What do you want your life to be about? What are your goals? What would make you happy? Have you ever thought about those questions? You should. Because you can make your dreams become reality.
Sponsored by Vera Koo
We can all be so much more than what we think you can be.
It took me a long time to realize this. I do not think I am alone in that regard. This isn’t a concept that is easy for most of us to accept.
It is far easier to accept our life as it is.
As we age, though, we add more wisdom to our treasure chest. And one of the things I learned as I aged was that I could have anything I wanted.
Now, that’s not to say it will be handed to you. There is no free lunch in life.
With the right attitude, belief and work ethic, though, the sky truly is the limit.
Many years ago, I struggled through a personal crisis that shook me to my core. I took a self-help class and immersed myself in 16 months of education. Three pieces of self-help material helped me form this belief that we can be more than we think.
They were the documentary “What the bleep do we know?” and the books “The Secret” by Ronda Byrne and “Messages from Water” by Masaru Emoto.
The documentary debunks this idea that we cannot change who we are, that we are resigned to our fate. It tells us that we can change the way our mind works. And when we change our mind, we change our choices. And when we change our choices, we change our lives.
It isn’t easy, though. When people fall into chaos, they give up hope. They go back to their secure way of doing things. They do not want to give up their old way of life, to which they are attached.
However, if we commit ourselves to gathering knowledge and pursuing new experiences, we can develop our brains to see things differently. We will realize we have enormous potential to change our pattern of behavior that is easy to fall into.
The documentary reminds us that we need to get away from this idea of separateness. We might think that we have no impact on this earth, but that is not true.
We are all co-creators of the future. No one is absent from this. And we must all do our part to be our best selves and contribute in a way that will produce a better future for all of us.
“The Secret” focuses on your thoughts and how they can shape your reality.
People either operate from a victim’s mentality or a winner’s mindset. Those with a victim mentality think they are stuck in their situation, that they cannot do anything about it. Those with a winner’s mindset know we are responsible for our situations, and if we don’t like the situation we are in, we can change it.
“The Secret” focuses on the Law of Attraction, which basically says that whatever is in your life right now is there because you are attracting it with your thoughts. Put differently, we create our reality with what dominates our minds.
Here’s the problem: Too often, people spend time thinking about what they don’t want, rather than what they do. We think about getting sick, being inadequate or failing in our jobs.
Instead, we should think about being healthy, successful and wealthy. Positive thoughts yield a positive life.
The world’s greatest achievers knew and understood this so-called secret.
Who we are reflects our past thoughts and actions. So, stop complaining, because you – and only you – are responsible for your reality.
We all have the power to create a perfect life, and there is no limit to what we can do if we harness our thoughts.
The book outlines a 3-step process to gaining what you want in life: Ask, believe and receive.
Ask yourself: What do you want? What would create an ideal life?
Then believe it will be yours. Have faith in yourself. Who better to believe in than yourself? Do not be overcome with worry. Believe that what you asked for will come to you.
Finally, be ready to receive. Allow yourself to know that what you want is coming to you. Now, that does not mean sit back and do not nothing. Be proactive. Work toward what you want. But do not get anxious or frustrated. That derails progress.
Messages … from Water
Emoto, a Japanese author and researcher, published several volumes of a work entitled “Messages from Water.” He found that negative words, photographs or music have an adverse effect on crystalized water, while kind and peaceful words, photos or music caused water to exhibit beautiful shapes and supreme clarity when viewed under a microscope.
Considering our bodies are mostly composed of water, Emoto’s research suggests that filling our minds and bodies with negative thoughts will be damaging, while filling ourselves with positive thoughts will be beneficial.
All things are possible for us, but because of our upbringing, circumstances, society, peer pressure or whatever confinement we find ourselves in, we often do not realize our full potential. The possibility for your life is infinite – but only if you understand and believe this and pursue those possibilities.
If you have an idea but are only 60 percent sure about it, you better get on with it. You are better off taking the risk. Otherwise, by the time you are 100 percent, the opportunity will have passed, or others will have already done what you planned to do.
Sometimes, you might take chance and stumble. That’s life. Get up, learn from mistake, and go at it again.
Life is a game. Don’t quit. Play it to the end and believe in yourself that you will emerge victorious.
Vera Koo is a first-generation Chinese American woman. She’s a wife and mother, author, entrepreneur and retired competition shooter. Along with two published books -- "The Most Unlikely Champion" and "Wisdom and Things: Essays From an Unlikely Champion" -- she writes her column, Vera Koo, at "Women’s Outdoor News." View all posts by Vera Koo
