How often have we heard someone around us saying the word, “Impossible.” And how often we spoke that word ourselves. I believe we have lost count already. Yet impossible is really “I m possible.” A gentle reminder for all of us that impossible is nothing but a word, so long as we believe. Sharing an inspirational video with you:
We have often seen ‘miracles’ happening throughout history which were at first thought to be impossible too and yet we are still so ready to believe in it. As mentioned in the video, next time someone says: “It’s Impossible!”, let us consider these quotes:
“… Everything that can be invented has been invented.” – Commissioner. U.S. Patent Office 1899
“The telephone has too many shortcomings to be a means of communication.” – Executive from World’s Leading Telegraph Company 1876
“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.” – IBM Chairman 1943
“Guitar music is on the way out.” – Record executive who rejected the Beatles, 1962
“100 meters in under 10 seconds? Not in our lifetime.”
Inspired by a reading yesterday, I would like to share these ways to simplifying your life.
1. Focus on doing good things and all else will follow. This morning I read a comment someone made that being a good person is the world’s toughest task. Indeed, it could very well be the greatest challenge – especially when we put the focus on being a good person. Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said, “When I do good I feel good, when I do bad I feel bad.” Let us focus on doing good things and being a good person comes naturally in the process. It couldn’t have been more simpler than that. To do a rain check on ourselves, we can use the Integrity test: What we do when no one is watching us should be the same as when we know that someone is watching us. And follow our heart, not our ‘desire’, as it will always have the right answer for us.
2. Change should and must come from us – FIRST. I am a strong believer of Mahatma Gandhi‘s philosophy, “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Instead of trying to change people, we lead and inspire the change.
3. Spend time with positive, loving and happy people. We know that positiveness and happiness are highly contagious, and yet we are allowing ourselves to be ‘beaten’ continuously by negative people around us. Have a clear picture of the kind of person we want to be and associate ourselves with like-minded people who are supportive and are willing to help us to become the person we aspire to be. It is easy to let go of negative people who are not closely related to us. How about those closely related to us? I’m not telling you to cut the tie completely; let them know that you will keep the lifeline always open for them and yet understand clearly that you can lead the horse to the river, you can’t make it drink. Understand also that they may not be ready now and there will be a time when they are ready; be there for them when they are.
4. Start loving people, including ourselves, and let go of any hatred we may hold of others. As Buddha said (I changed a little in this context), “Holding on to hatred is like grasping hot coals with the intent of throwing them at someone else, we are the one who will get burned.” Harness the power of forgiveness and free ourselves. As Louise Hay said, “I forgive everyone in my life, and release them with love. They are free and I am free.” Forgiveness free the people we hate and most importantly – free us.
5. Live in the present. Learn the lessons from the past and leave the past where it should stay. Start living in the moments. The things we are doing today will create the tomorrow we dream and putting our attention to the current moments can make a huge difference in simplifying our lives. Take care of today and tomorrow will turn out to be what we want it to be.
6. Start to take up responsibility. Putting the blame on others accomplishes nothing and complicates things. Be the master of our fates and the captain of our souls. Choose to be in control of ourselves, then to let go of that control to someone else.
7. Put useful information in our minds and mind our own businesses. The mind is the garden of our well-beings. Would we dump rubbish into our gardens? Yet, we are putting useless information into our mind. Online social medias like Facebook, Twitter etc are splendid way to keep in touch, yet many spend hours everyday minding the businesses of their friends in these social medias. We should be the one making use of these social medias and not the other way round.
8. Take a step backward in making decisions. Moving backward could be the best way to forge ahead sometimes. Think things through before making decisions especially when we know our emotions are kicking in. The best decisions are usually made with a clear mind.
And as Confucius said it best, “Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” A simple life is a life without rules, just a set of guiding values. So forget about what you have just read here and start living.
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Photo by marcos_bh
Alice Herz Sommer, a Czech pianist and a music teacher, is an amazing lady with superb positive outlook in life. She was not only a survivor of the Theresienstadt concentration camp but also remains resolutely optimistic in her whole life. And now at 108 years old, Alice lives by herself in a tiny London flat with no assistance. She still practices piano three hours every day. Alice is truly an inspiration and the best thing I learned from her is, “Everything is a present.” Some may ask, “Even the bad experience?” I truly believe so … there is always something we can learn from our experiences regardless good or bad. As Alice put it best in the video, “I know about the bad, but I look at the good thing.”
