There is no point in living in the past
It is a fact that we have all been brainwashed by the past, we have been conditioned by experiences. From the time of our birth we have been conditioned and subjected to the influences of other people. The conditioning process started with our parents and continued by our teachers and peers as we went through life.
The conditioning process was and still is an integral part of our lives. What is important is how we use what we have learned. We were set aside from the animal world by our maker and consequently we are unique. We were given the freedom of choice, the right to make our own decisions.
This is easier said than done and it is for this very reason that the majority of what we do, say and think, stems from our past and our exposure to prior conditioning.
Is this so bad? The past is full of both good and bad experiences, which in turn lead to both good and bad memories. So what is so wrong about letting the experiences of the past control the present or the future? You have heard it said that we should learn from the past, we should learn from our mistakes. Looking at it another way I would prefer to say, why not learn from the successes of the past?
If I have made many mistakes in my lifetime and have also had many successes. Success far outweighs defeat. Just check this fact in history. So why dwell on the negative, rather reinforce and repeat the successes of the past, the success of others. They have already made the mistakes. Just follow their success patterns and don’t even contemplate thinking of their failures no matter how interesting they might be.
The tendency in life for the majority of people is to dwell on the negatives. This is humannature - this is a fact of life. Is it an easy way out? Is it easier to place the blame somewhere else? Does it make it easier for us to fail yet again? Does the resultant self-pity ease the burden of failure – after all it’s not my fault, I always do the wrong things, I couldn’t help it.
Look at any area of life where things appear to be continually going wrong and try to identify with one time at least when it went right. Good, so what did you do differently? Why did you do it right?
Now ask yourself if this can be repeated under a similar set of circumstances? Of course it can. All that is required is a slight shift of focus, a step out of the negative paradigm into the positive. Dwell only on positive and success thoughts and discard all negative and useless information and experiences.
Our world is full of negatives and unfortunately we are continually being bombarded with negative news reports on TV, Radio and in the press. We can accept or reject what is reported in the media, but if we accept, we are accepting more negatives into our lives. We are allowing the negatives to take hold and to dictate our actions and feelings. We are giving away our freedom and our right to decide.
Self-power is permanent and no one can take it away from you. You have the rightto choose. You can give your power away, you can throw it away, you can squander it or you can lose it. What is important to remember is that you can also use it, it is yours, and no one else should have it.
Now is the time to take back your power, take back what is yours. Become the master of your own destiny - take control of your thoughts and beliefs. Now is the time to create your own reality and stop living in the negative world of yesterday,the world of the past.
In the words of a song, the title of which I cannot remember, there are some very positive thoughts. I believe that if we as South Africans were to adopt the sentiments we would make this a much better world to live in.
“Deep within each heart there lies a magic spark
That lights the fire of our imagination.
And since the dawn of man,
The strength of just – I can,
Has brought together people of all nations”
We live in an amazing world, in a beautiful country. The world was created for all people irrespective of race, color or creed. You’re Creator and mine intended for us to live together in harmony, but in His wisdom gave us the power of choice. I pray that we should use this power for the good of one another and not selfishly.
© Des Squire (Managing Member)
AMSI and ASSOCIATES cc
Cell 0828009057