Ideas that Matter: Part II

“Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

Great and noble ideas have led to great and noble lives doing great and noble things.

They have led to the creation of nations built upon the conviction that freedom is the heart and soul of good government.

They have led to the exploration and discovery of the inner workings of the human mind.

They have gone far to uncover the mysteries of life.

Ideas truly matter.

They also matter on a personal, human developmental level.

The following ideas are some of those that can elevate us and correct us and change us at the very core. They come to us from bloggers who are on the cutting edge of personal development. Some are warnings. Others inspire. All are worthy of our attention. I challenge us all to apply them.

“The greatest thing you can do for the world is to bring up your children to become loving, caring and responsible citizens.” ~ Arvind Devalia

It’s been said that no success can compensate for failure in the home. That’s because every home is the petri dish for untold generations of the yet unborn who will continue to be influenced over time in large and subtle ways by either the decency or indecency of their parents.

In every seed is a forest, it’s said. The same holds true of every birth. One good home can set into motion the habits and attitudes and familial culture that radiates decency out far beyond the current generation.

Multiple generations of even thousands, perhaps tens of thousands can be influenced by one family committing to raise their kids differently than they were raised.

“Addiction controls the brain sending the message that your survival depends on your drug of choice. Your talent, ambition, creativity and zest for life takes a back seat.” ~ Cathy Hull Taughinbauch

We’ve recently seen the likely effect of a long period of addiction on that very thing, needlessly ending a talent and a life far-too early.

But it’s important to keep in mind that the clinical addictions to everything from alcohol to heroine or gambling to porn are not the only kinds of things we can be addicted to.

3 Addictions to Avoid Like, well, Addictions!

Addiction to Anger: Some people’s first response to an uncomfortable situation is anger. That’s their drug of choice. The adrenaline, the confrontation, the power as others characteristically back down to maintain the peace. All such things can have an addictive quality, but it produces no happiness.

AAddiction to Negativity: Do you know someone who habitually sees the problem in every opportunity, the thorn on every rose, the sunburn in every ray of light? Some people almost seem hardwired to foresee disaster and grim and horrible fates. But life can’t be truly lived at its highest immersed in the dark liquid of doubt and critique and pessimism.

Addiction to Blame: There are people who seem to be frozen in the shape and attitude of a perpetual point, always looking outside, somewhere else, to point the finger of blame. Their motto is: “Not me!” Their national anthem is “I didn’t do it!” sung to the tune of a whine. And while they refuse to accept any responsibility, they will always look outside for answers to questions that only exist inside.

“Happiness is a D.I.Y. project. I just stopped to think of all the things that made me feel good, and I feel much better now.” ~ Vidya Sury

No one can “make” you happy or angry or “make” you much of anything, for that matter. They can enslave you and entrap you, destroy all you have and falsely accuse you of ugly charges.

But happiness is an internal condition you take into the rest of life. It is the internal weather you take into any environment.

So take responsibility for yourself and adjust the internal climate to the setting you desire no matter the external conditions.

This, of course, is easier said than done. But accepting the possibility of controlling your own internal state regardless of the external conditions is a good starting point.

“While anticipating the arrival of your goals is a wonderful way to create direction for your life, don’t fall into the trap of postponing self-love and happiness until the end of the journey.” ~ Zeenat Merchant-Syal

If we only love the part of life or the part of ourselves that meets some preconceived condition of success or accomplishment, then most of our lives will be unsatisfying. That’s because most of life is about reaching and becoming. It’s lived on the path toward, not at the summit of arrival.

So take joy in the journey. Enjoy the process. Don’t measure your worth by the place you are in relation to your goals. Instead, see the striving itself as part of the beauty of living. That way you’re happiness won’t be dependent upon arrival, delayed until completion. The path itself will be strewn with joy.

“Being happy is a choice. It’s actually a series of choices that we make all day every day.” ~ Paige Burke

Much of our lives are motivated by our pursuit of happiness. But whether we ever get very close to it for very long is determined by the paths we choose to walk.

Happiness is the result of many different and complimentary streams converging into one pool. Some of those streams include what we think about, our attitudes, our character, how we live our lives and treat others.

But ultimately, it is the pool made of daily choices.

We choose how to interact with life. We choose our values and how we will live. We decide what unhappy attitudes we will set on the shelves of our psyches and never do much about changing.

We therefore choose, in the end, the level of happiness we’re willing to work for.

“What Fear Does: It steals who we are, what we do and how we act.” ~ JT Clough

Fear is the concrete that cements us into inaction. It dissolves resolve and fertilizes passivity, timidity and indecisiveness.

We want to act but hesitate instead. We want to reach but withdraw. We think to try but look around to see if anyone is watching.

We hold back and retreat, we hide and redefine ourselves into the corners of life, into the shadows of our own personalities.

Instead, toss off fear, ignore it, starve it by neglect. Chase it into the background as you act and explore and take steps into the light of your own life.

“The most difficult step of any task or project is the first one” ~ Anastasiya Goers

Inertia is a difficult force to break. The amount of thrust it takes to get a rocket moving is much more than the power needed to keep it flying.

We worry we will choose wrong, step in the wrong direction, fall down and fail. And so we stay seated, forever thinking about the steps we could have taken had we ever decided to take them.

Don’t over-think every move. Just step. And eventually, you’ll be in the place you were stepping toward.

So take a step and share this post if you found value in it! 🙂

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