Unchecked EGO

Unchecked EGO

Who's our #1 ENEMY who remains incognito most of the time?  It is our Unchecked EGO.  EGO in itself is NOT bad and it is even a necessary and important part of evolution.   EGO is a survival mechanism that keeps you safe whenever you're vulnerable and weak as a child.  It becomes harmful [instead of being BAD] only when you hold on to it later in life.  EGO is like the hard shell protecting the vulnerable seed inside while the external conditions are NOT quite ready for the flower to bloom.  If you DON'T have the protective shell, the seed will most certainly die.  If you, however, DON'T shed the shell when the conditions are right, the seed also dies without ever blooming.  It is thus critical that you shed the shell when the time is right💴💷💵

Personally, I see EGO as that wrapping paper covering the unique expression of joy.  EGO hides the special gift inside.  To uncover that gift you first need to remove that wrapping paper.  WHEN you DON'T access this joy, little by little the fuel that gets you up in the morning starts fading away.  Until depression sets in📙📘📗

BIG challenge is HOW can we spot the EGO in the room?  EGO comes in many forms and sometimes it can be hard to discern between EGO and internal knowing OR purpose.  EGO is always selfish and greedy as it comes from an EGO-centric perspective.  Then the mentality turns from 'WE' to 'I'.  Internal knowing, on the other hand, is aligned with your higher good and thus always has a positive impact.  That becomes the "WE" rather than 'I' perspective💎💎💎

The thing is, our minds do trick us.  Like I myself, I judge everything based on how they behave, talk, and think.  I can see everything because I thought that I knew everything.  UNTIL I realized that I was WRONG.  Another realization is that many of us [that includes moi in the past] believe that we knew everything.  We thought that the more we think from our own perspective, the more we realize that everything that happens will be according to what we thought❎❎❎

Many of us [that includes moi in the past] tend to keep judging HOW people behave and HOW they treat us.  We judge them for being either fake OR genuine.  One mistake and then 1,000 judgments come into our own minds about another person.  Should we be CAUTIOUS?  Yes we can BUT we got to enjoy life too.  Our takeaway, let us try to ENJOY LIFE rather than trying to know everything.  Let's get off that UNCHECKED EGO ASAP❗❗❗

How Are We Reacting In Life?

How Are We Reacting In Life?

How Are We Reacting In Life?  Indeed, life can often feel like a never-ending roller coaster ride.  One minute you're UP, the next you're down.  It's easy to get caught up in the twists and turns, responding and reacting to whatever comes your way.  BUT is this really LIVING LIFE?  WHAT IF instead of just reacting, you approached each day with intention?  WHAT IF you felt empowered to shape your LIFE experience, instead of letting external forces control you❓❓❓

Again, it all starts FROM WITHIN.  Most people go through life without truly knowing themselves.  They will give their name, age, job title, etc, BUT WHO are you really?  WHAT do you value most?  WHAT vision do you have for your LIFE?  To LIVE LIFE fully, it is imperative that you must know yourself well enough.  You've got to find out something about yourself.  Dig deep.  Reflect on your core values, passions, strengths, and even weaknesses.  And dig deeper to understand WHAT really MOTIVATES you, WHAT keeps you moving.  This SELF-AWARENESS is the foundation for living intentionally📗📙📘

lif you're in that predicament, TUNE OUT THE NOISE, a coinage that evolved from psychologists.  As it is impossible to live purposely when everyone else's agenda consumes you, society, family and even your peers, their expectations will continue to infiltrate your own mind, even shaping and influencing your desires.  And their opinions become your SELF-TALK!@#$?

So, WHAT's our FIX?  You must TUNE OUT THIS NOISE, and start listening to your own INNER VOICE.  What do you want?  NOT what will make others happy BUT WHAT makes your soul come alive?  Oh Oh your answers may surprise you.  BUT do trust them.  They hold the key to your own self-fulfillment.   Moving forward, OVERCOME THE RESISTANCE❗❗❗

To quote noted American thought leader Bryant McGill, IF YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO BE DIFFERENT, YOU HAVE TO START REACTING TO LIFE DIFFERENTLY.  So, this brings us back towards OVERCOMING RESISTANCE.  Once you have defined your vision, you'll quickly hit roadblocks, that I guarantee you.  Well-meaning people may even criticize your dreams.  Hidden FEARS and DOUBTS will surface until they start to undermine you.  The path of LEAST RESISTANCE is to give up.  BUT hey, LIVING FULLY means having the courage to ignore the naysayers, including your own self-sabotaging thoughts.  Do persist in the face of criticism.  Learn to manage your own demons.  We CAN'T be REACTING TO LIFE FOREVER!@#$?

