Slow down, you move too fast, you got to make the morning last. Simon & Garfunkel

A very clear message, but how many people will?

We live in an instantaneous world, we can eat fast food, drive fast cars, we are encouraged to be in the fast track and pay extra not to queue.  How many times have you seen a curved footpath and a dirt track walked in where people have cutoff the corner?  I often wonder what they managed to do with the few seconds of life that action has saved them.  We get agitated when we have to queue or wait and feel like we are waisting time, we think could be packing even more into our already busy lives.

Is that good?  Could we get more from life by doing less?  Could we learn to appreciate the things we have, rather than covet the things we don’t.  If we buy less, will we have more time to spend.  We could learn to live, rather than be alive.

The end of the song is a brilliant mantra – Life, I love you.  All is groovy.

That’s something we should all be saying.

Whether you think you can or you can’t, you’re right. Henry Ford

The Law of Attraction states that your thoughts are granted, if you think of something you don’t want to happen, chances are it will because that is where your focus is.  It is a true advocate of positive thinking.

So, how can we relate that to logic for the sceptics among us?

It is widely respected that a positive mental attitude (PMA) will only do good, doctors agree that it will aid recovery, sports men and women say they need it to win and, go on, be honest, don’t you feel good when you’re happy?  By focusing on what you want and being positive the unconscious mind will direct your body and conscious mind into actions that will bring you closer to your goal.

A couple of years ago I had a spotty face, every time I looked in the mirror I thought about the spots, as soon as one went another one came.  As an experiment I decided to change my thoughts, from that point I only thought of myself having beautiful clear skin.  by the end of the week there was only the tail end of one or two left.  I had been given the focus of my thoughts.

Why not try it yourself?

If you are overweight, think thin.

If you are in debt, think wealth.

What have you got to loose?

There is no greater leaning curve than failure.

‘Tis a lesson you should heed:

Try, try, try again.

If at first you don’r succeed,

Try, try, try again.

This proverb, made popular by William Edward Hickson, can be traced back to the writings of Thomas H Palmer.

Failure is not nice, in any sense of the word, but it is something we can use in a positive way.  When we succeed, we will have learnt how to do something in a way that works, once the aim has been achieved we no longer have to consider other options, we can move on.

But when we fail, the thinking cap goes on, we look at what caused the failure, what we can do differently, how can we make it better, in sort we don’t give up.

So what can happen when you don’t give up?

Walt Disney didn’t give up when he, ran out of money when making Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Colonel Sanders’ chicken was rejected by 1005 restaurants, but he didn’t give up.

At Fred Astairs first screen test he was told “Can’t act. Can’t sing. Slightly bald, can dance a little”. Did he give up?

Thomas Edison’s teachers told him he was “too stupid to learn anything”.  He didn’t give up either.

So what will make you try, try, try again today?

It’s not the choice that matters when making a decision, it’s the attitude behind it.

People often agonise over making a decision, ‘what is the best way?’  ‘What it I’m wrong?’ ‘How can I choose?’  Of course some decisions carry a higher degree of magnitude, you would probably give more time to deciding on a career change than you would to how many biscuits to have with a cup of tea.  Or would you?

A change in career is a huge step, but what if your job was at risk of redundancy?  What if you did not enjoy you job and an opportunity arose to follow your dream?  Would the choice be easier?

And how many biscuits should you have with a cup of tea? (I say 3, 2 and I’ll go back for more, 4 and I’ll feel like a pig.) But what if I was diabetic or had some other issues?  Would things be more straight forward.

When faced with a difficult decision stand back and look at the bigger picture, what is the best interests for your greater good?

You ponder, I’ll pop the kettle on……

Heads or Tails?

How many times have you tossed a coin to solve a dilemma?

And how much faith have you had in the outcome?

Tossing a coin is often misinterpreted, people take the meaning literally, “if it lands on heads I must do this, if it land on tails I must to that”.  This is not the best way to use the exercise.

The object of the exercise is to discover your true feelings about the two choices.  When the coin is tossed many will instinctively know how they want it to land, in this case how the coin lands is irrelevant, the choice is made before.

If there is no clear choice while the coin is in the air think about where it has landed, how so you feel about the choice it has made?  If you’re happy then go with it, but what if you’re disappointed?  What if you feel that the wrong choice has been made?  Under these circumstances you should go with your feelings and make the other choice.

Patience is a Virtue, true or false?

This is an old adage which has been quoted by many people, the earliest origin being the Fifth Century.  But is it true?

This week I am battling with technology, setting up new things and battling with complicated telephone answering systems, when I come across a stumbling block I am becoming frustrated, I want it all to happen now.  At the end of the day I know that the issues I have had will have meant that I have learned more and will be stronger for it.

But what if I am too patient?  What if I sit quietly and wait for something to happen without taking that initial step?

This is where pace steps in, push yourself forward and spring into action, but remember, to stop when you hit a stumbling block, stand back and look at your bigger picture, work out what is your best next step.

A. True, patience is a virtue, you just have to know when to use it.

What will your canvas look like tonight?

Think of your life like a gallery, every morning you start with a blank canvas, during the day you add colour and texture, you can use anything to paint with and stick momentos on.  When you go to bed you will have a unique and individual account of your day.  No two pictures will be the same, some may be similar and can be grouped together to depict periods of your life.

When you remember the  you tend to think of the big things, by looking at the picture you can recall the little things as well.  It is always good to stand back and see the full picture, sometimes the big things can mingle or get lost.

So, what will your canvas look like tonight?

“Expose yourself to your deepest Fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes…

…You are free.”

Jim Morrison

As well as deciding what is in your best interest the mind will also decide what is potentially harmful to you, again it will do this by your past experiences.

If you have been physically hurt it will stop you entering the same situation again, hence the phrase ‘once bitten, twice shy.

There may be several reasons why something is deemed bad for you, in this case the mind will make you afraid of it, in doing this it will keep you away form the danger and you won’t get hurt.

In very extreme cases you will develop a phobia, a deep irrational fear against whatever it thinks is that is bad for you, in order to protect yourself.

“A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes.” Mahatma Gandhi

Sometimes a series of nondescript memories can create an intensified feeling when your mind associates them together.  All the tags add up and create a unique emotion.  That train journey will feel different to each and every passenger, because they all have their own individual memories and experiences.

What would your journey be like?

“I once had a rose named after me and I was very flattered. But I was not pleased to read the description in the catalogue…

… no good in a bed, but fine up against a wall.“   Eleanor Roosevelt

Sometimes words and phrases have more than one meaning, this can be amusing in everyday day life but the mind thinks logically and literally, when it takes a memory it will store it and tag it.  An event that involved a train journey and happy news could evoke happy thoughts on the next trip, but what if you’ve had a bad experience?