YOUR INTENTIONS How do we live a meaningful life in the midst of a world of distraction? Social media, the internet, the news media clamour for our attention. Many of us live a ritualistic zombie-like lifestyle. Our routines and patterns of daily living are like a railway track that is so deeply ingrained and habitual even though it doesn’t fulfill us. Yet we follow our mind-numbing routine and never think to change it unless some crisis forces us to relook at our life.
So you can wait for that crisis to come along like COVID or you can proactively make the decision. You can direct your intentions, which means first being honest about the thoughts, rationalisations, and attitudes you already have.
Think of your intentions as you would setting a goal. Once you have intended your long-term goals then you can set daily intentions. Project your life one year, five years, or 10 years into the future. How old are you? What is your life like?
So you now know the destination you’re heading towards and now you can focus on the journey. When you truly know what you want in life then ‘tunnel vision’ becomes a virtue. THE JOY IS IN THE JOURNEY! One of the most important principles you need to become aware of is realising that your life is a journey and not a destination.
“It was being a runner that mattered, not how fast or how far I could run. The joy was in the act of running and in the journey, not in the destination.” – John Bingham
YOUR MINDSET Make your mental strength your strongest skill. The All Blacks who have a 86% win rate have a mental skills coach. Much like a conditioning coach focuses on muscles to perform, the mental skills coach looks at what can be done with the mind to aid performance. Most people don’t understand how vital this area is and therefore neglect it. Or they think it is about positive thinking which doesn’t work. Positive thinking must be accompanied by POSITIVE FEELING otherwise it is of no value.
So-called positive thinking can just become a sort of repetitive thing that actually reinforces your awareness that what you want hasn’t happened yet. You’ve been thinking this positive thought (so-called) for so long, and it is not working and it’s almost unpleasant to think about it without experiencing frustration.
Positive thinking is only as valuable as the way it feels to you. If positive thinking taunts you, stop it. If the positive thinking buoys you, then continue. Look at your life because what is manifesting in your life is the true acid test of your thinking. If negative things are happening then it means your thinking is off. DON’T KID YOURSELF.
True positive thinking is not just a thought, it is a vibration, an energy, frequency, mood, and it is an attitude. Thinking with powerful emotion will rewire your brain and without emotion, positive thinking falls flat. You want to invoke meaning and feeling not just yada, yada, yada fish paste!
YOUR BEHAVIOUR Nothing happens without action, But there is a world of difference between mere action and inspired action. Inspired Action is not forced action. Forced action feels bad, while inspired action feels good – listen to your intuition and your gut. Most people do their planning with their intellect or with logic which is prone to mistakes. That is why a lot of planning doesn’t work!
In our modern civilisation, we have learned to respect and even worship the rational, logical aspect of ourselves, and to dismiss, depreciate, or deny our intuition. Yet, all great achievers, whether they are business people, musicians, authors, athletes, or world leaders, trust and use their intuition. Mozart claimed he received his inspiration from within; Socrates said he was guided by his inner voice.
“I only do what my gut tells me to, I think it’s smart to listen to other people’s advice, but at the end of the day, you’re the only one who can tell you what’s right for you.” Jennifer Lopez
Ray Kroc bought MacDonald’s against the advice of his lawyers and accountants (they usually only use intellect and logic) because he says: “I felt it in my funny bone that it was a sure thing.” Kroc’s decision to buy “a few hamburger stands” has made him a multi-millionaire hundreds of times over.
We were all born with an ‘inner-guidance’ to help us know what ‘feels’ right for us. We did not intend to replace our ‘inner-guidance’ with the opinions of our parents, teachers, rabbi’s, pastors et cetera, et cetera. Of course, these people mean well. Because they’re trying to prepare us for the challenges they experienced along their way.
I love this quote: “What are children’s formative years – those years when physical man tramples the intuitiveness out of the child” – Abraham.
Learning to listen to your intuition is key to your success in all the areas of your life.
*Here is a snapshot of the above and what we offer:
