Posted on by Raj Daniels

Entertainment?

What messages and ideas do you allow in to your mind under the guise of entertainment?

Do you allow bad ideas and negative thoughts to slip by your common sense because you’re being entertained?

What if just one of the bad ideas you’re being entertained by plants itself in your mind and now it becomes your idea and dictates how you behave?

Studies have shown that watching violent movies does make some people more aggressive than others. The problem is that you don’t know if you’re one of those people.

Violence is just one example of a negative behavior. What if you learn to be ruthless, vengeful, or deceitful just because of the entertainment you expose yourself to?

Children are the most vulnerable when exposed to entertainment because they have not learned to discern reality from fiction, but adults too can be influenced by the entertainment they expose themselves to.

Carefully curate the entertainment you allow to enter your mind, because you might not know until it’s too late what thoughts and ideas will take root and become a part of your identity.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Laundry on a Tuesday

What would happen if you did laundry on a Tuesday?

Or any other day except the day you usually do it?

Do you think you could break your laundry day routine for a week or two?

Does just the thought of changing your laundry routine make you feel uncomfortable?

Why? Were you born doing laundry on a Tuesday? Does it define you as a person?

If you’re so attached to something as simple as when you do your laundry because you believe it’s the ‘right’ time to it, imagine all the other things you’ve become used to doing, just because.

Occasionally stop and ask yourself why you do things a particular way. Is it something you learned, were taught or just fell in to at some point in life and now just do it out of routine?

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Unfair advantage

Do you ever feel as though someone you know has and unfair advantage?

Maybe they have a physical advantage and are better at sports? Or they were born in a particular circumstance that gives them a social or financial advantage? Or, they are they are super smart and seem to know all the right answers?

Whatever it is, we’ve all experienced the ‘it’s not fair’ syndrome.

But what about your unfair advantage?

Do you even know that you have one?

What is your unique skill or talent that deep down you know you have, but are often hesitant to reveal? Or what have people told you that you’re good at or seems to come naturally to you?

Once you’ve identified your unfair advantage you will then be able to see how you’ve used it to your benefit in the past, and then going forward you can leverage it as a tool to accomplish future goals.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Guaranteed to feel good

If I told you there’s one thing you can today to make yourself feel good would you believe me?

And I’m not saying it might make you feel good, I’m guaranteeing that it will.

It doesn’t have to cost you anything and would probably take very little time but the feeling will make your brain smile.

I know you’re thinking what’s the catch? Well, there is a catch. You can’t tell anyone. It’s just between you and me.

Are you ready?

Do something nice for someone, and don’t tell them you did.

Simple, right?

Well, maybe for some of you but for others you’ll be bursting at the seams wanting to tell them or point it out in some way because you’ll be seeking acknowledgment.  But resist the temptation. They don’t need to know and it’ll be our little secret.

And if you’re just so busy that you can’t find time to do something nice then think of someone and say good words about them in your head.

Not only does doing something nice for someone give you a sense of fulfillment but it’s the only real time that you are in control of anything. So go ahead and brighten your own day by making someone else’s.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Same or Different

Sit down and be quiet.

Keep your head down and they won’t notice you.

Dress like everyone else.

Be yourself, but not too much of yourself or you won’t fit in.

Play it safe.

Color between the lines.

When you decide to stand for something or decide not to be like anyone else in your area of life you will feel unpopular. You will have to decide if you want to be popular and compliant or be who you really are.

Questioning the status quo on anything is not wrong; in fact in many cases asking why is the beginning of new breakthroughs.

The world will always need people that think and act differently and it’s up to you to decide which group of people you want to be part of, same as or different than.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Access granted

Who has access to your mind?

Do they have your best interest at heart?

Are they trying to improve your life or improve their bottom line?

So what about your mind? Is it an open playground for anyone and everyone to enter and play at will, influencing you to think this way and that way without you having any control?

Giving access to your mind is the most important thing you can do because once you’ve granted access then influence begins.

Carefully curating the information you allow in to your mind is one of the most important things you can do you for yourself, because ultimately you will become a product of the information that you have granted access to your mind.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Normal?

What is your version of a normal life?

Is it something you’ve seen characterized in a book, movie or magazine?

What is normal to you could be totally foreign to your neighbor, especially in the multi-cultural world of today.

So, if everyone’s version of normal is different, what picture of normal are you aspiring to?

When you were born you were a blank slate and everything you consider to normal today is a byproduct of the influences you have been exposed to. And this normality is uniquely yours.

The illusion of being normal is an individual experience that is used as a lens through which to view and compare the outside world to your own.

Attempt to suspend your judgement when you encounter situations and opinions that don’t fit your picture of normal and be open to learning. Be curious and ask questions before considering things to be – not normal.

