Not everyone will understand your journey. That’s fine. It’s not their journey to make sense of. It’s yours.
Author | Photographer | CG Artist | Filmmaker
We never learn what hidden gems lay along the paths we fear — or are too lazy — to take.
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Genuine kindness doesn’t have ulterior motives.
“The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” — Samuel Johnson
The reward for being kind is inherent in the act of giving it.
“Love is always bestowed as a gift – freely, willingly and without expectation. We don’t love to be loved; we love to love.” — Leo Buscaglia
Give kindness and do good because you can. Because the world needs more people who do. And there’s no better person to do it than you.
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“Today, I persevered.”
“Today, I tried something new.”
“Today, I learned a new skill.”
“Today, I made someone smile.”
“Today, I went outside my comfort zone.”
“Today, I encouraged someone.”
“Today, I showed appreciation & gratitude.”
“Today, I made progress toward my goals.”
“Today, I was a force for good.”
“Today, I loved everything about how I acted and how I lived.”
“Today, was a great day.”
Your life story is written by you — one day at a time. Make it worth telling.
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Sunshine on your skin.
The smell of coconut oil.
The clink of ice in your drink.
Sand under your feet.
A gentle breeze.
The sound of birds.
Distant laughter.
Waves crashing.
A smile on your face.
And total relaxation of your mind, body, and soul.
Your mission, if you choose to accept it today, is to take 60 seconds or more painting your own vivid mental picture of what peace, happiness, and relaxation means to you today, breathing deeply, and simply enjoying it.
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Yes, there are a lot of problems in the world. And the media is happy to share them with you.
One of the most deceptively easy ways to start feeling bad about things is to start focusing on all these problems — and/or your own — without putting in quality time to focus on solutions and ultimately taking action.
The chances of miraculously solving all of your own or the world’s problems by focusing on how bad they make you feel are next to none.
Casually or subconsciously focusing on problems is one of the quickest ways to feel overwhelmed — and many times you won’t even realize why you suddenly feel miserable, only that you do.
If you’re not willing and/or able to commit to action and taking steps to change something for the better, then simply acknowledge your negative thoughts for the time being and move on to something more productive, more positive, more empowering.
Especially if you’re prone to depression.
It is totally ok not to start a project when you don’t have the strength, focus, or tools necessary to complete it.
Gather your tools and the right mindset, and have a strategy. Then you can tackle your problems with intention.
Einstein said, “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Along those lines, I say we can’t solve life’s toughest problems from a state of mental or emotional weakness. Rather than make things better, attempting to do so often makes things appear worse. That’s when you, instead, focus on something else.
And if you ever find yourself stuck having to take action, and you have neither the tools or the strength necessary to do it, then reach out to someone who at least has the potential to help you.
There are always people out there willing to help you in any way they can. Even when they, too, have their own problems.
One of the greatest ways to feel empowered and valuable is to find a way to help someone else.
And by doing so, you might just find someone willing and able to help you solve your own problems. Or together, problems you weren’t capable of solving alone.
Student says, “I am very discouraged. What should I do?” Master says, “Encourage others.” — Zen Proverb
Synergy is a wonderful thing.
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Life is short.
Have a purpose. Set goals. Complete as many as possible.
Live with intention. Don’t waste your time caught up in things that don’t matter. But take time to smell the flowers or stare up at the sky and marvel in wonder.
Live with integrity. Set the example you’d like to see.
Connect with those things that fuel your passions.
Stray from your comfort zone now and again. Try new things. Stretch yourself.
Find someone or something you can be good for.
Wear your invisible cape.
Every day.
Even on Mondays.
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When was the last time you got something of value for free on the Internet?
Your mission, if you choose to accept it today, is to give thanks or show appreciation to the person, people, or company that provides (or provided) something you enjoy.
Be it an article, blog post, recipe, photograph, work of art, piece of music, podcast, comic, your favorite artist or musician or website or whatever — take 2 minutes to go give thanks or appreciation to a content creator.
(Not the person, site, or company that shared the artist’s work, I mean the actual creator. The musician, the photographer, the artist, the writer, the company… The thing you appreciate originated from somewhere. Where? Who created it?)
In a world that wants everything for free, content creators often go undervalued and unappreciated.
Take the 2 minutes to write a sincere email or leave a comment for someone. Even if you don’t expect it will ever be read.
Chances are it will, and even it isn’t read by the person it was intended for, it sets a good example.
But above all, you’ll feel good about showing appreciation.
And if it’s not already something you do regularly, you might just find that you enjoy it so much that you want to make a habit of it.
