Enthusiasm Drives the Goal

If enthusiasm can be bought as an item from a store, do you think it will sell? And if it does, just how much are you willing to pay for it?

I believe your response will be: “You must be kidding. It’ll be a sellout. The store might probably run out of stock, you’ll have to wait in queue for a long time before you can get your order no matter the price.

Just how important is enthusiasm in goal realization; in one’s life? It is so important that it occupies one of the top slots in the list of elements needed for successful living. It is so important that it is one of the deciding factors to realize one’s goal.

There is no doubt that everyone likes talking to enthusiastic people, unless a person likes to be in a gloomy state, which I doubt that person does. Enthusiastic people keep the conversation alive and upbeat. You feel like you are partying. And when you feel like partying, you’d wish the night will never end.

Image yourself in the middle of an argument or a debate of two opposing sides on an issue. When the mood gets rough, even when you are not at first, you get to feel rough and in an argumentative mood. Your mood swings in accordance to the situation. It is like when you hear a song you like, you feel like singing along. And that mood will usually prevail for quite a while long after you’ve left the scene where it took place and it will only change when something else prevails over it.

Image yourself in the middle of a discussion with enthusiastic people. Even when you are not the enthusiastic type, you begin to turn enthusiastic yourself. Even when you are not familiar with the topic at hand, your tendency is to be inquisitive, you keep asking questions. The more questions you ask, the more alive the conversation gets. And you get to learn more, broadening your knowledge on certain issues. Quite educational, isn’t it?

Enthusiasm brings out the hyper character in us. It is like adding more wood to a bonfire making you feel like you want to roast marshmallows in it. Honestly, as I am writing this, I’m beginning to be more enthusiastic myself.

The point is, enthusiasm is contagious like a disease. This is one contagious disease that has a desirable effect. Matter of fact, enthusiasm is the only disease everybody wants to contract. If there is a category in the Guinness Book of World Records of being the contagious disease most people would like to have with them, it is enthusiasm. Law enforcers would probably ban quarantine of this disease.

Now, just how do you get enthusiastic especially when your surroundings, the weather condition, and the general situation feels down and out?

Here are some helpful tips to develop enthusiasm:

1. Adopt the “as if” principle. It is believed that this was first stated by                                      Professor William James, at times known as the father of American         Psychological Science. This is an effective time and people tested principle.

Consider this scenario: let us say you frequently or almost always see a particular actor play the role of a comedian in movies and television shows. You would always identify or equate this actor with comedy even if he is not in real life. The good news is the actor himself may also feel the effects of being in a laughing mood most of the time even if his life is full of dramatic experiences. Ultimately, this actor may wind up to be a happy person because of his role, a confirmation that laughter is the best medicine. If he portrays other types of roles, to you, he seems to be out of place, you’re just not used to seeing him portray other roles other than a comedian.

At one time or another in your childhood years, I believe you’ve come across superhero characters in comic books or magazines. And I believe that you’ve imagined to be like these superheroes, saving people from disastrous situations or winning over the bad guys. This is an “as if” principle in fantasized form. Do you remember?

I would suggest at this point that you try to apply the “as if” principle with someone near or beside you to confirm its effectiveness. Think creatively.

Another similar principle is the “what if”. If you are in the business of developing products of specialized use, you are most likely exposed to a lot of experimentation. When you come up with an idea on a product you’d like to try even if the idea seems unconventional, would you try it? Would you be saying to yourself: “What if I try to…”

1. Adapt enthusiasm into the “practice makes perfect” principle. In other words, be enthusiastic on almost everything you do every day no matter how insignificant they are, no matter how small they are. All those small things when added up become big. This is the “as if” principle in small ways.


2. You are familiar with the expression: “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. Even if a sight, a scene, or anything does not look too beautiful or enthusiastic, try to see its beauty and be enthusiastic about it. On the not-so-beautiful side, try to be enthusiastic in finding ways to improve it.


3. As you wake up each morning, be enthusiastic about the things you are going to do that day. Bring enthusiasm to even the routinely morning chores like taking a shower, getting dressed, eating breakfast, taking the bus or driving your car (even in heavy traffic), in the office up to the time you reach home for dinner till you go to bed, enthusiastically looking forward to tomorrow.


4. In the course of the day, you may experience non-enthusiastic traits from other people. Don’t be carried away and don’t be non-enthusiastic as they are. Instead, show enthusiasm to these people and they may become enthusiastic too because of you. Lead, don’t just follow. That will give you the feeling of you setting a good example for the benefit of all.


5. Remember that each day in your life is God’s gift to you. Show your appreciation to Him for the gift you receive by being nice to other people, helping others and thanking Him through prayers.

Enthusiasm Drives the Goal

Goal Achievers

Achievement assumes many faces. How will you rate yourself once you have achieved your goal?

Achievers One are achievers who have accumulated fame and fortune but remain unhappy in spite of it. It sounds logical but illogical as well. They have reached the top of their career, the pinnacle of their goal but somehow remain unhappy. They may have everything but the feeling of emptiness looms in their hearts. Perhaps along the way, they may have neglected to look after the welfare of their fellowmen, or worst, may have used their fellowmen to their personal advantage. They may be aware that they did not give their best performance yet still got to the top, a feeling of “I don’t deserve all these” or “I’d rather be poor and happy than rich but unhappy”. They may have forgotten the Almighty Creator played a vital role in their achievement and now they feel loveless, alone; idiomatically and literally speaking.

