Author: Pete Jones

We cannot change the past.  What is done is done.

“It is often easier to change than it is to spend the time trying to figure out how you got there in the first place.” -Marshall Goldsmith

Sometimes, we can get so incredibly caught up dwelling on the past and all of the things that went wrong, how we could have done things better, the things that happened to us, the bad decisions we made, the things we did to others, and the shame that comes from it all.  It was a lesson, not a life sentence.

“EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN I GAVE UP HOPE OF A BETTER PAST.”

Therapy can be very useful.  Many of us compartmentalize.  We hide things away that we don’t want to deal with or process through on a daily basis.  We don’t think about or process things on a daily basis which do not help us in our day-to-day lives.  Therapy can give us a safe space and the chance to open those compartments, take out the contents, and set them on the table in front of us to inspect the items. As we process them, we can decide which of the things on the table can be useful to us, and then we get to choose to either throw the unnecessary items in the trash or put them back into the compartment for later.  Many times, we are not ready to throw the items away.  That’s okay.

Therapy is a great tool if we learn to use it correctly.

I believe it is much more important, however, to focus, and continuously re-focus, on the here and now, and how this present moment and our current decisions will affect our future.  While there is value in dealing with the past and realizing or remembering the lessons learned, 

THE ENTIRE PURPOSE OF OUR PAST 

IS TO USE IT

TO MAKE A BETTER TODAY. 

Being present in the current moment, and completing the daily tasks that will empower us to accomplish the list of goals we have to create and manifest our best possible future, will help us much more than focusing on the past and all the things we cannot change.

As we focus ONLY on what we DO want, we will no longer be using our time, energy, focus, and attention to focus on what we DON’T want, and recreating more of THAT.

We become what we think about.  We FEED and ENERGIZE what we focus on.  We magnetically attract what we feel about.  What we think about, what we focus on, and how we feel, determines the future we create, manifest, and project into existence.

The quality, consistency, and intensity of our thoughts, focus, and feelings, determines the quality and speed at which we create, manifest, and project our personal reality.

Having a solid morning routine and a daily checklist of things to accomplish will render us more capable, feeling more accomplished, and help us gain momentum in the desired direction.

  Taking action consistently will ensure that we earn credibility with ourselves, resulting in a higher level of self-esteem and self-confidence.

Some of the best advice I have ever been given:  Don’t get caught up in the past.  Instead, focus on visualizing your best possible future and live each day to create the future you want to live.

Today I will focus on creating the beautiful future I want for myself and my loved ones by living fully in the eternal, forever, present moment of the NOW.  I will remember to focus ALL of my energy on creation, building, progression, improvements, expansion, and evolving into ONLY on what I DO want to be more of and experience more of.  I will remember that a daily improvement of only 1%, added up over time, will compound into much more than I could ever imagine.  

One of the most helpful books I have ever come across on the topic of truly enjoying the present moment, is Eckhart Tolle’s book, THE POWER OF NOW.  I highly recommend it.  The audio version is easy to find for FREE on YouTube.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

There is an amazing interview I listen to every once in a while, to remind myself of what I learned, and to re-focus on important things.  In truth, I learn something new every time I listen to this interview.  As I continue to change, learn, grow, improve, expand, and evolve, my perspective continuously seems to do the same, so each time I hear the same exact words, the meanings of the words are different.  My perceptions grow, improve, and evolve along with me, as I continuously work to up-level my mind.  It’s the same when reading a book once a year.  The meaning behind the book is different each time.  Words on the page seem to jump out at us, and we get something different from the same story each time we read it.  The book is the same.  The words have not changed.  The benefits and value which come from the book does, because meanings of the words change because we have changed.

The interview I am referring to features Marshall Goldsmith, on the YouTube show, IMPACT THEORY.

In the interview he speaks about personal accountability.  He suggests asking these 6 questions at the end of each day.  I’ve been doing it, as an experiment, and it has transformed the way I think, the actions I choose to take, and what I accomplish, each and every day.  The beauty behind these questions is that it makes one think on their own efforts throughout the day and ponder on any opportunities for possible improvements.  No matter who we are, what we have done, or what we have not yet done, there will forever be room for improvements.  There will always be more work to be done, if we choose to do it.

WE CAN ALWAYS BE UPGRADING.

We can always choose to present to the world a more evolved version of ourselves, each and every day.  Little by little, as we continuously strive to grow and improve, each day becomes like an endless staircase to personal growth and greatness.  The higher we climb, the more glorious the view!

As we consistently do our best, our best consistently gets better.

These are six helpful questions to ask at the close of each day:

1. Did I do my best to set clear goals?
2. Did I do my best work to progress towards achieving my goals?
3. Did I do my best to find meaning?
4. Did I do my best to be happy?
5. Did I do my best to build positive relationships?
6. Did I do my best to be fully engaged and present?

