On Reactions

Today’s inspiring quote comes from John Maxwell, the evangelical Christian speaker and author of multiple best-selling books on leadership.

“Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to
it.” – John Maxwell

All the great philosophers in history have attested to the fact that life is experienced in the mind. Physically, this is because everything we see, hear, smell, taste and touch (in short, ‘everything we sense’) is received by our bodies in the form of information. This is then processed by our brains and we get a mental multi-sensory image of the world around us. Though rather simplistic, this essentially explains how we experience life.

But life is more than just the sum of what we sense, of course, because emotions colour the majority of our experience of life.  But everything we sense does not provide us with this emotional information. The emotional information is generated by us: it is our interpretation of what we sense. This interpretation can be made consciously or subconsciously. In either case, it comes about because we filter what we sense through our belief system – the set of paradigms we have been taught or invented to make sense of life. Most of the time, this process runs subconsciously. And this emotional reaction to events makes up most of the whole experience. Consider the example of two sets of fans at a football match. Both sets of fans watch the same game and yet each set will leave having had a very different experience. The same event has been witnessed by both. It is how they filter and interpret this information depending on their beliefs and attitudes that affects the overall experience. And so it is that for every event that happens to us, the resultant experience is 10% what physically happens and 90% the way that we react to it in our minds.

The Subconscious Mind

It follows that much of our experience of life is due to how we react to any given situation. Add to this the amount of time we spend imagining scenarios that never materialize and reliving experiences gone past. Have you ever experienced a journey where you can’t remember details of the journey at all because you were so wrapped up in thoughts, thoughts which affected your experience of life for that period of time? Life happens in the mind.

The next stage is to make the shift from subconscious to conscious reaction. Armed now with the knowledge of how you experience life, you can influence your experience by being aware of the reaction process and choosing consciously how you live and feel. This is one of the guiding principles at the heart of Chris Prentiss’ excellent little book. It is also one of the key results that learning to meditate can yield, which is why this philosophy is at the heart of a lot of Eastern spiritual traditions. Awesome!

Wisdom from Bob Marley

This week AWESOME INSPIRATION is celebrating the life and legacy of Bob Marley! Here follows a selection of inspiring quotes from the reggae legend himself. These quotes really rather speak for themselves and are a source of awesome wisdom.

Interviewer: Are you a rich man? … Do you have many possessions?

Marley: My richness is not in possessions and things, y’know. My richness is in life.

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“One good thing about music: when it hits you, you feel no pain” 

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“The greatness of man is not in how much wealth he gets, but in his integrity and his ability to affect those around him positively” 

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“Don’t worry about a thing, ‘cos every little thing is gonna be all right” 

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” When one door is closed, don’t you know that many more are open” 

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“Me only have one ambition, y’know. I only have one thing I really like to see happen. I like to see mankind live together – black, white, Chinese, everyone – that’s all.” 

Self-Imposed Limitations

Today’s inspiring quote comes from Anthony Bailey.

“Man imposes his own limitations. Don’t set any!” – Anthony Bailey

A very true observation. Limiting beliefs come from inside our own heads. It has been said that “I can” is one of the most powerful phrases in the human vocabulary (notably well adopted by Barack Obama into his 2008 election campaign: “Yes We Can”). The same, sadly, is true of its opposite. If we tell ourselves “I can’t“, we won’t be able to. But the important thing to understand is that all limitations stem from our thoughts – either thoughts we have subconsciously formed ourselves,  based on our evaluation of past experiences; or thoughts adopted from other people’s observations about us. It is important to free ourselves from all self-imposed limitations if we are to live to our real and awesome potentials.

4 States of the Mind

Today’s post is a link to a video featured on the blog of the Silva Method. The Silva Method is a training programme designed by Jose Silva to explain the workings of the human mind and allow you to expand your potential and achieve your vision of a successful life.

The 4 States of the Mind

The video was made by a Silva graduate who has become a successful entrepreneur and attributes his success to a change in mindset. According to the video, there are 4 States of Mind that one can be in at any time. These are:

Negative Spiral – Where you are unhappy in the present and have no vision for the future. As you tend to get what you focus on, this is the worst of the mindsets…

Current Reality Trap – When you are happy in the present but have no vision for the future. You are said to be trapped because your focus is on your own present happiness, not your potential to grow / help others / make the world better, and you are therefore motivated by short-term pleasures

Stress  anxiety  – When you are unhappy in the present but do have a vision for the future. This is the state of mind of a lot of people (especially businessmen) and is neatly described as the Paradox of Intention: you must have goals – but your happiness must not be tied to them; you must be happy BEFORE you attain them if you are to do so

Flow – When you are both happy in the present and have an awesome vision for the future. The ultimate mindset, being in a state flow will allow you not only to enjoy life, but to embrace creativity and work successfully towards your vision

The crux of this inspiring idea is to aim to exist in a frequent state of Flow Methods for achieving this may vary, but essentially, by disciplining yourself to be happy with your life in the present, meanwhile working towards bliss, you will live in a state of Flow. You have probably experienced Flow in your lifetime – when everything was going great & smoothly and all your future prospects were awesome – even if you did not define it as such at the time. The key to success, then, is to unlock this mindset and maintain it.

Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump was released in 1994. It is an Academy-Award winning comedy-drama, directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Tom Hanks as the title character. Zemeckis and Hanks went on to win Oscars for their roles and the film won the 1994 Best Picture Award.

The story chronicles several decades in the life of Forrest Gump, a simpleton from Greenbow, Alabama.Forrest has a low IQ of only 75, but he is a charming character and is devoted to his loved ones and his duties. Forrest Gump ends up travelling to different places around the world and meeting many historical figures. Unwittingly, he helps to influence popular culture and he experiences a lot of significant 20th Century historical events first-hand.

The film has been commended for its originality. It is combines a well-balanced mixture of comedy, emotion and important life truths, set against an epic historical backdrop. It is famous for its many quotations (“Life is like a box of chocolates – you never know what you’re gonna get”) and several of its scenes are iconic, including especially the scene in which Forrest runs across America.

The film is an inspiring tale told by an innocent man. It is definitely one to see.

Your Worldview Can Set You Free

The world is what you choose make of it. If you change your attitude, you change the world (at least, the way you see it… which may of course lead you to ‘make a difference’ on a global scale…) [last part optional].

This article – featured on High Existence – is totally inspiring. It is paradigm-shiftingly awesome. It is very nicely written too.

I have reproduced it below for the benefit of subscribers. I could elaborate on my description of it, but really it makes its point so clearly and so well that it is better for you simply to read it.

Your Worldview Can Set You Free

” You Want More Freedom?

No sweat.  All you have to do is this:

Investigate the current boundaries in your life.

Your belief system determines the boundaries in your life.  It is the framework you use to make sense of the world around you.  It is a way of interpreting events and encounters.  It is your container.

It will supply the answers to questions like:  What am I?  Who am I?  Where do I come from?  Where am I?  Why am I here?  What should I consider valuable?  What should I consider important?  Can I do that?  Is that allowed?  Is that good?  Is it bad?  Is it dangerous?  Is it desirable?  Am I pretty?  Am I ok?  What happens to me when I die?  What is safe?  What is dangerous? What is happiness?  What gives value to my life?  Etc.etc.

You did not waltz onto this spinning globe with a worldview in your pocket. Oh no.  When you arrived on planet E you were as clean as this page I’m writing on, an unwritten story, a wave of possibility.

Your family and community taught you cultural beliefs, religions, worldviews and gave you specific guidelines for interpreting information to help you cope with society and interact reasonably well with other people.

Depending on where you were born – the African Kalahari or in an igloo at the North Pole – this way of interpreting the world might be completely unique and very precise, created to sustain a certain way of life and to ensure longevity.

Beliefs are an editing system for the brain: in every moment, your brain observes your surroundings critically, eliminating what it perceives to be erroneous or inconsequential to your belief system, and focusing solely on what it considers to be vital and important to your specific worldview.

The older you get, the more invested you become in this way of thinking; invested in the sense that your belief becomes stronger, and your belief system and operational programmes more rigid.

These beliefs that you harbour can be likened to computer programmes.  Some of these programmes serve you, and some simply slow down your hard drive and cause you pain.  Just like your computer, your personal programmes need to be checked and upgraded often, if you are to ensure optimal usability and an enhanced experience.

Unhappiness Is Often The Result Of A Conflict Between The Programmes You’ve Had Uploaded And The Desires Of Your Soul.

If your belief system conflicts with your desires, it creates major problems:  A man destined to become the next King, but who desires to be a trapeze artist, will end up having a very hard time.

If he never recognises that his own belief that his destiny is pre-ordained is blocking him from being who he truly is and give himself permission to demolish that belief, he will become a prisoner to himself and his mind.  He will live a dull and unfulfilling, prescribed life when he could have been doing tricks in tights whilst balancing on a wire all along.

Belief systems are important; they serve as a kind of firewall in our lives and are there to keep us safe, but if they are completely subconscious and very solid, they can interfere with the soul’s desires and cause massive internal conflict.

A belief system should support you, not control you.  It should remain flexible and fluid, allowing space for personal improvisation and exploration along the way.  The happiest people are the ones who are able to claim complete ownership and architectural rights over their own minds and hearts.

A worldview remains only that – a view.  It is one of millions of optional truths.  The more you are able to splash and roll around in them, taking what works for you and discarding the rest, the better the chances are that you will gain happiness and contentment.

Your energy circuits can be re-wired.  In some cases, you simply need to unplug.  Reality is a construct; it’s pliable and bendable.

Self-Uncovery is about letting go of your pre-programming – you preconceived ideas, expectations and judgements – so you can wake up and become conscious.

Get off auto-pilot and start driving your own plane again.

Get in touch with that glorious, ancient part of you that’s expansive, as big as the Universe itself.  Unwrap from the bonds that keep you spinning around inside your own little head; there’s so much out there.

The less tied you are to excessive and conflicting boundaries, the easier it is for energy to travel through your system.  Open your heart. Release yourself.

We choose our own reality, whether we do it consciously or not.  We choose what to consider important.  We choose what will bring us happiness.

Freedom is intricately tied to the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves: what you believe you are entitled to have, what you’re allowed to do and what you’re expected to become influences how broad the choices are that you make.

Your whole life is based on a point of view.

You might as well pick a fun one. “

Inspired? : )

Note : This article is the work of Anel Hamersma. Further articles by her may be found at http://www.inyourbones.com .