Author: Pete Jones

Ram Dass once shared the most beautiful answer I have ever heard to the question, “How do we better love ourselves.”  To experience this content, which is only 10 minutes, type this into the YouTube search engine: Ram Dass how to love yourself.

There are many areas of our lives where we have the opportunities to improve.  Accepting and appreciating ourselves exactly as we are is SO INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT in our daily lives.  Wanting to be better at something than we were yesterday by doing something better than we did yesterday is a great goal!  There is always room for improvement, in every area of our lives.  If we WANT more, we can learn to DO more to get it, but in my opinion, we can never BE more than what we TRULY ARE, as a divine, eternal, vibrational energy.

I think that to truly accept and appreciate ourselves, we can choose to remember WHAT we are (pure light, love, and energy) while we work on continuously upgrading the WHO we are, or The Self we identify as and work so hard to create while in this physical body.  When we remember that we are DIETY in disguise, and that we are a perfected being, merely temporarily inhabiting and animating this physical body, which we will soon shed, it becomes much easier to accept and appreciate ourselves, while we work hard at the improvements available to us in this lifetime, while we are still in this body.

The beauty to Self-love and Self-acceptance is that when this practice becomes a habit, we are able to let go and live and accept everyone and everything, everywhere.

Optimization of the enjoyment of this personal and unique life experience is a GREAT reason to strive to do more and to have more.  The more we have, the more we can give.  The more abundantly we live, the more we can contribute.  The more we give away, or let go of, the more space is created for us to receive what we are truly meant to have.

As Melody Beattie teaches, 

LETTING GO is the action part of faith.  It gives God and the Universe permission to give us what we are truly meant to have.

I found that the most useful advice, to improve in ANY area of life the quickest, is to BE LOVE, while intentionally and consistently DOING more, and DOING better.

If we desire to improve, these are some areas we can take the opportunity to improve in:

• Spirituality 
• Finances
• Personal Character
• Emotions
• Education
• Physical Up-leveling and improvements
• Socially 

In order to improve in any of these areas of our lives, the knowledge how to may be simple, but the necessary process may take time, consistency, and patience.  Being patient and accepting of ourselves along the way is useful.

Visualize:  We can imagine what it will look like, feel like, and be like when we have already improved in the area we want to work on.  Being able to envision the improvements as if we are already experiencing them and living in that moment is magical.  We literally begin to vibrate at that frequency, and all things that vibrate on that frequency are then attracted to us.  We begin to change physically, hormonally, and chemically, as we become that person in our minds.

The practice of visualization will instantly create feelings, resulting in a cascade of chemicals and hormones to be injected into our blood stream.  Within TWO pumps of the heart, this blood carries this new set of chemicals and hormones to over 80,000 MILES of blood vessels throughout our bodies!

We become what we consistently think and feel about.  Everything is made of energy.  Our outer, physical world easily and quickly reacts to always keep up with the vibrational frequency we create internally through the thoughts we think and the feelings we feel.

EVERY THOUGHT IS A CREATION.  REPETITIVE, CONSISTENT THOUGHTS AND THAT WHICH WE CONSISTENTLY VISUALIZE SOON BECOME OUR REALITY.  We are creators.

Bombarding our brains with an overabundance of content that SERVES and EMPOWERS us is magical.  We become alchemists, able to transform baser things within ourselves into incredible, highly valuable, beautiful, useful materials, within this physical realm.

Break It Down:  We can decide what it will take for us to become and acquire what we visualize.  It is highly effective to break it down into easy-to-accomplish daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks.  Remember:  A good day becomes a good week.  A few good weeks become a good month.  A few good months become a good year.  A few good years becomes a good life.  It all starts with today.

Observing or recognizing an end goal and then reverse-engineering the process down to daily tasks is HIGHLY effective.

