Your World Is What You Think It Is

We all go about our daily lives not really paying attention to the activities of others around us.  Life seems to move forward no matter how we try to speed it up or slow it down.  Our attitude tends to put everything in perspective for us and we don’t think twice about what that attitude is. 

We wake up in a good mood, bad mood, or just figure it is another day.  We don’t reflect on the best way to start today, although, if we did, it would set a positive tone for the remainder of the day. 

How do you see the world?  Is it through your eyes or through someone else’s?  So often we let others dictate how we feel, what we believe, or determine who we are.  When we are children, this is natural as we don’t know any better, but, as we grow older, our world view should be our own.  Remember the term “peer pressure.”  This refers to our behavior and decisions determined by those around us.  Most of the time, this begins in school and can last a lifetime.   

The end of a dream can come from words or an attitude of someone else.  The dream itself was formulated inside each one of us.  We can hold on to that dream by knowing we all have the potential to realize it no matter what. 

So often I run into people with no self-esteem and I wonder how this happened.  Who said or did something previously to drive them down?  If you watch people every day, you see those who can’t make eye contact, who think that their low position job is the best they will ever be, who feel like they have nothing to contribute.  All this is a result of external pressures that we have internalized to be true.  It is easy to tell people they have more value than they realize but it means nothing until they internalize that message. 

How do you create your own special world?   

First, what happened in the past is gone.  Let it go.   

Determine to find a positive in every aspect of your life.   

Live in the here and now.   

Be present and focus on every interaction throughout the day.   

Reflect on every conversation.  Look for the hidden gems.   

Be excited for the future but don’t dwell on it.  Plan simply.   

Don’t try to do too much. 

Creating your world is like producing a movie.  You are the star.  The script that you go by is one that you have written yourself.  Like any good script, it takes time and effort.  Also, the benefit of your personal script is that it can be adjusted as you go.  You decide when you want to “ad lib” and make other changes.  All movies have a supporting cast.  Since you are the casting director, you determine who is going to support you and what role they will play. 

The message is that you have control over what your life will be like.  You may be affected by other people, but it is YOUR choice whether you accept it or not.  Be the one in charge and determine what your life plan will be and then carry it out utilizing the tips above.  Doing so will generate the happy and fulfilling life that you are seeking. 


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Dreams to Reality

In the vast area we call imagination it is incredible to think of what goes on there and what triggers the thoughts we have about our life and about our future. It is a wondrous thing to know that we can imagine anything we want in life and the only restraint we have is our own parameters or borders we place on ourselves. In other words, the entire space around us is our oyster.

We can do anything we want in our imagination and it is intriguing to think that we can work with people who lack imagination, at least initially. It is when the doors open in their mind, in their attitude, in their view of things, that they can realize there is so much more that could be theirs or could be their future.

When this is all being put together and developed, how do you take that imagination, develop that into what is called dreams and then turn that into reality? I think that much like the imagination itself, creating a reality can be just as difficult because of the parameters or borders we put on ourselves. As a racehorse going down the track with blinders on, sometimes that is the way we view our life and we are not open to what could be. So again, how do we turn dreams into reality?

Everything having to do with our mind and our attitude begins in our head. It is what is between the ears that is creating the will or the ability to move from dream to reality and sometimes the defining factors that will or will not move that dream to reality is a simple thing called fear. What happens if my dream actually comes true? How will I handle it? We must be willing to go out on a ledge and acknowledge the fact that what we imagined is coming true and then celebrate it, be joyful for it, feel gratitude. These are all the components that not only help you realize dreams, but help you appreciate them and dream more.

I think one of the things that folks don’t do is that they don’t dream big enough. They look at their current situation and decide that it is about as good as it will get. They don’t realize that our capacity for more is huge. We need to take that fear and turn it around. We need to understand that fear is just one of the components that we are always going to be running into. To turn dreams into reality you must first have the self-talk that says, “I can do it” and secondly, that the self-talk is saying “It’s coming to me, it’s being provided for me.” You also must have the self-talk that says, “I want to do this.” This is critical. Many people think of things but there isn’t much want to.

It is a matter of “I’m comfortable the way I am, so why should I grab more even though it is a dream of mine?” Once we have overcome the fear, once we realize that we have the want to, we must have the action. Dreams remain only dreams until action is put to them. When action is put to dreams, you have reality, and just imagine the reality of achieving a dream. It is something that we all want in our lives. We start out in life with high hopes, aspirations, goals, and yes, big dreams, but throughout the course of each segment of our life, we lose a component of that dream. We lose a segment that may be critical to moving it into reality. There comes a point, and maybe the point is right here reading this article, that you remove the fear, that you convince yourself of the want to, and you take action.

That last one, taking action, doesn’t have to be as difficult as it sounds. Sometimes people wait until all the pieces are in place before action is taken and sometimes people interpret action as being a huge project. Sometimes the smallest steps are the beginning to realizing a dream, so I say to you, take some time, look in a mirror and ask yourself “What are my dreams?” Take those first steps.

If you need guidance, accountability or just a mentor, click on the link below.

www.craigfergusson.com – Mini Workshops: “Purpose” & “Goal”

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The Brilliance of Life

In 1966 I had a profound experience that has remained with me throughout my life. I was fourteen years old at the time and, to my knowledge, I was off to an adventure that would be something different than I had ever known. Different in the fact that I had never been away from home that much and even though this was probably less than thirty miles away, it was still away from home and I was on my own. It was at Camp Sambica (I still remember the name) that we talked about dedicating our life to Christ, and I remember that for a while the thoughts were in one ear and out the other, until we had a campfire and expressed our commitments. Something powerful happened and my reality changed. I don’t know how to explain it; it was just that I knew I was on the right path and I had something to believe in. Although I had been going to church my entire life, all fourteen years of it, it never really impacted me as it did on that particular night.

