Life Archives - Page 7 of 8 - Scott's Thinking

The Story Of My Life

Posted on October 31, 2020

What do you say about yourself? How do you describe your life in your bio? Make sure the ideas support the best you. The story of my life has got to be put in the best light. Not just for others, but for me! I need to see how well I have done from where I began.

Once you have understood what your story is, you may want to go about improving on it. I don’t mean with just some creative licence though. I mean get a plan together and work towards exciting goals. Write a biography for your life now. Keep it to four sentences or shorter.

Now write a biography of your life in five years from now. What other skills will you have? What exciting achievements will you have accomplished? Now, in order to go from here to there, you will need to make some changes.

You will need to give up the story of your life (the one you have) to create the story of your life (the one you want).

Like old clothes, you need to get rid of them occasionally. Move on from the story of your life. Freshen it up and get ready for new adventures. Focus on the new story you are creating. Visualise. Build it and it will come.

Keep making improvements. That is the story of my life.

Action Reframe your thoughts Think About It

We’re Going To Win This One!

Posted on October 29, 2020

Sometimes we start on the sidelines and sometimes we dive right in. But once the battle begins you have to think, “We’re going to win this one!”.

This is true in so many circumstances in our life. It could be as big as winning a war or getting your money back from a trip that was cancelled. Sometimes it starts off with a sport and a team we develop an interest in. Soon that can become an obsession.

You start to get emotionally involved. You start to know the details about what is going on. If a situation becomes even remotely questionable, you can fly off the handle. Sports is probably the best example of this playing out. However, it is quite similar for many other situations.

Wherever you are invested mentally over time, you will feel like you are part of the team. When there is something to win or lose, it will become more important to you. This seems to be true whether it is for contesting a £40 parking ticket or trying to win Gold at the Olympics.

It helps if you go into battle with a positive mindset. Go in confident. Set your mind to it. Charge forward and declare, “We’re going to win this one!”.

Progress Time

The Goal Of Life Is…

Posted on September 14, 2020

How you finish this statement is quite telling. Not in a ‘Gotcha’ way but in a useful, self-understanding way. The goal of life is something that can change through your life. As your mind and thoughts change, so too can your view of life.

When we are younger, it seems many children think the goal of life is to run around having fun with their friends. In the teen years, many people might focus on a skill which they are proud of and sets them apart as unique.

This skill could be school related, sports, music or making pocket money. Doing well and not messing up could be the main focus for many at this time.

Things can get a little philosophical through the years too. Though I do notice this one distinction coming up frequently. For some people the objective is to just get through life while others help people get through life.

As with anything though, there are hundreds of factors that could change your mindset on this at any given moment. Some more common ones are injury, loss, success and luck.

Regardless of where you are and what you are heading toward, how would you finish that sentence. If you’re brave enough, give it a go right now.

The goal of life is…

Think About It Time

It’s All We’ve Known

Posted on August 12, 2020

Isn’t it odd how there wasn’t anything before this life we know. At least for most people, it’s all we’ve known. What came before?

There has been lots of debate about what comes after your time here is done. However, I don’t hear a lot from people discussing what came before. Certainly I don’t recall anyone mentioning their experience(s) before conception.

How odd, I thought, as I walked across a field yesterday. This life is all we’ve known. We’ve known other towns, other friends and other times. We’ve known the history of our society through ancestors and written pages, magazines and myths. But we don’t know our own personal history.

As we get older, we extend our own personal history. But it is only the history of ourselves here on Earth. There is nothing before that, for us at least.

For example, we may be on the equivalent of level five of pac-man here on earth, but we don’t know the game we were playing before pac-man. It’s all we’ve known.

Have you any stories or theories of who, or what, you were before you were here on Earth? Think about this and let me know. It’s rather fascinating.

I look forward to reading your ideas.

Observe Think About It

Life Is Undulating

Posted on August 11, 2020

Life does not seem to be a straight line in any area of it. For the most part, life is undulating. There are peaks and troughs to be enjoyed or endured.

Sure, there can be the occasional steep cliff or snakes and ladders moment. Although those are very memorable, as they tend to be quite emotionally charged, they are usually quite rare.

I thought about this quite a bit while we were cycling through some trails in the New Forest this afternoon.

When we were cresting the top of a hill after a long climb up it, it all seemed worth it. As we rolled on and down into another little valley, there was almost a giddy jubilation. Cycling fast along a trail, or down a hill, can feel so freeing and exciting. One might even say exhilarating.

So prepare yourself to work hard and persevere through the ups. Equally, ensure to enjoy those days of excitement. When everything is easier, especially the big, meandering, enjoyable down hills, life seems grand.

There you have it. Life is undulating. Enjoy every piece of it. You only get one. Maybe even cheer and scream as much with those larger uphills as the smaller, downhill ones.

Gratitude Health & Fitness Think About It Time

Sometimes You Just Need A Break

Posted on June 28, 2020

Life can have moments of relative calm. It can also have periods of full speed intensity. During the crazier moments, sometimes you just need a break.

There are quite a number of things that can fill your days. For example, you might help to maintain your household, have a busy job, look after kids, be studying, be a carer, be growing a business or volunteer. Many people are trying to manage everything while doing a combination of these.

Life’s challenge is that the ‘to do’ list is always longer than the time available. So you must be careful to set some boundaries and create priorities as well as follow some cut off times. If you go non-stop too many days or weeks in a row, you may find other challenges in your life. Normally this would be your physical health and mental fortitude.

It is easier to burn out than recover from it. Occasionally we get so caught up in the cycle of doing, we don’t even realise the mental and physical toll we are having on ourselves.

