The End of 2015

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

 

We’re nearing to end of 2015. It will be 2016 soon. It is time to reflect back on this year of what we’ve done and didn’t do. What lessons can we learn and apply to our next adventures? A new year can mean a new opportunity to take advantage of new possibilities. A new year can be a new start. We don’t have to wait on what it’s in store for us in the new year. Instead, we can do the things we’ve been holding off on. In the meantime, we can celebrate our time with family and friends and may our thoughts be with those without family for the first time.

 

 

Adjusting A Sail

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Sailing 2011

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. — Jimmy Dean

Change can feel like an impossible feat to do. However, a small change can do wonders to our life. A slight reorientation to our situation can make all the difference to how we handle things. Life is already difficult. We don’t have to make an alternation a huge event. It is better to start things small. It is easier to manage our lives when things are small. As long as we live, we will make adjustments to our situation accordingly. Adjustment is another thing we do because it is part of life. Making adjustment to a new situation means we’re accepting the challenge. We’re willing to put ourselves out when we feel it’s necessary.

[bctt tweet=”I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination. — Jimmy Dean”]

 

Day Brings New Choices

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Choices, Choices

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Every day brings new choices. — Martha Beck

A new day is a gift to us because it brings new choices. Because we have choices, we have an open mind to things. An open mind is willing to learn new things. Learning new things help us to be better as an individual and to the world. Too many choices can be overwhelming at times. We can only pick the best choices for ourselves and prioritize what choices we make first because choices will affect our future. And we want our choices to affect our future in a positive way. We will make bad choices sometimes. However, bad choices don’t have to define who we’re. We just have to learn from the bad choices.   Our choices are our opportunity to take control over our lives and be free doing it.

 

[bctt tweet=”Every day brings new choices. — Martha Beck”]

 

 

Life is a Matter of Moments

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Moments of light

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.— Rose Kennedy

Milestones are meaningless without moments. It is the moments we remember when we make a milestone in our lives. We have moments of struggles, moments of successes, moments of frustrations and also moments of failures. We experience all types of moments. These moments make us what we’re today if we persevere. Those moments become our foundation we can build the next level of our self-development. It is all right to strive for a goal, but it is the moments that make our goals meaningful and worth doing. We experience moments in the here and now and necessarily in the future. We can touch and smells as long as we are present.

[bctt tweet=”Life isn’t a matter of milestones, but of moments.— Rose Kennedy”]

 

Run On the Right Track

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Barefoot Runner

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” ― Will Rogers

It is not easy to stay on the right track, let alone sit there while waiting for something to happen. We can’t afford to wait for something to happen, because if something were to happen how do we know we will be ready for it. We will be more ready if we take action before an opportunity drops on our lap than if we don’t take action. We will likely make mistakes, and we must give ourselves room to make mistakes because that’s how we learn about life. If we want to sit idle, then we can sit idle for a good reason. If we want to take action, then we can take action for a good reason. What we do is an expression of ourselves. It is through our wants and desires that we do the things we do if we hope to fulfill them. We all want a satisfying experience when we express ourselves to the world. We want to feel useful and purposeful in what we do.

 

[bctt tweet=”Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there. ― Will Rogers”]

 

 

We’re Different People Then

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Self-Portrait

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then.”  ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

That’s one of the reasons we long for yesterday because we want to experience how things were then. It is true we had some good times, but we forget that we had some difficult times in our past as well. We were different people then because since then we have added new experiences and those experiences has changed us over time. Today we have different needs and desires. What was important then is different from what is important to us today. It is no use looking back at the past through today’s lenses for something we want today. Our lives change over time whether that’s our tastes in things or our values as we learn to get older physically and psychologically. We hope that we’re getting wiser as time passes.

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[bctt tweet=”It’s no use going back to yesterday, because I was a different person then. ― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland”]

Your Self-Respect Blossoms

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Blossom!

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Do something to allow your self-respect to blossom. — David Viscott

It is important to nurture our self-respect. When we nurture self-respect, our self-esteem increases. However, self-doubt is one of the quickest ways to lower our self-esteem that in turn affects our self-respect. When an opportunity comes our way we can take advantage of it because we believe we deserve it. We believe we deserve an opportunity because we know we worked so hard to get to where we are now and we’re ready to take it. We earn self-respect. We can be our worse enemy or our best advocate when it comes to making a choice to build our self-respect or not. No one can lower our self-esteem unless we allow it. Self-respect gives us the privilege to express ourselves through doing what we find important to us.