Here are some helpful, empowering things I have learned to do, which have been practiced for centuries by highly successful, healthy, happy, abundant people, all over the world.  Years ago, I began to research people I considered to be DOING better than me, LIVING better than me, with better, more useful daily habits and practices than me.  I wanted to find out if there was a common, golden thread that ran through all of their lives.  I wanted to know if they were DOING something differently and consistently that was empowering ALL of them to live at such a different level.  This is what I found.  This is what I remind myself of, often:

• Make repetitive, daily tasks easy, bite-size, and manageable.  Make it fun.  Set yourself up for success by making it easy at first and by Setting The Bar Low.  Make sure this is something which propels you towards achieving your goal.  Remember that small, daily improvements over time lead to stunning results, and creates a momentum that is energizing.
• Do just one thing consistently each week that will help you work towards your goal.  Make this task more challenging than your daily tasks, even if the weekly task is simply looking back on the week at what was accomplished and what may be improved upon in the coming week.  Awareness is helpful, and consistency is KEY.
• Each month, re-visit your list of daily and weekly items and revise them in any way necessary that may be needed to make even better use of your time.
• Each year it is important to do something big, ceremonial, or memorable, to commemorate and celebrate what you have been doing daily, weekly, and monthly to work towards improvement on what you have been working on.  Maybe as part of a weekly or monthly task you want to put money aside and save for a big, yearly vacation to celebrate your successes.

Look back and see how far you have come.  Be proud!  Realize and recognize the work you have done and the efforts you have put towards your accomplishments.  Re-double your efforts!  If it is working, keep going.  If the plan needs to be revised or improved, do that and see how that works for you.

Keep it super simple.  Work hard, and play hard.  Keep going.  Keep doing what you are doing.  Take control of every aspect of your life.  You are in charge of your progression.  You are in charge of saving and helping yourself.  It is nobody else’s responsibility to save or help you in any way.  You are in charge of creating the best possible version of yourself you can possibly create.  Become the person you would want to attract, by BEING that person.  Become the person you and your loved ones deserve and will enjoy and benefit from, by acquiring new skill sets, consistently working towards your personal goals, and earning what you want.

Today I will decide one area I would like to improve in and I will make a written list of daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly tasks to complete in order to accomplish exactly what I want to.

 

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

At work, we have permanent employees and we have temporary employees.  Everyone has the same tasks to accomplish.  Everyone works hard and adds value to their team.  Everyone in our work place adds MUCH more value than they are compensated for.  In my opinion, everyone who works where I work deserves more than they are getting.

One of the many nice things about being a permanent employee where I work is the bonus program.  After the first of each year, each permanent employee gets a bonus, in addition to their normal pay, based on their performance for the previous year.  My wife’s team had four people who are temporary employees.  They didn’t get a bonus.  She mentioned to one of the guys that years ago, while working on the team she was on, all of the permanent employees decided to put some money into a hat and come up with their own bonus plan for her, as she was the only one on her team who didn’t get a bonus, even though she was working just as hard as everyone else, and had been there a few years.  The others on the team felt it was unfair for her to work as hard as them but not be rewarded in a similar fashion.

When she told him about this, this guy on her team thought it was a good idea.  He was inspired and motivated by the fact that in his nine years as a temporary employee, nobody ever did anything like that for him.  He was now a permanent employee.

He took action.  He rallied the troops.  Everyone on the team who was a permanent employee chipped in and they came up with $200.  Each of the temporary employees were given $50.

How do you think those temporary employees felt?  How do you think they reacted?  That team is known for being more like a family than a work team.  It is because of doing things like this that trust and deep connection is fostered, respect is earned and given, and the work environment is within OUR control.

We are 100% responsible for the inner reality we create, then project into the physical world we inhabit. This life is a canvas we paint upon with our minds to manifest the realities we live and interact within.

ACTIONS CREATE FEELINGS, AND FEELINGS CREATE ACTIONS

Today I will use my thoughts and intentions to take action towards helping someone else in some way.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

https://youtu.be/mW5nrH9NTlY

I have found that, for me, EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING is the best kind of learning.

