The Art of Not Worrying

Most of us worry too much. That's true because we want to have within our grasp a certain level of control on all aspects of our lives. Being in control means being secure, or at least we would like to believe. Control, however, is often debilitating in that it closes our minds to other possibilities. We function within a certain set of parameters and we are afraid of going beyond that. The truth is we worry needlessly over many things, most of which are BEYOND our control.

The secret to a worry-free life is two things actually; acceptance and learning to let go. We simply have to accept things as they are and let go of our insecurities, doubts, fears, and apprehensions. As human beings, we grow and evolve over time. We learn, apply, and incorporate what we experience during our own life time. As individuals, however, we constantly seek self worth, self improvement, and anything actually to punctuate who we are and what we are.

Here are some helpful hints to lessen your tendency to worry, or as in the case for most of us, over-worry:
1. Divert your thoughts and attention elsewhere. Train yourself to mentally override anxiety by diverting your thoughts to other less strenuous matters.
2. Laughter makes you forget. Have someone tell you a joke or think of a really hilarious moment with the kids, your spouse, or your best friend. Laughing releases endorphins in our bodies which relieves stress.
3. Exercise. Exercising relieves stress and a light walk around the block often really helps.
4. Learn to eat foods that held fight stress. Foods rich with anti-oxidant properties help relieve stress. Also, foods which lower hyperacidity help avoid ulcers from forming.
5. Plan ahead and contingency plans would help. However, don't overdo it and leave yourself a little room for adventure. Sometimes, venturing to places and things unknown let's us know that we are still vibrant with life.

So there you have it. Don't worry of things that have no positive effects on your life. Stay away from negativity and culture only positive attitude and thoughts. Learn to accept that there are only so much you can do and have the power to control and, ultimately, change. That which you can you can certainly enrich to the fullest. Take care folks, and God Bless.

How to ask the right questions

All of the answers we seek in our daily lives depend, ultimately, on the questions we posed. Whether or not the answers we get register as being satisfactory is really a matter of whether they answer our questions or not. You have to understand that being "results" oriented is the objective of this post and the results we often get in life aren't really what we expect or want altogether. Whether we realize it or not, most of what we do in a day to day basis is a journey towards an answer, a solution to a problem or question. This daily "quest" of ours drives us to continually redefine ourselves, to continually strive towards a balance of "why we do what we do" and "if what we do is right for us".

It really boils down to CONTROL. We want to have a comfortable grasp over all aspects of our lives so that we an exert a certain level of control. We equate control with security and therein lies the flaw. We often seek answers which we feel will give us total control of our lives, not leaving anything to chance. We seek security in the way we exert control or the strength of our control. If we feel unhinged or maybe even unsure of how certain areas in our lives play out, it is because we lose that sense of security we feel when we are on top of things.

Our insecurity or fear of not being able to man our own oars leads to issues on how we interpret and function in the world we live in. We fear the unknown because we have no control of any outcome. But let's just stop for a minute and try to think about these 3 points I would like to share with you;

1. Ask simple questions, get direct, simple answers.
2. It's better to ask 5 simple questions and get 5 direct, simple, and true answers than asking a long complex question whose answer is complex and full of "uncertain" meaning.
3. Ask often. Think of your questions as your life's "maps".

The first point teaches us SIMPLICITY. Breaking it down to it's finer points allows us to uncover details we , on occasion, miss. Don't complicate your already complicated life. Bask in certainty by asking simple questions. Direct and simple answers are about as real as you get. The second point teaches us PATIENCE. Sometimes we want to know too much too soon to get our tensions and apprehensions out of the way,but I always say "There is a time for everything, and everything has it's own time". Learn to master this art;patience. The third point teaches us DIRECTION. By having direction we have FOCUS and focus is what fine tunes our efforts.

Perspective and Priorities also play a role on how we ask our life questions. The three points I mentioned above will make you more "tuned" to your priorities, regardless of their level of importance. Once again, until our next post. Take care of yourselves, guys. Make the world a better place by starting with yourselves. Thanks again for your time..JowelMD signing off

Finding Your Own Truths

I should point out to you that no one understands you better than you do. In the same regard, no one misunderstands you better than you. We often take a lot of things about ourselves for granted, to the point that if someone were to complement us in a way we tend to be taken back or even surprised. Nothing in life is ever simple. A lot of things happen to us which we take for no more than mere experiences or trials. We tend to not associate any value with these because of the pain or uneasiness associated with such hard times. The fact is times such as these are learning experiences for us; a time to grow, to evolve, to be better. There are two things which must be undermined during trials and hardships and, as before, the root of these can be laid out in the open by asking ourselves two questions: "What am I doing wrong?" and "What could I have done differently?"

Finding your own truths is about self-discovery. It's a state of reawakening, a redirection of your life energies towards more positive and warmer flows. Uncover what makes you weak and respect your weaknesses as you do your strengths.We are not created equally because we are not made to feel the same during trying times. What I mean by that is we interpret the world based on our experiences of it. Our sense of awareness encompasses only that which we understand and beyond that we tend to get uneasy and wary of the unknown and uncertain. Finding your own truths is about self-discovery; about self-realization and understanding. It's about rebirth and contentment.

So what do you need to do? Well, to be perfectly honest with you, we hold in ourselves the answers to most of the questions we seek answers to.All I can do for you is lay out a layout, game plan, a preliminary sketch , if you will, on how to map out key areas in your life.For simplicity's sake we will talk of 4 key areas in your life, all of which has a focal point. That focal point is you. Here they are:

1. My Relationships with my family, my co-workers, my friends and colleagues.

2. My Aspirations, Hopes, Future plans, and Needs.

3. My Perspective on the world in general and key Issues which, ultimately, will have a profound effect in my life.

4. Where do I see Myself in all these or, more importantly, How do I see Myself in these?

 Find yourself some time and a quiet place to reflect on the 4 areas above. Write down your thoughts and questions and your take on possible solutions. Be realistic and be honest. Go back to the fundamentals and don't go to far ahead of yourself. Deal with the issues that affects you in the Now. Remember that the future has no real value for you if you fail to address today, the here, the now. For example, the second area above deals with your Aspirations, Hopes, Future Plans, as well as Needs. Don't go asking yourself the worn out questions of "Where do I see myself 5 years from now?" when you don't even know what the present time holds for you. Think of solutions which offer IMMEDIATE results. You need to patch things up with someone? By all means talk to that person and put some closure on whatever issue or issues which created some tension in your relationship. 

So there you have it. Be honest with the questions you ask yourself. Be realistic with them and be honest with your answers. Until our next post then....