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Personal Best

Do you have a personal best?

Do you know what a personal best is?

A personal best is a common phrase in athletics that indicates the best time or score achieved by an athlete in a particular event.

I can hear you now. But I’m not an athlete. And I believe you don’t have to be an athlete to achieve a personal best. I also believe some healthy competition with yourself can be fun.

What if you attempted to set a personal best in an area of your life?

It could be something as simple as how fast you can make your bed today, something big like how much money you could earn in a year or even playful, like how many people you can hug in a day.

The wonderful thing about a personal best is that you set the challenge for yourself and you’re the only person you need to beat. And just imagine what could happen if you learned to push yourself a little for a better version of you.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Forgiveness

What do you do when you feel wronged by someone?

Do you harbor the injustice and let it fester like an open wound or do you forgive and move on?

Learning to forgive will be one of the most powerful things you can learn to do. It will always benefit you more than the person you’re forgiving.

When you don’t forgive you carry with you the open chapter of whatever happened to you and continue to fuel to your feeling of resentment. Forgiveness provides you with a way to close the chapter and move on.

Forgiveness is not the same as forgetting. And it doesn’t mean that you’re right or wrong. It just means that you’re willing to let go.

You will never be able to control how people act towards you but you will always be able to control how you choose to respond to their behavior. Realize that most of time when people do something to hurt you they are only doing what they think is right and not out to hurt you.

Choose today to stop mentally revisiting the incidents with people in the past that have hurt you. You’ve already been carrying the burden for too long. Forgive them and leave them in the past where they belong.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Too much to do

Do you feel as though you have too much to do? The truth is that you probably do, and so does everybody else.

You will always have an infinite number of things to do and you will not know the outcome of any one of those things until you do them. You might think you do, but you really don’t.

Feeling overwhelmed with too much to do is common source of stress for many and often leads to not doing anything. The feeling of too much to do can literally freeze an individual in to a state of inaction.

The inaction usually stems from not being able to decide what to do first. This is because by nature, if you commit to doing one thing then you are deciding not to do something else and that’s where the inaction happens, from the uncertainty.

So, when you feel as though you have too much to do, know that what you’re actually experiencing is the uncertainty of what to do first and if it’s the right thing to do.  And unfortunately, this feeling will never go away.

One way to address the feeling of too much to do is to take the smallest action you can towards one small to do. The action itself will give you will help you bolster your confidence as you move towards your larger to do’s.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

You don’t know?

Do you know that Mount Everest is 29,029 feet above sea level?

Do you know that DNA is short for deoxyribonucleic acid?

Do you know that elephants are the only animals that cannot jump?

If you already knew all these facts then good for you, but if you didn’t then you’re welcome.

The point of this is, what information do you have in your head or are you familiar with that you expect others to know? How many people have lived your life the way you have so that they would know everything you do?

When you ask someone if they know the answer to something and they don’t, how do you respond? Do you respond with surprise and attempt to share your knowledge or with a tone of condescension?

Even trained professionals in specialized industries don’t have all the answers in their head, but they do know where and how to get them.

The next time you’re surprised that someone doesn’t have the same information as you, show a little grace instead of superiority. Respond by sharing what you know. Remember, they might know that the distance to Jupiter is 365 miles because that’s what’s important to them.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Follow your Problems

How many times have you heard that you should follow your passion?

But what if you don’t know what you’re passionate about?

Well I want to suggest an alternative. Follow your problems.

We’ve all encountered situations in our lives where we’ve wished that there was a better way to do something.  What if that’s the starting point of finding something you’re passionate about.

You see, if you find a problem that’s bothering you then there’s a great likelihood that others are encountering it too. And if solving the problem comes easy to you then you have a skill that is valuable. And although you might not be passionate about solving the problem, if you can solve it for others then you will find meaning.

There’s nothing wrong with following your passion especially if you know what it is, but keep in mind that passion can wane and change with time. Problems on the other hand are endless and if you can infuse a little bit of passion in to solving problems then you might just have a winning formula.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Cultivate self-fulfillment

What is keeping you from feeling fulfilled in your life?

We have all experienced this feeling of, if I could just have this one more thing or if I could meet this special person then I would feel fulfilled.

The truth is that deep down we know that relying on external factors to provide a sense of fulfillment leaves us wide open to disappointment.

What if we shed this notion of looking outside for fulfillment and begin to cultivate it internally?

When you take steps to be responsible towards your own sense of fulfillment you begin to experience a feeling of calm and control. You will experience an unwavering security in yourself.

Cultivating self-fulfillment starts with being present to your inner self. It requires you to stop and listen to your thoughts and feelings so that you can learn to identify who you are at your core and it will also give you clues about the gaps you are trying to fill within you. It is not easy. But over time the rewards will be much greater than anything you can find outside of yourself.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

The Perfect illusion

When will you feel that everything is perfect?