Try asking yourself these questions at the end of each day for just ONE month.  Keep track of the answers to these questions each day in a personal progress notebook.  At the end of the month, look back and see if it benefited you to do so.  It is easy to do.  It is totally worth it.  It is life-transforming.  I miss a day or two here and there, but because of this interview I have a personal set of questions I ask myself at the end of each day.  Thanks to the wisdom and incite of Marshall Goldsmith, I now have a new, helpful, effective habit, that empowers me be more personally accountable.  Because of him I now have created and acquired a habit which helps me to focus, at least once a day, on the things which are truly important to me.  It has helped improve my day-to-day life immensely.  It takes less than two minutes but this personal accountability and personal awareness exercise REALLY helps keep things in perspective.

DAILY TRACKING OF OUR PROGRESS PROVIDES NECESSARY FEEDBACK AND CREATES MORE ENERGY AND MOMENTUM TO KEEP PROGRESSING.  IT SPOTLIGHTS OUR SHORTCOMINGS AND LETS US KNOW WHERE WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO, AS WELL AS SPOTLIGHTING OUR SUCCESSES, PROVIDING ADDITIONAL MOMENTUM.

There is so much to gain by listening to this interview.  If you put his name into YouTube, you will find many, incredibly helpful videos put out by him.  In this day and age that we live in called, “The Information Age,” ignorance and being naive is a choice.  Learning is SO MUCH EASIER.

Today I will make the time to listen to this interview.  While listening to it I will look for tips, tricks, tools, methods, and ideas that I can use in my own, personal life, to add value and to hold myself accountable for my actions and my life.  I will strive each and every day to add value to my life and to the lives of those around me.

Another Life Optimization Coach I am grateful that I found, and have followed and listened to for YEARS now, is Jim Rohn.  His teachings, and choosing to put them into action in my personal life, have empowered me to design the personality, character, integrity, and the life of my dreams.  Here are a few of his videos that are shared on Facebook, that have really made a difference in my life, and that I love to listen to, over and over again:

https://youtu.be/W68g5qG-lrc?si=46sAVfvBtfQuS4F0

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

A semicolon is used when an author could’ve ended their sentence but chose not to. 

The author is you, and the sentences you are writing is the book of your life. 

I have lost a few close people in my life to suicide.  They were beautiful souls whose physical presences are missed in this lifetime, each and every day.  I think of them often.  Both of them contributed to my life in incredible ways.  I learned important things form them both and benefited from their presence in my life.  The end of their lives was a huge physical and emotional loss for me because of the loss of their physical presence in my life; however, even though we may physically lose people in our life time, we will never lose the things they gave us, and I believe that ANY time we think of them, THEY ARE WITH US, energetically and spiritually.

Trevor Andersen and Matthew Miller.  One was a good friend.  The other one was my ex wife’s younger brother.  I will forever love them both.  I’ll tell their beautiful stories another time, but for now, I want to share what they gave me.  I want to share with you what contributions they made in my life.

Trevor was a quirky dude.  These words best describe him: Eccentric, idiosyncratic, unconventional, non-conforming, unorthodox, unusual, strange, bizarre, peculiar, odd, outlandish, zany, informal, wacky, freaky, way-out, far out, kooky, and offbeat.  He was outlandishly unique.  He was decidedly different.  He chose not to conform and to be like everyone else, and I respected that quality about him the most.  He was a deep thinker.  He taught me the importance and value of intentionally being different.  He taught me that there is a certain strength in raw vulnerability.  He was one of the coolest dudes I knew.  I honestly wish I would have been blessed to know him longer.

Matt was incredible.  I remember the first time I met him.  I had just been welcomed into my ex-wife’s home for the first time.  Inside was her mother, younger sister, and little brother, who was the baby.  He was about 12 at the time.  I met everyone, and we talked and laughed for a little while, but then it was 8 PM, the bewitching hour.  At the time I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to end their day at 8.  That was their time for family prayers and bed time.  I was invited to kneel on the living room floor as a part of a circle our kneeling bodies made as everyone held hands.  Their mom said a prayer and the entire prayer Matt kept squeezing my hand three times.  After the prayer ended everyone gave each other hugs and I was invited to leave for the day.  Each time I was around Matt and he had an opportunity to pat me on the back, or squeeze me hand while he held it during a prayer, he would do it three times.  I later asked him why.  He explained that each squeeze represented a word.  “I, Love, You.”  As I write this right now, I feel his presence in my heart, mind, and soul.  I believe his energy and the life energy of every person who ever walked the face of this earth, echoes through us each time we think of them.