Achievers Two are achievers who have consolidated everything they have acquired in the course of their endeavor to a rather small in size but vast reservoir of knowledge; their head. Sounds like a wrong place to keep an achievement. They boast about their achievement drawing awe from people they come in contact with. They have virtually enslave themselves to their achievement that nothing else matters to them.

What then are real achievers made of?

A real achiever is defined as one who:

1. Is truly happy and contented with the result or outcome of the goal he/she has aimed to attain no matter how small it is.


2. In spite the contentment, continues to further improve his/her skill and knowledge.


3. Aims for excellence and makes it a limitless endeavor.


4. Remains steadfast and humble or even humbler that he/she used to be in spite of his/her achievement.


5. Have served and will continue to serve his/her fellowmen.


6. Shares his/her talents with others in furtherance of improvement and development.


7. Have not stepped on other’s toes while in the pursuit of their goal.


8. Who remain grateful to the people who have helped him/her attain success.


9. Does not boast of their accomplishment.


10. Have complete faith and trust in God, thanking Him and affirming that his/her achievement is a product of God’s calling he/she acted on.

This seems to be a long list of criteria that is difficult to follow. Actually, it isn’t. Only the achiever can confirm this through his/her honest feeling of how the events led to their success. It is a feeling that no exact word will suffice to describe it, the closest is perhaps gratefulness.

Grateful achievers keep an open mind focused on returning favors they received, not necessarily to the ones who one way or the other have contributed to their success but also to persons unknown to them so long as they see that such persons are truly in need of help in their struggle to succeed. These achievers see themselves in the shoes of the striving persons when they were still striving then and they know how it feels to encounter difficulties along the way.

Helping others, one of the things in achievers, makes life easier for all of us. There is no point in making life difficult for each other. It’s just a waste of time.

Actions like this have a multiplicity effect that contributes to the progress of the nation as a whole. Just like enthusiasm, helping each other is contagious. Because of achievers, what started as a seed is now a tree. No matter how small the help of one person is, it contributes to the success of a nation. Each achiever becomes an asset to his/her country. This is the stuff great nations are made of. Wouldn’t you want to be part of it?

Goal Achievers

Goal To Good Health

 

To be able to achieve your goal, a healthy body is a must. Health is wealth. This is as important as your mind and spiritual health.

Nowadays, hospital bills are beyond reach for some of us that we may not be able to afford it. Not everybody has insurance and even if we do, there are times it doesn’t cover some of the medical cost. Don’t wait to get ill and apply corrective measures. It is more prudent to practice preventive measures.

It makes life difficult when we get ill. We must do our best to prevent illnesses so as not to hamper our quest to goal realization. To do this, we need to practice healthy habits; taking nutritious food, proper exercise, clean surroundings, an overall healthy lifestyle.

There is an ad in a developing country of an internationally known vitamin/mineral supplement that has something to do with one’s health. It is advertised in its native tongue, when translated into the English language literally means: “It is against the law to get sick” or “You are not allowed to get sick”. Exaggerated as it is, it makes sense. When economic conditions are so sensitive, it can make a big difference when one gets sick. Medical bills are beyond reach for majority of its citizens.

My medical know-how is confined to basics and practical thinking. What you are reading are personal preferences reflective of my own views.

Diet and exercise are the two main areas directly responsible to physical health. What we eat is what we are. Maintain proper diet. Your doctor, dietician and/or nutritionist is your best source of information, coupled with practical sense. The amount and type of food we eat directly affects our body system. While snacks between meals are not encouraged, taking something when you feel hungry is better than stuffing yourself full at mealtime. Age is likewise an issue when it comes to physical health. Younger people tend to eat more than middle-aged or seniors due to body metabolism. Older people who eat as much as youngsters tend to get fat for this reason. They cannot burn the calories as fast as the young. On the other hand, the young need more food to keep up with their active lifestyle.

Exercise regularly. Keep your body moving as much as possible. The gym and fitness center are not the only places where you can get exercise. Some of us may not agree that working is exercise. Working that requires physical exertion is a good form of exercise. Your home is a good place to do this. There are lots of housework that requires physical exertion so much so that if you do them, you are actually exercising and saving. Walking is one of the best forms of exercise. You may walk to and from your place of work as long as conditions permit like weather, distance, and time. Again, you are saving.

It is written in the Bible that God made man in His own image. From all indications, our physical body was designed by God to move, to be mobile. He designed it in such a way that our hands and feet, limbs, joints, among others will give us utmost mobility. If we don’t use them as they are suppose to be, does that mean we are not satisfied with the way they were designed? It is like receiving a gift from a friend and we don’t find it useful so we just put it in a corner to gather dust. The Lord may interpret it as if we don’t need them anymore so He might as well give them to someone else who needs them. That way, they won’t go to waste.

Seriously, get moving as much as you can. We never know when our tools of mobility will cease to be useful.

Even an automobile or generator laid idle for a considerable amount of time usually gets stuck. We need to heat it up once in a while even if we don’t need it. Even an electronic equipment with hardly any moving parts has to be used every now and then to keep it in tip-top condition. Positive thinking stimulates our minds while physical exercise stimulates our body.

