It Is Time To Pause and Reflect

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Reflection of the Sky in my Window

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”— Mark Twain

Mark Twain is suggesting to us to be different or to realize that we’re different in every way and then embrace it. Each and every one of us is unique. There is no one alike. There is no one like you or me. We don’t have to be more like someone but we can be more like ourselves. We have the gift of individuality that we each can bring into a group of people because each person has a unique talent. Some of us are more gifted than others while some of our gifts are underdeveloped.  Isn’t it better to have an underdeveloped gift than have no gift at all? We can develop the latent gift and express it uniquely to the world to see. So we don’t have to be like the majority for us to fit in instead we can feel comfortable being in our own skin.

Pressures Of Being Perfect

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Sunset over Chicago

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“The only pressure I’m under is the pressure I’ve put on myself.”— Mark Messier

If the only pressure we’re under is the pressure we put on ourselves, then we can ease up on the pressure anytime we want. We have control on how much pressure we put on ourselves. We all want to do our best and sometimes our best will not be good enough, but that’s okay. Perfection is not the solution. We’re humans with flaws. Perfection infers that the world will judge us harshly if things are not done right and proper. However, we’re not robots, but a person with emotions. So let us ease off on the pressures of being perfect and learn how to be more ourselves as we live each day of our lives. No one is perfect and everyone has feelings. Acceptance is possible when we let go of perfectionism.
[bctt tweet=”The only pressure I’m under is the pressure I’ve put on myself.— Mark Messier”]

 

Different Approach Makes Different Results

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

life cycles

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

How come we approach a problem in the same way to expect a different result? The good news is that we don’t have to continuously use the same approach when we know that it is not working for us. It is better to constantly find new ways to affect an outcome.  We save a lot of time in the long run looking for different approaches. Sometimes it is like being in a laboratory conducting experiments and then collecting our findings.  It is all right to have a certain expectation for a different result when we’re using a different approach to things. This is how we know what works and what doesn’t work. If we know this or that isn’t working in our lives, then we have the opportunity to change things. Changing our approach around doesn’t have to be burdensome but an opportunity to learn a great amount.

The Smallest Acts

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Wild Flower

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.”— Swami Sivananda

Self-confidence starts with small goals. Each time we succeed in accomplishing a small goal we gain self-confidence. It is easer this way than to start out accomplishing something grandiose. If we start out trying to meet a big goal, and then fail, our self-esteem would plummet, thus no self-confidence. We need confidence in ourselves so we can rely on ourselves to accomplish our goals. When we put in our heart, mind and soul, we are focused. Our internal conflicts, our doubting thoughts creates in us the struggle to succeed, however, we don’t have to stop for them, but to continue on pushing through until we get there. The more we push through, the more focused we get the less time we have to focus on our struggles.

[bctt tweet=”Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success.— Swami Sivananda”]

The Truth We Believe

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

illusion.......

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.” — Pema Chodron

We hold on to our beliefs tenaciously sometimes without considering new possibilities. Our minds are already made up without questioning our assumptions. We dare not question our own beliefs because we feel it could be a threat to us. There is nothing wrong about readjusting to old beliefs when we receive new information. The new information either strengthens our belief system or loosens up our belief system so we can be ready to receive new truths. Our beliefs will always be challenged. For us to learn anything new we must have an open mind to new ideas. We don’t have to be naive to accept everything we hear but we can allow ourselves to consider other possibilities or alternatives in the long run to have us grow in our quest for new understanding about life.

[bctt tweet=”The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new. — Pema Chodron”]

 

More To Life, Than Speed

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

speed

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“There is more to life than increasing its speed.”— Mahatma Gandhi

We live in a fast-pace world. We want to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. We sometimes, express impatient with one another or with ourselves. We angrily tale-gate another vehicle because of our lateness. We just don’t want to wait. We want to get things done immediately. However, if we approach life as slow and steady, then we won’t miss out on life but have time to enjoy it. We don’t want drag our feet either but to participate in what life has to offer. As Gandhi says there is more to life than how fast we get there.  Speed isn’t as important than seeing how pretty is the scenery.
[bctt tweet=”There is more to life than increasing its speed.— Mahatma Gandhi”]

 

Enjoy The Dream Today

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: cherish, Ericksonian Principles

Dreaming

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Letting go of the past means that you can enjoy the dream that is happening right now.”— Don Miguel Ruiz

Sometimes we don’t want to let go of the past is because there is a familiarity. We’re comfortable with familiarity of the past even though it can sometimes hurt. The past is the memory of things we’ve experienced. But we do have dreams. And some of our dreams do come true for us. Those dreams that are happening now in our lives are what we can enjoy and cherish if we give them our attention.  Cherish what we already have and we will be happy. We have a chance to live out our dreams as it is happening today.  The dreams that’s happening in our lives today are from a distant past that were just ideas. We have all put in the hard work for our dreams to become real in our lives.  It is okay to let go of the past while enjoying what is happening now.
[bctt tweet=”Letting go of the past means that you can enjoy the dream that is happening right now.— Don Miguel Ruiz”]

 