When it all works out for you?

When you have everything under control?

When it all looks perfect?

When do you think this will happen?

Perfection is an illusion that you can chase forever but will never catch. It something you see in books, movies, and artificially structured moments and environments.

Even the most ‘perfect’ endeavors such as going in to outer space and life threatening surgeries have degrees of imperfection. It’s just that you don’t see them because all you see is the end result.

This is not to say that you shouldn’t aim for good or even greatness in your life, however be aware that true perfection is an illusion.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Inspire Someone

Think of a time when you were inspired by words someone said to you. How did it make you feel?

When was the last time you intentionally set out to inspire someone?

The word inspire originates from Latin and means breathe in or breath into, so when you inspire someone you breathe life into them. And how many people do you know that could use some inspiration?

A few simple inspirational words said with sincerity can make a huge difference in someone’s day or even their life.  So why not do it more often? Inspiring someone will not cost you anything but your action will be priceless.

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What are your values?

Can you identify your values?

Have you ever thought about what your values are?

Your values describe what you believe in and how you will behave in certain situations. They provide you with a compass as you go through life. For example, if one of your core values is health then you will steer towards and prioritize healthy behavior.

You will know when you are not behaving in accordance with you values because you will experience feelings of guilt or remorse. You will feel out of sync with yourself.

Depending on your personality your values might change over time and that’s okay since you’re always encountering new information. And if changing benefits you and drives you towards your goals then that’s great. However, if you change your values too often then there’s a danger of feeling lost and not having any direction.

Taking some time to write down your values is great exercise because it will help you understand why you behave the way you do, and it will also help you better understand other people because you will learn that they are also behaving in alignment with their values.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Your Calling

What is your calling?

What do you feel compelled to do?

What’s the thing you hear or see other people doing that excites you?

I know these are big questions but they are really worth thinking about.

Somewhere inside you there are clues, little signals that are giving you messages about what you’re interested in. Don’t ignore them, explore them.

You don’t have to start out by making a full-fledged commitment to any of your interests, you can dabble at will. With all the resources available to you today a few hours of committed research can tell you so much about anything you feel you might be interested in doing.

The key to answering the big questions is giving yourself permission to look for the answers. When you find yourself drawn towards something that you think you might be interested in doing, don’t smother the feeling, fuel it. You owe it to yourself and the world.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Small Changes

What’s the next thing about you that you plan on changing?

Oh, wait. You hadn’t planned on changing anything? Well that’s okay because change is going to happen anyway, regardless of if you’re ready or not. So why not decide which changes you want to make?

You’ve probably heard that the only thing constant about life is change and this is so true, but what if all the changes weren’t random. What if you could choose some of the changes?

Making big changes is a difficult endeavor because usually the bigger the change the longer it takes for you to adapt to it. One of the keys to making effective change is making a small change as possible. If you doubt that small change is effective then the next time you’re driving turn the steering wheel just a little and see what happens.

When you get in the habit of intentionally making changes in your life you’ll have a greater sense of control over yourself. And this sense of control will give you peace of mind and a feeling of power when you encounter external change.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Highs and Lows

Imagine listening to a piece of music that only has high notes. What would it sound like?

The beauty of high notes is clearer when they are contrasted with low notes and this same phenomenon applies to life too.

In every aspect of life, your career, finances, health and relationships you will continuously experience highs and lows and just like music it’s the constant wave that that makes life enjoyable.

You may not see it but everyone is experiencing highs and lows on a continuous basis. The ones that don’t seem to be affected by the lows are the ones that have learned to handle them or not show when they are experiencing them.

Just like music, the tempo of the highs and lows will constantly change, sometimes from minute to minute and other times it can be days. Enjoying and appreciating the highs when you are experiencing them, even if momentarily, will help you gain perspective when you experience the lows.

Posted on by Raj Daniels

Your way?

How much energy do you put in proving your way of doing something is right and others are wrong?

What do get from your effort and where did ‘your way’ come from?

When you choose to argue because you think you’re right you are only doing so based on the information you believe to be correct and so is the other person. So, essentially you’re both correct in in your own way.

If you research any profession you will find that even information that people have considered factual and founded on scientific evidence has changed over time based on new information.

Now there’s a big difference between being correct and having a preference for how you want something to be, and when you realize this your life will change. It will change because you will no longer be attempting make the other person feel inferior for their preferences.

The question of being right or being happy is a popular one and perhaps your happiness is tied to you being right. However, that also means that you’re invested in saying others are wrong. So the next time you find yourself in a situation where you’re attempting to impose what you think is right ask yourself if you’re really right or is this just your way, and how you’d like things to be.