Depending on where you live (temperate or cold climate), sweating contributes to good health. What you are actually sweating out of your system are toxins and excess body salt, sugar, and fats (that is why our sweat tastes a little salty, slightly sweet, and feels oily).  And sweating keeps you looking fit and trim as well. After a good sweat, do you notice that your joints feel more loose and relaxed as if they have just been lubricated. Be sure to replenish your body with fluids like water, fruit juices, and the like. Don’t let your sweat-soiled clothes dry on your body. Change to fresh clothing.

To induce sweating in cold climate can be difficult. Try using a sauna. It may be available in your location. If it isn’t, you can have your own sauna at home if your budget allows it. A spa helps to improve blood circulation to relax and tone both mind and body. There are various types of spas and your spa specialist is your best adviser. Hand massages done by masseurs are sometimes available in malls to loosen stiff joints and relieve aching and tired muscles.

A clean surrounding is also essential to good health so that we can breathe quality air. We are aware though that urban places have a higher level of pollutants compared to countryside locations even when the level is within tolerable limits. Vitamin/mineral supplements can help to counteract the effects of these pollutants. Keep in mind though to seek medical advice first to determine what kind of supplements will suit you. Each of us is unique in many ways. A good practice is not to overdo things like taking excessive vitamins and minerals. We may be right in saying that excess vitamins simply leave our system through body fluids or waste. Recent medical findings reveal that supplements taken excessively, in time, can damage some vital organs. Some minerals must be proportionate with certain vitamins when taken so that it is better absorbed by our bodies. Various reactions occur under various conditions. There is a good motto I follow (because I think it makes sense): “Take things in moderation, for even a good thing turns bad when taken otherwise”. Food rich in anti-oxidants can replace certain supplements. Again, your doctor has the final say.

Medical research proves that there is a direct link between mental attitude and the body as a whole. A positive mental attitude results to a healthy body. For instance, when we are under stress, our body produces excessive amounts of cortisol which is a steroid. Some cells which are vital to our immune system are blocked, making our body susceptible to infection.

In other instances, which we are more familiar with, we know that blood pressure in our body shoots up when our mind is subjected to tension and worries without any physical exertion. Why is it we cry after hearing a sad story; why is it we laugh after seeing a funny situation; indications that thinking alone can affect health condition and body reactions.

Our mind was designed by God to think. Keep it active with innovative and creative ideas. Stress, self-pity, and defeatism are just some of the negative attitude that result to poor body health. Replace this with enthusiasm, self-confidence, and win-ability, you are on your way to a fit healthy body. Negative thinking are like debits on a bank account, positive thinking are credits. Don’t wait till your accounts are on the red.

Equally important is an active spiritual outlook. It is food for the soul. Starve your soul and you starve your body and mind. Feed it with faith, hope, and confidence in the Lord and you will cultivate a healthy you.

Mind , body, and spirit; one is essential to the other; they are inter-related; make it work as a team.

With a willful spirit, what your mind can conceive, no doubt your body can achieve.

Goal To Good Health

Ageless Goal

 

 

Age need not be a deterrent to the pursuit of our goal. Nor should it hamper our enthusiasm in furtherance to continue improvement or excellence of it. Matter of fact is, we can even start venturing on new ideas. Starting young or not-so-young in aiming for a goal makes negligible or no difference. What matters is our attitude towards our aim, that it be positive. We must not deduce thinking that we might not realize our goal due to our age. We must leave everything in the hands of the Almighty Creator whom we trust. He is in the best position to know what is best for us. God did not plant an idea into our mind with a pre-condition that we must be young to aim for a certain goal. Otherwise, He wouldn’t have done so.

Faith and trust in the Almighty should be the factors that determine our decision to continue pursuing our goal, not our age.

Growing old is all in the mind if we let it be. Yes, it’s visible when we grow old. But these changes are only on our physique. Our actions and reflexes may be slower than before. Our hair may be thinner and gray. Our skin may be dry and wrinkled. But our mind and spirit will remain young and vibrant as ever, even wiser than ever.

Speaking of old age, allow me to tickle your funny bone. There’s this funny thing about growing old, we can’t move our hands and feet when we want them to (if we’ve got arthritis), but they keep on moving when we don’t want them to (uncontrolled shaking and trembling). Speaking of thinning hair when we grow old, we beg our hair to stay on our head. It’s the opposite when we were young, we beg our thick and unruly hair to leave our head.

Only the physical side of us gets old, the mental and spiritual sides are as young as ever.

Age or aging, as defined in the dictionary is synonymous to growing old. ‘Growing’ is a progressive word, so there is every reason for us to go with the flow, to be optimistic.

With age comes wisdom, maturity, and experience. How we choose to mature depends on how we think of ourselves. If we think we are non-productive, worn-out, and ruggedly unattractive, ridden with health problems, we will what we think we are. However, if we welcome age with a positive outlook, having emerged a wiser and more experienced person, full of wisdom and vitality in spite of age, this chapter of our life will bring even more excitement, looking forward to share our experiences with our grandchildren, the younger generation. What we choose to be, we will be. Only we can control ourselves. I see no reason why we would choose to be gloomy, feeling self-pity, and unproductive in senior age when we have the option to emerge bright and upbeat.

