“Do not anticipate trouble, or worry about what may never happen. Keep in the sunlight.” – Benjamin Franklin
WARNING: do not read the following sentence.
Yes, this one!
Why did you read it when I asked you not to?
Don’t even think of reading the next line either.
Are you blind? You just did it again. What’s up with you?
Why is it so hard to follow simple instructions?
You’re a grown-up, aren’t you?
Kids are different. You go to the store and make them swear upon their teddy bear’s life not to touch anything. And what do they do? As soon as they get a chance, they start picking up stuff left and right. You tell them not to cross the road and before you know it, they run to the other side of the street. But that’s youthful spontaneity, isn’t it?
What about you? When you tell yourself not to do something, do you do it? Or rather: not do it?
Then why is it so hard not to hear that stupid tune that has totally taken over your brain?
Not bad… I mean… Nice one, Paul.
You got the message, Ernie!
For years my mantra has been “Those things you dwell upon the most will surely come upon you” …thinking it was a quote from Buddha.
Now I know you said it first 😉
Good and valid article, Paul, but for most it is more easily read/said than done.
There’s always next year to narrow one’s focus. 🙂
And wasn’t it the Buddha who said: “The mind is everything. What you think, you become”?
As you could tell from the Patanjali-quote, I’m just trying to give a modern spin on ancient wisdom. In essence, we all know what to do and if we don’t, the information is readily available.
Unfortunately, information has never changed a single life. It’s what we do with it that matters.
The teacher can open the door but the student has to walk in.
My job as a blogger is to send reminders into the world… hoping they will land in fertile soil and eventually bear fruit.
“—I would add to that: “…. sit in a quiet room alone, and do absolutely nothing.””
Or, as the Buddhists say: “Don’t just do something, sit there!”
I love your sense of humor, Dan, and I hope others will explore it too:
http://usinghumor.com/
My question to the Buddhist would be: If we are to practice detachment, are we allowed to sit or is it better for our bodymind, to be unattached and let the spirit roam freely?”
Greetings, Paul! You are a very wise man, and I always look forward to your new articles. This is yet another article that I wish I had written!
I believe nothing is more powerful on earth than the words we think — except for the words we speak! Everything we speak is, of course, first formed in thought. You may not be able to stop the first thought, but you can change the second one to focus on what you want. The words you speak have an energy and life all their own and literally chart the direction of your life.
It’s ultra important to consistenly use language that expresses what you WANT, not what you don’t want. As Wayne Dyer says:
“You can’t get enough of what you don’t want”‘ and
“What you think about expands”.
It does take vigilance to monitor your thoughts and speech, but the results are well worth it — and actually NOTICEABLE — when you can replace ingrained negativity with positive self-talk. It doesn’t happen overnight, but it is the persistence of positive thought that brings about the changes you seek.
I recommend journaling as an excellent way to unplug from the noise of our technological world and spend necessary time in quiet self-reflection. Handwriting the entries rather than typing them on the computer slows you down so that you can hear the guidance you need.
Thanks again for another wonderful and thought-provoking entry!
Cordially,
Karen Commins
http://www.KarenCommins.com
Another Wayne Dyer fan! We are kindred spirits, Karen. You’re right: it’s a good strategy to catch ourselves as we speak, and become aware of how we put our experience into words. Does it empower us or does it hold us back? Are we reactive or proactive? Do we speak out of fear or out of faith?
Ultimately, language itself is not the issue. Language is but a symbolic representation of something much deeper. That’s why it’s so important to get to the root cause (the problem behind the problem) and deal with that.
By the way: your blog post “Beware of 5 Techniques of the “Information Marketer” was excellent.
http://www.blog.karencommins.com/2010/12/beware-of-5-techniques-of-the.html
MOST excellent Paul!
I am most grateful, DC!
Hey Paul;
I fought through my own wall of distraction today and read your whole article and ….glad I did! You caught me in my mental act and brought me up short! It’s not like I don’t know this – but it’s how to dismantle the habits of distraction and negative thinking – the day to day decisions – that affect so many outcomes. I keep telling myself I need to be more disciplined mentally, but really, I think I have an illusion of being able to multi-task to the max – and it’s results in overwhelm, frustration and an increasing pile of important career activity left undone. Thanks for the wake-up call.
Hi Kym,
I think that a lot of people can relate to your experience and wish they were “more disciplined mentally”.
The word “more” is an excellent example of something that -at first- seems quite innocent: “I need to be more disciplined, more focused, more positive” etcetera.
However, the questions is: “Compared to what?” Usually the “what” refers to something we don’t want anymore. Example: “I wish I’d make more money.”
In other words: by using the word more, we’re still secretly focusing on something less than positive. By doing so, we’re giving it energy. It’s like watering the weeds.
I think it would be helpful to describe in detail what “being disciplined” means to you. Why is it important? What specific behavior will you display when you are disciplined? What will you hear, say, feel, do and experience that is absolute evidence of you being mentally disciplined?
If you’re not clear about it, you won’t be able to work toward it, and you won’t have a way to measure your progress. It’s like running a race without a finish line.
Being very specific is also a way to tackle being overwhelmed: break a big task up into manageable pieces. Do them one by one and cross them off the list.