 

[bctt tweet=”Do something to allow your self-respect to blossom. — David Viscott”]

 

 

 

Success and Frustration

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Steps to Success

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes its built on catastrophe.— Sumner Redstone

The above quote reminds us that success comes with a price. Before success, we will experience failure, frustration and sometimes catastrophes. Failure just helps us to see our weaknesses and our strengths. We build on our strengths and accept our weaknesses. We will get frustrated at times because we want things to go as plan. The reality is that not everything will go as plan. There will be setbacks and delays, but we continue pushing ahead. Success is never without its perils. Through frustrations and failures, we learn how not to give up or give in to the difficulties of success.

[bctt tweet=”Success is not built on success. It’s built on failure. It’s built on frustration. Sometimes its built on catastrophe.— Sumner Redstone”]


Take Our Own Advice

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Pondering Bob's advice

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself. — Marcus Tullius Cicero

There are times we need some advice. However, most of the time we have the answers. We ask other for advice because we want validation. And there are times we want to ask other for advice because we’re just avoiding taking our own. Nobody else knows us better than we know ourselves, so what better person but ourselves to take our advice. Self-trust and self-reliance are what we need to be confident in taking our advice. We know our like and our dislikes. We pretty much know how we react to various situations in our lives. However, sometimes we surprise ourselves now and then. Wisdom comes from the experiences that we acquired over the years. We will always find our wisdom through the experiences that we’ve lived.

[bctt tweet=”Nobody can give you wiser advice than yourself. — Marcus Tullius Cicero”]

 

Meaningful Past With Friends

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Let Us Reminisce On Yesterday

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Meaning is not what you start with but what you end up with. — Peter Elbow

The struggles and challenges are what we start with that give us meaning in the end. It is, even more, meaningful when we struggle together and help support each other to get through it. It is those memories we tell our story or reminisce about something we did in our past. When there are two or more of us reminiscing the past together, we collaborate and compare memories. One person may recall something we have forgotten. They recall a memory that was long forgotten about because it was more meaningful to them and how it’s impacted their lives the most. As we reminisce, we re-experience the memory as though the event happened yesterday. We’re re-establishing a special bond that we developed many years ago when we reminisce together.

 

[bctt tweet=”Meaning is not what you start with but what you end up with. — Peter Elbow”]

 

Hold Head High

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

High Dynamic Range (HDR) Shots of Malibu with a Nikon D3X

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.—Helen Keller

It is difficult to experience confidence when we keep our head bent. However, if we hold our head high with confidence we then will experience confidence and that others will see that and want to be around us. When we look at the world straight in the eye, we’re engaging the world. We’re freer when we’re participants in the world instead of bystanders. If we’re constantly looking down, we won’t know what direction to take next. We built our confidence through the goals we set and met. We see that we build a foundation when we look back later at our work. Our foundation is our proof to ourselves that we can do what we thought what we can’t do before.

[bctt tweet=”Never bend your head. Always hold it high. Look the world straight in the eye.—Helen Keller”]

 

 

Difficulties Produce Growth

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Growth

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health. — Carl Jung

As long as we’re alive, we will always have difficulties. We can’t avoid or ignore them so we might as well accept them. Accepting difficulties are the first step in learning how to handle them better. Another step of how to better handle difficulties is changing the way we see them. Every time we go through a difficult situation we’re stronger than we were before. We can see that we’ve also gained more wisdom as long as we have learned something from the experience. Life is not meant to pacify us but to build character. Life is about self-discovery.  Life forces us to see ourselves in the mirror. We see things we dislike and the things we like about ourselves. We learn to embrace both the negative and the positive side of us.

[bctt tweet=”Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health. — Carl Jung”]

 

 

 

 

Jump, then Our Wings Unfold

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Jumping into the sea at sunset. Using the self timer

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall. — Ray Bradbury

Sometimes we have to jump before we could ever think about what we’re getting ourselves into when we leave our comfort zone. As we jump, we’re forced to use every brain capacity we have and every experience we have for us to unfold our wings and learn how to fly and to land properly. That’s where we will find our excitement and create meaningful experiences when we jump into something. It is about taking risks. When we’re taking risks, we’re defining who we are as a person. Growth happens when we take risks. Taking risks is life changing experiences and memories we can take with us. As we recall our past adventures through our memories, we can re-experience them anytime we want.

[bctt tweet=”Jump, and you will find out how to unfold your wings as you fall. — Ray Bradbury”]

 

 

Better to Do than to Try

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Doubt, Ericksonian Principles

Beyond a shadow of a doubt
Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’.”- Yoda (‘The Empire Strikes Back’)

When we say to ourselves or others, that we will ‘try’ to do this or that, we’re leaving room for doubt. It is natural to have some doubts when we’re challenged to do something we feel uncomfortable doing. We can think of many reasons why we get afraid to do something.  We have two choices; we can listen to doubts in our head, or we can ignore the doubts in our heads. Doubting is a circular thinking exercise in the mind that keeps us from doing. The fastest way to expel doubts from our heads is just do it, take action. Something about taking action breaks up the doubts in our heads. We have more opportunity for success if we do than if we try.