For this, we must be thankful to the Lord for giving us years of fruitful life. Obviously, the Lord has His reasons for keeping us productive and these reasons should keep us focused to excel in our goals. Let us not disappoint Him. Share experiences with the younger generation. Tell them both the good ones and even the not-so-good ones. Both ways, they will draw lessons from them. We are, in essence a living history library whom they can research from, being able to answer their inquisitive questions in person, sharing experiences which are far better that machine-produced information. And you know what makes our information unique compared to machine-produced ones? It can be filled with emotion and excitement. That will surely draw a ‘cool’ comment from youngsters. Cool, isn’t it?

When we have grandchildren and they start to call us grandpa or grandma, how we react to it is entirely up to us. It’s a choice between: the sound of useless, cranky, good-for-nothing, step-aside grandpa or grandma; or the sound of fun-filled, welcome, looking-forward-to, sunshine-drenched grandpa or grandma. What will your choice be?

If we choose to be negative, I will assure you, we would be banging our head against the wall, later on telling ourselves: “that was dumb, dumb, dumb”.  A positive choice will leave our head with no lump (because we won’t be banging it against the wall), but a smile within our heart, a feeling that will make us say: “Lord, I’m a happy person. You can take me anytime you want to.”

I would like to use this space to leave a message to the children and grandchildren of seniors. Picture yourselves when you become grandparents someday. Would you like to be left alone living by yourselves, sent off to senior homes, feeling lonely and desolate, taken for granted as if you don’t exist anymore? Or do you want to be riddled with questions from wide-eyed children, running like a child as if childhood came the second time around (not the mental second childhood stuff), walking hand-in-hand with your loved ones on a flower-filled countryside and simply be happy? You can make a difference on how seniors feel.

Growing old can be rewarding.

Ageless Goal

Finalizing Your Goals

I would like to impart disciplines to you that will serve as guidelines to goal realization. I believe you will find them very useful as they did to others. Some of them have been mentioned earlier, most others will be mentioned as we go along.

To pursue our goal, we need to have:

1. A sound mind with an absolute positive attitude


2. A healthy body


3. A deep spiritual faith

How do we initiate the process of goal realization?

Deep within us is an inherent God-given skill we need to call up and bring into the open. This skill cannot deliver positive results, not until we have polished it to its full potential. It takes hard work and dedication to turn it into a workable, efficient machine that will deliver results aimed at the goal we envision to achieve.

Hard work which is reflective of all the positive attitudes we have earlier discussed will serve as the backbone in building our goal. Despite all the hardships we will encounter, we must stand firm and emerge victorious, stop at nothing until we have our goal at hand.

Ask ourselves these questions:

Have I reached my full potential in life?

Am I really satisfied with the way I am?

Have I achieved anything in life so far?

Have I contributed to the well-being of my fellowmen?

Am I an asset to society?

Am I really happy?

A “No” answer to most of the questions should encourage us to aim for our goal.

The following disciplines can serve as guidelines:

1. Feel in your heart and mind the goal you love or want to attain.

Feel and search within your heart and mind the kind of things you love to do and have the skill or know-how in doing. When you follow your heart and mind’s desires, you have gained your first step towards goal realization. You will always be enthusiastic about it and this gives you an advantage. Doing something you are familiar with and love to do will make things easier to accomplish so there will be lesser obstacles. Even in the absence of things needed to realize a goal you love to pursue, you will somehow exhaust all the means to make it come true. This trait is inherent within us. A rather simple example, say you want to see a concert of your favorite band group but don’t have enough cash to spend for it, you’ll try to save from other less important expenses.

In the event you cannot feel in your heart and mind the goal you want to pursue, here’s a simple rule you can follow: “Find a need and fill it”. These words, credited to the great industrialist Henry Kaiser have been the guiding principle of many successful entrepreneurs.

1. Hone your thinking.

Hone or sharpen your thinking. Distinguish short term, medium term, and long term goals. See if the short term goal will benefit your medium term which in turn can be an advantage for your long term goal. Keep them co-related as much as possible. Know the capacity you can handle.  Be fantastic but be realistic. When you set the plan, timetable, and scope, try to envision in your mind the sequence of event as that are probable to happen, how to go about it, possible solutions to obstacles, right approach to situations, among others.

1. Aim for the best result.

Whatever outcome comes out of your quest to pursue your goal, make sure you do your best. This will eliminate saying to yourself: “if only I did my best” in case things turn out second best or third best or worst, even a failure. However, you don’t stop if it’s a failure. Capitalize by drawing a lesson or two from it so that you won’t commit the same mistake when you do it again. “Next time, it will be …” is what you must say to yourself. This kind of experience will make you a more skillful, knowledgeable, learned person.

1. Differentiate goals from wishes.

Wishes are daydreams or fantasies of what you want to achieve in life but if not acted upon, will remain as fantasies and never turn to realistic goals. To achieve your goal, you have to act, move, work hard on it. Make a definite plan and timetable to reach the ultimate result. Life is not a garden or bed of roses ready for us to pick and enjoy. You have to plant them, nurture them constantly, water them, give them enough sunshine, fertilize them, talk to them if you have to, harvest them by the time the roses are in full bloom.