The beauty behind the presence of Trevor and Matt’s lives will forever far outweigh the darkness, sorrow, stress, pain, and anguish that their tragic deaths left in their wakes.  The good memories will forever far outweigh the bad, because I have decided which of the two driving forces of life I want to focus on.  Choosing to focus on either light or darkness is our choice.  What we decide to focus on is a very personal choice we make each day.  This is a choice we must decide on, the very moment we roll out of bed each morning.

WHAT WE FOCUS ON, WE FEED.

I CHOOSE LOVE.  

I CHOOSE TO FEED THE LIGHT.

What we decide to focus on is a choice that has the potential to affect every other human being, not only throughout each day, but EVERY day, as the choice compounds.  Light or darkness.  On the level of vibrational energies, each thought we think is a creation.  Each thought then becomes a feeling, word, an action, a habit, an identity, and then a lifestyle.  On the level of vibrational energies, we all have the potential to positively or negatively impact everyone around us, every moment of every day.

EVERY MOMENT IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO BEGIN AGAIN.

What will you choose to create today?  How will you contribute today to the betterment of self and others?

May we all create routines, patters, and habits in our own, personal, daily lives which will positively affect ourselves and others at all times.  May we all choose light and love over darkness and fear, each moment and every chance we get.

We all lose people in our lives but we will never lose the things they gave us.  Sometimes hurt people hurt other people.  Sometimes hurt people hurt themselves.  Experiencing pain and fear can be a dangerous thing, causing us to want to give up, and by so doing we think it will make the suffering end, but pain and suffering can be a tool to push us to learn and grow.!!!

Sometimes learning and growing are the only things that will help us truly get rid of the suffering, or at least help us learn to deal with it and cope with it on a manageable level so that suffering ends, regardless of the painful moments of life.

The pain, suffering, anguish and stress we experience can all be blessings.  Without them, most of us would never try to change, improve, grow, or expand.

Pain, suffering, anguish, and stress are NEEDED, in order to experience contrasts of opposing emotions and the fullness of life and in order to further improve.  

The Universe was designed from the beginning of time to conspire on our behalf, and sometimes it uses suffering as a tool through which to teach us and stimulate personal growth and development.

Today I will remember back over my life and think of the most painful times I have experienced.  I will make a list of all the good that actually came from those experiences, or of all the potential benefits.  I will remember the lessons learned, the knowledge gained, the tips, tricks, tools, and methods acquired, and all the strength I obtained.  I will remember to be grateful for my painful moments, and the moments without it, which were amplified and more fully enjoyed because of the lack of it.  Today I will be grateful to be alive.  Today I will choose to keep going and to keep doing what I am doing-MY VERY BEST.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

 

To enter into a new day with a solid strategy, is to plan on conquering the day!  

“IF YOU FAIL TO PLAN, YOU ARE PLANNING TO FAIL.”  -Jim Rohn

BOMBARD YOUR BRAIN WITH WHAT YOU WANT IN IT OR THIS WORLD WILL TAKE YOU OVER. 

I think it is important to wake up each morning with the goal in mind to be intentional.  We can choose the kind of day we are going to have as soon as we crawl out of bed.  Having a routine can help with this.

Reminder to self:  Think of yourself as an old water pump.  In order for the pump to work at its highest capacity, to function at its best, and to put out the highest volume of water, it must first be primed.  If an old water pump is not primed, water will sometimes not come out, or only come out at a weak trickle.

We can prime ourselves in the same way, each and every day.  Why not stack the odds in our favor?  Why not set ourselves up for success from very first moment of the day?  A daily, consistent routine has a snowball effect.  One little thing, done once, for just one day, is usually meaningless and completely ineffective.  That same thing, completed once, consistently, each day, will become a habit.  It will become easier to do, each and every time we do it, until it is automated.  That one thing can and will be as a tiny snowball which, when gently pushed down a snow-covered hill, will pick up size and momentum, and as it continues to roll down the hill, it can’t help but become a huge, fast-moving, unstoppable force.  As it rolls down the hill it picks up snow, which makes it heavier.  Because of gravity, the snowball grows and becomes heavier and heavier as it rolls faster and faster.

MOMENTUM MATTERS.

If we prime our pumps each morning, we become like this snowball.  We become a huge, fast-moving, unstoppable force. 

When I first realized the importance of routines it was an accident.  I was living a life of constant pain, stress, anguish, sadness, and internal, emotional suffering.  I wanted to NOT feel that way anymore.  I substituted the medications the psychiatrists had prescribed for the previous 15 years with an all natural alternative called Q96 Empower Plus.  As I began to feel better and more clear-headed, I decided to change my attitude and my mindset, so each day, for 30 days (I had heard somewhere it takes 27 days to create a habit,) I found and saved a positive, empowering quote I loved onto my phone.  Each day, throughout the day, I would go to my favorites folder on my phone and read through the quotes I had saved.  I would review them and think about them.  This became a helpful, empowering habit.