Inconsistency teaches us the need for consistency.  Stress teaches us the luxury of relaxation, stillness , and peace.  Difficulties teach us how to appreciate a life of ease.  Suffering through poverty allows us to enjoy riches more fully.  Chaos teaches us the importance of organized, intentional calmness.  Experiencing contrasts teaches us what we do and don’t want MORE of, then it is up to US to figure out how to most effectively create it.

Difficult experiences because of complexity allows us to enjoy simplicity.  Struggle because of weakness allows us to desire, earn, and enjoy strength.  A lack of education leads us to appreciate, more fully, a life with an education.  A poor wage allows us to learn the value of earning and receiving a better wage.  Experiencing sadness helps us to value the happy moments, either of which we can re-live at any time we choose simply by thinking about it.

 

Without the bad, the good would be mundane.  We would not value and appreciate the good nearly as much.  Familiarity breeds contempt.

ALL of our experiences are for our benefit.  ALL of our experiences are a blessing, meant to teach us, help us, and empower us to learn, change, grow, experience life more fully, and progress.  All of our experiences are in place in this life to help us continuously UPGRADE.  Everything is unfolding for us as it is supposed to, for our benefit.  It is entirely up to us as to how quickly that progression takes place.

THE UNIVERSE WAS DESIGNED FROM THE BEGINNING TO CONSPIRE ON OUR BEHALF.  EVERYTHING HAPPENING TO US IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING FOR US.

I often wonder why, when I wake up at the same hour, do the same things, enjoy a healthy, nutritional, similar diet, keep the same exercise schedule, and enjoy the same bed time each night, why I don’t feel the same, exact way every day.  I try to strive for the comfort and benefits of consistency in my emotions, each day.  Then I realize that I don’t want to feel the same way every day.  I do want to enjoy the benefits of consistently working hard at becoming a better version of myself each day through these practices, but I don’t want to feel the same exact way each day.  Noticeable improvements have been enjoyed because of these consistent practices, but chemically, hormonally, and physically, I thought I would feel exactly the same way, every day.  I don’t, and I thought I was supposed to, but when I shed that belief and began simply accepting myself and how I feel in each moment, life became much more enjoyable.

It’s okay to have feelings and be moody…these things signify a possible awakening, or a further awakening, as described in this YouTube video, called, THE 6 LIFE-CHANGING STAGES OF SPIRITUAL AWAKENING.

https://youtu.be/ZAlrKsMf9C4

Chemically, hormonally, and physically, we weren’t designed to feel the same, exact way, each and every day.  I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t benefit us as much as all of the different, altered states do.

Life is full of ups and downs.  It is helpful to learn to accept them instead of trying to control them.  We can learn to be grateful for the ups and downs instead of despising them.  We can do our best to enjoy the experience of them each day instead of being frustrated by them.  I think it is important to learn to make the most of each moment and each interaction, instead of letting the many distractions of life take control of our minds, or trying to control it all.

Being grateful for each moment, and remaining fully present, I think, is the most efficient way to enjoy this life more fully.

“Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” -Melody Beattie.

Today I will accept the ups and downs, the highs and lows, the goods and the bads.  I will remember that all things in this life are for my benefit, learning, and progress.  I will remember to always be grateful for my life experiences.  ALL of them.  I will use what I learn from my experiences to UPGRADE.

 

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

Sometimes we can get so wrapped up in our own thoughts and problems that it becomes a pattern.  It becomes a habit to think only of ourselves.  It becomes habitual to only think of all the problems, difficulties, and challenges of our personal lives.  It can be overwhelming. 

This habit has the potential to overtake us entirely.  It causes stress, illness, anxiety, depression, extreme hopelessness, and can lead to thoughts of suicide, simply to escape the growing, unbearable suffering. 