1. To achieve your primary goal, you may need secondary goals.

Sometimes, success in goal realization may seem beyond reach. There seem to be an overwhelming gap in-between. Be as it may, don’t let that discourage you. Take it as a challenge, a challenge to your intelligence. You may need secondary goals as stepping stones to your primary goal, a bridge to connect the gap. It is like taking several flights from different airlines to different places until you finally reach your intended destination. In this case, you may even have to mix air travel with sea and land travel.

1. Focus on goals that will benefit others as well.

Your goal may be self-serving, but more so, it must benefit as many as possible. Compared to a self-centered goal, which restricts the flow of success, a serve-all goal releases an aura of confidence and trust gained from other people. Let’s face it, people can somehow see through if your intention is self-serving or all-serving.

Try to aim for a goal that will make you an asset to society, a goal that people will appreciate what you contribute. Goals that will make life easier, goals that will make people smile, goals that will make this world a better place to live in, now and for generations to come.

1. Be humble every step of the way in achieving your goal

For every secondary goal you achieve, exercise humility. Never be boastful of your small goals. Never brag about small goals and tell people you are assure to achieve your ultimate goal because of your small successes. I am not discouraging you to aim for your ultimate goal. I fact, the more I am encouraging you to go forth and do it with all humility. As we all know, humility is a virtue and a goal graced with virtue is sure to succeed.

1. In realizing your goal, put God first.

In everything you do, put God first and He will utilize all the facilities necessary to aid you into success.

As we have mentioned before, the way to God is through prayer. Whenever we pray, we must do it fervently, with all sincerity and intensity. You will know and feel the aid that God will send forth to realize your goal through ideas that will permeate in your mind. God will plant them in your goal. Welcome it with an embrace and be sure to thank Him for it.

And you know what makes it even more beautiful? That you cannot go wrong because your idea is inspired by God, it comes from God and everything that comes from Him is sure to succeed.    .                           .

Whenever you set to realize a goal, you must hold on to it tenaciously. Make your goal as clear and as vivid as you can.

By the time you have achieved your goal, you will feel an air of satisfaction, contentment; to be exact, a feeling of happiness. Doesn’t this feeling turn the “No” answers to our earlier questions to “Yes”?

Let us go back to these questions.

Have I reached my full potential in life? Yes, I have.

Am I really satisfied with the way I am? I am now.

Have I achieved anything in life so far? Yes, I have.

Have I contributed to the well-being of my fellowmen? I firmly believe I do.

Am I an asset to society? I believe I am.

Am I really happy? Yes, I am.

And you know what’s good about achieving your goal aside from happiness?

You will feel an air of confidence, self-esteem, and respect for yourself, you can’t help but congratulate yourself.  You will be stronger not only mentally but spiritually as well.

Wait no more. Start your goal realization now.

Finalizing Your Goals

The Nature Of The Human Mind.

 

 

No species possesses a purpose beyond the imperatives created by genetic history…

The human mind is a device for survival and reproduction, and reason is just one of its various techniques.

- Edward O. Wilson (1929-       )

 

On Earth, man occupies a peculiar position that sets him apart him from all other entities in our planet. While all the other things – animate or inanimate, living or non-living – behave according to regular patterns to balance nature, man seems to enjoy – within definite limits – a small amount of freedom. Man controls his way of living, speaks his own language, perceives and learns great amount of knowledge, manages his emotions, and deals properly with problems he faces. All of which is unique to man only. There is, in fact, within the infinite expanse of the universe a small field in which man’s conscious conduct can change the course of events.

It is this fact that causes man to distinguish between an external world subject to unstoppable and endless necessity, and his human faculty of thinking, cognizing, and acting. In Philosophy, mind or reason is contrasted with matter, something that is extended in space and persists through time. Fully aware of the fact that his own body is subject to the same forces that determine all other things and beings, man attributes his ability to think, to will and to act to an invisible and intangible, yet powerful, factor he calls his mind.

The mind, including the processes it carries out such as thinking, learning, memorizing, remembering, and the likes, is one characteristic that distinguishes man from any other being in the world. The nature of the human mind is like that of a mirror; having different functions and features: (a) open and vast, (b) reflects in full and precise details, (c) unbiased towards any impression, (d) distinguishes clearly, and (e) potential for having everything already accomplished.

Open and Vast

 

Martin H. Fischer (1879-1962), a German-born U.S. physician and author, quoted “All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind.” Isn’t it ironic how small the human brain where mind processes undergo is, and yet it encloses matters in as huge as the universe? That’s how open and vast the mind can be. It can consist of things as trivial as the number of moles you have in your body, or as essential as how many dosages of cough syrup you need to take in when you are sick. It can create illusion or reality, bring delight or sadness, trigger conflict or peace, and generate love or hatred. And most importantly, it can make you, by influencing you how to be the best of who you are, or break you, by covering you with all the fears, embarrassment, and shame you least need in going through everyday.

The exposure of the mind to practically ‘anything under the sun’ keeps it from hiding any secrets the world unfolds from us. But again, all information that we can easily gather from outside is not always being marked off by the society – which is good and which is bad, which is right and which is wrong, or which is divine and which is evil. Therefore, the mind, as an all-encompassing system, accesses everything and yet restricts us from nothing.