How I Wish Every Day Is A 'SUPER TUESDAY'

How I Wish Every Day Is A 'SUPER TUESDAY'

How I Wish Every Day Is A 'SUPER TUESDAY'.  Yes, this is wishful thinking because that is next to impossible to ever happen because even in the United States, SUPER TUESDAY happens only once every four years, that few and that far in between.  BTW, just to be crystal clear, me NOT being a U.S. citizen, today's piece should NOT be taken as a sheer intervention in the domestic affairs of U.S. politics.  I thought of SUPER TUESDAY as our piece today because I've always been enamored by it📘📗📙

So, for the benefit of our readership not so familiar with U.S. politics, here's a bit of a Primer 101.  SUPER TUESDAY can make OR break a presidential candidate's bid to win their party's nomination, and that applies to both the Democratic and Republican parties.  With more than a dozen states voting on SUPER TUESDAY, it is the most consequential date in the U.S. presidential campaign calendar [apart from election day itself].  BUT we won't get into the nitty-gritty of the mechanics for SUPER TUESDAY but instead, we'd like to relate to it vis-a-vis our day-to-day life calendar📌📌📌

From our day-to-day life perspective, I have this mixed feelings of envy and fear with SUPER TUESDAY [depending on your mindset because you could either be excited or fearful short of manifesting that phobia].  And yet, I continue to nurse that wishful thinking that everyday be akin to SUPER TUESDAY.  WHY?  Because if ever SUPER TUESDAY comes into fruition in our daily life, that levels up the playing field, giving us that fair chance to succeed OR fail, to hit OR miss, to achieve OR flop, to end up either as a winner OR as a loser.  BUT hey, no one amongst us ever wants to be either a flop OR a failure.  WHY?  Because everyone wants to be a WINNER💧💧💧

Let's face it.  If every day in our calendar is indeed a SUPER TUESDAY, that gives us that constant opportunity to be a WINNER [if we DON'T flop].  BUT unfortunately, this WON'T happen because our calendars are all cast in stone.  In fact, while in the U.S., SUPER TUESDAY does happen every four years, in our real life, SUPER TUESDAY happens and knocks ONLY ONCE in our daily life as a one-off opportunity.  As that old cliche goes, opportunity knocks only once, dude❗❗❗

Our takeaway?  Let's mark every day in our calendars as SUPER TUESDAY.  WHY?  TO remind us that opportunities do knock at our very own door.  TO encourage us to squeeze every ounce of our will power to successfully take on every opportunity that pop-up.  TO help us realize that the 365 days in a year does NOT mean that opportunity will repeatedly come back to us day-in day-out.  HOW I WISH EVERY DAY IS A SUPER TUESDAY💥💥💥

What Separates PRODUCTIVE Versus BUSY People

What Separates BUSY Versus PRODUCTIVE People

What Separates BUSY Versus PRODUCTIVE People?  Oh Oh, gazillion of charts are scattered across because comparisons between BUSY and PRODUCTIVE people can't just be avoided.  Now, this all boils down to TIME, it being the greatest commodity of all.  We just don't HAVE enough of it to accomplish our GOALS.  It is WHY I strongly believe that the difference between them comes down to two words:  SET BOUNDARIES💵💷💴

It's a HARD lesson for many [and that includes moi].  SETTING BOUNDARIES has taught me quite a plenty, like being able to walk away from things that DON'T serve me or my purpose.  In the shortest words, it is saying NO to things and to people more than saying YES [without even batting an eyelash].  Having said that, let's admit that it remains a 'TALL ORDER', easier said than done📗📙📘

Let's admit it, most ambitious people are driven by results and doing more, NOT less,  In fact, hard-driving entrepreneurs are typically relentless in their pursuit of capitalizing on every opportunity presented to them even if it means growing and expanding their 'domains' way and beyond their core activities.  BUT the question is, is it SUSTAINABLE✅✅✅

So WHAT separates BUSY people from PRODUCTIVE people?  Let's relive typical day-to-day scenarios.  We sit down to accomplish a specific task BUT the minutes and hours tick by.  Then we're interrupted and we realize we haven't made any progress?  We start the day invigorated and excited to accomplish all we have in front of us.  By end-of-day, you realize your TO-DO List remains unchecked❎❎❎

