Yin vs YangThe Battle for Success in Life

Each day I wake up and I stare at this computer until my eyeballs want to fall out of my head.

I am a Graphic Designer. I love what I do, I go to work in sweats, messy hair, and eat abundantly. The fridge is only a few feet away. I get paid to draw, paint and create some pretty cool things. We work on globally reaching projects and get to blast the music all day, everyday.

Being an artist has its pitfalls though. We are sometimes over emotional wrecks. It’s that part of me that makes me good at what I do that also drives everyone around me insane at points (including myself). One thing I noticed about myself and the world, is at times we both can be very cynical, pessimistic and even down right negative. You’d be surprised how many forms negativity hides out in. Anger, fear, rage, dread, jealousy, resentment, confrontation, complaining, bickering, arguing, gossip, depression, anxiety, nervousness, war and judgment. All these feelings are something we all feel on different levels in our lives at different points. Some more than others. Each person will gravitate towards a few. They are kind of made up truths we tell ourselves internally that is just completely self deprecating and poisonous to us. It all boils down to 1 word. Resistance.

When we resist or anytime we are negative we do not accept the present.

We go through great suffering when we do not accept what it is happening in the now. We resist most of the times because our egos tell us that if we resist hard enough, through this resistance we can bend reality to what we want. Well its obvious that makes little sense, and definitely does not work. Trust me I tried. Think about this, your ego, the mind that rattles on and on in your head at times. The thinking mind, he / she thinks… it can get what it want’s by wanting it to be another way, If it wants hard enough it has a chance to change it. Did you get that? It’s obvious it believes it works that’s the only logical explanation our minds do this. It’s one of the strange idiosyncrasies of human beings. We have a mind that has an identity. No other animal on the planet thinks the way we do. We are blessed with a great mind, but it also can work against us if we are not careful. Do you know that we are the only species on the entire planet that resists living with the nature and earth that sustains it? We resist everything, from change, to life, to death and mourning, from greenhouse gasses and negligence of the earth to war and abuse of power. If we don’t resist some of us don’t feel alive.

There is hope though.

One of the greatest things about negativity that I recently begun to understand is that it can also be used for good. If you think of negativity in this light it changes its meaning.

it is there to alert us that we aren’t on track.

It’s the little annoying younger brother all wound up on chocolate, acting like sponge bob in your mind. Always around to put you down or any number of ways he plans to wreak havoc on you. You can use it as an internal alarm system. Anytime any form of negativity arises in you, use it to sound your alarm. Breath, take a few breaths focus on what your currently doing. Whatever that may be. Right now it would be reading this blog post. So whenever your little mind or little brother in your head acts up, ring your alarm.

Given this information our duty is to remember every time any spark of negativity comes about, sound an alarm in your brain. Jump up and down. Well maybe not jump up and down you will look like a nut. But in all honesty moving your position, even if its shifting your weight and thinking another thought can have a profound change in your emotional state. Use that alarm to let you know to STOP, and be totally present in the now, without any judgment of any thing around you. Just be. This is how zen masters live, Zen is about living in the now. The past is gone and it no longer exists, the future is forever fleeting and is never coming. The only glimpse of the future we will ever get in this lifetime is right …this….moment. Cherish life, your friends and everything around you. Live in the moment, that is our duty or at least that is mine so I can stop staring at this computer screen until my eyeballs fallout.

What do some of you do to stay sane and keep focused on life and your career?

I always speak about the unlimited power of the human mind. With great power comes the need for great control. That’s why the mind is only great if it is used properly. If it is not understood, the mind can create limits that cause the illusion of entrapment.

Our mind is an incredible tool. Think of how many thoughts go through our head as we are reading this paragraph….

Do you like it? Should you keep reading? I read something similar. I wonder what this guy looks like?

All this just in the back of your head while you read. Your mind produces an incredible amount of thoughts per day…

Newsgroup: sci.psychology
"Dr. Deepak Chopra once quoted a study (...) in which the researchers
concluded that the average person thinks approximately 65,000 thoughts
per day. They also went on to conclude that of these 65,000, about 95%
are exactly the same thoughts that [passed] through the minds of
people the day before."

Imagine that. We are prone to the same daily thoughts over and over again. That is why we are creatures of habit. It is our thought pattern. If we can manipulate our thought pattern, we can change. This is what AA is all about for alcoholics and drug addicts. They don’t tell people to stop drinking or using. They tell them they have to change the entire way they think. Every day, from the minute they get up, their thoughts lead them toward their addiction.

We all should be aware of this, because our mind places limits on the things we do. I remember hearing a story about how, by 1954, no one had ever run under a 4 minute mile. Then a young medical student from England named Roger Bannister broke it by less than a second. It took almost 90 years of trying to break the 4 minute mile. It was once thought physically impossible. After Bannister broke it, 9 other men broke the 4 minute mile within 2 years.

Imagine that. Something once thought impossible, is proven possible, and now all of a sudden 9 other people can do it too. Why? The reason is, once the mind knows something is possible, it has no excuse. Our mind can put limits on our physical body because of our thoughts. Our thoughts are not only powerful to others, they are twice as powerful to ourselves. They set the blueprint of our actions throughout our life. They control who we are, what we believe, and how we act.

The first step to controlling your mind is to understand it. Understand the thought pattern it has throughout the day. Be aware of the patterns you will start to see. Try to ‘watch’ yourself as if you were another person. This will help you get a better idea of how your thoughts affect your day.

For example, if you just began driving and every time you see rain you think you are going to get into an accident, chances are, you are going to be at a GREATER risk of getting in that accident. Your body is controlled by your thoughts. When you are driving in the rain, scared, tense, and full of fear, you are not performing at your elite level. You are hampered down by emotion.

Now, let’s try another thought pattern. When it rains, you think of it as a challenge. You know the roads are wet, other cars have less traction, and you need to be at your best. Now, when it rains, your body perks up. You sit up straighter as your senses heighten. You breathe normally, completely relaxed in your mind. You are ready for the challenge. This is performing at an elite level.

If you think something to be true, then it probably already is. The mind is a great power that needs to be used properly. It’s gas is thoughts. In Jiu Jitsu, I used to have a problem when I was smothered. My thought pattern led me to feel claustrophobic. I panicked every time a bigger guy mounted me and smothered my face. However, once I changed my thought pattern, it was no longer a problem. I started to think to myself ‘Winner’s escape from here’. For whatever reason, this simple thought gave me the courage and energy to escape time and time again. It is what I feed on when I face that problem.

Be aware of your pitfalls in business, or simply, in life. Try to observe from a distance and remember that the simple & only way to change your physical actions is to change the pattern of your thoughts.

Thoughts are the gas that fuels our path down the road of life.

It just depends which thoughts you are using. Make sure they are your own, makes sure they are sincere, and make sure they are positive no matter what anyone else says. Remember, the mind is a muscle. Train that muscle properly each day, and it will develop incredible power and control, just like any other muscle.

But unlike any other, the potential possibilities for this muscle are endless.