Looking in different perspectives

Everyone will definitely continue to face trials and hardships, but what actually made the difference? The main reason that made the difference is their way of viewing hardship and bad luck. It is their perspective in life that caused the change.

"In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity." - Albert Einstein

"The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty" - Winston Churchill

"I have not failed 700 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 700 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." - Thomas Edison

Imagine what would happen if Thomas Edison decided to give up because he feels that he would fail miserably? What would happen? Well, we would then had been living in the dark for the past 20 century! With that, we do not need any earth hour no more.

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Expand your thinking skills

“The ability to perceive or think differently is more important than the knowledge gained.” - David Bohm

Thinking is just like any other skills. It can also be learned, practiced, and improved. It is essential to improving writing, reading, listening, and speaking. You can indeed develop your thinking skills.

One of the well-known thinking techniques is the Six Thinking Hats from Edward De Bono. Each hat defines a certain type of thinking. You put on or take off one of these hats to indicate the type of thinking you are using. This allows you to switch from one type of thinking to another.

When done in your group, everybody should wear the same hat at the same time.

Each mode has been identified by a different coloured hat, such that:-

• The WHITE hat denotes a mode of thinking during which an objective look at data and information is required.
• The RED hat denotes the mode of thinking associated with feelings, hunches, and intuition.
• The BLACK hat denotes the mode of thinking associated with caution, judgement, and looking logically at the negative aspects of a problem - often described as the ‘devil’s advocate’ mode of thinking.
• The YELLOW hat denotes the mode of thinking associated with examining the feasibility and benefits of a given situation, and looking logically at the positive aspects.
• The GREEN hat denotes the mode of thinking associated with the generation of new ideas, creative and ‘lateral’ thinking.
• The BLUE hat denotes the mode of thinking associated with the overall control and organisation of the thinking process.

“People mistakenly assume that their thinking is done by their head; it is actually done by the heart which first dictates the conclusion, then commands the head to provide the reasoning that will defend it.” - Anthony de Mello


“It is neither good nor bad, but thinking makes it so.” - William Shakespeare

Try it! Put on the Six Thinking Hats and improve thinking, questioning, and communicating in all areas of your life.

The above mind map was created using iMindmap that I had purchased recently.

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Be the chess player, not the chess piece

“Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her; but once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.” - Voltaire

"We are often our own worst enemy."

"It doesn't matter where you are coming from. All that matters is where you are going." - Brian Tracy "

"You cannot control what happens to you, but you can control your attitude toward what happens to you, and in that, you will be mastering change rather than allowing it to master you." - Brian Tracy

“Avoid the crowd. Do your own thinking independently. Be the chess player, not the chess piece.”

Photo by tim_d taken from this source

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Listen with your Hands, Mind and Eyes

Listen with your hands
When you take note, you experience everything twice, and understand it a thousand times better.

Listen with your mind
Even after a conversation, it pays to think about it. Indeed listening without reflecting is like eating without digesting.

Listen with your eyes
There is a road from the eye to the heart and mind that does not go through the ears.

Listen with 100% attention
When you focus all your senses to the task of listening, you'll be able to pick up little nuances that can make all the difference.

Photo 1 by stevegarfield taken from this source
Photo 2 by freeflight046 taken from this source

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Have you come to realization?

One of the reasons people do not take the time to improve the quality of their life, is that they think things will just get better.

They go through each day hoping that their job will 'somehow' improve. They hope that some lucky combination of circumstances will come about and as a result, they will finally be recognised by their employer and rewarded with more responsibility and a bigger salary.

You need to realize that It doesn't get better...You have to!

There is an old saying that goes like this; "If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you have always got!" How very true that is.

The starting point of all change is in the mind – or more precisely, how you think!

Here's how it works:
1. Your success comes from your results.
2. Your results come from your actions.
3. Your actions come from your thoughts.

So, when you think more effectively, you take better actions, which leads to better results. As you are the only person who is responsible for your thoughts, you decide how successful your career and life will be. It is always up to you, because only you have control of your mind.

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Condition your mind for success

In some mysterious way the subconscious mind tends to actualize what we visualize. So, even when the roof is caving in, picture yourself as a giant success.

"To win a race, you must first win it in your mind."

“Great athletes train their minds as well as their bodies. There are various mental conditioning techniques many use when preparing for an event. Perhaps the best known technique is visualization, creating a mental image not only of the desired result (the gold medal, a new world record, a hole-in-one), but also of every move that will be taken en route to the ultimate goal.”

I had started another blog with this objective; that is to help you condition your mind using images or photos. For example, if you were to mimic this photo and you will feel like laughing. Try it!

Photo by frogarythm taken from this source

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Laugh often to have a great day

“A laugh is a smile that bursts.” - Mary H. Waldrip

"The ability to laugh together is the essence of love." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Couples who laugh together stay together."

Jim Valvano said “To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that's a full day. That's a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you're going to have something special.”

Photo by @LY$ taken from this source

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Remember to put on your thinking cap

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking." - George Patton

“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.” - Mahatma Gandhi

“When I get ready to talk to people, I spend two thirds of the time thinking what they want to hear and one third thinking about what I want to say.” - Abraham Lincoln

“Many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices.” - William James

"Few people think more than two or three times a year; I have made an international reputation for myself by thinking once a week." - George Bernard Shaw

“A man who does not think for himself does not think at all.” - Oscar Wilde

Photo by Wearn taken from this source

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Why is Language Important?

