Three Words

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Resistance…Is…Futile…
When uttered by the fictional Borg of the famed Star Trek movie series, those three words were meant to conjure submission, hopelessness and resignation upon the unfortunate individuals to be assimilated into the collective Borg consciousness. Those three words declared power and superiority upon them who would hear and believe.

All of us skirmish against our internal Borg voices, especially when we struggle to reach new health and fitness goals. This is the voice which comes to us as reason, and it so often sounds reasonable to our tired mind. It says: Don’t be so hard on yourself. You set your sights to high. Lower your standard. Reduce your expectations. You are older now, you should slow down, sit down, recuperate. Perhaps a new hobby is in order for you, the Borg voice says: take up knitting, painting, reading, writing, there is nothing to gain by your constant striving to be fit, to be strong. You deserve to rest, relax, retire!

Don’t let your attitude toward change or your own predisposition to avoid it create detrimental hindrances to your own personal success. John C Maxwell

In rebuttal, I say this: THOSE ARE FIGHTING WORDS! Now let me be clear. I am not suggesting that resistance is always right. There is a time to resist and there is a time to rest from doing. But what I am proposing is this: Be attentive to your inner Borg voice. Consider the goal of the Borg: to conquer and assimilate!

Resistance is the first step towards change. Louise Hay

Rather than acquiesce when your journey towards wellness becomes a thing of work for you, instead do this: Remind yourself often and always of the beauty of that goal you have set before yourself. Fight for it! Rest if you must, but do not be your own worst enemy and stop trying. Never give up on yourself…ever!

You are worth the effort. Thank you, thank you for believing in yourself! We, the world, your country, your community, your family, all of us need you to become the very best you. That is what you deserve…to be the very best version of you…today and all the days which follow!

Now let me give you three words to move you onward and upward: JUST…DO…IT!

All That Glitters

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All that glitters, all that glows…
Like gems that sparkle from a light,
So does a life, when mined
From depth of soul.

Jewels all, our days unfold,
Some cast in luster gold,
Some cast in shadows dark and bold.
All that glitters, all that glows.

Jewels abound, dug out of rock,
Transformed by task and toil,
Beauty enlarged, engraved, unleashed,
All that glitters, all that glows.

Jewels amassed, reflecting mirrors,
Refracting love, scattering treasure,
Inspect, reflect, behold in wonder,
All that glitters, all that glows.

Glitter

Winter’s Momentum

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It’s the middle of February 2017. The exuberance of the New Year and everything it forebode for change is now a distant memory. In six short weeks, the new has worn off every shiny resolution, fading quietly away from our consciousness like so much snow drifting on the Midwestern plains. It is the bleak middle season…Winter.

It sneaks upon our good intentions like a thief, Winter does. It seemingly saps our resolve; remands our momentum; freezes our motivation. Winter abides in blinding, stinging glory; striving to reach us and teach us…how to grow in a dying season.

Spring, Summer, and Fall fill us with hope; Winter alone reminds us of the human condition. Mignon McLaughlin 

So I think it wise, if we notice Winter still in our midst, perhaps we could this once choose gratefulness. Perhaps then we might notice the imperceptible magic of Winter’s gift: for our resolution, when allowed to rest, we notice the increase of it, not its diminishment.  And the reduction of our momentum, merely a slowing of life’s pace, not a cessation of forwardness. And lastly, the freezing of our motivation for a time, may be wrought so as to temper mind and body in preparation for Winter’s thaw.

Now do we perceive? Winter’s Momentum is like a retrofit to resync body and spirit. Beautiful Winter! You are a companion for solitary contemplation; for creatitive  incubation and neogenesis of our soul. Let us plant ourselves deep under your covers of freezing rain and falling snow.

Our Focus: Our Attraction: Our Destiny

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Training our mental focus is just like training our physical body. To gain strength and stamina within our muscles, daily exercise must be engaged. Similarly, to achieve a personal goal, our thinking must be focused, purposeful and regular about that thing  which we desire to achieve.

What if all we need to be successful goal achievers is to understand this one thing? That we fail to achieve because we fail to focus on the right thing. If we are constantly thinking about not doing what we don’t want to accomplish, how much mental energy, stamina or will power will we have in reserve to make the positive change for ourself? Can you see the paradox here? We are always thinking thoughts…but the focus or centrality of our thoughts will determine our achievements and outcomes.

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Or another way of looking at this paradox is by using the principles of nutrition for our physical  body. We know how to nourish our body with food, even though all food is not equally beneficial for the body.

Likewise, our thoughts are the food by which our minds are energized. Not all thoughts are equally beneficial for mindful action (change). When we need to make a change in our life, we have to nourish our mind for action by thinking about the new habit frequently. We practice this change by replacing the old habit thoughts with thoughts about the new habit whenever we find ourselves thinking about the old habit.

We feed a negative habit by giving it our attention. The best way to change an old habit is to starve it! How do we starve an old habit? We starve an old habit by diverting its food source (our thoughts and attention) with thoughts and imagination about the new habit. This is how we nourish new thoughts…we think about them…alot!

You have to learn that everything you do every day has a deep-seated reason. It gratifies a need and offers psychological support. Therefore, begin where the rewards of the new activity can clearly outweigh what is being sacrificed.
Dr. George Sheehan

Bear with me as I reach this last crucial point. In order to propel us to action, our thoughts require our mindful attention. This is how they influence our behavior. We must recognize  our attraction for old thinking, and as soon as we find ourselves thinking about the old haibt, detour our thinking onto the new habit. This practice requires diligence. But there is no shortcut. We have to be willing to cut ourselves off from our love affair, if you will,  before we can attach our full attention and imagination into new thoughts about our new habit. In other words, we have to fall out of love with the old, before we can take pleasure in the new!

It seems so simple, but I know it’s not so easy to do. But hopefully what you have just read will help you remember…when you need it most. And this is what I hope you will be able to take away from this post: What you focus your attention on…or perhaps, what captures your attention and affection most often, will ultimately propel you towards your destiny.

When we train our focus to embrace a new thought (love) interest, then we invoke the law of attraction upon our goal and our life. This law never fails to succeed for us because, that which we attend to will increase!