Perspective – Inspiration for the Mind, Body & Soul

Your Approach

“To complain is always nonacceptance of what is. It invariably carries an unconscious negative charge. When you complain, you make yourself into a victim. When you speak out, you are in your power. So change the situation by taking action or by speaking out if necessary or possible; leave the situation or accept it. All else is madness.”

Eckhart Tolle

It is so easy to find yourself complaining over and over about the people in your life or difficult situations you find yourself in. It often is easier to point out all the negative that is stressing you out rather than figuring out how you’re going to move forward. Indeed, each of us have been guilty of subjecting a loved one to constant complaints about our work, friends, family, etc. Instead, maybe it’s time to try something else because I find myself even more worked up, frustrated, and stressed out after one of these dare I say rants ….Trying to look at these situations objectively I can admit that perhaps a change in strategy may be needed. My new approach is to say my opinion regarding a situation, then step back and see how things will play out. This allows you to gain perspective by distancing yourself from the situation. Sometimes the right action/choice may be completely removing yourself from a situation or environment. It may mean limiting contact with certain people. Or, the situation may resolve itself without you doing anything but allowing time to work it’s magic.

Be Proactive Instead Of Reactive

“When engaging in simple everyday banter and communications, this rule of thumb can really help suppress a lot of our negative word ‘vomit’ since we often mindlessly chat about the things we don’t like. If we refrain from expressing our negative opinions about things unless they’re directly asked for, we can train ourselves to respond rather than react the second we see or hear something and then feel we must verbalize our views about it.

Remember, even if we don’t agree with someone or something, we can still speak about the subject at hand in a positive light to encourage growth rather than guilty motivation. I like to say I express more “inspirations” than “opinions” with each passing day.”

― Alaric Hutchinson, Living Peace

Sometimes it’s difficult to know why you act in certain ways or why you make a decision or choice. I find myself questioning different decisions I make and my emotional responses. I find myself asking, “Did I make that decision because I truly felt it was the right choice or am I merely reacting to another’s negativity or the heightened energy of a situation?” And like so many of us, I like to believe that my choices and behavior are rooted in a good place. But when I’m honest with myself, I know that sometimes I allow myself to simply react to the situation. And when I allow myself to merely react, how are my actions any better than those I deem to be negative and toxic? So, perhaps it’s time to change the tone of the conversation by proactively choosing to refrain from speaking negatively and instead when given the opportunity speak about situations and people in a more positive light to foster growth instead of divisiveness. By regularly engaging in this type of behavior, you begin to train yourself to consciously control the situation instead of the situation controlling you.

What Motivates You

A/N. Some of you may have noticed that I’ve been sporadic in my posting the last few weeks. To be honest, I’ve been losing my inspiration of why I started doing this blog almost two years ago. I didn’t feel the connection and then what a friend told me gave me pause for reflection. He basically told me that my blog felt a little impersonal. And I don’t disagree. Each day I strived to find an inspirational quote that resonated with me and with what I was going through at the time. However, I didn’t share any of these personal reflections of why I chose the quote; rather, I chose to give my thoughts from a more general, broader perspective. But I’m ready to change things up and try a different approach by sharing more of my personal thoughts and feelings behind each quote. So, thank you, my friend, for inspiring me to do better and reminding me what it means to be The Eternally Hopeful.

Please note because these posts will be more focused, I will begin posting once a week, likely at the end of the week as a reflection of how my week went. I hope you enjoy, continue to follow my blog, and be inspired to make changes in your own life! I invite you to search for the better part of yourself each and everyday!

“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.”
Walter Bagehot

This quote pretty much sums up a common thread in my life story. I’ve been repeatedly told that I’m not good enough or can’t do x, y, or z. And, I feel like I’ve spent my entire life trying to prove the naysayers wrong and that I am good enough…that I can achieve the impossible. However, I feel there is a caution warning that should be applied to this quote. Yes, it’s good to use other people’s negativity as motivation to do that and more. But you have to be careful that at the end of the day, you’re doing this for you and that you don’t let these negative people make you bitter, jaded, and demoralized in your approach to life. It’s so easy to become that woman with a chip on her shoulder and this has become my daily struggle. Where’s the line? I’m starting to realize that there is no easy, clean cut answer. Rather, it is yet another battle we must wage with ourselves each day. I try to ask myself at the end of each day, am I doing this for myself or just to prove someone else wrong. I then try to disassociate my actions and gains from the negativity that was attached to my original motivations for doing something. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I believe it’s okay to use someone else telling you that you can’t do something as motivation to succeed, but your end reasons for continuing along the path should be for you and you alone.

Theory on Life

“My theory on life is that life is beautiful. Life doesn’t change. You have a day, and a night, and a month, and a year. We people change – we can be miserable or we can be happy. It’s what you make of your life.”

– Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum

What kind of life you have is up to you. For you have the choice every time life deals you a hand to be miserable or to be happy despite your circumstances. Whether you approach life with a positive or negative attitude is up to you. So be mindful of what kind of life you are leading.

Introspection

“Did I offer peace today? Did I bring a smile to someone’s face? Did I say words of healing? Did I let go of my anger and resentment? Did I forgive? Did I love? These are the real questions. I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.”

– Henri Nouwen

Each day you should strive to be a better version of yourself. This includes evaluating at the end of each day your actions and emotional responses throughout the day. You must focus on the tough questions and be honest with yourself. Did you act out of kindness today or did you give in to frustration and short tempers? By focusing on these real questions, you allow yourself the opportunity to do better tomorrow.

A Positive Focus

Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals rather than all the other distractions that life presents to them.

– Jack Canfield

Your quality of life depends largely on your attitude and perspective. So, if you choose to go through life with a negative, pessimistic attitude, you will find it difficult to see the good around you. Whereas, if you choose to embrace a positive focus, you will find more joy in the simple act of living.

Strive for Balance

To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funny bone.

– Reba McEntire

The key to a good and fulfilling life is balance. You need to be able to balance the seriousness of life with everlasting hope that you can achieve your dreams and with a good sense of humor that allows you to enjoy everyday life. For success in life is more than merely finishing the race but rather it’s about the memories created along the way.

Choose to Live

“Today I choose life. Every morning when I wake up I can choose joy, happiness, negativity, pain… To feel the freedom that comes from being able to continue to make mistakes and choices – today I choose to feel life, not to deny my humanity but embrace it.”

– Kevyn Aucoin

Each day you have the power to choose life. You can choose to embrace joy and positivity. You can choose to embrace all that life has to offer – including the good and bad. Because to truly be alive, it means you must choose to feel and not be numb to the world.

Peaks and Valleys

“All of life is peaks and valleys. Don’t let the peaks get too high and the valleys too low.”

– John Wooden

Life is hard, but it shouldn’t be impossible. You have to be careful to not let your expectations and circumstances create mountains too high to climb or rivers to wide to cross. You determine the quality of your life…circumstances only account for a small percentage of your happiness and the rest stems from how you deal with those circumstances.

Patience

“When you have a dream that you can’t let go of, trust your instincts and pursue it. But remember: Real dreams take work, They take patience, and sometimes they require you to dig down very deep. Be sure you’re willing to do that.”

– Harvey Mackay

Rome wasn’t built overnight. So, it goes without saying that your dreams won’t be achieved overnight. No, it takes time, patience, and perseverance to achieve your goals and dreams. Whether it be personal or professional. You must, therefore, work even harder to not get frustrated, disappointed, or discouraged along the way. Have faith that things will work out in the end.