The Present is a Gift- Relish it!

I have recently read a few books, Conversations with God, The Last Lecture, For One More day, Today Matters, and several other books.  There continues to be a common and recurring theme in each and every one of these books.  It comes up over and over that we need to live in the present moment and exist in this moment.

My most recent experiences in life and the people I have run across have demonstrated this to me so well.  The people whom I have attracted into my life in every aspect have taught me a lesson about this very action, this very ability, this very emotional journey.

You see, many of us, we worry so much about our bills, our car payments, our mortgage, our lives, that we forget to stop and LIVE in the moment... we forget to stop and just RELISH what is at this very second occurring in our lives.  Let me explain.

If we always react to the past or the future, we will miss what is right in front of us.

How many of you have often been in a situation and Reacted to that situation based on things others have said, done or experienced before?  Heck, how many of you have been in a situation or environment in which you REACTED to something that has occured in YOUR past, an experience or a feeling? In reality, we must detach ourselves completely from all previous experience and knowledge of past in order to truly live in the moment and enjoy that moment for all that it's worth.  So many times, we look a the moment and while we are existing in the moment, we are allowing our mind to REACT to the situation rather than allowing our souls to CREATE in the moment our current feelings and emotions.  We are simply put, trying to create a reality that does not exist in this moment, react based on what it is that we think to be true in part because of that which we have either previously thought or experienced in a similar setting.

WHOA!!!  Did you get all of that?  OK.. so I understand it's a hard concept to understand, but let's dig a little deeper.  Let me use this quote from Conversations with God:
"TO Change your response to anything, be in the present moment- the moment that was sent to you and was what it was before you had a thought about it... In Other Words, Be Here Now, not in the past or the future.  The past and the future can only exist in thought.  The pre-sent Moment is the Only Reality. Stay There!!!" (Conversations with God, Book 2 -Page 218 of the full version)

Take Time to enjoy the present moment and what exists here and Now!

OK, I think that explains it in much simpler terms.  We often rely on our thoughts to create our experiences and our reactions to them, however when you use the mind to dictate what the moment truly is saying, we Will use either our past (which doesn't exist at this moment) or our thoughts of the future (which also does not exist at this moment) to react to the experience we are living rather than create the experience for which the moment was intended.  Maybe it was happiness, maybe it was love, maybe it was joy, maybe it was just existing.  We use our mind to change our perception of the moment.

I am here to say to you today in order to truly live in the moment, you MUST let go of not only your past, BUT your future as well.  We get so stunned when we think of what could happen or what has happened.  It throws you into emotional turmoil and clouds the creative energy we have to respond to the situation.  It stunts the soul's ability to communicate with us at a deeper level in terms of feelings.  It challenges us.. and we utilize fear or other emotions to in certain situations to tell ourselves this moment can't be right for us, or is something different than what it actually is.  This can't be happening to me... how often have you said that to yourself and created disbelief in your own life, or even thought to yourself- "It's too good to be true" in a given situation or experience.  This in part is due to the "past" and Future" thoughts you have had or think you will have rather than just living for the present moment and existing there.

Our minds are very powerful in helping us to think that what we feel are truths.  But remember our truths are what we tell ourselves.  Our feelings are like a Northern Star to that.  When we live in the present, we simply allow our feelings to exist for the moment we are living in.  Our minds can over-power our feelings very easily and give us a false sense of what we are truly feeling.  A good example of this (especially for CrossFitters) is a workout that you know is going to be challenging- (in most cases for CrossFitters it would be fran!)  What did that bring up in your mind?  What emotions did that evoke?  Did it evoke a negative response?  Did it evoke a challenge within you to complete the workout?

What if I told you that the next time you complete that particular workout, it will become easier than you ever thought.  You will get better, you will have no issues or problems with it.  What if I told you that workout was just a quick little workout that meant nothing but that you are awesome.  Would you have a different view of it?  Would you look at it in a different light?  Now can you see how powerful our mind can be in these situations?  Can you see that living in the present takes letting go of everything we think to be true to just enjoy the moment as it exists?  To just live for the Here and Now?  Does it make sense that each moment in time is given to us as a gift to enjoy for what it is... the moment.  My statement to you is WHO CARES what has happened in the past.  WHO CARES what will happen in the future....

For most of us, it is challenging to let go of the past, challenging to let go of our experiences and just experience that which we are in at the moment.  But I URGE you, this is what is.  The moment is now.  You are reading this blog for a reason.  You are formulating ideas and thoughts in a creative thought process by utilizing the here and now rather than by coming in with pre-conceived notions (well at least I hope so)

My suggestion for all of you is to stop living in the past, the future and really relish the moment, pay attention to the moment.  It is all we have, it is such a gift and to let our past or future intentions dictate what we experience here and now, is a great dis-service to our lives.  Live for the moment and create the feelings and responses you want to create in your own life.  Create your experience based on existing right now.. not based on what has happened in the past.