Once I had my mind back from the dark, addictive, distracting hold that life and pharmaceuticals had on it, I could think more clearly.  Proper nutrition, vitamins, and healthier meals really helped me to keep my mind straight.  It was then that I could think straight and make better, more informed decisions, and enjoy the positive consequences which came along with the positive decisions.

The second thing I added to my daily checklist of things to do was adding GRATITUDE.  Each morning, right after waking up, I would take a shower.  I decided to multi-task and I began going over in my mind all of the things in my life, at that very moment, that I had to be grateful for.  At first it was difficult.  After doing this for a few weeks, the ideas and things I had to be grateful for flowed through my mind, like the water down my body as I showered.

It has now been scientifically proven that continued, habitual, repeated thought patterns, strengthen neural pathways.  The neurons and the bundles they are a part of get stronger and stronger each time we use them.  Each time we think a thought those same neurons fire off, the bundles grow and strengthen, and the neurons and bundles not being used atrophy just a little as the unused neurons are recruited to strengthen the thought patterns that ARE being repeated.  In this way, we are all able to literally physically transform our brains and program our minds.

After just two months, I noticed some pretty significant improvements in my lifestyle.  Think about how doing just these two things has affected my lifestyle over a four-year period of repeatedly, consistently priming my pump each morning.  People that knew me years ago during my other life, my dark, depressed, unhappy, unfulfilling life, wonder in awe at the person I have become.  They can’t believe the changes that have taken place.  Neither can I.

The importance of a daily, consistent, personal routine is unrealized, and practiced by few.  The benefits are immeasurable.  The value that doing this adds to one’s life has the potential of becoming so great, it is unfathomable.  It is difficult to imagine.

It has been said that the more value we add to our personal lives, the more valuable we become.  The more valuable we become, the more goodness, light, positivity, and success we invite and attract into our lives.  Our connections become deeper.  Our bonds with other people are strengthened.  We continuously create the alternate reality that we deserve, and eventually we reap the rewards.

The crazy thing is how easy it is to implement a consistent, daily routine.  It’s easier than you think!  Start with just one, easy-to-do task each morning before or during your current morning routine and do it for 30 days.  Realize and enjoy the effects of this simple, 30-day experiment, and then continue on with this action item, which has now become a habit, while adding one more small, seemingly meaningless action item to your daily routine for the next 30 days.  Imagine that if you do this for the next 5 years what your life will look and feel like.  Imagine the person you will become.  Imagine the lifestyle you will enjoy.

You deserve greatness.  We all do.  Habitual practices and routines are how we get there.  Be the snowball.  Push gently forward down the hill and let the magic happen.

Today, I will review my morning routine.  If I don’t yet have one, I will decide to do just ONE THING that will empower me throughout the rest of my day.

The goodinthehead Habit-Hacking Challenge

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

 

The environments in which we live, exist, and interact within, are so incredibly important and impactful.  With the following information, a person can escape, or learn to deal and cope effectively with, a life filled with pain, suffering, stress, and agony.  ANYONE can learn to truly live happily.  When we are able to choose or create the most optimal environment for ourselves, AND ALWAYS BE UPGRADING WITHIN IT, we can contribute, help, serve, and connect with others on a deep level.  That is when the magic of life happens.

The other magic of life happens when we experience the extreme contrasts of life as data, informing us of what we do and don’t want more of.

The internal environment we cultivate and create for ourselves, if created well and consistently, will eventually echo loudly enough to effect, alter,  attract, create, and project an external environment that will match it.  The outer, physical realm in which we live HAS to eventually match the vibration and energy of the inner environment we are always creating with thoughts and feelings.  Once we know exactly who we are, what we stand for, what we want, and what we believe, there are certain things we will never accept or allow into our lives.  All people, situations, and things we align with will be attracted into our lives.  This is the power of creation.  Alignment with our true, divine nature, and knowing exactly what we do want to experience more of is what will help us create the external environment which will match our internal one.

We are, at all times, in the Creation Process.  We can’t control everything but we can surely create ANYTHING, given enough time, focus, energy, intensity, and action.

Thoughts, ideas, knowledge, perspectives, habits, practices, and mindsets are all useless without CORRELATING ACTIONS.

INTENTIONS INITIATE THE CREATION PROCESS, BUT ONLY RESULTS MATTER.