Indeed, we have to agree with Fischer that the world is just a laboratory of the inquiring mind. A gigantic world of mind exists to which we are almost totally unexposed. This whole world is made by the mind. Our minds made this up and put these things together. Every bolt and nut was put in by one after the other’s mind. This whole world is mind’s world – the product of mind.

Reflects in Full and Precise Details

 

In her outstanding book, Choose the Happiness Habit, Pam Golden writes: “Take the story of two brothers who are twins. One grows up to be an alcoholic bum. The other becomes an extremely successful businessman. When the alcoholic is asked why he became a drunk, he replies, ‘My father was a drunk.’ When the successful businessman is asked why he became successful, he says, ‘My father was a drunk.’ Same background.

Same upbringing. Different choices.”

The brothers chose different thoughts regarding the identical experience they’ve been in. One took the fact that their father was a drunk as an example for him to imitate; thus, making him one too. In contrast, the other brother thought the same idea as something not to be mimicked, making him doing the opposite thing until he became successful. Those thoughts over the years shaped the circumstances where they are now. Whatever viewpoint they had about the situation was reflected on how they are doing now.

In other words, whatever there is in our mind can be fully and precisely reflected through our actions. It is due to the process where thinking creates images in our mind. These images, in turn, will control feelings like joy or sadness. Such feelings will cause us to do actions on how we would deal with each one of them. And lastly, these actions shall create results. Therefore, the mind, particularly thinking, implies reflection and creation of results. This is simplified through the very common cliché “You are what you think of.”

Unbiased towards any Impression

 

Whenever we look at the outside world, or just any of the things it consists of, we tend to have a very strong impression of its substantiality. What we probably don’t realize is that the strong impression is merely our own mind’s interpretation of what it sees. We think that the strong, solid reality really exists outside, and when we look within ourselves, perhaps we feel empty. This is a common misconception among people. The wrong mental attitude that fails to realize that the strong impression that appears to truly exist outside of us is actually projected by our own mind. Everything we experience – feelings, sensations, even shapes and colors – comes from our minds.

To illustrate the point clearly, imagine one morning you woke up with a foggy mind and vague visual of the day ahead. Isn’t it that the world around you also appears to be dark and foggy, too? On the other hand, when the world seems beautiful and light one day, you should understand that basically, those impressions are coming from your own mind, rather than from changes in the external environment. Therefore, instead of misinterpreting whatever you experience in life through judgmental wrong conceptions, you should realize that it’s not outer reality but only mind.

For example, when everybody in a classroom looks at a single object, say, the teacher, each of the students has a particularly different notion on him, even though, simultaneously, they are all looking at the same thing, or person for that matter. These different experiences don’t come from the teacher. They come from the students’ minds. Although they all see the same face, the same body, and the same clothes, their interpretations are still superficial. Analyzing deeply, the way they perceive him and the way they feel about him, is individual and different – all of which came from the mind of the students and not from the physical manifestation of the teacher.

This sort of equalizing wisdom of the mind is not likely to make any unfair preference on any impressions made. It only affirms that every interpretations made on a subject in the outside world is not a fact, but an idea of the mind.

Distinguishes Clearly

 

What we see is not always what we get. There are certain things in this world in which their physical appearance is far different from their real attributes. Using only our 5 bodily senses, we may readily accept what we see, hear, smell, taste, and feel even if it refutes reality. But with the mind, it helps us distinguish clearly what the entity really is; thus, helping us too in making wise decisions.

Take for example this situation: you overheard a person say that it will rain this afternoon. Without thinking and analyzing the circumstances, you are going to believe it unhesitatingly. You may even cancel your plans in going out in order to avoid the hassle it will bring. In other words, without any basis other than some opinion of a person you don’t even know, you accept the idea as true. And so, you make adjustments.

Using the mind, we can always not believe what we sense. This is if, not only they contradict with the observations, analyses and evaluations we made with them, but also they disprove a general truth. In the situation above, the mind can intervene in several manners – observing if the clouds are darker than usual, checking the weather news in the TV or newspaper for possible pouring of rain, etc – so as not to immediately accept the idea that it is going to rain. For instance, having observed the outside climate, you found out that the sun is high and the clouds are clear. Or, having checked the weather news, you knew that there will be no rain during the day. Therefore, you may now conclude that it will not going to rain, and that you don’t have to cancel any plans you have.

Hence, what our five senses cannot perform well, the mind does.

Potential for Having Everything Already Accomplished

 

Funny how we have always been told, at least once in our life, to “put your mind in what you’re doing” whether it would be studying, working, cooking, gardening, or simply reading. What could be the reason behind that? Well, these people – our parents, teachers, guardians, bosses, and friends to name some – are obviously concerned in our welfare that they want us to concentrate and work hard in whatever it is that we are performing. In doing so, we can easily accomplish our goals and achieve success.

There is a big difference in doing a job with the body and doing a job with the mind. In the former, one uses his hands and other parts of his body in performing a certain task which eventually will get tired and should be put to rest. Since the human body is subject to weaknesses and is limited in terms of functions, abuse of it may cause fatigue and other physical inabilities. Thus, it may affect the execution and termination of a task. On the other hand, in doing a job mainly with the mind, one does not leave all the work with the body. He thinks of ways on how to minimize the possible physical activities needed, to lessen the amount of time required, and to get the most out of the job being done. In this way, the task is most likely to be accomplished in just a little time, with the least effort but with the best result.

