OWN YOUR HAPPINESS

Would you describe yourself as a happy person or an unhappy person? If you think of yourself as a happy person, what do you think contributes the most your happiness? If you think of yourself as an unhappy person, what do you think contributes the most to your unhappiness? If you answered the question about the biggest contributor to your happiness with anything other than YOURSELF, I must disagree with you. Your state of mind, your self-esteem, and especially your self-image, have far more to do with your emotional state than possessions, people or places. Think about it, if you get the guy or girl of your dreams, or you get that amazing home or car you saved up for, do those things make you happy in a direct way? They don’t. What happens is your emotional state is enhanced or lowered by people you are with or things you are given or acquire. The strongest feelings you have are the feelings about yourself. You must feel good about you to truly feel good about life. Until you genuinely like, love, and accept yourself, no person, place, thing, situation, or condition will permanently change you so that you can enjoy life to the fullest. Only you can own your happiness.

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

If someone asked where you worked, you would most likely give them the name of a company, organization, or agency. You could also answer the question by saying you’re self employed. If the same person were to describe what you do on your job, you would probably have no trouble at all describing what your work duties and/or responsibilities are. The same type of response applies to questions like, Where do you live? and What is your neighborhood like? There is nothing wrong with those questions or those responses. But how do you answer the question, Who are you? If you answer by giving your name, then how would you responds to this follow up statement and question: You told me your name, but I want to know who you are as a person? Who are you to yourself compared to who you are to the public? These very important questions are not the easiest to answer, yet they are questions that you should know the answers to. Almost everybody has an image we want to present at the job and outside of our homes and another image that is made up of what we feel in our hearts and minds. This is normal because different environment may call for different conduct. What isn’t normal or healthy is when your self-image doesn’t match public the image. You will not live in harmony with yourself and others if you are not being the true you. So take the time to answer the question, Who are you … really? And when you answer it honestly, see if it lines up with who you really want to be.

ARE YOU READY FOR A SERIOUS STORM?

I am in Virginia Beach, Virginia as I write this and the Hampton Roads/Tidewater Area and other locations along the U.S. East Coast are bracing themselves for Hurricane Sandy. Some weather experts are calling Sandy the making of a “perfect storm.” What’s meant by a perfect storm is that it can bring torrential rains, winds, flooding, and power outages. So when something as threatening as a serious hurricane may be headed your way, what is the best way to prepare for it? Do you stock up on living essentials like, water, canned and other non-perishable food items, toilet paper, candles, flashlights, and batteries? Or do you make quick plans to leave the area long before the storm is predicted to hit? I can’t tell you one way is better than the other because you have to make the decision that is best for you. You will face decisions in your life that are just as important, if not more so, as the ones you would make to protect yourself from a deadly storm. The big question is, are you ready to make those decisions? As the great line from a Nationwide Insurance commercial states, “Life comes at you fast.” And we all know it surely can. Stay alert and stay ready for almost anything and not much will catch you off guard. Keep your house in order. Protect yourself and your family. Mind your money and value your time. And you will also be very wise to follow an approach I coined many years ago, Don’t expect the worse … but always try to be prepared for it.

SHOW YOUR TRUE FRIENDS YOU LOVE THEM

Almost everybody is blessed enough to have at least three to four people in their lives that they consider true friends. I’m talking about the kind of friends that you know want to see you safe and well, want to see you succeed in all that you do, and most of all, they sincerely want to see you happy. For the friends you have who are in this category, show them how much they mean to you while you have the opportunity. Don’t put it off. Tell them just how special they are. You don’t need to wait for a special occasion. Let them know, now, how much better your life is because they are a part of it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because you call, email, or text your true friends on their birthdays or you send them a Christmas card that they realize the full scope of how much they mean to you. And don’t think that you have to be a writer or a singer to create a message that will touch their hearts. Many times, the most meaningful and memorable gestures are the simplest ones. What makes them so significant is that they come from your heart.

KEEP MOVING FORWARD

If you are a good driver, you must keep your focus on the traffic that’s in front of you. A good driver will also check the rear view mirror and the side mirrors frequently to see what’s going on in those areas. A good driver will take a quick look to the side when changing lanes to ensure that no car is in the blind spot that a side mirror won’t pick up. All of these checks are critically important for good drivers, yet the most important thing to do is to keep your eyes on what is in front of you. Keeping your eyes on what’s in front of you is vital to your personal and professional success. We should all learn from our past experiences, including the mistakes we made. But it does you no good to dwell on what you feel you didn’t do well. It doesn’t help you today to kick yourself for a bad decision you made last week, last month, or last year. It is especially harmful to continue to stay depressed over a bad choice or a foolish action you made years ago. Yes, there are plenty of people that do that. I strongly advise you to focus on what you want and what you need to do to achieve it. Don’t ignore mistakes, learn from them and move on. Don’t put yourself down, pull yourself up. Above all else, keep your mind on what you can control. Put your efforts into what you can do. It’s okay to have some low points and bad days, but you don’t want to stay in those states. Move on and move forward.

THE LAST DEBATE

The third and final debate between the two candidates running for the office of the President of the United States took place, last night, and I thought the debate fairly good and letting the viewing public know where the candidates stand on how the U.S. is seen by foreign countries and what role the U.S. should strive to take in the future. I also feel that the toughest questions on foreign policy were not asked or were not answered directly, and that’s politics. Just remember that when it comes to foreign policy, it comes down to decisions. The president of this country makes a decision on how he or she will interact with foreign leaders. The president of this country makes a decision on whether or not to go to the Congress to declare war on another country. The president makes a decision on whether or not to take military action against another country (normally with the support of Congress). The president makes a decision on whether or not sanctions should be imposed on another country and how severe those sanctions should be. The president makes a decision on whether we see another country as a friend or foe to the United States of America. When you go to vote on November 6, keep what you heard about foreign policy in mind, and just as importantly, if not more so, keep in mind what you heard and know about the candidates’ stand on the economy. Most importantly, cast your vote for the presidential candidate you feel will do the best job of making this country a strong, safe, and prosperous nation, now and for future generations.

FORWARD THINKING IS BACK!

I was gone for too long but I will be posting entries in this blog on a regular basis. I do apologize to those of you who were following my posts and saw them just stop. I make no excuses. I just let other things take priority over my blog and that was wrong. You won’t be disappointed with the activity on Forward Thinking because I am on a mission. It’s time to put my writing to use to inform, educate, and encourage as many people as I can. What you will read in Forward Think is short pieces about people, things, and other topics that should help you think in a way that will help you expand your mind and improve your life. Please note that I am announcing the resurgence of my blog before the final U.S. presidential debate, before Thanksgiving, before Christmas, before New Year’s, before my birthday, and before the Super Bowl. I know many other important things are, and will be, going on between now and the end of February, but I’m just pointing out that there will be a lot to cover and I’m not just waiting for a particular outcome to voice my opinion. Stay blessed, stay well, and stay tuned.