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It is so easy to be a bright spot in someone’s day.
If it wasn’t on your to do list, why don’t you go ahead and add it.
Be someone’s reason to smile today.
And if you like it, be someone’s reason to smile every day.
You never know, you might just turn into a bright spot in someone’s life. :)
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“You have such a great attitude.”
“I love how you handle life.”
“I really respect how you deal with things.”
“I admire your tenacity.”
All great ways to let people know they’re doing well in your eyes.
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If you were to say, “The world is full of cold, self-centered, arrogant people who just don’t care”, you may be surprised to discover that I agree with you. You’re right. I’ve been out in the world and I’ve seen and experienced these things much more than I care to in life.
It’s one of the reasons why I do what I can to combat such things and, if possible, set the kind of examples I’d like to see more of. And that, in turn, is why most of the stories I share are lighthearted, fun, humorous, or positive.
But having said that, if you were to say, “The world is full of warm, caring, and generous people who go out of their way to make it a better place”, I would also agree with you.
Because I’ve seen these kinds of people, too. In abundance. They’re everywhere. You read that right. They’re everywhere. (And if you’re reading this, I think the chances are very good that you are one of these people).
Agree? Disagree?
The fact is, the truth in either of the above statements depends largely on where you look and what you’re looking for — because in either case, I’m confident you’ll find it.
And the same is true for most places where you direct your attention. And this is an important concept to understand, by and large, we find what we go looking for.
“What you seek is seeking you.” — Rumi
And what we choose to go looking for in life — the good or the bad — can have a dramatic affect on not only our view of the world, but on our sense of well-being as a result of that view.
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.” — Fred Rogers
Depending on whether we look for something good or something bad, the results we find often reinforce whatever belief (or value system) we held to be true when we started searching.
“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” — Wayne Dyer
When one believes the world is full of cold, self-centered, arrogant people who just don’t care, one’s subconscious mind goes about proving they’re right.
“The primary function of the subconscious mind is to follow the instructions of the conscious mind. It does this by “proving” that whatever the conscious mind believes is true. In other words, the job of the subconscious mind is to prove the conscious mind is always “right.”
So, if you consciously believe that you can’t be, do, or have something, the subconscious will create the circumstances and find the people to prove that you are ‘right’.” — Robert Anthony
When you expect rudeness from people, you are setting yourself up to be more attentive to it, even if it’s something you don’t want. And when you are more attentive to something, you are more likely to find it — at the expense of not being attentive to the things you’re not paying attention to.
For example, if I told you to stop for a minute and look around you for all the things that are the color red, your brain will register all the things around you that are red and, as a result, you would be able to list them with a high degree of accuracy.
But then if I immediately told you to close your eyes and now list all the things that are the color blue in the room you just searched, there is a good chance you would miss several of them — because you weren’t looking for blue, you were looking for red.
Now, I’m talking colors here, but I could easily be talking about the things that irritate or upset you.
If you go looking for irritating things, it will often be at the expense of registering all the things that are pleasant or beautiful around you — because whatever you focus on is at the expense of whatever you don’t focus on.
“Energy flows where attention goes.”
If you want to see more of the things you desire in life, it’s important to make a conscious effort to be grateful for what you already have and always focus on what you want — and what you want to see more of — not on what you don’t want or the lack of something.
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” — Marcus Aurelius
The type of thoughts you hold in your head have a direct impact on the reality you perceive. This includes the severity of aches and pains you experience, as well as how gracefully you age.
“By paying attention to pain on a daily basis, we are wiring ourselves neurologically to develop a more acute awareness of pain perception, because the related brain circuits become more enriched. Your own personal attention has that much of an effect on you. This could be one explanation to how pain, and even memories from our distant past, characterize us. What we repeatedly think about and where we focus our attention is what we neurologically become. Neuroscience finally understands that we can mold and shape the neurological framework of the self by the repeated attention we give to any one thing.” — Joe Dispenza from Evolve Your Brain – The Science of Changing Your Mind
This is why it’s vital to always remember to focus on solutions, not problems, look for the good, and remain conscious of where you choose to focus your attention and how you direct your mental energy.
“Refuse to emotionally succumb to the negative events around you and tap your mental toughness to thrive in any environment. The good guy doesn’t always win and justice doesn’t always prevail, but where you direct your mental energy will always determine your attitude and it will always be controlled by you.” — Steve Siebold
Energy flows where your attention goes — make sure it’s where you truly want it.
Because when you really think about it, this world and everything we call life is amazing. It seems a shame for people to miss out on the good stuff because they’re not paying attention.
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