The Beginning Of Self Improvement

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: thoughts

Correct in Yourself

“Self knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.”— Spanish Proverb

We all have blind spots we don’t know about. It’s impossible to observe every behaviors we do and every thoughts we think. Self-discovery is like an answer to a riddle, we’re always surprised to discover something new about ourselves. However when we do get the answer, we can feel good about it and take the courage to look at our selves for what we are and accept the parts of ourselves that we dislike. We do need some knowledge and/or information about ourselves for us to know where to make improvement in areas we’re lacking. Self-improvement is about setting standards for ourselves while being role models for other to set standard for themselves. We can easily change when we see what it is we need changed.
[bctt tweet=”Self knowledge is the beginning of self-improvement.— Spanish Proverb”]

 

Meaning In The End

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

An End

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

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

For us to have meaning we must first experience the struggles of life. When we struggle together in life we find meanings and as result of what we’ve been through together we develop closeness. We build new associations that we can cherish for the rest of our lives. Those associations are felt by our minds, souls and bodies. When there is no meaning in our lives, it’s like watching a black and white movie. Meaning makes life colorful and tangible. We need to touch things, feel the sun on our faces and wake up with a smell of coffee in the morning.  We don’t realize that some things are meaningful to us until we revisit our old stumping grounds, or we miss something in our past whether that’s a person or place or thing. Having meaning in our lives give us some sort of purpose. We have a reason to get up in morning because we have a purpose in what we do.

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

 

Truly In The Present

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles, past

Contre-jour printanier

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.” Thich Nhat Hanh

When we look in our past and in our future, we’re spending 2/3 of our time away from the present. While our minds are either in the past or in the future, our bodies are on autopilot in the present. There is no one home in the present moment. Therefore, we are not fully there to be ourselves. Our past can weigh heavy on us while our future can create anxiety. But if we spend more time in the present, then our shoulders will get lighter and our fears will turn into excitement. There is a time for reflection and there is a time to plan things in the future. And most of all, there is time to be fully in the present. Our present is build upon our past while our future is build upon our present. So whatever decisions we make today will affect our future just as our past affects our present.

 

[bctt tweet=”If we are not fully ourselves, truly in the present moment, we miss everything.Thich Nhat Hanh”]

 

 

 

Your Big Opportunity

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: importance

The Crow

“Post Written By Eugene Morgan 

“Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.”— Napoleon 

When we don’t look for opportunities in our lives, we feed into our doubts. Doubts are like veils covering our eyes. We can’t see opportunity when it is right there in front of us. Unfortunately, we look for more evidence that there is nothing out there for us. It is time for us to unveil our eyes of self-doubts, and to see that there are real opportunities if we look. We can create opportunities; it is in the mind-set. The old saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”  Our treasure is where we place our value. Opportunities are those things we look for when we want to express our values. If we value friendship, then we go to places where there are opportunities to develop friendship. If we value information, we look for opportunities to go to a computer and search the Internet or take a class on the subject.  If we value performance, we look for opportunity by participating in or watching a play.

 

[bctt tweet=”Your big opportunity may be right where you are now.— Napoleon “]

 

For Everything That We Are

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles, individual

Unique

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Stop hating yourself for everything you aren’t. Start loving yourself for everything that you are.”— Unknown

Sometimes we think we have to have everything together before we go out into the brave new world to fulfill a dream. Every one of us has experienced feeling shortchanged when it comes to what we’re lacking because we’re comparing ourselves with another. It is better to focus on the things we enjoy doing and to accept ourselves as unique individuals. We should understand that the most importance thing about us is our uniqueness. No one is the same and each and every one of us has a unique way of looking at the world. Each day of our lives we have the opportunities to practice our uniqueness to world while we enjoy the pleasure of experiencing each other’s uniqueness. We start by loving ourselves when we begin to understand that we don’t have to imitate another’s uniqueness when we have our own.

 

[bctt tweet=”Stop hating yourself for everything you aren’t. Start loving yourself for everything that you are.”]

 

 

 

Stay Calm; The Storm Will Pass

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

Illinois storm

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”— Timber Hawkeye

When we stop trying to calm the storm, we then have enough energy to calm ourselves. Trying to calm the storm is just a distraction. We have no control over the storm but we have some control over ourselves. Just as the quote above says that the storm is only temporary it will pass. This is very symbolic of life. We think if only we could control external events, then we will feel in control.  We have no control over someone’s actions but our own. If we can retreat from the place that’s creating chaos, then let us do it. It’s all right to take breaks so we can keep ourselves sane and recharge. When others around us see that we’re calm, it gives them an opportunity to remain calm as well.
[bctt tweet=”You can’t calm the storm, so stop trying. What you can do is calm yourself. The storm will pass.”]

 

Rejection is Merely Someone’s Opinion

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles, opinion

How To Get Success

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Rejection is not fatal; it is merely someone’s opinion.”— Unknown

We don’t have to get bent out of shape because of someone’s opinion that’s contrary to ours. Instead, we can be open to listening to the opinion if it proves useful to us or we can eat the meat and spit out of bones.   It is okay to agree to disagree and as long as there is no physical harm or inflammatory remarks. Rejection is not about us personally, but is about the opinion of those individuals in which they have every right to have just as we have every right to our opinions. We don’t have to take it personally because it is just an opinion and nothing else. We can just move on; meaning we just have to accept someone’s opinion as is.