This habit has the potential to completely destroy us, our relationships, the ones we love, and eventually our entire lives, through addictions we choose to distract us from the reality we believe is causing all the suffering.  How can we stop this pattern?  What can we begin to do that will help us get out of our own heads?  What are some daily, consistent habits that we can adopt that will empower us to begin to heal and to get stronger, get wiser, and get better?

We must get good in the head, or we’re dead.  But how?  Where do we start?

Gratitude:

Gratitude is the key to starting this transformative process.  Starting each day thinking of all we have to be grateful for kick-starts a process which will literally be able to be likened unto the alchemist, who desires to magically transform matter into gold.  Because of neuroplasticity, our habitual, repeated thought patterns will literally alter the shape and structure of our brains.  The neurons that fire together wire together, and starting each day with thoughts of gratitude and thinking about all of the many, particular and exact things we have to be grateful for will literally transform matter and our lives into something even MORE precious than gold.  

It is our responsibility to be the emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical alchemists of our own lives.  It is nobody else’s job to do for us that which we can do for ourselves.

Gratitude is the key to unlocking miracles in our lives.

Empathy:

Once we are in the habit of daily, consistent gratitude, the next important step is getting into the head of another.  The more we do to empower others to heal themselves, the more quickly we heal.  Seeking out situations each day to connect with and add value to the lives of others is life-altering.  Being able to step into the shoes of another, imagine what it would be like to live their life, go through their challenges, and feel what they are feeling, and then practice and show unconditional acceptance, love, kindness, and empathy towards them, regardless of what they look like or what their individual suffering may have caused them to do, causes within us an incredible transformation.

“Plant a tree who’s shade you never plan to sit under.” – Jay Shetty

Intent:

All things are made up of energy.  We all know that what we put out into the world comes back to us.  If we put out the energy of gratitude, we have more to be grateful for.  If we put out the energy of kindness, we recognize a heightened level of kindness being returned unto us.  The same is true with anger, malice, spite, hatred, and jealousy.  We get what we give.  

An incredibly empowering practice I learned from Brendon Burchard about INTENTION, and quickly implemented into each of my days, is to set a timer to go off each hour.  Every time it goes off, recommit to, and refocus on, just the next hour, where ever you may be.  It only takes two minutes.  I challenge you to try this practice for just three days.  I can assure you, from personal experience, that it will work wonders for you.  If, after three days, you agree with me, I challenge you to make this practice a part of your new and ever-evolving lifestyle.  This is how:

1-Breath in deeply for four seconds, fully expanding your lungs, then hold it for four seconds.  Breath out for four seconds, fully emptying your lungs, then hold it for four seconds.  Do this Three times.

2-As you are completing the deep-breathing exercises, stretch your neck, shoulders, legs, arms, or any other body part that is feeling tight.  This quickly gets newly oxygenated blood to your entire body, empowering you to be more productive than if you hadn’t completed this simple, two-minute practice.

3-Close your eyes for a moment and re-ground, re-center, and re-focus.  Set three intentions for how you want to show up and live the next hour of your life on purpose.  These intentions will be repeated each hour, each day, for at least a week, before they are changed or upgraded.  Here are a few examples of intentions I have set:

• For the next hour I will work with the highest level of integrity I can, producing only quality work.
• For the next hour I will practice having only positive communications with my co-workers, remembering to compliment, encourage, and inspire others regularly and honestly, rather than choosing to criticize or condemn.
• For the next hour I will vibrate on a higher frequency and operate on a higher energy level.
• For the next hour I will remember to NOT complain about anything.
• For the next hour I will be a positive impact to the people around me. I will choose to only influence others in a positive manner.
• For the next hour I will remain in total control of my thoughts and emotions, staying grounded, centered, stable, and strong.

