us. Stopping means to literally stop what you are doing and sit still for a few moments. Take a few deep breaths. Let yourself come down from the high created by frantic, nonstop activity.

Most of us do not take time for ourselves. We continually push forward, relentlessly going at break neck speeds until we are exhausted, sick or just simply numb. When we stop and allow ourselves to slow down we can regenerate our bodies, our emotional state, our minds and ultimately increase our spiritual connection.

The first time you use this technique could possibly cause distressing feelings. When we are used to constantly moving and suddenly we stop, inertia kicks in and tries to keep us moving. Our minds work on overtime. We feel like we are missing something. We feel like we should be doing something, anything. We feel like we are wasting time. We feel disoriented. We are momentarily confused until we get used to the new pace.

Stopping is so vital to our well-being. When we stop and simply relax into the moment we re-charge our batteries. We gain increased perspective and get a hint that there may be more to life than we previously guessed.

Make stopping a regular part of your day. You can stop for as many times as you need. In fact, the more times you stop the better. It only takes a few minutes at a time. You’ll be surprised at how easy this gets as you practice; just like anything else.

Michael

Total, unconditional acceptance of yourself is the first step in building a positive self-image. - Nido Qubein

Don’t you find this interesting? Unconditional acceptance of yourself is the first step of building a positive self-image, not the end result. As I think about this quote, the more it makes a lot of sense to me.

Anything you can’t accept about yourself keeps you in a place that holds you back from that positive self-image. Most of us have trouble accepting the parts of ourselves that we don’t like or judge too harshly. I know that sounds very obvious, but sometimes the obvious needs to be stated out loud to shake us up and make us think a bit. Unconditional acceptance means we accept or like every single thing about ourselves; all of our physical flaws, our choices, our behaviors, our heritage and our actions to name a few. Remember you cannot change anything until you accept it. Once you accept something, you can then move past it and make changes if you so desire.

Sometimes, consciously recognizing things you like about yourself is a good start for accepting things you currently don’t like. You can do this out loud or use your internal dialog. Once you get comfortable with this practice, start on something small that you don’t like about yourself. Find ways to accept where you are with it. In other words, don’t view the “problem” as a permanent thing but something more transitory. Once you find ways to accept these things about yourself, you will find that the realm of possibilities for change increases, solely due to the shift in your attitude.

Good luck with this important personal work.

Michael

When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself. - Wayne Dyer

Judging others can happen quicker than we may realize. Most of the time, we judge others in small ways, sometimes as simple as just labeling someone. See what you think of these examples:

1. We see someone driving “poorly.” We label the person incompetent, stupid or idiotic.
2. We get poor service while in a check-out line. We think the person is rude, mean or apathetic.
3. A person you work with seems to be always trying to “upstage” you or put you down. You label them as petty, arrogant, mean or egotistical.
4. We don’t like someone’s choice of music. We label them stupid, silly or crazy.

We don’t have to judge people in big ways like by “attacking” their religion, race, heritage, intelligence or etc. I believe that more judging happens in these small ways than in the big ones. I don’t know about you, but it seems like people have a tendency to label people’s personalities instead of discussing their behavioral issues. I’m not saying that there aren’t people who do “bad” things or make bad choices. My point is that we’re not perfect either and as long as we judge others we cannot possibly keep an open mind to the possibility that the person can change. I also think that if you are around someone whose behavior you don’t like, then just leave. No need to judge, just get out. Find people that treat you differently.

Judging others only limits our view of the world, affects our actions/behaviors in negative ways, limits our possibilities and prevents us from being as happy as we can be. Be aware of what you are thinking and saying in situations. Watch for judgmental comments so that you can stop them before they grow.

Michael

Opportunity often comes disguised in the form of misfortune, or temporary defeat. - Napoleon Hill

I’m a firm believer in this philosophy. In fact, I think it’s more than a philosophy. I believe it is a fundamental “law” that most people either don’t know about or can’t see when they are in the middle of a crisis.

Misfortune, temporary defeat and other types of crisis events in our lives are messages that something needs to change. The stories of many successful people (not just financially successful) typically start with a challenge, problem, crisis or etc. from where they make some change in their life. This “change” propels them towards the success they are now famous for. The misfortune or failure was the pivotal moment. What they did different than most was view this strained period of their lives as an opportunity for renewed creativity, a different mode of thinking or a chance to change outmoded belief systems.