If the above video is not working, you can take a look at the video interview of Alice Herz Sommer by Bernard Hiller:
To leave you with the last lesson from this incredible woman in the interview above, “Hatred eats the soul of the hater not the hated.”
What a bold statement, “You can be whatever you want to be!” When I was reflecting on that a while ago in the toilet … yes, I do a lot of reflecting and thinking in the toilet. Don’t ask me why, I know it is not a good habit. But hey! I’m making good use of my time. Sorry, I digressed a little. While reflecting on that, the skeptical mind in me spoke out softly, “Yeah right, what if I want to be like superman?” Thus, I thought to myself, yes, we can be whatever we want to be – provided it must be something logical. Then my other voice spoke to me, “If I want to be like superman, then find the way to defy gravity so that I can fly like him or to find a way to become strong like him! The easier options for flying are to take the plane or to go sky-diving or paragliding.” The latter, like sky-diving or paragliding should give me a pretty close experience to ‘flying’.
The former of finding a way to defy gravity or to be as strong as him, would probably take up a whole life time and I might not even come close to it. The next question is, “Do I really want to be like superman?” I realised that as much as I want to be like him, I am not willing to spend my whole life researching for ways to defy gravity or for ways to be as strong as him. The purpose of my life is not to be like superman either. For you who is reading this now, maybe you have an even crazier idea and it seems not possible to be what you want to be, the question you may want to ask yourself is, “Are you prepared to find all ways to be that person?” Just as what Nelson Mandela said, “It always seems impossible until its done.” If you are, then go ahead!
So yes! I believe we can be whatever we want to be! I believe that each of us has the potential within us to be what we want to be. Believing is the part about “We can” achieve what we want to be. The next step is to follow through with what we believe with massive action. The question is, “Are we ready to go all out and give everything we have, may have or will have in our pursue? Fortunately, not all have to go to this extreme in their pursue and they do have the support of loved ones around them in the pursue to be whatever they want to be. This latter part about taking action is the deserving part. Do we deserve it?
A strong believe, and may I add on a strong ‘faith’, coupled with massive actions and we may wake up one morning, just as described in this poem below, to find that we are the person we dreamed of; doing what we wanted to do, simply because we had the courage to believe in our potential and to hold on to our dreams.
_______________________________ You Can Be Whatever You Want To Be!
by Donna Levine
There is inside you
All of the potential
To be whatever you want to be;
All of the energy
To do whatever you want to do.
Imagine yourself as you would like to be,
Doing what you want to do,
And each day, take one step
Towards your dream.
And though at times it may seem too
difficult to continue,
Hold on to your dream.
One morning you will awake to find
That you are the person you dreamed of,
Doing what you wanted to do,
Simply because you had the courage
To believe in your potential
And to hold on to your dream.
________________________________
Photo by hummel_12
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Inspired by a reading yesterday, I would like to share these ways to simplifying your life.
Alice Herz Sommer, a Czech pianist and a music teacher, is an amazing lady with superb positive outlook in life. She was not only a survivor of the Theresienstadt concentration camp but also remains resolutely optimistic in her whole life. And now at 108 years old, Alice lives by herself in a tiny London flat with no assistance. She still practices piano three hours every day. Alice is truly an inspiration and the best thing I learned from her is, “Everything is a present.” Some may ask, “Even the bad experience?” I truly believe so … there is always something we can learn from our experiences regardless good or bad. As Alice put it best in the video, “I know about the bad, but I look at the good thing.”
What a bold statement, “You can be whatever you want to be!” When I was reflecting on that a while ago in the toilet … yes, I do a lot of reflecting and thinking in the toilet. Don’t ask me why, I know it is not a good habit. But hey! I’m making good use of my time. Sorry, I digressed a little. While reflecting on that, the skeptical mind in me spoke out softly, “Yeah right, what if I want to be like superman?” Thus, I thought to myself, yes, we can be whatever we want to be – provided it must be something logical. Then my other voice spoke to me, “If I want to be like superman, then find the way to defy gravity so that I can fly like him or to find a way to become strong like him! The easier options for flying are to take the plane or to go sky-diving or paragliding.” The latter, like sky-diving or paragliding should give me a pretty close experience to ‘flying’.