The Nature Of The Human Mind.

Thoughts Generated by the Mind

 

All of our behavior results from the thoughts that preceded it. So the thing to work on is not your behavior but the thing that caused your behavior, your thoughts.

- Dr. Wayne Dyer

 

There are many different ways by which cognitive scientists try to understand and explain mind functioning. Underlying these different approaches is the assumption that any mind activity involves the transformation of information through a series of processes – procedures and operations – that draw upon existing mental patterns or knowledge representations.

The analogy is often made between the human mind and the computer, one of the many possible metaphors and the most commonly used for it. They even say that the mind is a super-computer – greater, better, and more efficient than any computer there is. Just as any computer can run many different programs, the human can perform many different behaviors, as well. Both the computer and the human mind store their files and programs in their memory until they are needed. In computers, these programs are those that let you write documents such as letters, reports, or books like this, surf the internet, play music or videos, and many more. By analogy, programs being stored in the human mind are those that tell us how to cook, play tennis, wash dishes, sing and dance, and a lot more, too.

Computers generate thousands and thousands of information through processing the raw data the user inputs. The human mind is not at all different from this. For a clearer view, let’s take for example the process by which a search engine in the internet undergoes. In cyberspace, one can look for a particular subject without even standing up from his seat. All he has to do is open a search engine, type the subject matter he is looking for, and wait for the results to be produced by the engine. Simple and common topics like love, the Earth, McDonald’s, etc. that you might key in may produce millions of results. Some are relevant and may conform to what you are really looking for, while others are insignificant and do not focus mainly on the topic – that they may only mention the word once or twice.

Like computers, particularly search engines in the internet, the mind also generates thoughts and ideas this way – quick and easy, provides plentiful results, yet with complications. We can never ask a search engine to list only the ones we need, the appropriate ones, and to neglect those that hardly match what we are looking for. Likewise, relevant and irrelevant thoughts will also always pop up in our minds. We can never avoid it, but we can always check them one by one and classify as to positive or negative thoughts.

Consider the situation where you want to buy a present for your grandmother’s birthday but you have no money to afford one. And so, using your mind, you think of possible ways to acquire money. After some time, this is what you have come up with:

-         Run errands for somebody to pay you

-         Ask money from Mom and Dad

-         Steal money from Mom and Dad

-         Sell your things you don’t use anymore

-         Sell brothers and sisters’ things

-         Beg money from strangers

-         Apply for a part-time job

-         Ask money from friends

-         Borrow money from friends

-         Join contests with cash money as prize

-         Gamble

As we have mentioned earlier, the mind will produce all sorts of things – good or bad, right or wrong – and we can never avoid it. What we can do is to organize and arrange them according to the level of their uprightness, i.e. What is a good and decent way in which I can acquire money? A better way? The best way?, or to classify them according to decency, i.e. What are the good ways? Which are the bad ways? Now, let us try solving and use our mind in dealing with this.

Among the ideas in the list generated by the mind, such as to run errands for somebody, to ask money from parents, to sell things that aren’t in use anymore, to apply for a job, to borrow money, and to join contests are those that we can say proper and acceptable ways in acquiring money. These thoughts are what we call positive thoughts. On the other hand, to steal money, to sell things that aren’t yours, to beg money from strangers, to ask money from other people, and to gamble are inappropriate and unacceptable solutions to the problem. They are considered negative thoughts.

In the mind, these positive and negative thoughts are always in conflict. What wins among them is shown through our actions and behavior towards things. In the example above, if what you did is anything among the “proper and acceptable” ways, then the positive thoughts won over the negative. Alternatively, if you chose to do any of the “inappropriate and unacceptable” ways, then the negative thoughts had won over the positive ones.

Positive Thoughts

 

Encarta Dictionary (2003) defines the tem “positive” as “confident, optimistic, and focusing on the goods things rather than the bad.” Therefore, positive thoughts are sets of ideas in the mind that brings confidence, optimism, and focus to an individual.  Familiar with the song Beautiful by Christina Aguillera? This is a good example of a song with words pertaining to positive outlook on how to see one’s self. Below is the complete lyrics of the song:

Every day is so wonderful

And suddenly, it’s hard to breathe

Now and then, I get insecure

From all the fame, I’m so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say

Words can’t bring me down

I am beautiful in every single way

Yes, words can’t bring me down

So don’t you bring me down today

To all your friends, you’re delirious

So consumed in all your doom

Trying hard to fill the emptiness

The piece is gone and the puzzle undone

That’s the way it is

You are beautiful no matter what they say

Words won’t bring you down

You are beautiful in every single way

Yes, words won’t bring you down

Don’t you bring me down today

No matter what we do

No matter what they say

When the sun is shining through

Then the clouds won’t stay

And everywhere we go

The sun won’t always shine

But tomorrow will find a way

All the other times

We are beautiful no matter what they say

Yes, words won’t bring us down

We are beautiful no matter what they say

Yes, words can’t bring us down

Don’t you bring me down today

They say that beauty is relative and that it is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, like how Ms. Aguillera points it out, we are all beautiful in our own little ways and we shouldn’t let anyone or anything bring us down. This is an example of a positive thought that brings positive outlook in life. With much of these, dealing with problems like making friends or finding true love or reaching goals, would not be as hard as it may seem. There will always be this so called “fighting spirit” to take away all fears and get rid of any insecurity that causes such problems.

