Reframe your thoughts Archives - Page 125 of 140

Convergence Ahead

Posted on December 19, 2020

Life might eventually get a little sterile. Now it may take 50 or 100 years, or even longer. However, I can start to see greater convergence ahead.

With technology quickly changing the landscape many modern norms may well disappear. Getting a learners permit to drive a car may no longer be a right of passage for the teenager. Uber and then driverless cars will do away with that exciting option.

Many of the jobs for teens may also disappear. For example, no paper routes because soon all information will be communicated electronically. Not simply because it is is cheaper and more efficient. But the climate change and ecological benefits of not felling 100’s of millions of trees and blotting them with ink every year have got to be obvious.

We will have explored, modelled, tried and had feedback on just about everything over the next decades. There will be little left to explore on Earth. From the land to the oceans, Earth’s core and even history. It will have been explored and decided upon. That is what will be taught in schools, if those continue to exist.

Robots will be doing most things, including making the other robots. I’m not sure what the people will actually be doing. But in 50 years, there may be little left to do.

I can imagine the convergence ahead. Thank goodness for space exploration.

Gratitude Observe Reframe your thoughts

We Are Easily Pleased

Posted on December 15, 2020

This must be true. If not, we would hold out longer for a partner, best friend, house, furnishings etc. We are easily pleased, which allows us to move on to other things more quickly.

Obviously not everyone is easily pleased. Some people are very particular. In addition, many things are very pleasing so it is easy to be pleased by them.

It makes me think of those two words, ‘It depends’. It may be that we are in a hurry. Or perhaps this type of item holds no interest for us. Alternatively, it could be, ‘good enough’. It may not be that pleasing, but it will do for what we are going to use it for.

If this wasn’t the case, we could spend hours, days or weeks, trying to find the right sandwich for lunch. Fortunately, we can assess things quickly and make decisions at lightning pace. We can also upgrade things much more easily than before. So sometimes it is more about expediency than pleasure.

Acting pleased can be a whole other story. Receiving gifts that weren’t really on our radar can be challenging. Being surprised is one thing. However, convincing people that we love it may be something entirely different.

Thankfully, we are easily pleased.

Action Gratitude Reframe your thoughts Time

Christmas Cheer

Posted on December 13, 2020

It is right around the corner. I hope you have been getting yourself organised. Christmas cheer is starting to build and the excitement of the children is growing with it.

Hard to believe we are coming to the end of the year already. It has been a bit of a strange one. Though it is getting harder to remember just how well everything was going 10-12 months ago.

Thankfully, we are getting into the Christmas spirit. Hopefully cases stay low-ish and people will be allowed to celebrate a little more than some had expected. Less than two weeks to go so you best be getting the final pieces ready.

Although there will be some differences this year, do make an extra special effort to make this a memorable Christmas for good reasons. The good tidings will need to carry us through the three winter months to come. With foreign and even national travel being greatly subdued, no bank holidays and short, dark and damp days ahead, we will need the festive fun to last a while. Even if only in memory.

So break out your best behaviour and your biggest smiles. We will need all the well wishes and positive vibes we can get this year.

Enjoy the Christmas cheer.

Action Reframe your thoughts

Just For Fun

Posted on December 11, 2020

These three little words can be great instigators of a good time. They create a light hearted atmosphere. When it is, ‘just for fun‘, it takes some of the pressure off.

You might say it before you bet on the horses, or head to the casino. The idea is that you will do something semi serious, like maybe lose some money. However, maybe you won’t bet too much, so if you win or lose it won’t matter much as the amount is not enough to change your day.

I recall saying this with friends or family when there is a little competition but it isn’t too serious. It might be swimming to a nearby island in a lake or seeing who has the quicker way up a small mountain.

There is a playfulness to this phrase with a little underlying edge to it. Although, once it has been said twice, you usually eliminate the underlying edge. But beware, that is not always true.

It can be a good natured reminder that fun is allowed and not everything has to have a serious angle. As we know, it depends on who is saying it and in what circumstances or context.

C’mon, let me have a shot at running this thing. Just for fun.

Action Progress Reframe your thoughts

You’re On Track

Posted on December 9, 2020

You are where you should be based on those things that have come before. You may prefer to be somewhere else, but you’re on track at the moment.

Everything you have done in life has lead you to this moment. Decisions you have made, and the decisions of others, have all contributed to getting you here. It’s a strange concept to consider sometimes. It can invoke different feelings about the control you have over your life and circumstances.

If you like where you are, you may feel confident and happy. If you do not, you may feel anxious, frustrated or concerned. Either way, you are where you are.

The great news is that you can change things. The quickest way to make a change is to look at things anew with fresh eyes and an open perspective. Gratitude will help quite a bit here. Right now may not be perfect but it is probably better than a Guatemalan jail cell.

You can also look five years ahead and decide that you will be at a different destination at that time. Write the story of what your life will be like then. Note down your age, your relationships, your occupation, wealth, fitness, health and lifestyle. Then decide what you will start to do differently from today to get there in time.

It’s ok. You’re on track.

Action Gratitude Observe Reframe your thoughts

Winning Is Everything

Posted on December 5, 2020

Winning is often seen as the ultimate goal. To win something can show competence or dominance. When winning is everything, you can go a little mad.

