Barack Obama & 10 lessons to excel
Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 11:54PM The inauguration of of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth U.S. President is meaningful to everyone, even if they do not know it yet. This man represents different things to different people, but in many ways, he symbolizes the realization of a dream.
Your own dreams may invite you to follow a similar road or, a road far less travelled. You may be inclined to ignore what bothers you, or be unwilling to delay action when having patience would be more suitable. In the end, you are totally dependent on yourself to initiate and follow through on plans. Consider ten lessons I gain from Obama to help you excel;
1) You can be anything you choose. Society and people around you will tell you what they believe you can and cannot do. These views may emerge from prejudice, history, bias, judgment and counter-productive emotions. Venegeful thoughts only limit you. Your action reveals to what degree you accept society's rules and status quo standards. As you move beyond them, you realize you create your own rules.
2) You realize synchonicity matters. You can choose to take advantage of everything you perceive to happen. Many people will say they cannot realize a goal. Why? Excuses include; "it does not feel right" or, "circumstances are against me." Reframing what you sense and feel enables you to realize everything happens for good. You need not grasp why people view events as they do. Everything is a sign to help you.
3) You sense serendipity is in your favor. When you seem to be in a certain place by accident, you are not. In fact, you have an aptitude for having revelations by accident. This mindset actually defines the direction of your life. Some people take advantage of this and become more aware of their inner power. Other people do not. Your choice is best for you.
4) You know you conquer obstacles. As you recall the experiences and choices of your ancestors, part of you may be think walls in front of you are intimidating. Remind yourself how far you have already come to get where you are right now. You would not be able to reach milestones unless you were the kind of person determined to grow. You already demonstrate commitment, focus and drive. This inspires you to continue directing it in ways that make sense.
5) You turn your face to God. This can be viewed as symbolic and spiritual rather than religious. It shows your faith in higher forces that guide you to make choices that feel good, that are for the right reasons, and that serve others. It is not what you do that matters, but how it makes you feel, and how it recognizes the universal equality and potential of every person. You become more willing to find meaning in things greater than your role or results from a single project or experience. You find value in shared spirit, in making gestures of generosity, showing humility and compassion.
6) You need not keep your enthusiasm in the closet. Each time you act to share how you feel, part of you you may suppress it. In the past, you may have been teased, criticized or reprimanded. You may have broken down and cried in frustration. Yet real people show you that you are loved for who you are. You are encouraged to communicate what brings you joy in life. As you move to accept yourself, then you discover communities, settings where you feel more welcome. You send vibes based on love or fear.
7) You are encouraged to grow in ways that resonate. People often assume one must learn things in a certain order or that certain interests cannot go together. People will judge your choices based on what they would do. They react according to their discomfort and whether they choose to face it. If changing focus resonates with you after doing something completely different, then do it. If you switch directions, jobs or activities in ways that do not seem logical to others, that does not matter. Do what feels right. Listen to your intuition.
8) You move to view yourself as you are. As you remove your own labels, you progressively remove the excuses that prevent you from acting instinctively. You move to decondition beliefs and behaviour that no longer serves you. When you tell yourself someting is not possible because of the color of your skin, your religion, gender, or some other external feature, then you do not allow yourself to view the real you.
9) You sense intrinsic value in everyone. As you transcend self-created obstacles, you begin to develop altruistic attitudes limitlessly. You realize to practice love and compassion effectively requires the willingness to deepen insight into yourself. You stop telling yourself reasons why things cannot be done and choose to focus on creating ways they can. You sense you merit opportunities to create and measure your own joy and fulfillment.
10) You choose to acknowledge problems and act. Progress evolves from taking responsibility, not from denial, playing victim or, trying to "pass the buck." If you see garbage on the ground, you can choose to do nothing because you did not do it or, you can choose to pick it up, inspire others to make different choices. Many people sense what is wrong or why their efforts are not working, and yet, they do nothing. You will not outgrow your counterproductive habits until you choose to explore possibilities open to you to reform. This is a process of recognizing the need to respect yourself and others differently, and to find the courage inside to change.