Maybe it's NOT even you or me but a work colleague, one you would think could be a 'high flyer' if he or she would put their mind to it BUT for whatever reason, they just CAN'T get out of the proverbial second gear, accomplish all that they probably could.  Our takeaway here is that among men and women, getting insufficient sleep was the negative habit most closely associated with "PRESENTEEISM", defined as the 'PROBLEM OF WORKERS' BEING ON THE JOB BUT BECAUSE of ILLNESS, NOT FULLY FUNCTIONING".  C'mon dude, let's cross that fence from being BUSY to being PRODUCTIVE❗❗❗

What's Your TRUE POTENTIAL?

What's Your TRUE POTENTIAL?

Can we spend a very small fraction of our time today to discuss What's Your TRUE POTENTIAL?  Hoping I WON'T face a cold response because I deeply feel this is one burning issue amongst many of us.  Whether you're applying for admission to the university OR in the midst of choosing your career path OR going through a midlife crisis, the BIG question is "WHAT ARE YOU CAPABLE OF DOING?'  Unfortunately, this world may have fed you with UNREALISTIC expectations from the beginning, and it may be keeping you from understanding your potential.  What's Your TRUE POTENTIAL💵💴💷

We're all told that there's some hidden talent deep within us that will be our saving grace one day.  More often than NOT, though, you're only wasting your time in finding your "TALENT" instead of spending that energy to build your POTENTIAL.  If you can understand your POTENTIAL, SUCCESS will be knocking at your doorstep, promise.  Let's dig in to find out the not-so-hidden secrets that will help to lead us towards our empire of SUCCESS📌📌📌

So, what exactly is personal POTENTIAL?  Before getting into its definition, we need to know WHAT personal POTENTIAL really means.  There's a high chance that you have the wrong definition in mind, BUT that's NOT your fault though because it's HOW most of us think of it.  Oh Oh, people generally tell you that you're naturally gifted with personal POTENTIAL.  Supposedly, your true POTENTIAL is an activity that you can do with minimal effort📗📙📘

With this perspective, you're always in search of a hobby that you think you're good at.  You keep looking for that "UNKNOWN" nature's gift.  WHAT you DON'T know, BTW, is that personal POTENTIAL has more to do with your mental strength than your so-called gifts.  It is anything that you wish to be.  Hence, even if others say that your fashion sense is terrible all your life, you can still end up being a SUCCESSFUL fashion icon💎💎💎

WHAT you probably need is willpower.  With your courage and a firm intention, you can achieve whatever personal POTENTIAL you want.  In brief, it is YOU, and ONLY YOU, who can define your GLASS CEILING and that as you progress, you can keep 'raising the ante' so that your GLASS CEILING goes UP and UP, with no limits.  So, WHAT'S YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL, dude❓❓❓

Is Social Media Addiction Reaching Alarming Levels?

Is Social Media Addiction Reaching Alarming Levels?

Is Social Media Addiction Reaching Alarming Levels?  My quick unfiltered answer is 'YES and YES'.  And no less than in the United States, where the rule of law prevails most of the time, recently, fourteen states and the District of Columbia filed a suit against META, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger contending that the company knowingly uses features on its platforms to cause children to use them compulsively, even as the company said that its social media sites were safe for young people💴💷💵

The accusations in that lawsuit raises a deeper question about behavior.  Psychologists claim that devices lure users with very powerful tactics which they coined "INTERMITTENT REINFORCEMENT" which creates the idea that a user could get a reward at any time.  BUT when the reward comes is unpredictable.  By analogy, this is easily compared to slot machines📗📙📘

So, similarly with slot machines where users are beckoned with lights and sounds BUT in social media, it's even more powerful as information and reward tailored to a user's interests and tastes.  And while it's true that we adults are susceptible, young people are particularly at risk because our brain regions are involved in resisting temptation and reward are NOT as nearly developed in children and teenagers compared to adults📌📌📌

So what makes SOCIAL MEDIA so compelling? Practically all experts who study the ramifications of the internet are one in saying that the magnetic allure of SOCIA MEDIA arises from the way the content plays to our neurological impulses and wiring, such that consumers find it HARD to turn away from the flurry of incoming stream of information❎❎❎