 

Service:

I have never met a person I couldn’t learn SOMETHING from.  Doing things for others and practicing random acts of kindness is also key to getting out of our own heads.  When our focus turns to thoughts and acts of service towards others, and how to better connect and learn with and from others, we no longer have time to focus on ourselves.  For this reason, I am particularly grateful for my three sons.  At my most difficult times in my life, I was blessed to have them to think about, teach, learn from, and help.  I was blessed to have them to care for, and because of them I was sort of forced, in a way, to get out of my own head in order to serve them.  This saved me.  In my darkest times, when I truly wanted to end it all, so the suffering would stop, the belief that they needed me kept me going.  The more we do for others, the less concerned about ourselves we become.  For many of us, this is a great opportunity and blessing.  It serves as a purposeful and healthy distraction.

Have you ever heard of, “Helper’s High?”  It is the name for the positive emotional state some people experience after providing help to others. Studies have shown that helping others can produce feelings of happiness and can activate reward centers of the brain just like food or drugs.  Helping others literally alters our physical, mental, chemical, and hormonal states.

Today I will practice getting out of my own head by practicing gratitude, empathy, positive intent, and by serving others.  I know that by doing these things, I will be living my life intentionally, in a way that will heal myself and others.  I will be empowering myself through action. 

The book SOLVE FOR HAPPY, by Mo Gawdat, offers an EXCELLENT assortment of possible perspectives shifts that may result in happiness for you, RIGHT NOW.  I challenge you to purchase this book NOW, and read or listen to it ASAP.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

Though we can learn from, and be grateful for, both friends and enemies in our lives, isn’t it just more enjoyable to have more friends than enemies?

It is difficult for some of us to make friends.  Making enemies is easy.  I’ve noticed that when I do the difficult things in life, they become easier as I acquire skills that empower me to habitually behave in stronger, wiser, and better ways.

Simon Sinek teaches, “Together is better.”  We are all in this life thing together.  Life becomes more manageable, enjoyable, fulfilling, purpose-filled, and meaningful, when we work together towards a common goal, rather than working against one another.  Life is better when we add value to our own lives and even better when we add value to the lives of others.  Life is more fulfilling when we are capable of connecting with others on a deep level, finding similarities and common interests between ourselves and others that creates a bond.

WE ARE ALL FAR MORE SIMILAR THAN WE ARE DIFFERENT.

Wayne Dyer teaches that ANYONE who has the ability to trigger us, causing any type of an overreaction within us, is to be considered a SOUL MATE.  At first, I fought the idea, but after listening to his explanation, and adopting his definition, I had to agree that this way to perceive others who cause within me anger, frustration, bitterness, or resentment-as a SOUL MATE, or someone who is actually helping me to discover and do the difficult work I still need to do within, was INCREDIBLY useful.

At first, making friends may seem difficult or foreign to us; however, doing so every chance we get will consistently and continuously create a support system for ourselves and everyone around us.  Making friends can and will lessen the level of stress we live with, and make our lives more manageable, enjoyable, fulfilling, and meaningful.  I think we will be happier! 

It’s worth it to create within our hearts and minds an environment of acceptance, empathy, love, and kindness, ESPECIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO OURSELVES.  
We interact with others in the same ways we interact with our self.

Why have enemies when we can have friends?  Friends can and will enrich our lives in more ways than an enemy will ever be able to.  Winning quality people over from enemy to friend has many benefits.

It is helpful to also be wise.  Not everyone needs to be, or should be, a friend. 

While everyone has something to teach us and has the potential to add value to our lives in some way, we would be wise to remember to spend the majority of our time around supportive, encouraging people who do just that, rather than those who desire to tear us down, criticize us constantly, and have no desire to treat us or anyone else with kindness.

The most helpful text, which is now also on audio book, I have come across on interpersonal communication and building long-lasting, deep, meaningful relationships is, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”  It was written decades ago by Dale Carnegie.  Even though the stories are old and the author dead and gone, the wisdom contained in this book will benefit those who take the opportunity to read it, forever.  The knowledge and wisdom contained in this book forever altered the way I look at myself and others, and created within me the need and the ability to quickly and easily connect with others.

