Steve Mitten's
Perspective
"The spiritual traditions (and
Keynesian economics) teach that what you think, believe, and act on, absolutely
influences your primary reality. If you think it is a dog-eat-dog world out
there, you are going to be fearful and that will influence your behavior and
what and whom you attract into your life. (Pessimists tend to attract more
pessimists. Optimists attract people of a similar energy.) If you think the
economy is going to get worse, you will hold back on your spending, and your
spending is someone else's salary. They pull back on their spending and that can
affect your income. In short, you create the very future you fear.
How
you see the world can definitely influence, what you think, how you feel and
what you act on. As such, your view of the world can directly shape the future
you are creating. So, cultivating more optimism not only makes you happier,
healthier and a heck of a lot more fun to be around, it will also have a
positive impact on creating a better future for everyone.
Every roller
coaster ride has its share of heart stopping plunges. Choose to have faith your
little cart is firmly fixed on the track it is meant to ride. On the roller
coaster of life you might occasionally lose your favorite hat and possibly your
breakfast, but that is all part of the journey.
Lighten up. It's not
personal. Take some time today to enjoy the spectacular view and count your
blessings. It will all work out in the end."
Steve Mitten is a Master Certified
Coach who is past President of the ICF (International Coaching Federation). He
was my coach last year for 6 months. He is very grounded in spiritual principles
and has taught me to live in the perspective of faith and optimism.
If the issue arises, "Did I create my
loved one's death because I was fearful and pessimistic?" A better question to
ask yourself is "How can I not take the death of my loved one
personally?" This has been an issue I have wrestled with for 15
years.
When my husband died an "untimely"
death, I took it very personally. I thought God was punishing me.
A widow
I know had a very different attitude. When her husband was killed in
Afghanistan, she said, "I knew that there had to be something better ahead of
me, otherwise God would have never taken something so good away from me." I
was struck by her comments. She obviously had a better relationship with her God
than I did with mine. Her loss was an indication that God had better things in
store for her.
Grief is never easy, but how much harder it is for those
of us who take our losses so personally. Everyone is affected by loss. Some
families seem to have more than their share of losses. i don't know why. It's a
mystery.
The cost of my attitude of
"unworthiness" wrecked havoc in my life. Until I changed that attitude, I
continued to draw to me many, many experiences that validated my
"unworthiness".
Let's talk about a less severe loss:
Let's say you lose you job. You can go down the tunnel of "unworthiness" and
take it personally and think it means something about you and it may, if you
have not been performing well on your job. Or you could take the job loss as a
sign from the universe that there may be a better place for you to share your
talents.
Which attitude you adopt is your choice. AND you do have
a choice but you may not realize that you do.
I think it was Einstein who said,
"The most powerful decision you can make in your life is whether or not the
universe is benevolent."
I can't emphasize enough the
importance of that statement.
A coach can help you explore your
attitudes and discover more empowering ones.
The Courage to Write the Story That
Scares You...