Moreover, the studies say that adolescent brain is especially attuned to social connections and SOCIAL MEDIA is all a perfect opportunity to connect with other people.  So, the debate now is whether COMPULSION EQUALS ADDICTION?  A word of caution, though, from experts for tagging ADDICTION with SOCIAL MEDIA because it is also essential to our daily life✅✅✅

HOW HARD YOU TRY Versus HOW YOU TRY

HOW HARD YOU TRY Versus HOW YOU TRY

HOW HARD YOU TRY Versus HOW YOU TRY, oh what a boring topic you might try to blurt BUT hold on.  Please allow me to convince you that this topic is worth our five minutes for today.  WHY?  Because many of us frequently get into this dilemma of NOT ignoring things, of NOT procrastinating, of NOT dilly-dallying, only to FAIL after having tried💴💷💵

Well, no matter how hard you try to avoid them, you really CAN'T stop BAD days from happening.  Maybe you lost your job.  Maybe you had an acrimonious fight with your partner/spouse.  Maybe you had a terrible breakup with someone you considered as "THE ONE'.  Maybe you were blindsided by the loss of a loved one📗📙📘

The fact is, we all face times in our lives when we feel the coldest depths of despair, WHEN the only thing we feel like doing is going somewhere quite, staring at the ceiling.  Those are the moments when life feels way too hard, right?  The thing is, when you are in those difficult situations, we do try and sometimes FAIL.  And the thing is, how HARD you try is hardly ever enough.  That's only half the equation.  If you DON'T factor in HOW you try, then it is quite likely that you'll be 'screwed'💎💎💎

Now for a deeper insight, can we agree that your best will NEVER be enough if you DON'T know exactly WHAT you're trying to achieve.  So, here's the DIFFERENCE between your intention and your means.  Just because you have good intentions OR hope for the best, it just DOESN'T mean it will happen.  Just because you did try, even if you did try your best, that's NOT enough either❎❎❎

Sadly, many people [wrongly] believe that if they did try HARD enough, that's enough to get all they want.  That couldn't be more wrong.  There's more to the equation than just how HARD you try.  There's also HOW YOU TRY and what you actually do.  It's NOT just a question of how HARD you try.  It's also, if NOT more, important about how you try.  You can put your blood, sweat and tears into something BUT still get little to NO returns.  Then there's someone else WHO seems to be hardly trying, but they get everything?  WHY?  Because that person is either doing something more effective OR efficient.  They're doing something that works and quite likely, you're using something that DOESN'T.  HOW HARD YOU TRY versus HOW YOU TRY can be oceans apart❗❗❗

How NOT to Fail BUT Succeed

How NOT to Fail BUT Succeed

How NOT to Fail BUT Succeed will always be a polarizing topic to thread.  NOT because it's irrelevant.  NOT because it's a no-brainer.  BUT as I write this blog, I can be asked 'ARE YOU SUCCESSFUL'?  Problem is, SUCCESS is relative.  For one person, just to end up with an office job even as a clerk is SUCCESS by itself while for others, SUCCESS means he becomes a manager💴💵💷

So let's NOT get bogged down with the semantics of SUCCESS.  Instead, let's focus on FAILURE because that's a more 'one size fits all' recipe.  And topping the list of FAILURE culprits is when we DON'T understand the VALUE of TIME.  Truth is, UNSUCCESSFUL people DON'T VALUE their TIME, period.  They are everywhere, anywhere, anytime because they lack the ability to dedicate their time towards their goals.  And sadly, their FAILURES are compounding😡😡😡

Unfortunately, year after year, we can hear many of us make NEW promises WHICH never come into fruition simply because they couldn't be bothered to put in the time required towards achieving their GOALS.  Time management skills, learning HOW to say NO and knowing WHAT commitments to undertake, is a step towards great SUCCESS in any area of our lives📗📙📘

If you DON'T want to waste your time, then learn NOT to procrastinate.  Take actions WHAT you want in life.  Second common culprit is WHEN the things we do are NOT aligned with our GOALS.  The more important a GOAL is, the higher it will be on your hierarchy of VALUES and the less discipline and more disorder you'll have associated with it❎❎❎

There's one other COMMON MISS we commit.  Some of us [wrongly] think that SUCCESS in one area is good enough to compensate for FAILURE in other areas.  Let's look at a rare but realistic scenario WHERE your boss sucks and you really hate your job BUT that is NO reason to slack and produce mediocre work.  You're getting paid to be there so DO IT RIGHT, life has this universal law of giving you WHAT you put in.  It all boils down to maturity and wisdom to pursue excellence no matter the circumstances.  UNSUCCESSFUL people are the ones WHO are okay with getting bad grades and WON'T bother finding an effective method that will help in their learning ability, because after all, being a student is less about how smart you are BUT more about how well you can plan and prepare.  This is all about HOW NOT TO FAIL BUT SUCCEED✅✅✅

How Tough Is It To Improve In Life?