We can only vibrate as highly as the content that we allow to entertain our minds and the thoughts, intentions, and energies that emanate from us all day long.  What we consistently tell ourselves, and what we repeatedly say to ourselves, is how we DEFINE ourselves, and is an integral part of our personal, internal environmental creation.  Eventually, our external experiences will mirror and reflect the internal creations of our minds.

There are a few videos I watch repeatedly, as a reminder, and as an automated, personal, subconscious mind re-programming tool, that has helped IMMENSELY, in the creation of my own internal AND external environments.  After YEARS of research, I have found empowering teachings and tools-even though the content is decades old.  These secrets have been around for CENTURIES.  They were NEVER, however, intended to be kept secrets, but meant to be shared with the world!  Because of the internet, that is now possible.  We are in the middle of THE INFORMATION AGE, where ignorance, and not knowing, is a CHOICE.

We can only vibrate as highly as the content that we allow to entertain our minds all day long.

WE BECOME WHAT WE THINK ABOUT.

We are the culmination of the people we spend the most time with, and the thoughts we focus on the most.

Today I will ponder the inner environment  I have created for myself thus far in my life and look for any improvements I can slowly, methodically, and consistently make, over time.  I will seek to put into place the habits, beliefs, and routines throughout my day which will help me accomplish what I want so I can live the life I deserve.  I know that by creating a better environment for myself, I will then be more capable of providing a better environment for those close to me.

The most intelligent and influential information I have come across, so far, regarding the creation of the perfect, uniquely individualized INTERNAL environment, which will most effectively and quickly empower ANYONE to then create the EXTERNAL environment to match, comes through Dr. Joe Dispenza.  Plug his name into YouTube, and prepare to be blown away!

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

 

One night, we fell asleep after midnight.  I awoke at 4:45, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to go for the day, and within seconds, an idea popped into my head.  I immediately got out of bed and wrote this down:  S.H.I.F.T.

These are some of the things I have been learning about, which have helped me to deal and cope with the pain, suffering, and stress in my life.  Putting all of my focus into these things has entirely redirected all of my focus, intensity, attention, and energy, from negative, destructive, addictive patterns, beliefs, perspectives, practices, and behaviors, to creating highly valuable, beneficial habits, perspectives and practices, and habituating a daily routine which has enriched and optimized my life IMMENSELY.

IF YOU WIN THE MORNING, YOU WIN THE ENTIRE DAY.  

IT’S ALL ABOUT MOMENTUM.

What is the importance of habits and an easy-to-follow daily routine?  It starts and generates MOMENTUM in the direction we CHOOSE.  Good habits and an intentional, effective, daily, morning routine have given me the incredible feeling of accomplishment, self-worth, and a much higher level of confidence.  If that can happen for me, it can happen for anyone!  Anyone who knows where and who I was, up until 2014, would quickly agree.

If you are interested in learning more about this, see MY OLD STORY under the ABOUT section of goodinthehead.com

SHIFT simply all came together in one realized, inspirational moment, immediately after waking up. (I have been learning to listen to the small, seemingly meaningless, inspirational ideas, that have been popping into my mind at random times throughout the day and immediately writing them down in a small book I carry around in my pocket.  I’ve found that the more I listen to my gut instinct, or the still, small voice of inspiration, the more often it comes to me.  It has revolutionized my world.)

SHIFT:

Sleep, Happiness, Intelligence, Fun, Talking.

There are some great ways to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle.  One great way is to make a SHIFT: Sleep, Happiness, Intelligence, Fun, Talking.

SLEEP-It is so important.  According to Shawn Stevenson, sleep is more important than diet and exercise combined.  I highly recommend listening to his interview on the YouTube show, IMPACT THEORY.  Simply go to the YouTube search engine and type:  IMPACT THEORY SHAWN STEVENSON SLEEP.

HAPPINESS-Its polar opposite is dangerous, but it is SO USEFUL TO EXPERIENCE THE CONTRASTING DIFFERENCES FOR OURSELVES!  What makes us happy?  Progression.  Having intent.  Purposefully, consistently working towards becoming a greater version of our self, so that we can enjoy a greater life.  To have a better life, WE must become better.  Happiness is something we ALL deserve!  How do we expand into, progress towards, and become a greater version of our self?  We must know EXACTLY what we want, five years from now, and reverse-engineer, or break it down, to know EXACTLY what it would take, each and every day, to create that life and get us to where we want to be in five years.  With the right set of habits, we can literally reprogram and automate our minds and bodies to make ANYTHING happen!   This is the importance of a repetitive, useful, empowering morning routine.  When we set ourselves up to win the morning, we usually end up winning the entire day!  It really is about momentum.  It is entirely up to us to create a life of empowering momentum, or conform to the norm of laziness, comfort, and ease, and suffer from the dis-empowering effects of negative momentum.

