HOW I STARTED MY LIFE JOURNEY TO BE FREE AND HAPPY

Today I start a new step into my own journey. It started long a go and I want to share with you the details that brought me here. This is my life journey, and I hope to share with you a lot of it, so we can grow together. To tell you how to start yours first we need to understand what it is.

A life journey is when you take responsibility

Not that long ago I was like everyone else. I had a simple job. I got paid some money. I even had a good girlfriend. But I was empty. I didn’t like my job, it was boring and there was no challenge at all. I always seemed to lack money and I wanted stuff that probably I didn’t need. I had troubles all around and was mostly depressed because I didn’t really understand how I got there.

Now here is a confession. I was unhappy because I made all my choices based in what everyone said.

I admired the true free souls, those amazing guys that were traveling the world and crafting a fate of their own. I even wished I could join them, but I made nothing. I didn’t try anything new, I was just sitting in my cubicle joking with my coworkers and dreaming of a better life. Sounds familiar?

I made a stop last year. I saw how my life sucked so much and worked hard to change what was happening. I took responsibility of my actions and I forgave myself for being foolish. Then I started to change one habit at a time. Am I perfect now? Not at all, but I’m a lot happier than the last year.

A life journey starts when you truly take your life in your hands, it starts when you accept that most if not all of your problems are the result of what you have been doing, it really starts when you do something to improve yourself.

How can you start your journey?

I’m not saying these steps are the end of all discussions, I’m saying these are the steps I took to be here. To write these words and be happy while doing so. I do hope they can help you and make you give that first step.

1.    Accept your faults: You are not perfect, probably you will never be, so relax a bit on yourself and don’t be too swift to judge yourself. That path only leads to pain, you will only hurt yourself. Accept you can make mistakes.

2.    Forgive yourself: Sounds cheesy? Yes, I know, but don’t worry too much. This is a simple step you can do on your own. All those faults you did in the past are probably just poor choices based on other people’s opinions, or simple you didn’t know any better. just write it out or say it out loud to yourself: “I forgive myself”

3.    Develop your own code of conduct: You need a set of “rules” to live by. A simple code of conduct, you can find these by looking around. All those people you admire have some characteristics, some values that you like. That is a great start.

4.    Implement your own code: This one must be one at a time, don’t over do it, and most of all don’t scold yourself if you fail. Let’s say you admire generosity, well to start you could offer a friend a ride to work. Simple action but a generous one. Be on the lookout for simple actions that will include the values you want to develop in your life, one at a time.

5.    Find your true dreams: These ones are those things you want to achieve. the ones that really matter. Finishing your favorite videogame does not count. As an example, I found that creating great websites that aid the world in some way is one of my dreams. Another is to do something very important for our environment in a good way.

6.    Less plans and more actions: Taking a bit of inspiration from the Joker, I must say I was a schemer. I made plans for everything, I knew how to do a million things but instead I just made plans. Leap into action, it doesn’t matter if the result is perfect, what really matters is that you started and soon you will get the hang of it, getting better and better. Do not fear failure.

7.    The first step is the hardest: I’m not going to lie to you, the very first step is the most important, and at least I was very afraid to take it. I launched a website and started writing. Now it’s something I love to do. You may be afraid to do it, you may be afraid of failure or, as some of the people I have seen, you may be afraid of success.To overcome this there is only one thing you can do: Start doing.

Why is this so hard?

I am convinced that if something is hard and makes you grow it is worth it. So embrace the difficulty and don’t try to cut corners. I used to be that way and I found myself wasting a lot of time. Cutting corners, taking shortcuts and all those things can help to give you a simple boost, but those are not long term results. Focus on the long road. your life journey is a marathon not a sprint, but just as good exercise it will make you better over time.

I’m not saying it must hurt you, you must never be a martyr. You are not a victim and that is a plain fact, you are the one who calls the shots in your life, be aware of this and be responsible about it.

Are you ready to start your journey?

Let’s strike a deal right now. If you want to truly be free and begin your life journey. I will help you. Again I don’t know everything, I’m still walking my own path. But we can make some cross reference and help each other. You and me, we can grow together one step at a time. As an added benefit you will help others too. Start it in the comments, you have nothing to lose and a wonderful life in front of you.

THE MOUTH HAS A MIND OF ITS OWN!

                                                               
What if I told you that the source of most of your problems could be found within you—from the neck up? You'll find it in the thoughts that come from your mind and the words that come out of your mouth. 

We must realize and understand the power carried by our thoughts and words. They're so powerful that they can bring either blessings or curses into our lives, depending on their nature. Our thoughts and words are like the rudder of a ship—they may seem small, but they affect the very direction of our lives. 