How Tough Is It To Improve In Life?

Do we need to discuss how to improve in our life?  OR is this a non-issue?  Me thinks this is as important as our 'bread and butter' topics.  So, the brutally frank question I'll pose now is:  How Tough Is It To Improve In Life?  And I'll quip:  NOT SO TOUGH.  We all know that SELF-IMPROVEMENT is important BUT let's face it, it's NOT always easy to know WHERE to start, especially when we're feeling STUCK📗📙📘

Now, have we ever wondered WHAT your life would look like IF you could get just a LITTLE BIT better every single day?  WHAT if you could improve your skills, habits, and even mindset by a measly 1% every single day?  HOW much progress could you make in a month?  In a year?  In a decade?  Now, we're in for a BIG surprise💥💥💥

Studies will surprise us because they showed that while 1% may seemingly look [and sound] insignificant on its own, small daily improvements compound over time to create astonishing results.  That is the power of the "1% RULE' coined by researchers, a simple yet profound idea that continues incremental progress adds up to MAJOR progress✅✅✅

So, let's buckle up and understand as to what is this "1% RULE"?  The 1% RULE states that if you can get 1% better at something everyday, the effects compound dramatically over time.  For example, if you improved by just 1% daily for a year:

• After 6 months, you'd be 37% better
• After 12 months, you'd be 371% better [and that's over 3.5 times higher than when you started off]

BTW, this applies to all areas of life, name it, health, career, relationships, finances and more.  While trying to change everything overnight rarely sticks, small consistent actions create lasting results.  BTW, the 1% RULE is about progress, NOT perfection.  You DON'T need massive breakthroughs.  Just focus on incremental improvements.  WHY will this work?  Hmmm, trying to change too much too fast is overwhelming and the 1% RULE takes the pressure off😀😀😀

Living Life With AUDACITY

Living Life With AUDACITY

As we stir by our everyday hustle and bustle of life, the mundane nuances of our days rub into our faces.  We all transcend into the struggles, putting on brave faces, and marching with frantic heartbeats in the uncertainty of tomorrow.  Bestowed with the most powerful weapon of creation, our minds uncover the depths of seamless ideas that revolutionize.  So, are we  Living Life With AUDACITY💴💷💵

As the world today CONNECTS as one global family with millions of UNKNOWN identities, as we CONNECT more, HOW often do we connect with ourselves?  Our ideas of CONNECTION are perceived as being accepted and validated in the social realms.  Our existence is dependent on the identify of society ushers us with.  So, WHAT exactly is identity?  Is it the intangible association that society labels us with?  The notion that deems fit to them📗📙📘

As we humans are multi-layered species WHO are condoned by the world to fit into a box, to be like a balm that soothes the ego of others.  We are so conditioned by the IDEA of pleasing others, it becomes difficult to identify WHAT makes us happy.  The most unfiltered version of ourselves is the authentic selves that live without any concealing and are fearless in the pursuit of WHAT sets us free.  So, how often are you hurt by someone's words yet DO NOT react to them to NOT anger them

Indeed, it is a human tendency to overlook everything OR invalidate our own experiences to derive validation from others. And as we grow older [and wiser], we realize the simple fact that indeed, the world is filled with stories of broken dreams, waiting to be read one story at a time.  We understand that at the end of the day, all we want is to fall into our bed with tranquility and wake up with EXCITEMENT❗❗❗

No matter what we are, let's face it, all of us are broken pieces of the same thread that binds us together.  And in our darkest nights, where we have battles to fight, sometimes on the brink of adversity and despair, we want to be tended with LOVE and CARE.  We all want to be LOVED, a LOVE that gives us a chance to unleash our authenticity, for our souls to dance, and to be embraced with honesty.  So, LIVING LIFE WITH AUDACITY is too tempting to ignore✅✅✅