In our increasingly smaller and smaller world, it is so easy to just open up google, search for what you want, and in a matter of moments, get it.
Or a gazillion links to it.
Social media allows us to make connections easier and quicker, even though we may be on opposite ends of the world.
It has also made is easier for us to share information, pictures, media, articles, videos, and experiences as well.
All of that information, literally at our doorstep. What’s happening to us?
And all of media clamoring, fighting for our attention. More and more, companies, currents events, and even other people’s lives, are all fighting it our for just a small part of our brainspace.
All want to have a part in our lives.
And it’s not all roses and walks in the park. What gets reported on the news are usually controversial, negative, pits people against each other, and really sad.
But day in, day out, that’s what gets aired. It’s also what get’s people’s attention, and gets them hooked.
Put one way, it’s like junk food, or like deep-fried, salted french fries. Yum!
You know it’s not going to be good for you, but you eat it anyway.
That’s because it tastes so good! It makes you feel happy.
And sometimes, we look for happiness, to numb us from the pain we’re in right now.
Moments we want our lives to be mindless, effortless, even painless.
All from what we hear, see, watch, experience, and even eat.
This is not going to be about freedom of speech. I respect people’s freedom of speech.
This is more about: “Do you respect yourself enough to pick out what you want to take in?”
Think about it. Our minds are riddled with the news and events of the world.
Our beliefs? Slowly conform to what we always see, hear, and experience. Even what we constantly replay in our minds.
Garbage In, Garbage Out
What do you eat?
What do you look for to fill up your stomach and give you energy during the day? Is that even a question we ask ourselves anymore? I feel that the question we usually ask is this:
“What delicious thing can I eat now that will make me feel happier?”
We all know junk food is bad for us, and there are generally a lot of stuff that gets mixed into our food that we wouldn’t eat by itself. I’m also talking about those ingredients listed on the back of products – the ingredients you don’t know how to pronounce correctly.
And we can eat food that can taste so good, even addicting, but doesn’t really give our bodies any lasting energy throughout the day. Mostly it’s just processed sugar and stuff. I’m looking at you glazed donuts and gummy bears!
The struggle here is whether we use food for feeling or fuel.
What do you watch? Read? Listen to?
The news is mostly filled up with negativity, intrigue, conflict, sadness, even tragedy. I look back, and even ask myself: “Have I ever felt hopeful after watching the news?”
My answer? I stopped watching, reading news.
I’d rather look for pockets of inspiration and positivity, hidden amongst the waves and waves of hopelessness, despair, neglect, and powerlessness.
Or appreciate great creative work! Which is a fancy way of saying listening to music, or watching movies or shows.
Which can be an easy way out for us also.
I remember all too well the last time I spent almost my whole day binge-watching the hottest TV series, only to come out of it with a stiff back and neck, sore shoulders, a bloated stomach (from the snacking), and a guilty and bewildered feeling of
“Where did all of my time go?”
The struggle with media is also one of feeling or fuel.
We either look for numbness from the pain, or connection and fuel for our dreams.
What do you believe?
Because what you believe, influences how you see and react to the world, which in turn influences the actions that you do, that determine the results that you get.
And those results either strengthen or weaken, or outright invalidate, what you may believe in.
Does what you take in help reinforce what you want to believe in?
Does that align, or help you get to a life that you want?
Growing up, I always heard the phrase “Money is so hard to earn” from my parents. I grew up believing that.
And that didn’t help me one bit. I was always weak during negotiations, I’d give in, or I’d run myself ragged trying to earn money. I had come to accept those feelings and hardships were associated with earning money.
All because of what I’d believed.
And you can change what you believe in.
Start by telling yourself what you want to believe in when you face yourself in the mirror. Don’t shy away from looking yourself in the eye. Be comfortable with what you’re saying.
What do you keep putting yourself through?
What we do regularly, and experience regulary, and how we feel about them also have an influence on our beliefs and views.
This also includes people. If you’re always around people who feel that having a 9-5 job is the only way to live your life, then sooner or later, you’ll come to believe that as well.
So, do we expose ourselves, take in, or participate in experiences that build us up, and get us closer to the life that we want? Or do they tear us down?
Or worse yet, do those keep us unmoving, uninspired, stagnant?
Day in, day out, you’re alive, but your soul is dead.
If that’s you, the good news is you can always do something about it. Instead of bitching and complaining, do something within your power to make it better, and get you closer to where you want to be.
What do you choose to struggle through? or with?
Because those struggle you pursue and persevere in, will ultimately get you results and shape you in tremendous ways.
It’s not the struggle that makes you better. It’s going through it.
And what you choose to go through, try, start, accomplish, and finish, will ultimately decide what results and rewards you get.
Nobody starts out a tremendous success. There’s beginner’s luck, and there’s success.
And there’s a period in between, where small wins are rare, and you’re not really sure whether this will work out or not.
That’s the crucial step. Is this struggle you’re going through one that you want? Or one that you can do without?
Choose your struggles wisely, because at the end of the day,
it’s not about what you are getting, it’s what you are becoming.
Garbage in, become garbage, garbage out. Or,
Greatness in, become great, greatness out.
Your choice.
Your move.
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