The reason I bring this up is because our reality is shaped in so many different ways and my commitment at that point took many hits over the years as far as temptations and straying, but the basis for following a carpenter from 2000 years ago has always struck me as being something that was rather odd and why it was that one man would have such an effect.

As the years passed, I realized that the teachings of two things, love and learning, were the core of why I believed and why I followed. I have tried to take those core beliefs and apply them to other religions and find the love and learning there. Doing this has helped me understand the goodness of each one, and in finding that goodness, came tolerance and acceptance. It is interesting to go back and see, in a moment’s flash, the effect of a change of reality and what it can have on an entire life. Many people ask questions about different aspects of faith or religion, “what happens if”, “how can you justify this to that”.  I do not believe that it is my place to justify. My place is to accept what I believe, be true to my reality and try to have a perspective that is open to all. I do try to rationalize the different comments and how they apply to different social constructs and the events that occur within our world that seem to make no sense.

In every area of life there are events or occurrences that make no sense depending upon what your belief structure is or how you view life. If you view life as a struggle and as something that you are put here to simply get through, it is difficult to see the brilliance of life; however, if you look at it as a wondrous thing, for the time we are here, it should be a joy. In every situation, depending upon your faith and beliefs, you have the ability to see the joy or the happy outcome of whatever that situation might be.

We can look at all the world’s events and try to make sense of what is going on, but in the end, it comes down to each individual’s belief and how that impacts the overall global reality. If you have an attitude of love and learning, everything you look at or try to make sense of, you see as a learning experience, and, as in a previous blog, you really see what is going on, what went on, and what precluded the events that are happening.

I know personally that, many times, I wish I could have more of an impact on some of the events that precluded the actual occurrence. For now, I believe it is a matter of understanding who we are, and I allude to this in my workshop, that our purpose boils down to what is important to us. What is important to us isn’t necessarily global such as world peace but maybe is as simple as helping to guide our child to the next level in life and find happiness.  Or, doing what we can to assist our parents in having an old age that is full of contentment. In other words, our purpose in this life can be glorious, global and extravagant, or it can be simple, yet rewarding, depending upon what is important to us.

My advice to all is to find your brilliance in life by seeking the small as well as the large, truly loving, seeing and having an impact.  Your happiness will result in the learning and joy in the experience.

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To Dream….. To Do

How can our perceptions work magic for our reality?  We need to realize how dreams are developed and what part perception plays in them.  Additionally, when we get a firm grasp of our dream, do we proceed or let perceptions of fear or doubt extinguish those dreams.

Realities can be made up of dreams and sometimes this can be good.  On the other hand, negative realities can happen because of a lack of dreams.  When people are concerned that their circumstance will get no better, what they are left with is a “status quo” existence.

So, how does one get to turning the dream into reality?   Obviously, the first thing is to dream in the first place.  If the mind has nothing to work with, how can it ever form a perception of what “can be”.  Therefore, the trick is to dream and to dream big!

Many feel that his is all you have to do according to an interpretation of the Law of Attraction.  For a few, this might be the case, but for the rest of us, we have to “do”.  In other words, we have to continue the dream, develop the perception of its achievement and take consistent steps to make this all a reality.

As in goal setting, large goals are wonderful but it is in the completion of small steps that make the goal achievable.  I know that I have and will have very big goals.  I also know that the only way the goal will be achieved is accomplishing the steps to its attainment.  You may not be a goal setter but you have a destination in mind.  That destination is a dream ready to be realized.  Create a “To Do” list of the steps and check your progress!

If you need guidance or someone to drive fulfillment, visit My Dreams and Desires.  Share your journey and dream happily!

Define Your Reality

Sometimes we are put into a situation where we have to make a determination of our reality. For the most part, that determination will be defined by our attitude at that particular time.  The context is framed around what our perception is of our current reality and how we want to develop our new reality.  We don’t think about this process very much but if we did it would be possible to change certain realities by changing our attitude about the situation.

Circumstances take on all different forms.  Our reality can be a function of our perception of those circumstances.

Let me give you a couple of examples.  You want to become a supervisor on the next level.  This is a worthy objective of many people but we are held back by our attitude of lack of discipline, lack of readiness or lack of willingness, but each of those “lack of’s” is creating an attitude that will derail the desire to become the next supervisor.  Therefore, in looking at development, growth and success opportunities, it is our attitude going into that situation that determines if the plan will or will not work out.

Another example might be that you want to buy a car.  Simple thing, right?  But, what is the attitude going into it?  If you don’t focus on not having enough money; it is out of my price range; or, it is not enough car for my needs, you are creating an attitude of doubt rather than focusing on the plan to achieve your goal.  All of your thoughts are shaping what your attitude is going to be.

Sometimes we have to determine how are we going to create a more focused perspective.  To define exactly what you want or desire, you need to have a more focused perspective.  This focused perspective in conjunction with plan will change your attitude.  The dream will becomes more focused and clear.

For example, in the supervior example, you are not going to let anything derail the perspective you have created.  You have determined the steps you are going to take and you are going to charge ahead.  If I let other factors seep into my consciousness or my sub-conscious, then those are derailing factors.  These hold me back from what I really want to do.  In the car example, I AM going to buy this car!  I have done my research  and I know this is what I want and will attract.  Every objection has been put to rest and know now I am going to head directly to my target.

Lastly, in defining reality, it is  what we make it.  Reality is framed by the perspectives we allow into our consciousness.  If we allow more and more into our consciousness, our reality can shift from perspective to perspective.  But, it is the focus that maintains the reality of what we dream and desire.

To learn more, click on this link:

http://www.achieveyourlifepurpose.com