Negative and positive values and the art of self-awareness

 

Negative and positive values. It’s a simple statement. Either a value is positive or negative. Especially when it comes to the way you view things.

If you’re viewing something that in your mind has a negative value, then you’re not going to feel as good about life. Try it. Think about something negative. Your brow starts getting lower and your body becomes tense.

Yet if you see the same thing and it give it a positive value, then your body relaxed, you’re feeling good and life in general around you is glowing. Try that and see what happens.

With the art of self-awareness, you can teach yourself to assign values to any given situation and not let the values be determined by the past.

Try that and see what happens…

Being grateful turns your world upside down for the better

Being grateful turns your world upside down for the better.

I’m grateful for the view I have this morning working from home. For me, it’s such a calming influence to have the water and the sky beaming back so colourfully.

Yet if I wasn’t in a grateful mood, I might see the picture differently. Using the art of self-awareness, you find that being grateful allows you to see the world for what it is – truly amazing!

When you accept that everything around us is a beautiful creation, you become so grateful of the life we live and your world really gets turned upside down… for the better! 

It sounds crazy, right? You’re probably thinking, yes a view like that could make you more optimistic of just about anything. Well, if you’re not using the art of self-awareness, then no matter the view, you won’t be as grateful as you could be.

Okay, if you have the time, list 10 things in your head right now that you are grateful for. Here’s my list:

10 Metallica

9 More heavy metal

8 The gym

7 My job

6 My dogs

5 Life

4 Blogging

3 Melbourne

2 My family

1 My girlfriend

(The numbers were used so I could count and they are not necessarily listed in priority – just in case I need this document for law purposes)

That took about 20 seconds to do and now I have a bigger smile on my face because I just thought of more things that I’m grateful for.

It’s a state of mind that you choose to be in. It’s that simple. You either choose to be grateful or you choose to be ungrateful in times you really shouldn’t be. I think if we’re grateful just for living, then there’s not too much to be ungrateful for.

And now that I’m (once again) in a crazy, super happy mood with all the freaking energy of the multiple universes out there, hope that you have a rocking day!

Random picture for the day. Taken yesterday walkin’ my hood.

Visualisation and the awesome art of self-awareness

Using visualisation techniques and the art of self-awareness, the world becomes one big playground where you can do almost anything you can think of.

Check out this story on Novak Djokovic and how he’s been visualising his rise to become one of the best tennis players in the world since the age of 6. As the story states – never under-estimate the powers of visualising.

But it’s one thing to visualise who you want to be, want you want in life or whatever it that you desire. Anyone can dream, it’s with the art of self-awareness that you can propel your life from visualisation to realisation.

Take my dream of being in a band again. I can see the lights, hear the music and feel the energy of the crowd reverberating back to me on stage yet I know that without a bass player, drummer, singer and the countless hours of rehearsing it would take, it’s not going to happen. Yet I’ve visualised myself achieving a goal at the gym… and that one is coming into reality!

That takes a degree of self-awareness to understand what’s achievable and what’s not.

Being self-aware is the ability to know the difference between a dream and what’s really achievable. What is achievable is what you desire most – for when you have desire you have a reason to go out and chase down the dream!

The art of self-awareness and me

That’s the side of a building in Southbank in case you were wondering. It was on the way in to meeting Liss in the city on Friday. There were a few lightbulb moments that afternoon and want to share them with you.

With the art of self-awareness, the last few weeks have being transforming. Turning 40 has been one of the best things ever!

There’s been so much that I’ve let go of. And it’s true when they say, the more you can let go, the more you can let in. Plus the extra energy that flows from letting go is electrifying… (you’d better shape up – can’t you just hear the song in your head?)

Taking an interest in what makes me tick and continually improving my game is way awesome. It’s what I want to do for myself. SELFISH! Hell yes! The more I continually improve, the more I can help others do the same.

Whether learning online for the SEO guru, getting it done or doing whatever, I’m now living for the moment and making the most of each second. It’s amazing how much time I used to waste focusing on crap thoughts. There, I said it. No hiding from what it was.

Today, it’s the simple things in life like MC Hammer’s song that can make for very cool moments. Watching it took me back to when I was in high school. They were rocking days. And do you know what? They still are rocking days!

I’ve also received some inspiring messages and that gives me a massive buzz! It keeps the energy flow going and makes life more colourful. Just try helping someone without expecting anything from it. That’s where the real buzz is!!! I get excited when I’m blogging now because they are having a positive affect on the world.

That’s awesome as shit! (A quote from the movie Hot Rod).

And I’m sorry I had to make this post about me. We both know you will love it because you’re one of the ones that appreciates it and for that, you are a Rockstar!

If you are one of the people that like the blog, thank you! Horns in the air

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The art of self-awareness – serendipity

That’s my two dogs and they’re unaware of the art of self-awareness. Or are they? The Yorkie (brown fur) is Mr Norris and Chloe, a maltese, below. They are “brother and sister”. He’s 4 and she’s 7.

Photo #2.

I’m starting to think they may use the art of self-awareness after all – especially Mr Norris. He’s an awesome little guy.

They were both taken in moments of serendipity. 

…Just quickly, have you ever seen the movie “Serendipity“? Kate Beckinsale – enough said (hey, I am a guy and my girlfriend likes her too)…

It’s in those serendipitous moments that life takes on a different dimension. We’re attached to the environment around us and it’s like there’s a path being illuminated to guide us along the way. Letting go of everything and allowing ourselves to get caught up in the moment, drifting from one second to the next, can be uplifting, creative, exciting and exhilarating!