Here's to the present. Live for this very second and enjoy the Now!!!

The mental edge- talking to yourself, what are you REALLY saying?

So we have been speaking of belief and how to believe in yourself.  today, i want to expand a little bit on what it is that we say to ourselves and how that affects you.

As I mentioned in a previous post, we all have something called a mindscreen.  Let's imagine for a moment what that might look like.  What would your mindscreen look like?  a blank white screen like in the theatres, a stand up one from your classrooms at school?  Or would it look like a big IMAX screen in which you could see and experience every detail?

Representation of a MindScreen

Image taken from: at.movingdesign.com.  

While this is an important concept to understand, it is not the point of today's post.  today's post is about what is it that we are saying to ourselves that may or may not be putting us on the path towards our desires, goals and dreams.  Today is about asking the question "How do you talk to yourself?"

I would venture to say that many times in life, you hear a voice, an inner voice, that tells you what you can and can't do, what you are or aren't going to do, and in it's own reality what you are or aren't capable of.  I am here to challenge that inner voice today and really help you take a look at how you are talking to yourself.

Our self-talk is a powerful determinant of what we get out of life.  How often have you been in a situation or a challenge and told yourself that you believe in something, or you can accomplish something, or you can achieve great things?  Then again, how often in life have you told yourself you don't believe in something, you don't think you can, or you don't think you are meant to achieve great things?   It is these words or thoughts that play into action in the universe.  remember there is a common theme throughout these first few posts about, what you tell yourself is what you become,  What you believe in about yourself will become your reality.  And yes, it is a recurring theme because so many of us need to hear the message of it.

Let's examine a situation I recently found myself in where I had to change the way i was talking to myself.  Recently I have been in a great deal of challenging situations in which it created issues of negativity and me listening to others and their lack of belief in what might be possible in a certain situation in my life.  I allowed this to get into my own thoughts and it made the challenges and obstacles that I didn't believe were there become more apparent.  I allowed myself to tell myself it was challenging, it was difficult, and that the situation was not the right situation for me.  I allowed the self talk to tell me where I didn't want to go rather than stopping myself and stop my self-limiting belief from coming into play.  i allowed myself to listen to what it was that was outside influence and not truly following what my heart had to say.  I followed what thoughts I was putting out there about i Can't rather than I can.  i put out there that it was too hard rather than it will work.  i told myself this can't happen to me or I didn't deserve this, when in reality I did.

I have recently been around people who are talking to themselves in a less than positive fashion and felt compelled to discuss what it means when we talk to ourselves.  Every time we say we can not, it reinforces that we can not.  Every time we say want instead of going to, we encourage more want rather than encouraging action to be taken.  Every time we say to ourselves we should rather than we will or i am going to, it again creates a lack of action.  You have to be careful about your selection of words within your conscious (and even subconscious) mind.  the words Can't, won't or shouldn't are all words that if you choose to talk to yourself with them, can destroy even the most beautiful of potential experiences in your life.  they can damage what we think of ourselves as well as the potential to be great.  they can limit what we think and keep our minds closed to opportunities.

What are you choosing to say to yourself,  what is it that when you look at a situation you think to yourself.  Do you CHOOSE to believe in yourself or do you CHOOSE to doubt ?

Your task if you choose to accept it after reading today's post is to write down a day's worth of statements you say to yourself.  I would encourage you to look at each situation that comes up throughout the day and write down the thoughts that come across as you experience the situation and the feelings that go with your thoughts.  I would also encourage you to allow yourself to talk how you would normally talk to yourself, and after looking at it, start to make adjustments if needed.

How does one create belief?

This box, The "You Got This" Box has become a symbol for so many people at the gym I own of belief.  It has become a symbol of how we talk to ourselves and a symbol of what it means to believe in yourself.  So often, we go through these events in our life that knock us down, hurt us, challenge us and more often than not, we create a belief not in what we CAN do but more on what we CAN'T do.


Therein lies the challenge in hwo to believe in yourself.  I am going to venture to say there are steps to believeing in yourself.

Step 1:  Look at your mindscreen.  We all have a mindscreen.  Our mindscreen is where we create the images of who we are, who we want to be and if we are NOT who we want to be how to get there.  Our mindscreen is a very powerful tool in the process I will mention later, visualization.  One of the things we have to do is analyze what our mindscreen is telling us about ourselves.  Is it telling you that you are doing the right hting and going down the right path?  Is it telling you that what you want to do is in accordance with what you are doing?