It has taken most of my life to fully appreciate what Napoleon Hill so eloquently states. When events happen now that would be judged as bad, misfortunate or viewed as a defeat, I am able to quickly get back into a positive viewpoint.

You can do this to. When “bad” things happen to you, take the opportunity to review your life. Do you have out of date beliefs that can be adjusted? Have you been following some sort of negative behavior pattern repeatedly? Are you really unhappy in your current situation but need a kick in the rear to make a change? Are you not doing something you love because of other “responsibilities”?

Opportunity is as close as you want or think it to be. Foster this belief and watch your life change. Remember we are supposed to be having fun and enjoying our life.

Have a great day!

Michael

Our faults irritate us most when we see them in others. - Pennsylvania Dutch Proverb

Do you ever stop to wonder when you feel irritation towards someone else? Have you stopped to examine the fault that is bothering you and objectively looked inside to see if you posses the same “fault?”

Generally speaking, what bothers us the most in others is something that we unconsciously possess, judge ourselves harshly or don’t like about ourselves. Because we don’t like that aspect of our self, we are tuned into that issue with others. We see it clearly on the outside, but find it difficult to see on the inside.

It’s really important when we have a reaction to someone that we quickly begin to look at the exact issue that is causing us grief. Next, we should immediately and objectively (this can be the hard part) look inside ourselves and determine if we have the same fault or something close. Our reactions to others are almost never about the other person. It’s all about internal issues that we are not facing.

Don’t forget that sometimes a perceived fault of another person triggers something quite different inside also. For example, someone who is not conforming to rules may trigger a response if you are a controlling type person. Or maybe somebody does something that you don’t like but you don’t speak up for yourself. The anger may be about you not speaking up and nothing at all about the other person.

Dig deep, you’ll eventually find the reason why you are upset. It will not be the other person.

Michael

I was so in the present moment the past was no longer part of me. - Laurel Hoodwrit

What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened, it has all worked together to bring you to this very moment.  And this is the moment you can choose to make everything new.  Right now. - Author Unknown

Many people constantly look back at their past and think or fret about “mistakes” they have made. If you have done this, I’m sure you have not felt very good. Most of us don’t enjoy looking at bad decisions we have made. We constantly think after the fact about how we could have done better.

At this time of year, more people reflect back over the negative events of the previous year before looking ahead to the future. My advice is too not look back at all. Don’t look back last year and don’t look back at any prior years.

All of the so called bad decisions, mistakes, mishandlings and etc. have created who you are in this very moment in time. And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The reason we don’t need to nor should we review the past is simple. At any moment in time, in other words right now, we can choose to go in another direction or be something else. We always and I can’t stress this enough, always have the power to change what we are thinking right now. No one can take that away. Only us. Once we change what we are thinking then we can change who we are and where we are going.

So as this year winds down, take the time to concentrate on how you are feeling in this very moment. Ask yourself, “How can I feel a little bit better? Can I change or tweak my thoughts to get just a little bit more satisfaction?” Don’t look back and judge all of your decisions. They really are irrelevant. Focus on the now, the present moment, while keeping an eye towards where you want to go.

You can change your life now. You can’t change the past. So don’t focus on it.

Have a great day and a coming New Year!

Michael

Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don’t look back at it too long. Mistakes are life’s way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come. - Og Mandino

Forget past mistakes. Forget failures. Forget everything except what you’re going to do now and do it. - William Durant

Do you cringe when you make a mistake? Do you feel like the world is judging your every move? Do you feel like you have to be perfect all the time? Do you accept mistakes in others but not yourself? Do you still remember the mistakes you made years ago? Do you have trouble forgiving yourself?

Guess what? There isn’t one person on this planet that doesn’t make mistakes, regularly and consistently. It’s one of the ways we learn. It’s how we gain experience and wisdom. Its how we figure out what we truly desire and what we feel passionate about.

If you aren’t making mistakes then you’re not living, or growing or learning. If you aren’t making mistakes then you aren’t taking risks. If you aren’t making mistakes then you’re not growing.

One of the greatest lessons I’ve learned is that “you can’t get it wrong.” It’s about being. It’s about doing. It’s about living. If you can learn to like and love yourself now, whoever and whatever you are, and then all of the mistakes you have made in the past are irrelevant.

In fact, I suggest that you go out and make some good mistakes. The lessons you’ll learn will be invaluable. As you learn those lessons, you’ll be guided to make more mistakes which will increase your experience even more. Some of your lessons will help others to make different mistakes than those you have made.

Michael