INTELLIGENCE-We can choose to always be learning.  They say, “If you don’t use it you will lose it.”  It is so true.  When we don’t exercise muscles, they atrophy and we become physically weak.  When we don’t use and exercise our brains, our brains will literally physically shrink, and we become progressively weaker, mentally.  The most effective learning tool I have acquired has been listening to each of the many interviews on a show called Impact Theory.  I also love the content from the show called, HEALTH THEORY.  I don’t do it just once.  I sometimes listen to one of the interviews at least three times a week.  I take notes.  I dive deeply into the lives of the guests, and research each of them, to learn even more about them.  I follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  I buy their books and listen to them.  I really take in what they are saying and write down ways that their teachings can be applied to my life, in order to make me more valuable to myself and others.  One of the greatest interviews was done by Carol Dweck on The Growth Mindset, though every interview I have listened to has added a great amount of value to my life.  When I bought the audiobook by Carol Dweck, “Mindset,” my life and my mind were forever changed.  I have listened to it many times.  The thing about learning and growing our intelligence is that we can do it every day of our lives.  There are many other shows and podcasts to be listened to.  Ed Mylett, Lewis Howes, Ted Talks, interviews and talks given by Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, and many others, are just a click away!

FUN-We must have fun!  We need to laugh, hug, smile, walk on the ground with bare feet (look up Forest Bathing, or see the documentary called THE EARTHING MOVIE,) and always plan something to look forward to.  That something needs to celebrate life.  It can be a family dinner once a week, or even once a month.  It can be a family trip once a year to a new location, for new adventures and opportunities to bond, and enjoy one another’s company.  It has been proven that laughing, hugging, smiling, being in nature, and having something to look forward to, naturally releases oxytocin, dopamine, and many other feel-good chemicals and hormones, into the brain and bloodstream, which makes us feel good, and alleviates stress and anxiety.  Through having fun, we connect with others, which is a basic, necessary, human need.

TALKING–Consistency in communication is KEY.  Building relationships of trust, deeper and more meaningful connections, and strong bonds with others, is the direct result of consistent communication.  The most value and benefit I have experienced in this life, so far, has literally come from my relationships, connections, and bonds, that I have been blessed to make with others.  IT IS THROUGH OUR CONNECTIONS WITH OTHERS THAT LIFE BECOMES MORE BEAUTIFUL, MEANINGFUL, FULFILLING, AND FILLED WITH PURPOSE.  The more we practice communication, the more deep and meaningful our relationships become.  I would go as far as saying that our relationships and the who we become through them are the most important acquisition of this lifetime.  Communication fosters an environment in which connections thrive and grow.  The most helpful book I have ever come across, which has been most beneficial in helping me improve communication skills is, “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” by Dale Carnegie.  I highly recommend this book!

Pripo Teplitsky is a licensed therapist and teacher of optimizing communication skills to create more meaningful relationships with deeper connections.  Learn more about him on The goodinthehead Podcast on YouTube:

Today I will remember to make a S.H.I.F.T. in my own life, knowing that doing so will add value to my life, make me a more valuable person, and empower me to live and maintain a truly, progressively enhanced, healthy, balanced lifestyle.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

Some of the best ideas and most interesting topics discussed, have come from hanging out with my sons, just by talking and kicking around ideas.  

Once, one of my sons talked about a circle in life that we are all trying to break into.  After he described this circle, I had to agree.  I knew what that circle was for me.  In the circle is enlightenment, peace, joy, love, happiness, fulfillment, self-love, self-appreciation, self-acceptance, satisfaction, and contentment.  That circle is the internal environment we create for ourselves.  It is our self-narrative.  It is our truest form, our divine identity.  Alignment with this inner circle is the goal for me.

How do we create an internal environment for ourselves that will eventually manifest and project into our external environment?  How long will it take to break into that circle and then enjoy the outer, external affects it will then have in our lives?

MEDITATION HELPS.

Life is like a beautifully woven spider web.  At the center of it is usually a scary-ass spider, but in this case, at the center of this web is that internal environment we are all trying to get to.  We are all a part of this web, each of us being a small strand.  If one part of the web is destroyed, we all suffer, collectively, until it is repaired.  If a bug is caught in the web, the entire web feels the vibrational effects.  The reverberations are literally felt throughout the entire web.  We are ALL affected by EVERYTHING each of us experiences in this world.  We are all ONE, being collectively and inextricably connected, and affected.

Have you ever not spoken with someone for months, and one morning tell a story about a memory with that person to someone, only to have them call or text you within minutes?  It happens to me often.  Trust me when I say we are more closely connected than we know.

I love this story I found:

There was a farmer who grew excellent quality corn. Every year he won the award for the best grown corn. One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something interesting about how he grew it. The reporter discovered that the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors. “How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” the reporter asked.