Today I will do some thinking and some research, and decide on what exactly I can consistently do to create an environment in which I can make and maintain more friendships and learn how to better connect with others on a deeper, more meaningful level.  I will remember that to have great friends, I must first be a great friend.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

When deciding what to do with the rest of our life, or what we want to become, and how we want to evolve, we need to ask ourselves the right questions.

I have heard many times, from people FAR smarter and more successful than me that the question shouldn’t be, “Do I want this particular end result?”

The question we can ask instead is, “Do I want this particular process which will end in the result I desire.”

If we can love the process, the habits, the daily and consistent path, and the work which will lead us to the end result we desire, we are on the right track.

Many people want to be a millionaire or a billionaire.  Not everyone really wants the lifestyle, the work, and sacrifice which goes along with becoming financially wealthy and remaining financially wealthy.

Many people would like to become spiritually enlightened and happy in their soul.  Not everyone is willing to consistently study, learn about, and read about the enlightened ones in order to know what the process actually is.  Not everyone is willing to listen to enlightened teachers and mentors, or pray or meditate habitually and consistently, adhering to these practices for YEARS, to experience that result.  Not everyone is willing to do what it takes to become enlightened.

Many people desire to become popular, well-known, accomplished musicians, but are not willing to put in eight hours of practice daily, play gigs for free, and keep at it for 20 or more years to create the lifestyle and career they desire, allowing for the possibility of no success at all.

Instant gratification has become the new lifestyle, habit, practice, and expectation, but I think it is important for all of us to remember that it is a rare thing to become an overnight success without struggle and a definite growth process.

It is the process I think we need to fall in love with and enjoy-not the end result.  Otherwise, once we have made it, we will not MAINTAIN it.

Accomplishing a goal is a beautiful thing, but the true beauty and benefit is what we learn, attain, acquire, become, and create, during the work and struggle it takes in the accomplishment of the goal.

It has been said that if you took all the wealth in the world and distributed it evenly throughout the entire population, within a short time the money would be right back where it was-in the pockets of the ones who were wealthy before.  The poor would be poor again and the wealthy would be wealthy again.  This is no accident.

It all starts with mindset, beliefs, perspectives, consistent and. habituated patterns, personal practices, and attitude.  In order to HAVE more in this human experience, we must DO that which will result in having what is directly correlated to that which we want to have more of.  

My personal belief is that we can never BE more.  Each of us is a perfect masterpiece-a being of light, love, and energy, a fractal of Source Energy ITSELF, inserted into this temporary, physical, human body.  But to HAVE more, we can learn how to DO more, using this body we inhabit as a TOOL.  All we will ever need is already within us.  We ALREADY ARE all that we could ever desire to become.  The trick it to align with our true identity, remain in alignment through thinking and feeling good, and to JUST BE.  LETTING GO is how we create most beautifully.  The Universe was designed from the beginning to conspire on our behalf, and it will, if we let it.

Today I will look at my daily habits and routines and remember this is the process which will lead me into the life I will be living years from now.  I will start to live the life I want someday, today.

These are a few of the most helpful videos I have come across that have taught me and reminded me of these things, which have helped me the most.  I hope that you get from them what you need to ignite a fire within that will carry you through some of the difficult times as you work towards what you want to be more of, in order to help yourself and empower and inspire those around you, while enjoying the process all along the way.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

My son and I came home from a hike one day.  We were famished and exhausted!  We searched the refrigerator for something to eat.  We found a package of salami and cheese.  They were all stacked and sticking together.  As I held out the container with the cheese in it, he tried to peel off the first slice of cheese from all the other slices.  He tried over and over.  We were exhausted from the hike, so it took longer than it normally would have.  After about the tenth try, we were starting to laugh in frustration, and I yelled, “Commit!”  Immediately, he knew exactly what I meant.  He rolled up his sleeves in a dramatic show of commitment and dove in with both hands, and with an exaggerated look of determination he picked up the entire row of sliced, square cheese bits, and while he held the row with one hand, he peeled off the top slice with his other hand.  He raised the piece of cheese into the air in triumph as we both cheered.