Remember to schedule down time, rest time or you time. It is important to recharge your batteries. Occasionally that will mean you will not get everything on your list completed. As long as none of it is life threatening, then we should not think twice about this.

Remember, you shouldn’t push excessively for too long. Sometimes you just need a break. Make sure you schedule one in and take it. Your soul will be grateful.

Observe Think About It Time

Where Do We Go From Here?

Posted on June 12, 2020

I had a wonderful conversation with my 11 year old son Thursday night. ‘Where do we go from here?’, seemed to be the overriding theme.

It started after hearing a Patrick Bet-David video where he was saying he wouldn’t allow any excuse to stop him from succeeding. After discussing his words, and our view of his intent, we moved on to the current situation with the statues. After discussing many of the different positions people hold on this topic, we ended it wondering where things will go next.

From there we landed on the subject of Buddhism and the after life possibilities. Where do we go from here, if anywhere? We covered the ‘dead is dead and nothing happens’ perspective. The Heaven and Hell option was then considered. Then we went back to the Buddhist views and wandered around reincarnation for a bit.

Although he would love to know what’s next, he assured me he is not in a hurry to find out.

I left him with the following suggestions while he considers the many different points of view on the subject. Live the longest, happiest, most enjoyable life you can, just in case dead means dead.

Also, be kind to others and generally be good while doing all that enjoyment. Not only is it the right thing to do, it is good karma and should keep him out of the too hot to handle place should that be one of two possible destinations.

Finally, that good karma might help a little should reincarnation be the next level in this video game.

Wherever we go on any of the topics we covered, it is sure to be a fascinating ride.

Think About It Time

Life With No Consequences

Posted on May 25, 2020

People need to see that there is a cause and effect. This should be for both good and bad. We must remember that life with no consequences presents other problems.

It’s best if people learn this lesson young. Children that learn this lesson well should have a better moral compass and achieve greater success. I don’t know if they do, but it seems more likely.

As a parent, I sometimes highlight the potential consequences of an action to my children. If it is quite dangerous, I may insist on the end of the activity. However, if it will not harm them, sometimes I let them continue, after noting the potential consequences.

The safest way to learn is to use other people’s experience, but the best way to remember the learning moment is to get the experience yourself. So sometimes, you just need to let things go on their course and believe the universe will reveal the consequences without significant trouble.

A life with no consequences sounds awesome to me. The problem is, that is not how life works. I want my children to grow up with this core lesson, that there are consequences to your actions, both good and bad.

Like times tables, this lesson will have to be continually reinforced through training until it is ingrained in their being. But it is a good one to know. Follow a good formula and better things should occur. Go off track and challenges will pop up that you would prefer weren’t there.

If you always save your children, friends, parents, etc, they won’t learn or grow. That scenario isn’t good for anyone. In contrast, it is such a great thing to see them making good decisions, on their own, and reaping what they sow.

Action Time Video

Keeping Your Stories Alive

Posted on April 30, 2020

We all have stories. Stories of our youth and everything since then. For instance, we could recount how the world impacted us and how we impacted the world. Keeping your stories alive is a fun part of the process of re-living those halcyon days.

Before bed, I was telling the boys a few stories from my farming days in Canada. It struck me how few stories people probably know about others. It also made me think how the art of, and need for, storytelling are changing.

Imagine how many stories Captain Tom Moore has from his 100 year life. He was born in 1920. Consequently he would have had his formative years during the Great Depression. After that, he would have spent his early 20’s caught up in a World War.

His impression of the airplane, radio, tv, car, internet, medicine, political changes and mobile phones would be fascinating.

Unfortunately, many people’s stories will have faded into the fabric of the universe. The challenge was that there weren’t many ways to record them, keep them safe and pass them along.

Quite the opposite is happening now. Teens and tweens of today are able to capture so much on video, audio and by written word given the technology available at the moment. In the meantime, people are becoming more forthcoming with content. In addition, the ability to capture it has become easier and cheaper.

Consequently, more people are adding more content to the universe. As a result, their children could spend their lifetime immersed in video, and other medium, learning about their family history.

Keeping your stories alive may no longer be the challenge it once was. The new challenge may become that people won’t have or take the time, or have the inclination, to hear many of them.

Stories may no longer fade into the fabric of the universe but rather they might fade into the fabric of The Cloud.

Health & Fitness Reframe your thoughts

Life Is Simple

Posted on April 26, 2020

At a basic level we need to eat, drink, sleep and have adequate shelter. There may be a few other essentials but at its core, life is simple.

Then we humans add complexity of wants and communication. I often consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs at this point. Some people like it and other people challenge it. I learned about it at University and I find it is a useful theory to reference, at least as a starting point.

When left to their own interest, people can imagine incredible, fanciful and wholly unnecessary wants. I was going to list a few items, like a plastic dancing flower, but there are always a few people who will claim it is a need.

One thing a pandemic lockdown and/or looming recession can reveal is the true meaning of a want and a need. It is in these moments in time where we can see what is essential. I find it interesting and useful to remember how little we probably need to have tremendous joy in our lives. Sometimes all the physical distractions can get in the way.

Communication is the other area of complexity in our otherwise simple lives. Over the years I’ve become an ever more keen student of words and their use. I am fascinated how quickly something can be said, heard and processed, and then restated, often with bias or misunderstanding.

This moment in time has reminded me that life is simple. Spending time with my wife and children, sometimes exercising together, playing cards or just chatting. We often add so many layers of unnecessary complexity which can deny us the simple pleasure of life. Peel back a few layers, remove the distractions, and remember, life is simple.