Change is a Good Thing Right?

We often do not understand what prompts us to change. We may call it a reaction towards a given stimuli whether it be one which elicits pain or one which has pleasing results; the bottom line is we either move towards or away. The same goes true for almost every aspect in our lives. We react and interact with stimuli on a daily basis whether they may be on a personal, social, or professional level. The underlying question here is actually twofold. What prompts us to change our lives can be asked as what prevents us from changing. So there's actually two sides to the coin here.

I had a friend once in college who used to have a hard time deciding on almost everything. His indecisiveness hindered him from becoming more of an outreaching, social type of person. he would sulk for a while and ask me what would I think if he does this or that or if he didn't do this or didn't do that. He could really get on our nerves at times because we would always retort back with the all too familiar, " Would you please make up your mind?!" There are actually several reasons to this argument of change and the following list pretty much isolates and defines them.

What MAKES us change:

1. Ambition, Drive, Goals, Dreams
2. Necessity
3. Prevention
4. Growth and Maturity
5. Reaction and Interaction
6. Love
7. Religion
8. Pain

What PREVENTS us from changing:

1. Fear
2. Insecurities
3. Lack of insight
4. Low self-esteem
5. Laziness
6. Hinderance
7. Selfishness

You see,all these factors interplay in our daily lives. We have to maintain a certain presence of mind and awareness in what actually drives us in basically all that we do. Perhaps, change is not a bad thing after all. As human beings we have the most adept ability to adapt to our surroundings and this includes all which stimulates us. It is how we respond to these given stimuli which defines us. I guess what I am alluding to is that we need to have a renewed perception on the many things, factors, and issues in our lives which have an impact on how we make choices. Having an open mind helps, as well. Until our next post, folks. You guys take care.

The Choices You Make

Life is full of choices. If you really think about it, our daily lives are made from the choices we make. What we are and what we do is also due to what we choose. Well, let's go about it from a different angle; what if we choose NOT to make a choice. Simply put, we let life take us along for the ride, taking in the scenery and be dictated by what life throws at us. Well, THAT in itself is a choice too. We cannot simply resign ourselves to being victims of circumstance any longer. We can choose to stand up or choose to remain lying down.

But what is really eating us? What makes us indecisive to the point of anxiety? Why is it that when it comes to making BIG decisions in our lives we get knots in our stomachs. Well, the answer to that can be explained in one simple word-FEAR. We are afraid to make decisions because we are uncomfortable with venturing into the big unknown. We want to make choices based on clear outcomes. Contingency plans are not our forte because they are really just patch-and-repair modalities. Well, let's think about that for a moment.

You want to know what makes some of the most successful people excel in their respective fields? It's because THEY ARE NOT AFRAID TO MAKE CHOICES!! I am not saying we venture blindly into anything or trust our gut feelings in almost everything. What I am saying is let's open our minds and ourselves to possibilities. Let's not close ourselves to the advent of something altogether new for the sake of familiarity. We make intelligent decisions based on learning all that there is to know about the choices presented to us and their possible outcomes.

Make it a practice to try something new everyday so you won't be anchored too much on familiar grounds. We would rather do the same thing day in and day out because we are familiar and comfortable with the results as they are often unchanged. When we encounter something different or a setback from the norm we become unhinged and tense and seek a return to familiar territory again. This is good in some way but is quite limiting in nurturing our potentials. We can never really say we have to be all that we can be when we are simply not.

Learn to trust your feelings and intuitions. Don't second guess yourself in the choices you make. Forge ahead, bear down, and if for some reason things aren't going quite as planned or expected, well, tackle it head on. Don't ever take the easy way out but rather learn to IMPROVISE and ADAPT. Be fluid with your life. You will learn that you will be less tense and anxious that way. Remember that we make choices everyday and some of the choices we make aren't really for the best or aren't even beneficial for us. That, however, is a matter of making good or bad choices. Never plan ahead. Individuals who are control oriented want to see things through towards completion leaving little room for changes midway. Learn to deviate from this kind of mentality. Be at your best and do your best and you can never go wrong. Until our next post folks, you guys take care and THANKS again.