 

[bctt tweet=”Do, or do not. There is no ‘try’. – Yoda (‘The Empire Strikes Back’) “]

Let It Rain

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

rainy day

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

We have to let things happen. And things will somehow work itself out. Letting go implies accepting what we can’t control. A rainy day is temporary. We may want the sunshine over rainy days. However, if we’re in a drought, we would welcome rain because water maintains life. A sunny day is appreciated when it’s been raining all day. So it is better to get something out of a situation than lamenting about it. Perhaps we can learn to be part of the solution. A positive attitude can be useful in the difficult situation. We can better handle life when we just let it rain.  [bctt tweet=”The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain. — Henry Wadsworth Longfellow”]

Don’t Stop, Keep Going

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

It's time to let go.

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” — Confucius

Just because someone is ahead of us doesn’t mean we have to catch up with them. We all have our own pace in life. We all have different speeds in life too. We don’t need to make comparisons. It is about us competing with ourselves, not with the other person. Since we have our own pace, then we don’t have to rush things along. We don’t stop doing until completion. We don’t stop doing because it is hard. We don’t stop because it is a struggle. We can endure what’s ahead of us as long as we don’t stop prematurely. It is hard to start something new, it is harder to maintain something new, and the hardest is to complete something new. Our regrets are born out our unfinished projects. But if we take our time doing things, then there will be fewer headaches in the end.

 

[bctt tweet=”It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. — Confucius”]

 

 

Change Your World

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

The world at your feet - El mundo a tus pies

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Change your thoughts and you change your world. — Norman Vincent Peale

We see the world through our thoughts. If we see the world with our thoughts, then it is our world we see. Our thoughts can distort reality. We interpret the world based on our previous experiences. Therefore, our minds automatically fill in the gaps without testing our assumptions. There will always be some degree of distortions when we see the world. “The map is not the territory.”  Since the map is not the territory, then we can change our map any way we want. Communication is the key to testing our assumptions and verifying facts. We alter our world when our assumptions are challenged. When our world expands, we see clearly that we don’t have to overreact to things. We just accept what is and use what we have already to move our world.

 

[bctt tweet=”Change your thoughts and you change your world. — Norman Vincent Peale”]

 

 

Look At Your Darkness

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

The Darkness Inside

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change.— Iyanla Vanzant

Just as it is difficult listening to a recording of our voice, it is difficult looking at our foibles or weaknesses. Sometimes we do things out of our weaknesses and then later regret that we did them. We play the denial game on others and ourselves. We deny the fact that what we’re doing can have a big effect on us. The conscious learnings eventually move to the back of our minds. Our learnings and behaviors become automatic. Most things we do becomes second nature and that we don’t think about them. We’re designed this way so we can do more than one thing simultaneously. But once we begin to observe how we respond to different situations, we then can alter our behavior.

 

[bctt tweet=”Your willingness to look at your darkness is what empowers you to change.— Iyanla Vanzant”]

 

Follow Your Passion

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

 

Passion Butterfly

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Follow your passion, and success will follow you. ~Terri Guillemets

We’re not looking for success when we follow our passion. When we follow our passion, we don’t mind the great labor it takes to want it because we already have what it takes to get it. When our days are up, we follow our passion, and when our days are down, we still continue to follow our passion. We follow our passion because we enjoy doing it.  We follow our passion because it gives us satisfaction and purpose. Our success is meaningful when we follow our passion.  We can do without success because our passion is our driving force to continue doing it.  Sometimes success can stifle our passion if we’re not careful. We follow our passion because we like doing it not because we can be successful doing it. Our passion always remains when our success leaves us.

[bctt tweet=”Follow your passion, and success will follow you. ~Terri Guillemets”]

The Ability To Start Over

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

Strength shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over. — F. Scott Fitzgerald

Starting over is one of the hardest things to do when we already put in a lot of work and time into a project. It takes everything we got to restart the project.  But if we think of restarting a project as rehearsals, then we can deal with starting over better. Rehearsals imply that we’re just getting better at doing a certain thing each time. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but we can strive for excellence. We want to do good work. Sometimes, we are going to redo something. In other words, starting over means we’re making improvements to what we’re doing. We can never substitute time and hard work. Time and hard work build strength. Starting over also give us an opportunity to find what we overlooked.

 

[bctt tweet=”Strength shows not only in the ability to persist, but in the ability to start over. — F. Scott Fitzgerald”]