What Are You Afraid To Do?

“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes,

one of his great surprises,

is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do."

Henry Ford

Have you realised that most of the barriers that are challenging us have been put there by us in the first place? Logic would tell us then if we put them there then we can take them down.

One of the great discoveries you and I can make is to find that we really can do something we were afraid we couldn't do.

The barrier is something we have put up inside ourselves and we really can take it down.

What barrier will you take down this week? Have a go, what have you got to lose? If you are successful, much is to be gained. If you aren’t successful, you haven’t gone backwards at all.

The Ant Philosophy

Have you ever taken the time to watch ants? I know it’s a strange question. My brother-in-law, as a child, had a fascination with ants. He refers to them as his ‘friends’ because they were always waiting for him every time he arrived home!

Jim Rohn teaches about “The Ant Philosophy”. Jim recommends that we should study ants. Jim has been teaching children about a simple but powerful concept - The Ant Philosophy. Jim believes that ants have an amazing four-part philosophy.

Part 1 - Ants never quit.

That's a good philosophy. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they'll look for another way. They'll climb over, they'll climb under, and they’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. Perhaps a good philosophy to embrace; to never quit looking for a way to get where you're supposed to go.

Part 2 - Ants think winter all summer.

That's an important perspective. You can't be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.

An ancient story says, “Don't build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because it’s important to think ahead. In the summer, you've got to think storm. You've got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun.

Part 3 - Ants think summer all winter.

During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won't last long; we'll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they'll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can't wait to get out.

Part 4 - How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter?

All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Wow! What a great philosophy to have - The Ant Philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

Making Mistakes

I don’t know about you, but for a period of time, I just didn’t want to get anything wrong or make a mistake. Boy, how that one desire restricted my life. It restricted what I could achieve, how far I stretched and kept me in my safety and comfort zone.

Then one day I had a mind switch and realised the more mistakes I make, the more I learn, the bigger my comfort zone, the more I can achieve. I started to look at mistakes and failures as part of my expansion, as part of being able to achieve everything that I wanted to achieve.

You may have heard the story of this famous figure before. However, I would love to share it again.

• Failed in business, 1831
• Defeated for legislature, 1832
• Second failure in business, 1833
• Defeated for speaker, 1838
• Defeated for elector, 1840
• Defeated for congress, 1843
• Defeated for congress again, 1848
• Defeated for senate, 1855
• Defeated for vice president, 1856
• Defeated for senate again, 1858
• Elected President of the United States of America, 1860

It is Abraham Lincoln. What if Abraham Lincoln just gave up at some point in his journey? This journey was nearly 30 years in the making. What kept him persisting, never giving up, and seeing every step as part of the journey?

Perhaps we should just keep trying more often. Never underestimate your power to achieve what you desire. Take a chance; life is there for you to design. What is it you want to achieve? Embrace and be very proud of all your mistakes, it is from here you learn your greatest lessons and grow.

Short Cut to Calm

Feeling stressed out and worried can be exhausting. There’s the trying to get everything done, and that’s tiring enough. Then there’s the extra energy that it takes to worry, and the tension caused by stress. All that leaves us even more drained.

When we’re stressed and spinning, it can help to short-circuit the action. Maybe we started off our day with something that caused a cascading domino effect of stress. Maybe it’s been intense for days or weeks, or even months. Whatever the case, when you catch yourself in stressed-out mode, or you notice that mind has sped off on a track of worrying, a key to returning to calm is to stop that action. Our breath can be used as a short cut back to calm. In fact, our breath can be our best friend to both short-circuit the stress cycle and also create a calming cycle in the body.

The fight or flight response is the body’s response to stress, so we’re ready to run or fight even though we’re probably sitting in a chair. Adrenaline and other stress hormones course through our bodies, and that would be fine if we were about to run from an attacking sabre-toothed tiger. But if we’re just going through our day in that heightened mode, we’re using far more energy than we need to, and overtime, are causing our body’s wear and tear, and even damage.

In contrast, slow deep breathing 8-10 times activates the vagus nerve. We’re learning now that the vagus nerve, which has almost as many nerve channels as the spinal cord itself, activates a kind of relaxation response in the body. With 8-10 slower, deeper breaths, the vagus nerve gives your body the signal that all is safe, that there is no immediate danger. The body begins to respond with a slower heart rate, it slows the flow of stress hormones, and the bio-chemistry of relaxation takes over.

You can short-circuit the stress cycle and feel calmer by stopping to take 10 slow, deep breaths. You can bring yourself from stressed out and worried to calmer, more present, and more energized. Next time you notice you’re feeling stressed, remember this short cut to calm. Do yourself a favour, and just stop for the few moments it takes to breathe slowly 10 times. You’ll notice the difference.

Today Is Unwritten

A wonderful thought to have at this very moment, right where you are, no matter how much of this day has gone or how much of this day is still to happen. Whatever’s left is ... yet unwritten.

Words, ideas, images, experiences and feelings on the pages of your life book have yet to be experienced.

 
It never gets repeated again so hold for just a moment how precious it is that you are alive, you have this moment and that you get to choose a never-again repeated day.