We have a lot on our plates. It’s impossible to eat it all in one bite. It’s unhealthy too. Instead, it’s much better to break things up into bite-size pieces. Our digestive system will thank us for it. Bon apetit!
There are so many preachers of the ‘practice positive thinking’ school today and I love the wisdom. I have to hand it to you, though, Paul. This is the first time I’ve been given a solid reason behind the principle. I’ve been practising – it does indeed take a lot of practise – changing my thought processes. My brain thanks you for giving it a logical reason to do so.
My brain thanks your brain for your positive feedback, Tint. Reading comments like yours is like eating a delicious desert after having prepared a wholesome meal.
There’s another reason why it is so important to focus on what we want. Our body-mind responds just as powerfully to an imagined event as it does to a real event. People who are e.g. afraid of spiders have just as strong of a response to the imagined thing, as to the real thing. To the mind it doesn’t matter.
Sports people have been using visualization techniques with great success. In order for this to be effective, it is essential though, to focus on a positive end result.
We’re no different. We all have our races to run and our games to play. As a man thinketh, so he becomes…
thanks for this great blog Paul. I came across it via the daily VoiceOver paper. I’m a fan of James Allen and Wayne Dyer as well..and also Deepak Chopra, and a few others. I practice the things you mention.
The one that stood out for me was the use of the word “more”. That was really a “light bulb” moment. I’ll be watching my use of that word from now on. Thanks so much for the positive energy, wisdom & love you put into this article!
Stefania
A light bulb moment or a laser beam moment? Just kidding 🙂 We live in a culture of “more”. Some call it the “economic growth model”. Others might interpret it as “ongoing exploitation”.
Our society never seems to be satisfied. We won’t stop until the last rain forest has been sold to lumber liquidators and the oceans are empty and rising. “More” will end up being “Less,” and until we realize what we’re really hungry for, we’ll never be satisfied.
I’m all for increased awareness and personal growth. These are natural resources we can feed and share and strengthen.
I sincerely hope that the next year will be a year of sustainable growth, for mankind and for this fragile planet.
Paul,
I absolutely love this.
The quote, ‘We have nothing to fear, but fear itself’ is something I find myself saying every day. I listen to amazing voice talent all day, and each day, there is always at least 10 that sink themselves out of fear of something that does not exist, leading them to say things they normally would not.
Oddly, I dont think the world is ‘changing’ so much as ‘the way we make a living’ is changing. Through all the technology, society just made a lateral move. We took what we always did, and made it easier to do.
There is nothing to fear. We have more control now as freelancers, than we ever did before; at least from my vantage point.
All the best to you,
Steven
Wouldn’t it be phenomenal if we could replace fear with faith? I don’t necessarily mean in the religious sense, but more in the sense of “confidence”. The word confidence comes from “confidere,” meaning: with trust and with faith.
The unprepared, the inexperienced and those unwilling to hone their craft well before marketing themselves as a “voice talent,” have every reason to feel fearful.
The best antidote to nervousness is to be educated, prepared and patient. However, there are plenty of talented people out there that are holding themselves back because they’re focusing on a worst-case scenario… for no reason.
You’re right Steven: we are in control of what we do with the abilities we were born with. We cannot always choose the script, but we can choose how to interpret it faithfully and make it our own.
You are a profound thinker, Paul. Thanks for writing such wonderful posts. This one will be PDF’d and tucked away on my hard drive somewhere…
Hi Joe:
Most of my posts begin as “notes to self,” and I’ll gladly share what I aspire to incorporate each and every day.
Having a voice is important, especially in my profession. I am so glad so many are willing to listen and leave kind comments such as yours.
As a voice-actor, I find fulfillment in my craft, but the applause is a nice bonus! Speaking of accolades…
Congratulations on your book on Fibonacci being chosen as one of this year’s top science books for kids by the Smithsonian. It’s fantastic!
http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/science/2010/12/13/great-science-books-for-the-little-ones/
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6705807-blockhead
Paul,
Once again, another fantastic post.
I can always count on you to turn the proverbial mirror on myself.
Kudos to you for your continued honestly and thought provoking words.
Best,
Lauren
Lauren, thanks for being one of those wonderfully supportive regular readers of my blog. To someone with a minor in psychology, my ideas might not be much of a revelation, but you’re right: we learn a lot about ourselves by looking in the mirror. I’m glad my reflections on the power of a positive focus hit home. Happy Holidays!
Thanks for these excellent words, Paul. (I discovered your site via LinkedIn.)
For the last few weeks of 2010, I was feeling low about the progress (or lack thereof) of my freelancing career. I suffered from a case of I-don’t-know-what-to-do-now. This post helped to cure me. When you make decisions based on confidence, not fear, you’re more likely to make the right ones.
I’m glad you cured yourself from not knowing what to do, and I’m so happy that my words spoke to you at the right moment.
Based on what I saw and read on your website (http://www.jenniebrownhakim.com/), you’re a gifted, multi-talented and enterprising freelancer. With so much talent, it’s not always easy to focus and find a direction. Sometimes a direction finds you.
Keep your eyes and ears open and trust that you’ll be attracted to what resonates most. Something tells me that 2011 is going to be an important and amazing year for you!
Keep us posted, will you?