“Why sir,” said the farmer, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I am to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors grow good corn.”

So is it with our lives… Those who want to live meaningfully and well can choose to help enrich the lives of others, for the value of a life is measured by the lives it touches. And those who choose to be happy can help others find happiness, for the welfare of each is bound up with the welfare of all…
-Call it the power of collectivity…
-Call it a principle of success…
-Call it a law of life.
The fact is, none of us truly wins, until we all win!!

Today I will do all I can to create a beautiful, valuable, enriching, internal environment with the goal in mind to practice growing and expanding that daily, until my outer, physical, world catches up with that internal environment.  I will always strive to be the best version of myself I can be, and inspire, empower, and help others to do the same.  I will remember the lesson of cross-pollination, and I will remember that we are all one.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

My wife, Carla, is a huge supporter of the idea of empowering children to do everything they can possibly do for themselves, and I love her for it.  It has helped me to become a better father to my children.

There are so many “secrets” to raising successful children.  If our only purpose as parents is to ensure our children grow up to be good, kind, contributing, strong, self-sufficient adults, then what are the best, tried and true ways, to do this?

One thing that I think is important for us to teach children is the importance of trying and never quitting.  I think it is KEY to let them know that failure, making mistakes, and losing, is not only an option, but extremely important in the learning process.  It is ultimately okay and perfectly acceptable and normal to fail and make mistakes along the way, but it is never okay to give up and to quit.  Failing, making mistakes, and losing,  and then learning from it, is a part of life, and an opportunity to optimize who we are and grow.  Giving up and quitting is a part of an inner death, and how we stop growing.

One thing we can learn from Deepak Chopra is that it is important to tell our children is:

“I will never pay your bills, support you financially, or give you expensive gifts; however, as long as I am alive, you will never go hungry.” 

I think that instilling within our children the ideas of self-sufficiency from a young age is important.  It’s not something we want to spring upon them later in life.  We don’t want such ideas to be a surprise.  It is useful to teach them to work for what they want, instead of expecting everything they want to be handed to them.  This instills within them the knowledge and expectation from a young age that if they want something, they need to get out there and earn it.  If they never learn how to do this, they will become discouraged, frustrated, and bitter, later in life.  They may get stuck in a Victim State, blaming everyone but themselves for their failures and misfortunes.  Wouldn’t we, as loving parents, rather see them fail when they are younger in small ways and learn their lessons, rather than when they are older, with dependents of their own, and watch them fail in some pretty big ways, becoming more dependent on us as parents, and feeling hopeless and nihilistic?

It is helpful and empowering to be allowed to fail, learn, and acquire the necessary skills to deal and cope with it at a younger age, while in an environment of unconditional love and acceptance.  Building emotional fortitude early is much more useful early on in life.  When we, as parents, rush ahead of our children and brush away all the difficulties, challenges, and learning experiences in our children’s path, with the best of intent, we can sometimes cause them more harm than good.  We take away much-needed opportunities for learning, growth, and personal improvements.

What are some other lessons that you think are important to start teaching our children at a younger age so that they will be more successful and able to contribute and be self-sufficient later in life?

The 5th Rule in the book, THE 12 RULES FOR LIFE, by Jordan Peterson, contains information on parenting I wish I had come across MUCH earlier in life.  I highly recommend buying the audiobook and listening to it OFTEN.

Today I will allow others to learn and grow instead of taking those opportunities from them.  I will choose to not do things for others that they are capable of doing for themselves.  I will reflect on what I have learned, how I have grown and become better, and realize the value these opportunities afforded me in my own life.

We, as parents, ALWAYS do our very best.  The teachings of Ram Dass have empowered me to love, accept, appreciate, and allow myself and others to simply BE what they are without judgement or criticism, more and more.

Teaching our children the art of VISUALIZATION is massively impactful.  John Earl Shoaff was a master at this art.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.

We become what we think about.  That has been a well-established belief now, for centuries, and has been proven many times over, throughout the years.  The way we talk to ourselves, the way we treat ourselves, and the stories we tell ourselves and others, is self-narrative.  It is among the most important things we can focus on.  Our perspectives, beliefs, and habits-ALL of which are developed in the early years of childhood, play an integral role in developing our self-narrative.  As we grow, evolve, learn, and develop, our perspective, beliefs, and habits can improve, and so does our self-narrative, along with our personal story we tell others.

The idea is to constantly upgrade and up-level the beliefs we have about ourselves.

The belief system, personal philosophy, habits we have, and the mindset we currently practice, can be changed, upgraded, or even replaced entirely.

ALWAYS BE UPGRADING.