Simple I can’s and I am’s shall be a great way to start cultivating our minds with positive thoughts. To add to our example above, optimistic thinking includes “I am smart. I am open to new ideas and knowledge,” “I can stand out in a crowd, though not with my looks, but with my smile,” and “I can be noticed by anyone if I’ll crack clever jokes.” It’s easy to fill our minds with positive thoughts, isn’t it? After all, most of the things in this world are relative.

Negative Thoughts

 

“Negative”, the opposite of positive, means “being pessimistic or tending to have an undesirable outlook” (Encarta Dictionary 2003). Referring now to thoughts being generated in the mind, these are the unconstructive ideas that discourage an individual to be someone or do something. They pull him down so as not to believe in himself or in what he can do. They started with simple notions, were filled by wrong principles due to unpleasant experiences in life, until they take up and conquer his whole mindset. It’s bad enough that everyone possesses these thoughts but what’s worse is that not all can overcome them.

Usually, these negative thoughts are observable on people with expressions like “I’m not good at anything. Science, Math, Speech, you name it. I can’t do it,” “I can’t face her. I’m just too shy. Will you just give her this for me,” or “What if I made a mistake? My boss will surely gonna kill me.”

No, not, don’t, can’t, won’t, and what if’s – these are the usual manifestations of negative thinking. It’s as if they have this function to build a wall between you and the place you’re going; thus, holding you back from doing something without even trying. That’s how evil negative thoughts can be.

Clash between Positive and Negative Thoughts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The concept of positive and negative exists in many fields of study. And in all of these, they seem to oppose each other. They are in constant conflict. Like in the above joke, in grammar and languages, they refer to expressions. Positive expressions state affirmations and agreement to something previously said, while negative expressions declare disagreements and differences of opinion in a discourse.

In mathematics, where positive and negative concepts also exist, they refer to integers. Positive integers are numbers greater than 0, located on the right of the number line, and continue to increase its value. On the other hand, negative integers are the exact opposite of positive ones – numbers less than 0, located at the left of the number line and with decreasing value.

Medicine is another field of study which uses the terms positive and negative. Positive is an indication of presence of something in a test, usually particular organisms and illness as in HIV positive. Then again, absence of these particular diseases or condition that is being tested for is what negative means in this particular field.

Law, Physics, Photography, Logic, Biology, and Electricity are still some of the many fields of knowledge where the concepts of the conflicts of positivity and negativity are observable. Most importantly, these conflicts between the two are to be discussed thoroughly under the field of cognitive science – the clash between positive and negative thoughts.

As what we have mentioned earlier, our mind is boundless when it comes to generating thoughts. It produces every idea we need. Comparing it to a search engine in the internet, when we wish to find answers to a certain problem, it will make a list of all solutions, regardless if it’s possible or impossible, and acceptable or unacceptable. This is where the clash begins. It’s as if the positive thought Yes, I can and the negative thought No, I can’t will compete with each other to see who will win the fight in which it will be declared the winner. The prize would then have to be that that thought shall be taken into action.  Let us take into consideration the diagram below to see the clash of the two opposing thoughts clearly.

 

 

 

 

If

NO, I Can’t

 

 

 

Else YES, I Can

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

NO

 

 

 

 

 

YES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Given the problem can you ace the math exam you’ll be taking tomorrow, the mind works by hypothetically answering the question. Obviously, there are only two possible answers: Yes, I Can (the positive thought) and No, I Can’t (the negative thought).If, for example, the mind chooses the negative thought and says No, I Can’t, the next thing to do is to just let the person take the exam right away. Pretty easy eh? In fact, it’s much easier than the other alternative. This time, still hypothetically, if the mind chooses the positive response and declares that I Can, it has to let the person do several tasks. Surely, he has to do something to accomplish his goal, right? These tasks include review previous lessons, reading, and practicing through exercises. He has to perform all of these again and again until he perfects his exercises in order to ace the exam. Until only then can he take the exam.

Comparing the tasks that the person would have to go through when he chooses any of the possible solutions for the problem, the positive thought would have to let him undergo in a more complex situation than the negative thought. This is what the person would have to measure intensively. Will he go with the thought that he can not ace the exam but without experiencing the hassle of studying and all, or with the thought that he can ace the exam but will have to go through all necessary preparations? How about you? What does your mind say? That is practically the conflict between the positive and negative thoughts happening in our minds that we should try to resolve.

Putting everything into action is the only way to know which thought has won the clash. If, still related to the above problem, the person did nothing until the day he takes the exam, then it is clear that the negative thought convinced him not to study anymore since he won’t really be able to ace the exam. On the other hand, if he was seen reviewing, reading, and solving exercises prior on his exam day, then the positive thought induced him that he can ace the exam; that’s why, he made the extra effort to achieve his goal.

It is from here that we may conclude that how we act and behave are results of how we think. It is evident through our actions what kind of thoughts in our mind are we carrying out in dealing with our everyday life. If there is something to work on, it is not our actions, but our thoughts which create actions.

Thoughts Generated by the Mind