Being Point

Month: November 2009

  • The Enemies Of Confidence Are Anxiety And Fear

    The enemy of confidence is anxiety and fear. Notice how worry can begin in a small way, then slowly creep into your consciousness and grow. Worry erodes confidence.

    Concerns about not enough money, time, love, imagination, accomplishment . . . all of these can mutate into disquieting feelings which have robbed us of joy.

    It’s easier said than done, yet an excellent habit remains to replace the image of worry when it appears with an image of the result you desire. We know that that on which we place our attention expands, thus practicing the shifting of attention from worrisome images to satisfying images always pays quick dividends.

    How have you typically handled worrisome and anxious images? Are there any strategies that have worked well for you over time?

  • Boldness And Supreme Confidence

    From an amazing friend and reader about this week’s topic of Supreme Confidence:

    “One of the best things that I have learned in this area is to be bold. It is remarkable how few people actually act on their ideas.”

    “I’ve had lots of success going straight to the top and asking (professionally, articulately) for what I want. Apparently, the field is pretty wide open at the top, mostly because everyone else seems too intimidated to step up to the plate. LOL!”

    “I also learned about a military man’s motto this weekend which fits this topic: His high-powered daughter reports that he always says, ‘Preparation equals victory.’”

    Is that brilliant or what? Thanks, Tobey!!! WOW!

  • “The Best Way To Gain Self-Confidence Is To Do What You Are Afraid To Do” ~ Author Unknown

    Who are among the most confident people you know? What do you think accounts for their high level of confidence? How do you see yourself in terms of confidence?

    Confidence – and especially supreme confidence – is a magical topic. Confidence has a huge influence on all personal and professional results. An unknown author said, “The best way to gain self-confidence is to do what you are afraid to do.”

    What if that’s the secret of having supreme confidence? Clearly, we’re not talking about jumping off of cliffs. But we are talking about what Joseph Campbell called “following our bliss,” and being willing to take risks for what and who we love.

    How have you increased or decreased your level of self-confidence in your own life? What factors work for you? What have worked against you?

  • “The Secret Of Life Is Enjoying The Passage Of Time” ~ James Taylor

    James Taylor wrote, “The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.” Is life that simple that the secret is to create a relationship of enjoying what feels like the passage of time?

    How do you enjoy the passage of time? Spending time with people you love? Being in nature? Serving others? Learning and growing? Playing? Singing? A million different ways. How much thought do you give your choices to assure that you are enjoying their consequences?

    If the secret of life really is enjoying the passage of time, how can you spend your day today to maximize your joy? What would you avoid and what would you expand?

  • Are The Consequences – The Results – Of Your Actions Consistent With Your Relationship To Time?

    Isn’t it funny how Time can sometimes feel as though it’s moving slowly or even almost standing still – or it can feel that it’s moving really fast? How a long time in years can feel as though it has passed in minutes?

    Time is in the perceptions of the beholder. Author Norman Cousins, who famously wrote Anatomy Of An Illness, said: “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.”

    Are the consequences – the results – of your actions consistent with your relationship to Time? Do you feel the effects of your chosen variables in your life experience? What has happened to You that has you capable or incapable of feeling the effects of Time?

    What do you look forward to? How can you expand that?

  • Your Relationship To The Scarcity Of Time

    One of the most compelling aspects of our relationship to time is that time conveys the precious and scarce quality of each individual human life. Ninja Warriors meditated on the poignancy of the human experience of linear time, and they conducted themselves with great honor.

    Steve Jobs said:

    “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

    What experiences with time’s limitations stand out that have caused you to appreciate your life more? Can you think of any specific decisions that were based in large part on the scarcity of time?

  • Time Warps And The Mystery Of Time’s Passing

    Have you ever had an experience where the actual time elapsed didn’t match your understanding of it? A meeting with a friend, someone you just met, a trip somewhere, a meal, an evening?

    Counting or tracking time is a human invention. Perhaps in nature, it’s more accurate to say that there are cycles, and there may be no such thing as time in nature.

    How do we explain the mysteries of the perception of time’s passing? We call those kinds of events “time warps,” and they are more pronounced at some times than others? Are they positive experiences or negative? Can you remember any particularly significant time warps in your life?