It is amazing how we, as people, can get caught up in winning. There is a lot wrapped up in its significance. Victory is particularly important when your life is on the line. In days gone buy, triumph in a duel, or a shootout at high noon, often meant the difference between life and death.

If you have to fight til the death, there is so much more on the line. Think of military battles where people were killed on the field of battle or became a prisoner and suffered torturous conditions until they succumbed. Or consider losing in court, in the thousands of years before now, when death was often the prescribed result. The stories of Socrates, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Anne Boleyn come to mind.

Fewer contests or situations exist today where winning is so important and losing could be fatal. However, sometimes, some people act as if victory is the only acceptable result. And because of that, they put winning ahead of fair play, sportsmanship and the rules. Cyclist Lance Armstrong and sprinter Ben Johnson come to mind.

Have you ever wanted to win, or support the winner, so desperately that you would even accept a little cheating? Think back to taking a test, playing or watching sports, an election or referendum.

Sometimes you go mad and winning is everything.

Observe Reframe your thoughts

I Am Unique

Posted on December 4, 2020

There are about 7,800,000,000 people on planet Earth at this time. So many people and yet I am unique. I have differences to others. Although I have similarities to other people, when you consider all of my physical characteristics and my vast realm of thoughts, on the whole, I am unique.

You are unique too. It seems everyone has a different DNA, even if ever so slightly. People have a different set of fingerprints too. There are also all the different experiences we have had and the different thoughts, interpretations and perspectives that brings.

At the top of the pyramid we are all the exact same. We are all humans. So none of us are different from the top level perspective. We are all absolutely the same in that regard. Now sometimes people use their senses to play spot the difference. So a dividing of the humans begins.

Many groups are formed, theoretically, by age, sex, height, eye colour, hair colour, skin colour, religion, education, birth place, geography, political views, wealth, career, and relationships. This only covers a tiny portion of the ways we can split ourselves into unique groups and divide ourselves.

If you continue to split yourself into sub groups, however, you will conclude that you are absolutely unique. There is no group of people who are exactly like you in it.

So say it with me. I am unique.

Gratitude Health & Fitness Observe Reframe your thoughts Time

Early Morning Benefits

Posted on December 3, 2020

It’s a brilliant time to be awake. Sometimes I forget how nice it is to start a day so peacefully. Early morning benefits include hearing the birds sing and the calmness of the house.

I was up earlier than usual this morning. Something to do with a very large cardboard box, the top bunk and gravity. Let’s just say having an unexpected conversation with my daughter a little after 4 am has brought about a lovely, though unintended, consequence today.

With a dark and calm house, my senses were heightened. Not only could I hear the lovely singing from the birds, but I noticed our kitchen clock ticking away with every second. I also noticed some headphones were not shut off as they made a sound every so often. Not often enough to track them down, but just enough to remind me I still hadn’t found them.

I’m enjoying this calm before the storm. I’ve been able to read, write and consider some things without one interruption. No need to do something, prepare anything, respond to someone or go somewhere. It is great to have this time to wake up and start the day at a pace often reserved for the fourth day of a holiday.

By 06:50, I have written my blog and the kids are heading down to the kitchen for breakfast.

Enjoy your early morning benefits.

Action Progress Reframe your thoughts

Today Will Be Different

Posted on December 2, 2020

Yes it will and no it won’t. Every day is unique despite being broadly the same. Today will be different for those looking for differences. And, it will be the same for those looking for similarities.

Broadly, today is just like yesterday. The sun rose in the east, crossed the sky and set in the west. It will tend to get warmer and lighter in the middle of the day and be colder and darker in the early and later hours. There will be roughly 24 hours in the day. (Technically a day consists of 23 hours, 56 minutes and 4.0916 seconds.) But the point remains that it is the same length of time each day.

Now for the differences. It may be colder or warmer and the sunrise and sunset may be about a minute different, depending on how near you are to the equator.

Now, as for you, you have choices. You can decide whether you want the day to be the same old, same old or to be different in some ways. For starters, you could set your waking device to wake you 10 minutes earlier. You can decide to be the most positive and enthusiastic person you know. Additionally, you could start a new exercise regime today or order better food from the shops.

The detail of today will be different, unless you decide to let it be the same.

Gratitude Observe Reframe your thoughts

It’s So Easy

Posted on December 1, 2020

Isn’t that fun to say that? I love it when I can use these three little words. It does not even matter why. It’s simply great when it’s so easy.

I find tying my shoelaces fall into this category. Walking is another one. Lying on a beach, under a parasol in very warm weather could also be classified this way. There really are a lot of things I currently find easy. And I appreciate them all.

It is not easy for everyone and it probably won’t always be easy for me. So I am enjoying these things and being grateful for their easiness every day.

Now some people might find things easy which I don’t. For example, a concert pianist may find that playing a simple piece is quite easy. I, on the other hand, might struggle a bit with it, at least in the beginning.

Think about all the things you find easy. Make a mental list, or a physical list if you are brave enough. It can help to lift your spirits when you realise all the things that are not difficult for you. Think of the simple and the complex. It could range from breathing, typing, eating and sleeping to juggling, driving, buying a house or flying a jet.

If it’s so easy, enjoy it while you can.