How often do we hear the words... "when is this going to end?", "What are we heading for?", or even "where are we going to end up if things continue this way?"...and there are various other statements/questions that are related to this way of thinking.
Now, I am not saying that we are living in a world of sunshine and roses today. I am not saying that there is no chaos in the world today. I am the last person who will tell you that...
Last week we've experienced severe floods. As I understand it, the worst in the history of Kwazulu Natal.
Other than that, both my daughters have been victims of armed robberies in the past (my youngest daughter, twice already).
Personally, I have been attacked and while fighting to defend my wife and my own life, I've been stabbed with a knife inside my own home during a home invasion...
So no, I will not say that we are living in a perfect world...far from it.
But this morning I read a quote that made me think...
We all see the evil, the chaos, and the hardships of this world. Sometimes it goes beyond just seeing it and we experience it ourselves...we feel it on our own skin... And we think... "What can we do to change the world?"
Yes, we want to change the world. I think we all would love to be able to change the world.
But when I read this quote, I realized something. We are all looking out there. We see the violence, the poverty, the aggression, and the arrogance of some people...
When looking at all of this and thinking about it, some people get filled with anger and frustration while others get fearful.
"What will I do when it comes my way?" "What can I do to make this world a better place?", we tend to think.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of those questions. The intentions are good. But to make a real difference, we need to shift our focus.
For as long as you focus your thoughts on the external circumstances, you will remain angry, stressed, fearful...or whatever negative emotions you experience when you are looking at it or thinking about it.
I know. I can speak from experience. For a long time after we've been attacked, I've been filled with anger. I was tired consistently...because at night I would be exhausted. Yet, when I went to bed, my mind would start wandering back to the attack and I could not sleep. I would think about the utter arrogance of these people to come into my own home to threaten our lives. I would start thinking about what I could have done differently during the confrontation. I would relive the whole incident. Although I neutralized them and both my wife and I are alive today, they managed to get away...
Night after night I would be going through the whole ordeal again...over and over...thinking of what I could have done to prevent them from getting away...
It was driving me crazy...until I realized what I was doing to myself.
Let It Go...
At the time, I did what I could. I have also now increased our security in the meantime. There is nothing more I can physically do to change anything at this stage.
When I look around me, life goes on as if nothing has happened.
Yes, violence is still taking place. We still hear about war, hunger, floods, fires, etc...
But there are also people who are still building their businesses, having adventures, planning their holidays...
Life goes on! What am I going to focus on?
I decided to deliberately and consciously start focusing my thoughts on something positive when going to bed at night. I decided to focus my thoughts on what I would like to achieve in the future. I started thinking about things we wanted to do in the house to make life more comfortable. I started thinking of financial goals. I started thinking about my goals here on the Hive blockchain and how I am going to achieve them. I do this every night when going to bed now.
Does my mind wander off sometimes...? Of course, it does. It doesn't change overnight. But every time it happens, the moment I realize it, I deliberately focus my thoughts on my goals again, until I get focused on them. It's amazing how you start relaxing when doing this.
Guess what... It didn't take to long too long before I started getting quality sleep again.
It's the same with being upset about what's going on in the world currently... Getting upset and constantly thinking about it, becomes stressful and it will eventually have a negative impact on your health.
I am not saying you shouldn't care about all the suffering and injustices out there.
But let me get to the quote that got me thinking this morning.
- Change your thoughts and you change your world. ~ Norman Vincent Peale
When I saw this quote this morning, I realized...that is exactly what I have done. I have reached the point where I realized that I cannot continue living this way...
Thank goodness, I realized that it was the thoughts I was thinking that were driving me up the wall. Yes, what happened to us was bad. It was evil. But I allowed it to keep on stealing from me by stealing my peace and joy, by allowing it to dominate my thoughts.
Do What You Can.
Physically, do whatever you can to reduce any risk. Take precautions, be alert. Do whatever you can to ensure your safety and well-being. But once you have done all you can, let it go and focus on the positive. Focus on what you can do to improve yourself, your future, and your immediate environment.
There is no sense in holding on to the past by reliving it. There is also no sense in always thinking about what can happen next and how I should respond if it does happen. Once you have done what you could have done, let go of it and live your life. As you become aware of something you can do to improve your safety or improve in any area of your life...do it! And then carry on with life again.
Does that mean that you need to become selfish and only focus on your own well-being?
Absolutely not! But that brings me to something else I heard someone saying some years ago...and it stuck with me. It just made so much sense to me...
This person made the statement at a conference that we were attending. He said that you have to get your own affairs in order first, because... "if you want to help someone else to get out of a hole, I would assume that you are not stuck in the hole yourself..."
Yes, indeed, you cannot reach out and lend a helping hand to someone else, or try to fix the world, while your own world is falling apart.
You first need to change your world before you can think of changing the world.
By first changing our own world, it will eventually have an impact on the external world too.
This post is not just about "positive thinking" to get what you want in life.
I wrote this from personal experience. The intention of this post is to show that by focusing on good/positive thoughts, you can achieve calmness, get better rest, and have more energy to focus on making your own world a better place first. Only then can we think of having a positive impact on the world around us, both on the environment as well as on other people.
Thank you for reading my post!
I do appreciate it!
Note: All images used in this post are my own.
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