“Language is the dress of thought.” - Samuel Johnson

"A different language is a different vision of life." - Federico Fellini

“Change your language and you change your thoughts.” - Karl Albrecht

“Language shapes the way we think, and determines what we can think about.” - Benjamin Lee Whorf

"It's not what you tell them…it's what they hear." - Red Auerbach

"Language is the roadmap of a culture. It tells you where its people came from and where they are going." - Rita Mae Brown

How many languages do you speak?

Photo by Life As Art taken from this source

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Do you fear change?

"Everything changes, nothing remains without change."

“There is nothing wrong with change, if it is in the right direction” - Winston Churchill

If you're not enthusiastic about your job, you're in the wrong job. If at all possible change it. Too many are in the wrong job and know it, but wrongly think they're too old to change.

A change for the better always starts with a change of thinking. We can change ourselves by changing our thoughts, attitudes and actions.

An exercise in concentration: "Once a week, ask yourself: "Is this thing I'm doing right now helping me reach my chief goal?" If it isn't, change it."

To avoid getting old, welcome change. Keep busy. Keep interested. Keep optimistic.

Photo by Lazy_Lightning taken from this source

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Make and seize every Opportunity

Time goes by so fast, people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.

Opportunities come to those who seek them.

"If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door." - Milton Berle

Even when opportunity knocks a man still has to get up off his seat and open the door.

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.” - Thomas Alva Edison

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.” - Charles R. Swindoll

Opportunities, when seized, multiply; when neglected, vanish.

“Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Weak men wait for opportunities; strong men make them.” - Orison Swett Marden

Successful men think; they think up more opportunities than they find.

Photo by Caylynn taken from this source

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Dealing with problems

“The way we see the problem is the problem” - Stephen R. Covey

It isn't that we can't see the solution it's that we can't see the problem.

“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” - Albert Einstein

Problems are only solutions in disguise.

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.” - Duke Ellington

“Don't tell your problems to people: eighty percent don't care; and the other twenty percent are glad you have them” - Lou Holtz

“Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles, they toughen and make strong” - Norman Vincent Peale

Focus 90% of your time on solutions and only 10% of your time on problems.

Photo by Marcelo Coelho taken from this source

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Read and Think

"Ink is the transcript of thought."

"A drop of ink may make a million think." - Lord Byron

"If you've learned to read, you can learn to succeed."

"We learn to read so that we can read to learn."

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.” - Margaret Fuller

“Reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body.” - Joseph Addison

"Reading without thinking is like eating without digesting."

"Force yourself to reflect on what you read, paragraph by paragraph." - Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Photo by Karl O'Brien taken from this source

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Dream and Make It Come True

“Dreams are like stars... you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your destiny.”

"If you can dream, you can do it." - Walt Disney

"If you don't have a dream, how are you going to make a dream come true?" - Oscar Hammerstein

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

"A goal is a dream with a deadline" - Napoleon Hill

“The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dreams is you.” - Tom Bradley

Photo by stewickie taken from this source

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Pay attention to your thinking

The wise man thinks before acting and the fool thinks after it.

Whenever a man falls, it is usually at the point where he thinks he is strong.

The higher a man goes the narrower becomes his thinking. Therefore, watch out.

“A man is but the product of his thoughts, what he thinks, he becomes. Those who know how to think need no teachers.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Thought is action in rehearsal. Invest a few moments in thinking. It will pay good interest.

Every thought we think is creating our future.

A change for the better always starts with a change of thinking.

Photo by The Albanian taken from this source

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The Wisdom of Asking Questions

Sometimes questions are more important than answers.

One who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; one who does not ask a question remains a fool forever.

"Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers." - Anthony Robbins

Success is usually one idea away. Ask yourself questions. Compare and combine.

"To find the exact answer, one must first ask the exact question." - S. Tobin Webster

"It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question." - Decouvertes

“The key to wisdom is knowing all the right questions.” - John A. Simone, Sr.

"The important thing is not to stop questioning." - Albert Einstein

Photo by atomicity taken from this source

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Winners vs Losers

Be a Winner

The Winner says "Let me do it for you;
The Loser says "That's not my job."

The Winner says "It may be difficult but it's possible";
The Loser says "It may be possible but it's difficult."

When a Winner makes a mistake, he says "I was wrong";
When a Loser makes a mistake, he says "It wasn't my fault."

A Winner makes commitments;
A Loser makes promises.

Winners say "I must do something";
Losers say "Something must be done."

Winners see the gain;
Losers see the pain.

Winners see possibilities;
Losers see problems.

Winners choose what they say;
Losers say what they choose.

Winners stand firm on values but compromise on petty things;
Losers stand firm on petty things but compromise on values.

Winners make it happen;
Loser let it happen.

Photo by premasagar taken from this source

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Think and Grow Rich

The average person could increase his income 20% by increasing his thinking 1%. One percent of your day is 14 minutes. Is that too much time to spend to increase your income 20%? Every day ask yourself: What one thing can I do today to increase my income? Asking yourself a question impels you to think to find the answer.

With every rising of the sun, think of your life as just begun. A strong conviction spurs the mind to think up ways to get the thing done.

No matter how hard times are some are getting rich. Think. Why?

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Mischievous "Only"

Only he said that he loved her
He only said that he loved her
He said only that he loved her
He said that only he loved her
He said that he only loved her
He said that he loved only her
He said that he loved her only

"A little learning is a dangerous thing." - Alexander Pope.

What you said sometimes cannot be accurately understood because the hearer unconsciously translates what he hears into something he can understand.

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Be smart but not overconfident

"Success is a lousy teacher. It seduces smart people into thinking they can't lose." - Bill Gates

Managers tend to make their biggest mistakes in things they've previously done best.

Admit your mistakes gracefully.

Photo by saduk taken from this source