When we are committed to something, we know it.  Other people around us know it.  We aren’t “trying” to do the thing we are committed to, because we all know that trying is lying, a way of letting ourselves off the hook.  We go all-out to do the thing we are committed to accomplishing.  We give it our all!  We roll up our sleeves, dive in with both hands, and make it happen.

A friend of mine once told me that his father always taught him that if he was doing ANYTHING, as long as he was giving it his all, committing to it fully, and giving an honest 100%, he would feel happy and fulfilled, creating a useful life habit.  He took this to heart, and accomplished many great things in his life.

In a relationship, with an education, with a goal, with a work out, or with learning a new and useful skill, if we are committed to it, it shows.  We work harder, longer, faster, and more consistently than we would if we were just trying something out for the fun of it.  We know if we are “all in” or not.

Today I will figure out what it is I want to be committed to and I will prove it through my actions.  I will go all-out.  I will decide to be “all in”.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

Pleasure and pain are both a big part of all of our lives.  Most of us run towards pleasure and run away from pain.  Seems like a smart thing to do, right?

Some of us endure pain in our younger years and put off the pleasure of instant gratification for a greater reward, that may or may not come until years later.  Some of us want instant and continuous pleasure, all of the time, and we seem to always give in to the temptation of instant gratification.  Years later, we realize that if we had suffered through just a little more pain of discipline, sacrifice, and consistent hard work, instead of giving in to instant gratification for the immediate pleasures, at all times, our lives would now be full of much more pleasure of a much higher quality.

Take schooling, for example:  Years ago I had the opportunity to go to college.  I chose not to, because it was difficult, time-consuming, frustrating, and not very pleasurable.  I was a single father and didn’t want to miss out on time with my three sons while they were in their younger years.  Yes, I had every great excuse in the book.  Years later, here I am making a pitiful wage while working my tail off for a company which believes I am easily replaceable, and the truth is, I am.  Had I done the work to get a higher education all those years ago, it is highly likely I would be in another place in my life, making more money, living a more pleasurable life, adding more value to everyone, having become even  more valuable in my human state.

I have no regrets, however, and am proud to say I was always there for my sons.  My life has unfolded BEAUTIFULLY, and I have realized that it is NEVER too late to become stronger, wiser, or better at ANYTHING.

When we choose to accept 100% responsibility for EVERYTHING in our lives, we can no longer remain a victim to circumstances, and we realize and remember that we are the creators and projectors of our personal realities.  This is INCREDIBLY empowering.

I am grateful for the job I now have and for the life I have lived with my three sons.  I accept full responsibility for my decisions and I know that I could have made different decisions for a different outcome.  I am incredibly excited about the future.  IT IS NEVER TO LATE TO UPGRADE.

Each choice we make, or don’t, causes us pleasure or pain.  The interesting thing is that THE WAY WE PERCEIVE OF AND DEFINE THINGS is what causes us pleasure or pain.  Every result in every moment of life and how we define ALL of it is the feedback of life to be used for personal adjustments and recalibration.

Have you ever heard of The Marshmallow Test?

Today I will ask myself questions before I rush into decisions:  Is the choice I am making going to cause me and those around me more pleasure or pain now and later in my life.

Here is a four minute video, quickly describing what the Marshmallow Test is:

 

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.

With frustration, most of us have screamed this question into the skies above:  “What do I do?!”

Many of us spend most of our early lives trying to decide what to be when we, “grow up.”  There are others of us who just choose to never grow up.  Some of us do what we have to do to pay the bills and support ourselves and the ones we love financially, never making the time or even having the time to realize our financial potential.  Some of us don’t realize what we love doing until we are exposed to it later in life, and that is perfectly fine.  There is nothing wrong with any of these things!  These things are all a natural part of life.

This life, and each day we live it, is a blessing.  Every day we wake up is a new opportunity for growth, change, experiential learning, and enjoyment!

