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Feeling good on a consistent basis is not as hard a task as you may think. Just like a well-fed and well-exercised body, works 'for' you, a spirit that is fed the right diet of positive thoughts and beliefs will result in a happy, optimistic, peaceful state of mind. I believe the biggest reason people become unhappy is because they think too much. And that tendency to think too much gets them into more and more trouble, until they make so many poor decisions that they are finally down and out. The heartaches begin when life throws us a problem whose answer exceeds what we are normally able to resolve 'intuitively' (without a lot of abnormal problem-solving thought). Whenever you come up against a problem requiring more than your usual intuitive response, get help. Because what you don't want, is for you to have to 'think up' a way out of a problem on your own. More often than not, you will get yourself in trouble by trying to solve a problem of which you really don't have enough background knowledge to answer effectively. At this time, I would like to backtrack a little to the times when people are growing up in their family, let's say from ages 5 and up. The average child growing up has no real worries. All they have to do is get decent grades at school, do a little bit of work around the house, and try to get along with the others they associate with. And that's about it. They seldom worry about the future, nor do they fret about the past. Their focus is more or less on the present, thus their stress factor is very low, and their mood is generally good. So, why don't they worry about their basic needs for food and shelter? Over the years, they developed a trust, or faith, in their parents, which gives them complete peace in the area of these two needs. Now, if that works for children, why don't we as adults adopt the same mentality? Basically, it is the thing that we discussed earlier; it is the temptation to do things on our own without the advice or help from others. Notice when children are growing up they seldom racks their brains trying to solve a problem on their own. They go home and tell their mom or dad what is wrong, and their parents tell them what to do about it. Very easy. They just hand the problem over to a more experienced person, and obey the advice that is given to them. What a great a way to live! If it is, then why don't we do the same? The reason we don't is, because over time we developed the bad habit of keeping things to ourselves for whatever reason: shame, fear, pride, the challenge of solving it on our own, etc. Anyone of these factors can begin to lead us down a road toward loss and unhappiness. Life is so delicate in this way. On one had we are given these minds, so that we can think and dream, and on the other hand if we do, and we get an idea that 'we think' is good, and we follow through with it and fail, we suffer loss. That is why life needs to be handled with care and sobriety, because there is so much at stake when we choose incorrectly. Does that mean that we are out of the game when our choices finally lead us to a dead-end? No! Thank God the answer is no. The greatest life stories that people love to hear about are those of people who suffered tremendous loss, and then somehow rose above the ashes of their circumstances and triumphed in spite of them. The very real hope of every person who ever failed in life, is that there is a complete possibility that they can indeed rise and shine again, and in so doing become a beacon of hope to others. The temptation, rather, is to focus on the crash and what all led up to it, but the answer is to look up and see the possibility that recovery is just as possible for you as anybody else. The great part is that life is so convoluted, that your loss could lead you to any of a number of new directions that you could never even imagine. That's why we shouldn't rely on our own understanding, it is so limiting, and it works against us. So our goal is to break free from constantly thinking and in turn, learn to carry own dilemmas to God or to others who have a greater understanding of the situation. That way we stay in peace, and are better able to enjoy life as it comes, moment by moment. Indeed, it is fun to try and think up a solution to a problem, but it is always wise to tell your idea to a number of people whose judgments you value, and then base your next move from there. Don’t be like people who are so full of anxiety, that when they land on an idea, they immediately lunge at it with everything they have (I speak from experience). If you pass your ideas over other people, you will likely save yourself a lot of time, money and aggravation. Indeed, many peoples lives take a completely different direction all because of one ‘seemingly’ minor decision. Just like a rail switching device that only moves a little but is able to send a train into a completely different direction, similarly one wrong decision can send your life in a direction toward heart ache and loss. So be watchful what you do, get understanding of a situation, use wisdom. I always advise people to read one chapter of the Book of Proverbs each day. There are 31 chapters in Proverbs, one for each day of the month. It’s packed with nuggets of truth regarding ways to live successfully. The temptation is to think you know it all. Don’t fall for that lie. That’s why we rent teaching tapes. You can learn about life two ways, the easy way, by listening to people who are successful, or the hard way, by trial and error. The choice is yours.
So to recap, don’t think too much. Get advice from several sources. Then make your decisions.
Questions, Comments or Suggestions
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