Getting Rid of Negative Thinking Isn't Enough

Many years ago my life was in a state of chaos because of years of wrong thinking and speaking. I had encountered so many disappointments because of all the devastating things that had happened to me. I was afraid to believe that anything good might happen. In fact, my philosophy of life was, "If you keep your expectations low, you'll never be disappointed." 

Over the years I became very cynical and negative. I often said that if I had two positive thoughts in a row, my mind would've gotten a cramp. My thoughts were negative, which caused my words to be negative…which all reflected poorly on my life. Finally, I decided to change my ways and stop talking so negatively. After a while I realized that I needed to do more than just not talk negatively. Cutting out the negative wasn't enough; I had to begin to think and talk positively! 

For example, a person sneezes and says, "Oh, I'm probably getting the flu." Or someone hears a rumor that the company he works for is going to lay off some employees, so he thinks,That's the story of my life. Every time things start to go well, something always happens. Then he says, "I'll probably lose my job." These types of negative statements seem to come so naturally to all of us. We need to discipline ourselves to be more positive—it's not so easy! 

When we react negatively, we allow fear to take over our thinking. We begin to dwell on things that haven't even happened and may not happen. Our negative thoughts cause us to speak the words that'll shape our future. 

Choose Better Thoughts, Reap a Better Life

We're constantly tempted to think wrong thoughts, but we don't have to accept them! We have a choice! We need to purposely choose right thinking and speaking. In the Bible, Proverbs 18:21 says, Death and life are in the power of the tongue…. We must choose life generating thoughts. When we do, positive, powerful, life-giving words will naturally follow. I think some people try to control their mouths but do nothing about their thoughts. That's like pulling off the top of a weed—unless the root is dug up, the weed always comes back. You'll never control your mouth unless you first learn to control your mind. 

Believing is the first important step to switching our thinking from being negative to positive. Remember, what's in our hearts and minds will come out of our mouths. If our soul (mind, will and emotions) is full of negative things, we'll find those things coming our way. On the other hand, when we hear, read, think and talk about God, the Truth and more positive things, we'll find that those good things will come our way. The choice is ours! 

THE POWER OF FOCUS -KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE PRIZE

Most of us never really focus because we don't know the power of focus. We constantly feel a kind of irritating psychic chaos because we keep trying to think of too many things at once. There's always too much up there on the screen.

There was an interesting motivational talk on this subject given by former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson to his football player:

" I told them that if I laid a two-by four plank across the room, everybody there would walk across it and not fall, because our focus would be that we were going to walk that two-by-four. But if I put that same two-by-four plank 10 stories high between two buildings only a few would make it, because the focus would be on failing. Focus is everything. The team that is more focused today is the team that will win this game."

Johnson told his team not to be distracted by the crowed, the media, or the possibility of losing, but to focus on each play of the game itself just as if it were a good practice session.

The Cowboys won the game by 52-17.

SEEING WHAT OTHERS DON'T:

The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights

By:Gary Klein

Insights—like Darwin’s understanding of the way evolution actually works, and Watson and Crick’s breakthrough discoveries about the structure of DNA—can change the world. We also need insights into the everyday things that frustrate and confuse us so that we can more effectively solve problems and get things done. Yet we know very little about when, why, or how insights are formed—or what blocks them. In Seeing What Others Don’t, renowned cognitive psychologist Gary Klein unravels the mystery.

Klein is a keen observer of people in their natural settings—scientists, businesspeople, firefighters, police officers, soldiers, family members, friends, himself—and uses a marvelous variety of stories to illuminate his research into what insights are and how they happen. What, for example, enabled Harry Markopolos to put the finger on Bernie Madoff? How did Dr. Michael Gottlieb make the connections between different patients that allowed him to publish the first announcement of the AIDS epidemic? What did Admiral Yamamoto see (and what did the Americans miss) in a 1940 British attack on the Italian fleet that enabled him to develop the strategy of attack at Pearl Harbor? How did a “smokejumper” see that setting another fire would save his life, while those who ignored his insight perished? How did Martin Chalfie come up with a million-dollar idea (and a Nobel Prize) for a natural flashlight that enabled researchers to look inside living organisms to watch biological processes in action?

Klein also dissects impediments to insight, such as when organizations claim to value employee creativity and to encourage breakthroughs but in reality block disruptive ideas and prioritize avoidance of mistakes. Or when information technology systems are “dumb by design” and block potential discoveries.

Both scientifically sophisticated and fun to read, Seeing What Others Don’t shows that insight is not just a “eureka!” moment but a whole new way of understanding.