Step 2: Attitude of Gratitude:  Simply put, be thankful for that which you have and that which you will receive.  Be thankful for all of the little things in life, the small moments in time which are teachable moments, the moments in time in which you have an opportunity to learn who you are at that moment.  Be thankful for everything you have, or want.  Be thankful for the great relationships in your life, or the amazing house you live in, or the gym you own, or the business you run, or the ideal job you will get.  Be thankful for everything.  Being grateful creates feelings of happiness and helps you to create positive feelings which put your thought waves in a greater vibration for the univers(God) to respond.

Step 3- Borrow belief if you need to:  This one is an interesting concept.  When we start out in any new activity or realm, we have to borrow another's belief in ourselves because we may not believe we can do it.  Lean on others who believe in you, have faith in you and know that you are on the right path to help build your belief.  There is a saying that says "fake it til you make it".  I find this to be true in belief.. for the simple reason of the next 2 steps:

Step 4: Pay attention to what you are telling yourself : Listen to how you are talking to yourself.  Are you telling yourself good or bad?  Are you telling yourself you believe or you don't believe?  Are you telling yourself you can or you can't?  Are you telling yourself you are valuable?  These are indicators of your belief in yourself.  It is important to listen to these statements.  Start telling yourself you believe in who you are and chances are you will eventually.

Step 5: visualize!  Use your mindscreen to visualize and feel what it feels like to believe in yourself.  Visualize how good it feels to love yourself unconditionally for who you are.  Visualize what it feels like to go after what you want.  Visualize what it feels like to have whatever you want and the feelings associated with that.

And finally- BELIEVE in who you are.  We were all created perfectly.  When your weaknesses can actually be strengths and your strengths can actually be weaknesses, you will realize more about yourself than you ever have.  Use your strengths to their advantages but also continually work on your weaknesses.  Get better at what you aren't good at and eventually you will be good at so much.  It will be one of the most powerful journeys you have taken.

It's ok to seek help in your belief.  I encourage it.  I had to reach out recently to help believe in myself again.  I lost belief in who I was and what I was doing and realized I wasn't telling myself what I really wanted.  i was reacting based on what others wanted and how I was reacting was based on others reactions to the happenings in my life.  I lost alot by doing this and am now not worried about what other think, or believe of me, for I have belief in myself.

Remember through all of this- You Got This!

You are what you believe you are

Have you ever thought to yourself, "How can this be" or "How did I get here?"  Then you will probably be interested in this post.

So often in life, we try to figure out what the meaning of life is and who we are.  I am here to tell you, YOU ARE EXACTLY who YOU BELIEVE YOU ARE.  The greatest thing about this is YOU CREATE who you are.

Wait a second, did I just say that you believe who you are and you create that which you are?  YES.  So here is how it works.

I am sure many of us have heard of the law of attraction through various sources and various places.  Here is how I have come to understand this amazing principle and how it applies to every aspect of our lives.

Every thought you have, every thought you put out there, creates an energetic shift in that which the universe (call it God, call it the Universe, it is what it is) responds to.  These thoughts begin to make changes in your life that create feelings.  Those feelings become the central point of how we begin to change that around us and how we create our life.  Feelings are an indicator of that which is creating a reality within our lives we are in accordance with, or also that we may not be agreeable with.

You can find this binder at: http://www.zazzle.com/thought_creation_binder-127690051633115205

OK, so this concept, while simple in explanation is actually a more complex series of events.  For you see, we have the choice to believe anything we want to believe.  We have the choice to make decisions in our lives that will lead us either down this path, or that path.  The challenge is choosing what to believe.  This means, that the decision to believe in who we are now becomes the central point of CREATING who we are.

Our beliefs in the truth we think to be true create our emotions and reactions to situations that occur in our life.  You see, life is an emotional storyline we tell ourselves. each event that occurs in our life, we have the ability to respond to in any way we see fit.  It is a choice, or responsibility that we think we have.  More often than not, we choose to believe what others have told us to believe.  We often choose to listen to what others have told us to be "right" or "wrong" when in reality, right or wrong is only a reality of what we think it is.  This topic will be continued in another post, but for now, realize you are who you believe you are.  Next post will expand upon our beliefs.

Welcome to Destined for Greatness

Welcome to the new FTF Wellness blog, Destined for Greatness.

Destined for Greatness, the company is owned and operated by Coach Kevin Hughes, who's passion is helping those whom are ready to study their potential inside. Kevin has dedicated his life to helping others and inspiring those around him to find their own greatness within. This blog will run along the theme of inspiration, thanks and motivational information to help you whenever it is needed.

We all go through hard times in our life, some more than others. it isn't until we recognize the greatness in ourselves that we are able to push past our challenges and move into a spirit of greatness. If you have topics you would like to discuss or have questions, please feel free to use this as a forum for open discussion. This website is a tool to help you towards realizing your own potential and helping you get past the obstacles that you may or may not know you have.

Here is to your success in life, whatever that may be.