It’s been a while since I last posted, and since my last post, a new year has been ushered in for all of us. Whenever we begin our journey into a new year, I’ve found it important that we go into with a “clean slate” mentality. For those of us who have trouble finding a “starting” point for a lot of initiatives we want to implement in our lives, New Year’s Day is a breath of fresh air – hence the throngs of new year resolutions most of us enact.
In my experiences, I’ve found one of the hardest things to alter when we create our resolutions is mindset/ mentality. A lot of the times, when we do attempt to tackle mindsets and mentalities – we really only dress it up with a shiny coat of paint (versus the hard work – sanding it down, identifying imperfections and repairing them, then putting up a new coat of paint). After a while, if you add enough “new coats of paint” to anything without removing some of the old ones – blemishes will permeate through, and whatever you’re painting over will become weighed down.
Think about it – you can paint a pig green, but there is still a pig underneath. Cover it in yellow, and that green layer is still there, along with the pig itself. Proceed to cover it in red; the yellow and green won’t go anywhere unless you clean them off first.
One step in tackling adverse mindsets and mentalities is to indentify the root of the problem and why that mindset/ mentality exists. For example – you won’t just have grudges or prejudices just because (if you’re of a sane mind); they are either learned (taught at an early age) or developed by the examples of negative influences and environments. Maybe a terrible incident happened that created a grudge or a prejudice you hold, sometimes a misunderstanding can cause those feelings as well. The point – the negativity had a seed that grew. It must be uprooted and destroyed for it to dissipate. Visualize all pessimistic thoughts, mindsets, mentalities, and environments as your house in disrepair. To fix it, you can’t simply put up a few coats of paint and new shingles; you’re going to have to do some extensive construction and renovation to get it back to the pristine shape you want.
This is where the term abracadabra comes in. Abracadabra is a word very familiar to conjurors – as it is most often a word used by magicians in magical acts and performances. In elder times, it was a magical charm/ incantation that had the power to ward of disease, famine, or catastrophe of any kind. Unfortunately, try as we might, there is no magic or incantation of any kind that will snap you out of an unconstructive funk – only hard work, restructuring, dedication, and discipline will. You aren’t going to wake up and instantly have all the stars aligned and be this bright and completely optimistic person overnight – abracadabra positivity does not exist – it takes time so be patient.
Since we’re unable to instantly conjure up that state of perfect optimism, we have to draft plans on how to get there the old fashion way – a journey to success. Here are a couple of examples; the more detailed are just a couple of the ones I created for 2013, with a list you may find helpful afterwards.
- Eliminating hurdles present within my controlled environment (those who are voluntarily placed within your realm) – family, friends, associates, co-workers, church members, significant others, etc.
- Work on any physical things that can contribute to me not performing at my best – improving diet, new psoriasis treatment plan, significantly increase exercise, become less dependant on caffeine, vitamin supplements, etc.
- Narrow my focus onto my goals, principles, and objectives for 2013. This would include school, manuscripts for the next couple of books, continue to grow career, continue to professionally network in my career and writing fields, etc.
- In the words of the infamous magnet principle: remember that “like attracts like”. What I become, I will attract. With that in mind, grow in a pattern that will allow me to continue to attract positive/ constructive like-minded entities versus those of the unconstructive/ uninspiring/ stagnant nature.
- Mentoring
- Proctor for inspiring writers
- Volunteering
- Running
- Actively advocating (psoriasis)
- Writing more
- More involved with family & friends
- More extroverted (shake off your winter rust)
- Keep busy (draft daily agendas and objectives)
- Be (or become) more proactive versus reactive
- Be (or become) more aware
- Appreciate everything (and show it)
I could go on and on, but you get the idea. The biggest thing is to find something that brings you joy and peace within your life, because it assists with you disassociating with the negative. This can take time, but work on it everyday. Distancing yourself takes on a snowball effect, for the positive and the negative, just make sure you get the ball rolling in the right direction.
Don’t focus on your anxiety – focus on your productiveness.
Don’t focus on your depression – focus on your gratitude of life.
Turn your eyes away from your fears – embrace change and flexibility.
Abracadabra positivity doesn’t exist – but permanent positivity sure does, and it’s ok if it takes a little time to get there; it’s worth the wait!
Live Unconquered.
1/26/2013
J. Junior II