 

[bctt tweet=”Rejection is not fatal; it is merely someone’s opinion.”]

Our Heart of Hearts

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles, resources

present and distant heart

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our heart of hearts we deserve to have.”— James R. Ball

If we believe that we don’t deserve to have something, then we won’t put our hearts into getting it. However, if we do believe we deserve to have something, then we will put our hearts, minds and souls into it.  All of us have dealt different cards in life. Some people have better access to certain things than others. So life is not always fair. But we all have to find our own way in life. If we’re uncertain about ourselves, how can we be certain about anything else? The belief starts with us. It is the belief that we have resources from our experiences that we can always draw from. We can make our life worthwhile if we create an atmosphere in our lives that we do deserve everything what life has to offer. And that we can be grateful each day of our lives that we are given an opportunity to do good things, if we believe we deserve it in our hearts.
[bctt tweet=”We cannot achieve more in life than what we believe in our heart of hearts we deserve to have.”]

 

Let Go and See What Happens

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles, spontaneity

Don't wanna see what happens next

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.”— Mandy Hale

A plan is desirable when we need structure. However, too much structure can repress our creativity and our spontaneity. It is all right to rely on a feeling or our intuition and to play things out to see where they can lead us. It is about allowing ourselves to express our creativity externally without being affected by our rigidity and biases. Creativity allows us to be free and to be free to let go.    This really allows our unconscious mind to surface a little and to spill some new understandings over to our conscious mind. We all experienced saying to ourselves, “Why didn’t we think of that?” but we did, we just didn’t think of that right away because when we stop looking for an answer, our unconscious mind continues searching until a satisfying answer pops into our head. What a lovely treat when an idea or a light goes off in our heads when we least expect it.
[bctt tweet=”You don’t always need a plan. Sometimes you just need to breathe, trust, let go, and see what happens.”]

 

Love and Memory

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles, love

 

 

black eyed susans for "Twila"

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss.”— Cassandra Clare

Human beings have an aversion for loss because it creates an emotional pain of separation from a loved-one or a friend or a co-worker. We don’t know how to react upon hearing the news that someone has died, but to only react in shock and surprise. We don’t live in a vacuum where we won’t experience some level grief of a co-worker whose loved-one has just passed away. Instead of denying the fact that we feel some pain inside, we can mourn and reflect also the passing and help our friends through these times of grief. And during our reflections we can recall our own experiences of loss in our personal lives. We can recall the love and memory of a loved-one in our minds alive and well, full of life in happy moments.
[bctt tweet=”As long as there is love and memory, there is no true loss”]

 

Take The Rest As It Happens

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

The Phoenix Process

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Make the best use of what is in your power and take the rest as it happens.”— Epictetus

So what is within our power, we should use it or, we’re giving our power away to circumstances. We don’t have to wait for circumstances to force our hand. Instead, we can use the force of our hand to make things happen in the circumstances. We may not have full control over the circumstances, but we can make the best use of control to steer us into the right direction.  We take a bit of circumstances as it happens because we need to know more if we want to learn how to get around the situation if it’s all possible and if it’s necessary for our well-being. We all want to feel in control all the time, however, that’s impossible, which means we need to trust the universe and ourselves. Once we trust and rely on the universe and ourselves we relinquish some control and we feel freer.

 

[bctt tweet=”Make the best use of what is in your power and take the rest as it happens.”]

 

 

 

 

When We Feel Awkward

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

DSC_0049

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“You can only grow if you’re willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”— Brian Tracy

When we feel awkward and/or uncomfortable, we’re experiencing vulnerability. We experience this vulnerability because we feel set up for an attack. We want everyone to see us doing something perfectly. But for us to learn we have to go through the awkwardness and uncomfortable feelings. And if we practice doing the new thing, we will improve and we will feel confident in our abilities. We all experienced wanting to give up during this phase of awkwardness and uncomfortable feelings. But those feelings will dissipate as long as we continue to improve on our goals. Struggle is always part of the process of learning a new thing. It’s really about how we push through in spite of our self-defeat thoughts and the critics.

[bctt tweet=”You can only grow if you’re willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.”]

 

Key To Your Happiness

Published on by Eugene Morgan Category: Ericksonian Principles

key to happiness

Post Written By Eugene Morgan

“Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket.”— Unknown

The key to our happiness should be in our own pocket. We’re in charge of our own lives. Relationship is built on both parties bringing happiness to a relationship instead of finding happiness from a relationship. Life is not about just work instead; we work to live an enriched life as we bring our enriched lives to work. We don’t have to wait for something exciting to happen in our lives instead, we can create our own excitement. We don’t have to follow someone else’s path to feel important instead, we can create our own path because we feel important.  We don’t have to imitate someone for us to admire them instead; we can become our own unique selves because we feel admiration. We each bear the burden of our key to our happiness in our own way.

 

[bctt tweet=”Don’t put the key to your happiness in someone else’s pocket”]