I believe the most important thing is that we are doing the best we can, at all times.  Why?

PROGRESS EQUALS HAPPINESS, and when we consistently do our best, our best consistently gets better.

Jay Shetty has come up with a few helpful, effective questions:

1. What do I love?
2. What am I good at?
3. What does the world need, in relation to what I love and what I am good at?
4. How can I make money at it?

Today I will ask myself these questions, ponder and think about the answers, and decide what daily habits to create and what consistent action(s) to take that will eventually lead me to making money doing something I love, that I am good at, and that is needed.  I will ALWAYS do my best, knowing my best will keep getting even better.

Watch some of Jay Shetty’s content here.

While seeking balance, I will remember:

Friends going through difficulties, family members who are feeling challenged, and we, when we are going through difficult, dark times-we ALL need each other. We are ALL connected, because of WHAT we are inside-LOVE. We are perfection, just as we are. We are DIETY in disguise. We are PURE LOVE, encapsulated in an imperfect human body, living an imperfect human life, all the while trying to remember WHAT we are while we work on the WHO we are that we identify as while in this human body.

Remember: The greater the pain, and the darker the times, the greater the awakening. Our pain makes us USEFUL to others. We are all here for one another. Keep on keeping on…

As I do my best, I will also remember Melody Beattie’s advice, from July 29th of her book, THE LANGUAGE OF LETTING GO:

Have Some Fun

Have some fun. Loosen up a bit. Enjoy life!

We do not have to be so somber and serious. We do not have to be so reflective, so critical, so bound up within the rigid parameters others, and often ourselves, have placed around us.

This is life, not a funeral service. Have some fun with it. Enter into it. Participate. Experiment. Take a risk. Be spontaneous. Do not always be so concerned about doing it right, doing the appropriate thing.

Do not always be so concerned about what others will think or say. What they think and say are their issues not ours. Do not be so afraid of making a mistake. Do not be so fearful and proper. Do not inhibit yourself so much.

God did not intend us to be so inhibited, so restricted, so controlled. These repressive parameters are what other people have imposed on us, what we have allowed to be done to us.

We were created fully human. We were given emotions, desires, hopes, dreams, and feelings. There is an alive, excited, fun loving child in us somewhere! Let it come out! Let it come alive! Let it have some fun – not just for two hours on Saturday evening. Bring it with us. Let it help us enjoy this gift of being alive, being fully human, and being who we are!

So many rules. So much shame we’ve lived with. It simply isn’t necessary. We have been brainwashed. It is time now to free ourselves, let ourselves go, and enter fully human into a full life.

Don’t worry. We will learn our lessons when necessary. We have learned discipline. We will not go awry. What will happen is that we will begin enjoying life. We will begin enjoying and experiencing our whole self. We can trust ourselves. We have boundaries now. We have our program for a foundation. We can afford to experiment and experience. We are in touch with our Higher Power and ourselves. We are being guided, but a frozen, inanimate object cannot be guided. it cannot even be moved.

Have some fun. Loosen up a bit. Break a few rules. God won’t punish us. We do not have to allow people to punish us. And we can stop punishing ourselves. As long as we’re here and alive, let’s begin to live.

Today, I will let myself have some fun with life. I will loosen up a bit, knowing I won’t crack and break. God, help me let go of my need to be so inhibited, proper, and repressed. Help me inject a big dose of life into myself by letting myself be fully alive and human.

This excerpt from Melody Beattie’s book, THE LANGUAGE OF LETTING GO, is one of 365, one for each day of the year.  I read the daily messages of this book each day since 2014, and in 2017 was inspired by this book to create MY DAILY PERSPECTIVE SHIFT.  I am grateful for her ideas and teachings that have inspired and empowered me SO MUCH over the years.  Truly, TOGETHER IS BETTER.

goodinthehead is also on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter.  The goodinthehead Podcast can be found on YouTube.  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 personal realities.