The book, PSYCHO-CYBERNETICS, by Maxwell Maltz, is an EXCELLENT source of information surrounding this topic, and explains in detail the limitless possibilities of upgrading self narrative, and why it is so important.  I highly recommend this book!

The words, “I AM,” are a creation.  The quality of the words we use to habitually and repeatedly describe ourselves will dictate the quality of the enjoyment and fulfillment we experience every day.

It has been taught for decades by Dr. Bruce Lipton that the most effective way to up-level ANY apart of our lives-ESPECIALLY self-narrative and beliefs, is through repetition.  WHATEVER we repeatedly tell ourselves, our subconscious believes, and immediately begins to seek out all circumstances, situations, people, and things to make our thoughts and beliefs a reality for us.  Some people call it Confirmation Bias, but really it is just the Reticular Activation System at work.

ANY content I have listened to involving Dr. Bruce Lipton, has been empowering, useful, and pivotal, in the self-recreation process that I have been involved in since 2014.

On the YouTube show, Impact Theory, there is an interview featuring AJ Hawk. Through the incredible story he tells, it becomes incredibly clear just how important self-narrative is.  Watching the entire interview is well worth it, but at 38 minutes and 40 seconds into this interview, Tom describes how the self-narrative he had throughout his younger, inexperienced life, was his downfall.  He then explains how he changed it, in order to ensure future success for the rest of his life, during which he and his wife created a business and sold it for ONE BILLION DOLLARS.  The information is incredibly useful.

That which we consistently focus on grows and expands.  This is due to a little device installed in our brains called the RAS (Reticular Activating System.)

When we look to others to create our Self Image, and listen to either “good” or “bad” feedback and use it to define who we are, we give away our power.  Once I realized I was depending upon OTHERS for approval, acceptance, love, and appreciation to feel good, I set an alarm to go off on my phone at the end of each day as a reminder to ask this question of myself: What do you appreciate about yourself today?  EVERYTHING we need and are searching for is ALREADY INSIDE US.

Once I began practicing appreciating MYSELF, I no longer had the need to seek out approval or appreciation from OTHERS.  It was life-altering.

When we decide to take back our power and practice appreciating, loving, and accepting OURSELVES, NOTHING that others say or do can have an effect upon us or control us unless we allow it to.  We literally become the creators of our own reality, no longer allowing others to dictate the quality of our reality for us.

Today I will review my own self-narrative, and decide if the beliefs I have and the things I tell myself all day, every day, are benefiting me and others in my life, or not.  Anything that does not benefit me, I will change into something that does.  By doing so, I know I will add value to myself and others, and contribute to the success of not just my own life, but to the lives of those around me.

The biggest flex, the most AWESOME upgrade in self narrative we can make, is when we realize and remember WHAT we TRULY are, as we continue to do the work necessary to consistently upgrade the WHO WE IDENTIFY AS while in this human form.  We are individuated packets of GOD PARTICLES, temporarily incarnated into a physical body for a human experience.  To self identify in THIS way allows and empowers us to interact on a whole new, divine level, operating from a place of unconditional love, acceptance, and beauty.

“I don’t see you as bad.  I don’t see you as GOOD.  I SEE YOU AS GOD.”

If you are unhappy, feeling unfulfilled, depressed, suicidal, despondent, or feeling nihilistic, RIGHT NOW, I am glad for you.  THIS IS A GIFT.  May you drown in the dark depths of your sorrow, and be brought back to life through the resuscitation of DESIRE-the desire to up-level EVERY aspect of “self,” acquire new beliefs, skills, strategies, and practices to cope with what is yet to come, and perspectives that constantly shift and upgrade, empowering you to be the creator of YOUR perfect life, the one you have only seemed to envision, so far, yet are and always have been 100% capable of creating internally and projecting outwardly.

FEEL IT ALL, then LET IT GO.  It’s time to expand into a greater version of you.  You know what you have to do.  Get to it, and stop distracting yourself with pleasure and ease.  Roll up your damn sleeves and get messy.  You are sure to bleed and to hurt, but you’ll get stronger, better, faster, and wiser in the process.  Love yourself enough and remember your true value enough to tolerate and allow self-sabotage NO MORE.

Here are some other interviews that include useful information, and have the capability to empower anyone to upgrade their own self narrative.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  Follow me there, as well, for daily messages, inspiration, motivation, and reminders.  Please pay it forward, and share this, and ANY message, which may empower someone you love or may care about.  It is through adding value to others by sharing and spreading wisdom, that we become more valuable as individuals, and collectively, as a whole, we all become wiser.

Remember:  Mindset matters.  Character counts.  That which we choose to consistently focus on is what EXPANDS in our lives.  WE CREATE our realities.