Yes, there are certainly times when you have to have complete focus on the task at hand and follow a direction. It’s the moments of serendipity though where some of the best inspirational thoughts comes to mind. Well, that’s what happens for me.

 

Take the photo above. It was taken when I was just rocking around the yard with the Flickr app on an iPhone 5. What I saw that afternoon was a homestead in rural Australia that I call my “3rd home” and absolutely adore.

Yet there are times when the owner of the yard isn’t so happy with the way it looks.

My serendipitous attitude sees it another way. That’s why it’s titled “What You See Pt2”.

Don’t get so caught up in life that you let it lead you. There’s a time and place for that. Every now and then attach yourself to the life around you. Observe the surroundings like you’ve never seen them before and watch the world light up!

Yep, I do like a little bit of serendipity…

 

The art of self-awareness and smoking

 

 

 

The art of self-awareness and smoking… read on.

I’m not going to lie. I used to smoke when I was a teenager and a young adult (at 40, I’m still a young adult). It used to go hand in hand with the party scene I was in.

Then one day I realised smoking just wasn’t doing it for me anymore. Feeling like shit after a big night and then having a cigarette in the morning was like smoking an atom bomb.

Now I’m sitting in a cafe in the Melbourne CBD. I’m so glad that with the art of self-awareness I was able to give the habit up. Why? Because as a non-smoker now, there is nothing worse than having cigarette smoke blown in your face by someone who couldn’t give a shit about anyone but themselves.

So not only is smoking bad for one’s health, it also frustrates the hell out of the healthy people sitting near the smoker.

I like heavy metal. Actually, I love heavy metal. The heavier the better. How would a smoker like it if I came up and blasted out a few tunes whilst they were trying to have a coffee? I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t like it.

Smoking – the sooner they make illegal the freaking better the world will be.

 

Using Flikr for the art of self-awareness

The art of self-awareness is an on-going journey. Every day is a new chance to take in the awesome life that surrounds us. It’s a matter of embracing the moment and shedding the skin of all other thoughts.

Take the photo above. This is actually an apartment not far from where I live. That was yesterday when I was doing the laundry at a laundromat. Instead of flipping through magazines or letting some other mind-numbing activity take over, I grabbed my iPhone and started walking around for inspiration.

Inspiration is every where!

Now I know you probably thinking bricks aren’t so inspiring. They’re not. I agree. It’s more that as I was walking around yesterday using the art of self-awareness to take my mind off everything.

 

Like these lines from the car park. Using the different frames on Flikr, I was able to add a little texture. It may not be a million dollar selling picture but I don’t care. The pictures were taken as a form of meditation.

Have you ever just grabbed a camera and walked around the area you live in? You don’t have to go far to find the awesomeness that surrounds us. Even better yet – grab your smart phone with the Flikr app and go nuts! I did and loved every second of it!

The art of self-awareness and being honest with yourself

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being honest with yourself can take courage. If you know that you’re continually doing something that you shouldn’t and do nothing about it is the soft way out. What is the overriding factor the keeps you doing something that you shouldn’t? Is it easy to keep going down a path travelled so many times?

The art of self-awareness can have such a positive impact on your life if you choose to take stock of who you really are and be honest with yourself and with others. Even the littlest lie can come back and bite you on the bum more than you ever thought possible.

I’m not perfect but after reading about Cliff Burton from Metallica (bass player that died in ’86), I’m going to be more honest with myself. The guy had a clear understanding of the art of self-awareness because he was too honest with himself and others. No matter what he did or said, he would tell the truth with no concern for the outcome because deep down only honesty existed.

Take a good hard look at yourself and be honest. Is everything really the way should be or could things be improved? Only you know the answers.

Being honest with yourself – could bring more to life than you ever thought possible.

 

The art of staying fit, healthy and happy

Happy is being healthy and fit. Not just of mind but of body and soul as well.

When the mind, body and soul are happy as one, then happiness is a sweet by-product.

I know all that sounds so sickly perfect but it happens after working on it for years.

“A living, breathing monument” – Steven, dad in Family Ties. Not sure how it really fits in.

Building wealth or building health? The more health you have, the more energy you can use on appreciating your wealth.

Everybody wins and the world becomes a better place.

Thank you and you’re welcome.

Adapting to the art of self-awareness

adapting  present participle of a·dapt (Verb)

Verb Make (something) suitable for a new use or purpose; modify. Become adjusted to new conditions.

Become adjusted to new conditions. That’s what adapting to the art of self-awareness is all about!

Imagine if you start thinking about the past and the next thing you know you’re so caught up back then because it’s something in your life that you’re hung up on, that you don’t get time to live in the moment. Adjusting is something you have to do when you’re self-aware or you’ll continue to hold yourself back.

Caught doing the same thing over, knowing that it has to change… like not eating healthy 6 out of 7 days of the week. You know it’d be great for your noggin’ and that thing that moves you around – your body. But not adapting to healthy eating habits when you know you should is not really self-aware.

When you’re conditioned for so long, finding the art of self-awareness lessons in your life will never be properly learned unless you adapt to the new way of doing things. They say it takes at least 21 days to learn a new habit. (I’m doing something for 365 days!) So trying to eat healthy for 1.5 weeks out of 3 isn’t going to cut the mustard. That is not adapting.

If you’re going to take the time to check your self-awareness, then go the whole way and do something positive with it. You’ll love yourself for it.